Non-profit children’s literature agency Pop Up Projects CIC has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £100,000, with aim of producing a new anthology entitled Children for Change.
The anthology’s theme is “A positive manifesto for the future of the planet” and aims to challenge the sense of powerlessness around the climate crisis. It will feature over 50 of the UK’s most popular writers and illustrators, including Joseph Coelho, Malorie Blackman and Axel Scheffler.
A digital version of the anthology will be gifted for free to as many as 25,000 primary schools in the UK to share with children and families, potentially reaching millions of young readers. Broadcaster and children’s author Konnie Huq, who announced the anthology, will be editing the work.
With pledges ranging from £10, supporters from £30 up will also receive limited-edition versions of the anthology, with opportunities to also gift print editions to children and schools. Pop Up is also seeking patrons and brands to donate between £1,000 and £3,000 to help it reach the widest possible readership. One headline sponsor will co-host the Children For Change launch on Earth Day, April 2024.
Proceeds from the crowdfunder, which runs from 24th November until 1st January 2024, will also support Pop Up’s legacy project, Pathways Into Children’s Publishing. This two-year programme is aimed at emerging children’s book illustrators from backgrounds that are underrepresented in publishing.
Huq said: “I truly believe that children are the key to changing the future. The values, mindsets and goals that inspire and excite them during their formative years shape the adults they become. Adults that can help change the future of the climate emergency. This is the key to the importance of this book.”
