To celebrate the release of a special not-for-profit edition of Striker Boy (in aid of Mind) the publishers are running a nationwide writing competition open to children of all ability levels. The child who writes the best 200-word diary entry will win a football shirt, a £100 book voucher for their school, plus an extra-special hamper of official football merchandise.
The competition is running until the end of the academic year and schools can buy special multi-copy sets of Striker Boy, with £1.40 from every copy donated to Mind. There is also a free PDF version of the book available to all schools and parents who wish to take part but cannot afford to buy print books. Everything you need for the competition is available here.
Striker Boy is a fast-paced footballing thriller, with plenty of action both on and off the pitch. The book was written by primary school teacher turned author Jonny Zucker, who tragically took his own life in 2016 after living with mental health problems for over two decades. He is survived by his loving wife Fiona Starr, who is a psychologist, and their three young sons.
“As a teacher and an author, Jonny was always really focused on trying to reach reluctant readers, who often come from disadvantaged backgrounds. So it was important to me that everyone was able to take part in the competition. We hope the schools who can afford to support the campaign financially by buying books will, but we’ve made the book available free as a PDF so everyone can take part and have fun.” says Fiona.
To support the books use in schools, the publishers have also designed a range of free teacher resource packs, including an ‘emotional resilience resource’ to help primary school teachers promote positive mental health.
The Striker Boy campaign has received support from many football clubs including Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Leicester, and Swansea. Amongst other things, the clubs are each donating a small prize which will form a mega-hamper of football goodies for the competition winner!
For more information about the Striker Boy campaign visit www.strikerboy.com or contact info@strikerboy.com
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Links
‘here’ = https://2simplepublishing.com/products/striker-boy-writing-competition
Contacts
Sam de Lange, Campaign Manager, sam@strikerboy.com, 0208 203 1781
Website & teacher resources
The teacher resources can be downloaded for free from www.strikerboy.com
Reviews of the book
“Scores on every level” – Sally Morris, Daily Mail
“A cracking read” – The National Literacy Association
“Very fast and exciting to read” – David Bennett, Books for Keeps
For a press copy of Striker Boy contact Sam de Lange – sam@strikerboy.com, 0208 203 1781
About Mind
“Mind provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect.”
Mind has a confidential information and support line, Mind Infoline, available on 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9am – 6pm, Monday – Friday).
For more about Mind see www.mind.org.uk
Get Set to Go Campaign: https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/sport-physical-activity-and-mental-health/get-set-to-go/
About the publisher
This book is being published by 2Simple Ltd. We are not a publishing house, we make educational software for primary schools. Jonny was a dear friend to us; we worked with him for many years developing the online children’s library Serial Mash (www.2simple.com/serial-mash). This is the first print book we have ever published and we are making no profit from the publication. We are grateful for all the support we have received so far.
