The future of Shrewsbury’s popular Bookfest is hanging in the balance – because of a new law requiring authors to undergo criminal record checks.
Critics claim the tough restrictions, designed to deter paedophiles, are over the top.
And some of Britain’s top authors, including His Dark Materials writer Philip Pullman and Bookfest patron Michael Morpurgo, have already said they will not visit schools if they are forced to sign up. The row is over the Government’s Vetting and Barring Scheme which says that anyone who has ‘more than a tiny amount’ of contact with children or vulnerable adults will have to sign a register before November 2010.
But Mr Morpurgo said he would not go into schools unless the rules were changed. “This sours the relationship between ourselves and the schools and the children. This is one step too far,” he said.
And Annabel Warburg of Shrewsbury Bookfest said if authors decided to stop giving talks to children it will have a massive effect.
“We have seen over 10 years of doing Bookfest, the amazing effect that an author can have. They can achieve so much in an hour to get people motivated to read and to write their own stories,” she said.
“It’s really sad to hear people like Philip Pullman saying they don’t know if they’ll be able to carry on with this. We need our authors to carry on – if they don’t then the Bookfest will just be us standing there saying ‘read more!’
“It’s one of those decisions with regards to child protection which has effects that maybe the Government did not intend it to have.”
And teachers at local schools have said they fear the move could mean an end to the sessions which the children enjoy so much.
Alan Brannen, headteacher of Mount Pleasant Junior School, Shrewsbury, said: “I think it could slow down bookings of authors.
“I think if you wanted an author to come in and work with children in a small group without other members of staff present then it would be necessary for them to be checked, but if staff are present the checks are a bit awkward and probably slightly unnecessary.”
Children at St John the Baptist CE Primary School, Ruyton-XI-Towns, have also enjoyed visits from authors this year, and headteacher Sandra Weetman said she would ‘greatly regret any reduction in the sessions. She said at the moment schools are responsible for carrying out CRB checks where necessary on visitors, but that a centralised system run by the local education authority could make it easier for schools and authors.