Oswestry Reads 2008

To celebrate the opening of the new library and to promote the National Year of Reading, Oswestry Library has been working with the Oswestry and Border Counties Advertizer, local schools, colleges, businesses and the health service to encourage everyone to read the same book in 2008. Early in the year, a town-wide poll was held to find the most popular title from a shortlist of five.

The winning title chosen by the people of Oswestry is Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Framed is a funny, heart warming story set in a small village in North Wales and it received almost half of the 700 votes cast in the poll.

500 copies of Framed have now been placed around the town in a variety of venues, including schools, shops, factories, surgeries, cafes and the library. We hope the book will be read and enjoyed by people of all ages and will be passed on to friends, family and colleagues.

A wide range of Framed-inspired activities and events are taking place throughout the year:

• Framed Challenge Prize Quiz (closing date was 16 June 2008)
• Enjoyed 'Framed'? Why not try other books with an artistic theme using the 'In the Frame' booklist and borrow books from the accompanying special collection? Download your booklist from this page
• Oswestry Reads Sunflower Competition - a flower growing competition for Oswestry's schools, judged on 8 July by Oswestry in Bloom
• Oswestry in the Frame Young People's Photographic Competition - a competition for those aged 11-19. See below for further information. Closing date 15 August.
• Meet the author when he visits oswestry Library on September 10. For more information, see the profile on Frank Cottrell Boyce below.

Sunflower competition
As Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting is central to the plot of "Framed", four primary schools and one secondary school in Oswestry were invited to take part in a sunflower growing competition, using sunflower seeds provided by Moreton Park Garden Centre. On 14 July 2008, a librarian from Oswestry Library together with an Oswestry In Bloom representative visited participating schools to judge their sunflowers and a £25 garden centre voucher prize was awarded to the Meadows Primary School for their magnificent flower measuring 1m 89cms. An individual pupil prize of a £10 voucher went to a Year 7 pupil at the Marches School during the visit there, a gallery of pupil artwork inspired by the book and by Van Gogh was on display. A giant composite painting of "Sunflowers" by the school's art club pupils is also in progress and will be on view in the school hall during Frank Cottrell Boyce's visit on 10 September.

Oswestry in the frame
Young people's photography competition. Aged 11-16 or 17-19? Got a camera? Take a photo of Oswestry from a different angle, enter it in this competition, and be in with a chance of winning £50. Follow the link from this page for further information and an entry form. Closing date 15 August.

Other events
Look out for other events happening later in the year, including a talk on wartime art storage at Manod Quarry, a photographic competition for young people, art workshops, and the Advertizer's Spot the Sunflowers competition.

Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce is a screenwriter whose films include Welcome to Sarajevo, Hilary and Jackie, 24 Hour Party People, and Millions, which was also his first book.

Framed, his second book, was inspired by a news story he'd read in an old scrapbook. During the Second World War, a collection of valuable paintings from the National Gallery was hidden in a slate mine for safekeeping. As a big fan of art himself, Frank couldn't resist imagining how all of those great paintings might have affected the people who lived near the mine.

He has written the screenplay for Framed and is hoping it will be shot this year for broadcast at Christmas.

Frank lives with his wife and seven children in Liverpool.

Readers comments on Framed
Readers were asked for their comments and views on Framed. Here are a selection of those received:

"This was a brilliant recommendation to someone of my age - Senior Citizen. It became addictive as each day of the log is a mini cameo. I wanted to know who would be affected by the art next; when would the robbery take place; what piece would be stolen; what art information would be revealed next: So easy to read. A tonic. I felt empathy with the loss of one of the characters. Loved the twists."

"I enjoyed this book. I loved the way Dylan was constantly surprised by other people's inability to see the beauty of Manod. The incidents were told so well - the armed raid and Misses Sellwood's driving."

"A slow start, but developed into a good read. Very amusing and a good portrayal of a Welsh mountain village."