Five digitally activated postboxes include one dedicated to Sam McBratney and Guess How Much I Love You in Belfast.
Royal Mail has today (Thursday 4 March) unveiled five digitally activated special postboxes across the UK, honouring British authors and illustrators and the work they have been doing using literature to help keep children entertained during lockdown.
The postboxes – one of which is a parcel postbox – have their own unique design which celebrates the work of the authors and illustrators in question. They are located across the UK in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Belfast and Oban, close to places of significance to either the writers or their work and will be decorated for a month.
Each postbox is digitally activated, containing a QR code linking through to the free services offered by the author it celebrates, for example a YouTube channel offering free online readings.
The postboxes include one dedicated to Sam McBratney, author of Guess How Much I Love You – the subject of a comprehensive licensing programme by Walker Books. The cream postbox is in Sam’s birthplace of Belfast.
Other postboxes have been dedicated to Cressida Cowell, Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate and author/illustrator of How to Train Your Dragon; Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola, Waterstone’s Children’s Book of the Year winners 2020; Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, with the striking yellow postbox giving a nod towards the recent What The Ladybird Heard series of books; and Eloise Williams, Children’s Laureate Wales 2019-21.
“It is without a shadow of a doubt that the UK is home to some of the world’s best children’s authors, and it is heart-warming to see how so many have been focused on keeping the magic of literature alive for children during lockdown,” commented Mark Street, head of campaigns at Royal Mail. “As one of the guardians of the written word, Royal Mail relishes the opportunity to celebrate some of Britain’s most treasured writers during these unprecedented times, so it seems only fitting that their amazing work is honoured on some of our iconic postboxes.”
The unveiling of the postboxes coincides with World Book Day, which is running today (4 March).
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