3 weeks to go
Wallace & Gromit Lost World Posters arrive
The first sign that it's all about to start again, for the third time. Duncan volunteers his services as they need to get tubed and distributed, the office dog is lured away from guarding the stash with a Lost World outfit, and before we know, the posters are all ready to go.
2 weeks to go
The First Van with Free Books Arrives
The 15,000 free books for Edinburgh Schools are the first to arrive at the depot for Information Learning Resources who will help us to get them to schools.
But having a reading campaign going full throttle doesn't mean that our other work stops, so first we are..
Dashing off to a Burns Book Launch
Where we launch our online Burns Walking Trail tie-in.
After Which We Prepare the School Parcels
Back at the depot we start preparing the boxes for each school and we get a chance to see the books for the first time ourselves. After months of preparation it is great to finally get our hands on the actual books. The mountain of free books for schools is slowly taking shape, and it is dawning on us that this is just the first batch, the books for the public still need to come in! 
The Various Editions
   
1 week to go
Our Literary Salon gets a Sneak Preview
On Tuesday evening we hand out a few advance copies to the folk who drop in on our monthly Literary Salon, where people from across the literary spectrum can meet eachother in a relaxed atmosphere. We try to forget that we have a busy day in the office tomorrow, to finalize the various launches. Bar, beer and books means that we quickly get some willing volunteers flined up or a couple of cheesy pictures. The tougher camera-shy crowd also discovers that there is no easy hiding place when we are in campaign mode.
Book Group Sets are Prepared
Back in the office we prepare the reserved Book Group sets, our loyal press dog comes to help out for a day with testing all material for chewability, and we spot the first of our leaflets in town. The inevitable first signs that our lack of sleep, and the many campaign deadlines, are slowly getting to us are starting to appear in the office.
 
T minus 24 hours
Press Launch at Dynamic Earth
D-Day is finally upon us, and where better to promote the launch of the 2009 Reading Campaign than in Edinburgh's Dynamic Earth? Our trustees Sandy Crombie, Ian Rankin and the Edinburgh Lord Provost welcome the presence of our Glasgow campaign collegues, key Edinburgh City Libraries staff, and an enthusiastic Scottish Culture Minister, Linda Fabiani. The cast of Frantic Redhead perform a short piece in front of invited guests and the press. Dinosaurs are lifted high until we see blue in the face.Another day in the life of a reading campaign.
launch day
Thousands of Books set free across town
The Central Library was one of many locations which started to hand out the free books. The library (and staff) got a special make-over for the occasion, and the lure of books made for a busy day. Many parents brought their kids who were keen to get their hands on a Wallace & Gromit edition of The Lost World.
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