Booktober
About
About WestWords
WestWords is the literature development organisation for Western Sydney. We champion the stories, writers, places and cultures that make this region one of the most dynamic and diverse communities in Australia.
We believe stories can change what young people imagine for themselves. Through reading, writing, performance and publication, WestWords helps children and young people build confidence, creativity and a stronger sense that their words matter.
By taking part in Booktober, you help make this work possible.
Your support helps bring professional writers into schools across Western Sydney and regional NSW, giving students access to author talks, workshops, residencies, creative writing clubs and opportunities to see their own work published.
Our home is Western Sydney. For more than a decade, WestWords has worked to:
- create creative writing and literacy programs in schools and communities
- support young people to find confidence in their own stories
- build audiences for new voices and new work
- provide pathways for emerging and professional writers
- connect schools with writers who reflect the diversity, energy and complexity of their communities.
WestWords creates pathways that strengthen:
- confidence and self-expression
- imagination and resilience
- connection to culture, language, place and identity
- representation for communities too often left out of Australian literature
- the next generation of readers, writers and storytellers.
WestWords programs include:
- author talks and school visits
- creative writing workshops
- writer-in-residence programs
- creative writing clubs
- holiday workshops
- writers’ groups
- competitions
- mentorships
- performances and presentations
- publications that showcase the writing developed through our programs.
WestWords works closely with schools, teachers, libraries, universities, arts organisations, writers and community partners.
Together, we identify the need, imagine what is possible and design programs that are shaped around young people, their communities and their contexts.
About Booktober
Booktober is WestWords’ annual reading and fundraising campaign.
Each October, readers become Bookworms - setting a reading goal, sharing what they love and raising funds to help young people find their voice.
You can read one book or ten. Read every day or once a week. Read alone, with your kids, your class, your book club, your workplace or your library group. Audiobooks count. Graphic novels count. Rereading a favourite counts too.
Booktober is not about being the fastest reader or the most literary reader. It is about making room for reading in a way that works for you, then using that challenge to help make room for more young people’s stories.
There are plenty of charity challenges that ask you to run, swim, shave or give something up.
Booktober asks you to make time for something many of us already love, or want to return to... reading.
Set a goal. Share your page. Ask your people to support you. Then read through October knowing your challenge is helping young people access writers, books, stories and creative opportunity.
Funds raised through Booktober support WestWords’ schools program, bringing professional writers into classrooms across Western Sydney and regional NSW for author talks, workshops, residencies, creative writing clubs and student publication opportunities.
Every story needs someone.
Someone to read.
Someone to encourage.
Someone to make space.
Someone to bring a writer into the room.
Someone to help a young person believe their words matter.
That someone can be you.
Read what you love. Help a young person find their voice.