News & Events

Last night, after 10 weeks of being dotted all over London, Books about Town came to an end with our charity auction of the BookBenches.

The event was held in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre in London. Sotheby’s auctioneer Edward Rising preceded over the lots and literary names such as Joanna Trollope and Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman were in attendance. Bench artists also came to see their beloved works of art go to new homes.

The event was a huge success and the sale of the 50 BookBenches raised an amazing amount of money for the National Literacy Trust.

The most popular lots of the night were the Jeeves and Wooster BookBench, which sold for £9,500, and James Bond Stories, which sold for £9,000. The total amount raised was £251,500.

As well as an electric atmosphere in the room, BookBench fans watched the lots on a live auction stream.

Proceeds from the auction go to the National Literacy Trust and our work raising literacy levels in the UK. We work with schools, run literacy projects in disadvantaged communities and campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents. For more information about the work we do and our projects, visit our website here.

After inspiring so many young people to read and bringing much-loved books to life, it was a fantastic end to a wonderful project that captured the imaginations of so many.

Some of the BookBenches will be displayed in public places. Stay tuned to Books about Town for updates on where they will be so you can continue to enjoy them!

A big thank you to all who made Books about Town such a success.