Ali Mawle welcomed guests on behalf of Cheltenham Festivals and highlighted the longstanding partnership between the Festival and the David Vaisey Trust.

Debby Thacker, Chair of Trustees, thanked the Trust’s supporters, whose generosity makes the awards possible. She reflected on the central role of libraries in their communities and the importance of reading for pleasure and wellbeing.

Our special guest, author Patrice Lawrence, spoke movingly about her own experience of libraries and the joy and inspiration that reading has brought her throughout her life. Chair of Judges John Dougherty then announced this year’s awards.

Public libraries

Tewkesbury Group Libraries received the top award of £4,250 and the Willans Cup for its Teen Manga Meet-Up project. Building on young people’s enthusiasm for manga, graphic novels and illustration, the project will create opportunities to share books, explore interests and enjoy reading together.

Three further projects each received £1,250:

• Cheltenham Group — Paws for Reading: supporting children’s reading confidence through opportunities to read to dogs.
• Forest Cluster — Read and Ride: helping families with young children access libraries through transport and reading opportunities.
• Wotton-under-Edge Library — The Keepers Library Link: widening access to books and reading through community partnerships.

Schools

Newnham St Peter’s School received the top award of £3,500 and the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire Cup towards an outdoor reading shelter, creating additional space to support its popular school library.

Three further schools each received £1,500:

• Cirencester Kingshill School: a student-inspired graphic novels and manga project, including a Mini Comic-Con.
• Thomas Keble School: a Book Buddies scheme bringing younger and older pupils together to enjoy reading.
• Altus Primary School: a lending library encouraging children to take books home and share reading with their families.

The judges were impressed by the quality of all eight shortlisted projects and allocated the £16,000 school and public library funding to support their different needs.

Young Person Awards

This year’s Young Person Awards recognised six people for their enthusiasm, commitment and contribution to their local libraries.

Caitlin Sutton of Wotton-under-Edge Library and George Jones of Dursley Library were named joint winners, each receiving £100.

The judges also recognised the contributions of Isabella Dunford of Winchcombe Library, Bingxi Xie of Nailsworth Library, Freya Birrell of Cheltenham Children’s Library and Tabitha Lawrence of Stow Library, each receiving £50.

Congratulations to all six recipients, and thank you to the library staff who nominated and supported them.

Student Librarian Award

The newly established Student Librarian Award went to Tom Sampson of Thomas Keble School, recognising his hard work and enthusiasm as a volunteer in the school library. Tom received a certificate and a £50 prize.

Thank you

Thank you to Patrice Lawrence, Cheltenham Festivals, our judges, funders and supporters, and everyone who joined us for the celebration.

Above all, congratulations to this year’s recipients. We look forward to following their projects and sharing the difference they make to readers across Gloucestershire.

We will be sharing photographs, recipient reflections and project updates over the coming weeks.

Dr Debby Thacker, Chair of Trustees, opened the event by welcoming guests and reflecting on the Trust’s growing community. She paid tribute to Sue Emson, who died earlier this year, thanked outgoing administrator Pat Lipinski for her many years of service, and welcomed Lucinda Brocklehurst, who will provide administrative support and help strengthen the Trust’s social media presence. Debby also thanked the Trust’s partners, including Read for Good, Read With Me, Cheltenham Festivals and the Bodleian Library, and announced that the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire will be donating a cup for this year’s winning school library.

Guests then heard from two of last year’s winners, whose stories showed the difference a David Vaisey Trust award can make. Vicky Giles, from Coleford Library, described how funding helped create a welcoming library at the new cottage hospital in Cinderford. With carefully chosen books, including large print editions and audiobooks, the library is supporting patients, staff and visiting families, while offering older patients gentle mental stimulation that research suggests can help protect cognitive health and reduce the risk of decline in later life. There are hopes that the idea could be extended to Gloucestershire’s other cottage hospitals.

Amber Barker-Harold, from Farmor’s School, spoke just as powerfully about the impact of the award on a rural school facing continuing funding pressures. The project helped raise the profile of reading, gave students more agency over their choice of books and introduced many to the joy of reading for the first time. A new Manga collection has proved particularly popular, while audiobooks and dyslexia-friendly titles have helped make the library more accessible to the whole school community.

Special guest Jamila Gavin, the acclaimed children’s author and long-time supporter of the Trust, spoke insightfully about the challenges facing librarians today, from limited funding to the competing pull of phones, computers and social media. She also reflected on publishers’ concerns about the decline in readership after the age of 12, and the importance of books reaching readers across cultures and communities.

The 2026 Library Shortlist

Chair of Judges and author John Dougherty thanked all the libraries that had submitted applications and encouraged those not shortlisted to seek feedback from the judges with a view to applying again in future.

County Libraries

• Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Library: Paws for Reading, a Prestbury Library scheme offering a safe, encouraging space for those who struggle with reading by inviting them to read to rescue dogs.
• Forest Libraries: Read and Ride, supporting local preschool groups to visit local libraries.
• Tewkesbury Cluster: Team Manga Meet-up, fostering teen engagement with reading.
• Wotton-under-Edge: Keepers Library Link, improving access by bringing books to people who are unable to visit the library themselves.

School Libraries

• The Altus School: creating a lending library within an alternative provision school supporting children facing significant challenges.
• Cirencester Kingshill School: a Manga project, including a mini Comic-Con.
• Newnham St Peter’s School: an outdoor reading scheme, complete with shelter.
• Thomas Keble School: a buddy reading scheme in which older students mentor younger readers.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place at Cheltenham Literature Festival on 11 October. All long-listed libraries who were not shortlisted have received £100 to spend on books, ensuring that every application brings new reading opportunities to communities across Gloucestershire.