On the 27th June the Cathedral was filled with laughter and light as great friends and even greater writers, Kate Mosse and Anthony Horowitz, came together to discuss all things Alex Rider.

Canon Dan Inman kicked the evening off with a fabulous introduction, and then Kate and Anthony regaled the audience for over an hour with discussions of Anthony's books, writing process, inspiration and anecdotes.

There were so many children in the Cathedral, many of them clutching their collections of their favourite of Anthony’s books, and all of them buzzing with questions for the celebrated and charismatic man himself.

Anthony spoke beautifully about his work for stage and screen as well as his novels for adults such as the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, but credits the Alex Rider series with being the one that changed his life. Until Alex came along, he was writing children’s books that were selling less than two thousand copies a time; but he kept faith and kept going. Unbelievably, Anthony has written 14 novels about the teenage spy over the last 25 years and has sold over 21 million copies. Which in and of itself is fantastic, but for Anthony, the real prize is knowing that these books have introduced the joy of reading to so many young people.

Horowitz is passionate about the importance of children’s books, saying that ‘reading is like climbing a mountain. For many children, the Alex Rider books are the foothills of a lifelong reading journey that leads you on to greater heights and ever-changing experiences.’

Anthony is also very vocal about the importance of book-ownership, saying that the books you own are like doorways to different worlds within your own home, allowing you the freedom to explore them in your own time, at your own pace, as often as you like.

This of course chimes perfectly with our mission here at CBF, and we couldn’t be more grateful to Anthony, Kate and the Cathedral for taking the time to support and amplify our ongoing work in and around Chichester.