Christina Gabbitas
Christina Gabbitas is an award-winning children’s author who has encouraged over 25,000 children nationally with an annual poetry initiative, resulting in her being awarded a Dame Beryl Bainbridge award for her work, and the Sue Ryder Education Award in 2015. In 2022, she was awarded a prize for her Lockdown Life poetry initiative that encouraged children and teenagers to write about how they were feeling in lockdown. This was supported by Actress Jenny Agutter OBE.
A commission with York Castle Museum proved a great success where Christina held sessions with children and families, encouraging children to write with her sessions centred around the museum exhibits in 2019.
Christina has visited hundreds of schools both in the UK and overseas, encouraging children with read aloud interactive sessions, and workshops with all her stories that encouraged children to learn about the world around them, from pollination, plastic pollution to drugs and knife crime.
Christina is the Founder and a Trustee of Children’s Literature Festivals charity that concentrates on deprived wards and their mission is to give children from all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities an equal opportunity with access to free-to-attend literature festivals, to realise the power of reading, not just educationally but socially and emotionally too.
Christina was chosen as one of the 500 Coronation Champions for her voluntary work on the festivals.
Recognition of her work led to an invitation to become Patron of Blackburn with Darwen Libraries for Children and Young People in 2021, and she was recognised with mayoral awards in 2020 and 2021 for Services to Children’s Literature & Child Protection (Lancashire), and was made an Honorary Member of the NSPCC Council in 2018 for her supportive role in safeguarding children and Childline. Christina’s book Share Some Secrets was awarded a national book prize in 2019 – the publication encourages children to speak out and is helping to raise funds in the NSPCC online shop.
Christina has had commissions with many orgsnisations.
Some of her latest work and original writing commission is for Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, where she engaged with young people to write about the topic of knife crime. In addition, she produced a story to help educate children about the dangers of being groomed into county lines and the consequences of carrying knives. This has led to Christina working with Humberside Police, North Yorkshire Police, Lancashire Police, North Lincolnshire Council and Doncaster Council with her story. Due to the story’s success, Christina is working on a sequel, commissioned by North Yorkshire Police, funded by North Yorkshire Police Fire & Crime Commissioner.
Twitter: @christigabbitas