Since 2013, the Federal Association of the Friedrich Bödecker Circles has been implementing author sponsorships throughout Germany as part of the program “Kultur macht stark. Bündnisse für Bildung”, a funding program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In local alliances consisting of at least three partners, projects take place under the title “Wörterwelten. Reading and writing with authors”.

The focus of the author sponsorships is on reading and writing together with authors of books for children and young people. The children and young people discover the world of literature together with the authors, develop their own stories and write a publication. The aim of the program is to promote the writing and reading skills of children and young people between the ages of three and 18, to support their creative development and therefor to awaken and develop their enthusiasm for reading and writing.

In addition, the targeted work in writing groups is intended to strengthen the participants’ aesthetic perception, production skills and social behavior. Personality development is positively influenced by writing. The program is aimed in particular at children and young people who want to discover and develop their enjoyment of reading and writing outside of school.

The funded projects offer a variety of formats, from writing workshops lasting several days till workshops lasting one year.