My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G.M. Linton
An uplifting, touching and hilarious children’s debut book from West-Midlands author G.M. Linton, My Name is Sunshine Simpson (Usborne Publishing) shines a light on family, friendship and the Windrush legacy, through the eyes of a fun-loving ten-year-old. Published for the 75 year anniversary of Windrush, the book helps a new generation of children feel pride and curiosity about the Windrush legacy through the protagonist’s moving and charming relationship with her Grandad.
Focusing on key national, regional and specialist media, our campaign aimed to showcase the cultural legacy of Windrush through G.M. Linton’s unique opinions, perspectives and writing inspirations. We placed moving first-person articles in Inews (“Windrush 75: The sacrifices of nurses like my mother shouldn’t be forgotten”), Black Ballad (“Why we need to capture our elders’ stories before it’s too late”) and Windrush 75 (“A place called “home””) through which we were able to engage readers with the author’s amazing family history and show how it connects to an important national narrative that should not be forgotten as it passes from living memory.
As a proud West Bromwich author, we were also keen to engage West Midlands print and broadcast media and support G.M. Linton’s literacy and education partnerships with local schools. With a full-page news story in the Birmingham Mail, author interviews on BBC Radio WM and BBC West Midlands Today across multiple TV news bulletins, we reached audiences across the West Midlands helping to show why the region in particular should be especially proud of its Windrush heritage.
Our campaign helped to create a public platform for G.M. Linton as an exciting debut children’s author, building a following for the author and her Sunshine Simpson series while showcasing the power of family history and untold stories in the sphere of children’s literature.