About Girls' Night In
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The original contributing authors to Girls' Night In celebrate the book launch at The October Club in June 2000. |
The Girls' Night In series began with a shared idea in The Groucho Club in London, after Jessica Adams, Chris Manby, Freya North and Fiona Walker decided to ask Curtis Brown agent Jonathan Lloyd to pitch an anthology of short stories, by bestselling young female novelists - in aid of War Child. Jessica, Fiona and Chris agreed to act as editors, and with Freya's name on the cover, the project was born.
Not every publisher was interested when the project was first pitched, but five years later, charity anthologies have become a common sight in bookshops, and Girls' Night In has become a brand - together with its spin-off for children, Kids' Night In.
The money raised since 1999 has changed lives, and sometimes saved lives, in war-affected countries where children are most vulnerable, and most in need. Revenue from the latest book in the series will also fund a new NGO, No Strings, which uses the talent of some members of the original Muppet team to make educational videos (on landmines, among other dangers) for children in countries like Afghanistan. 
The first book of essays, the combined efforts of critically acclaimed young writers, was Girls’ Night In.
The book was launched in London in June 2000, and subsequently in Australia that October. The contributions from 39 women novelists were all free. The royalties were all donated.
The success of Girls’ Night In prompted three sequels for War Child: Girls' Night In 2, Gentlemen by Invitation, Big Night Out and now Girls Night In 4. In 2004, there was also a childrens' edition of the series appropriately called Kids' Night In with mega-selling kid-lit names including Jacqueline Wilson, Garth Nix and Darren Shan. Now Kids' Night In has it's own sequel: Kids' Night In 2.
More About
About War Child
About No Strings
How it happened - Fiona Walker