In 2002, Sharon Berry worked with the Writer in Residence to develop the Storybook Dads idea at HMP Channings Wood in Devon.   Sharon moved to HMP Dartmoor and introduced the scheme there, recording prisoners on the wings and editing the stories from home.

It proved so popular that the Governor gave her a prison cell to work from and allowed her to employ a couple of prisoners to help with the editing. Other prisons heard about Storybook Dads and wanted to implement the project too. In order to attract some much needed funding, Sharon started the Storybook Dads charity in 2003.

The Governor of HMP Dartmoor gave Storybook Dads an empty classroom to work from and soon Storybook Dads in Dartmoor were providing an editing service for several other prisons. Sharon also began training other prisons to set up their own editing suite and replicate the project.

The prison gave the team in Dartmoor some new offices which were officially opened by Princess Anne in 2007. Storybook Dads began to train the army navy and air force to copy their model so that service personnel could send stories to their children. 

The team now consists of eight staff and eight prisoners who provide an editing and production service to approximately 100 prisons. 

They also employ some ex-prisoners as home editors upon release and have so far employed more than 20 on short term contracts to help them get back on the road to a crime-free life.

Sharon's Story

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