Best selling Canadian children’s author Miriam Laundry has set a first-time Guinness World Records title for the largest online book discussion in 24 hours.
Her goal? To encourage discussion between children, families and classrooms to make decisions that promote confidence, happiness and responsibility.
Her result? An online book discussion involving 33,695 participants leaving comments in 24 hours for the book I Can Believe in Myself, drawing contributors from 29 countries.
The event took place in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, but participants in the online discussion came from as far away as Singapore, New Zealand, and Brazil.
“I wanted to create an event that puts children’s mental health in the spotlight, as it is something that is crucial in today’s society,” Miriam said. “Being able to involve children in a way that will motivate them to stay positive is very important to me.”
With an initial blog post first set up to discuss the book, the tens of thousands of comments regarding I Can Believe in Myself kept trickling in. An additional 70,000+ registrants had pledged they’d read the book, although did not count toward the official tally counted by the Guinness World Records adjudicator.
The record attempt dovetailed with Miriam being granted the 2014 Winspiration Award by the Winspiration Day Association. Each year on May 7 – “Winspiration Day” – the organization recognizes exceptional and inspiring individuals for their personal and impressing civic engagement.
Miriam’s inspiration for the project came after losing a family member to a mental illness. She says she now believes more needs to done to help organizations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, which provides support for children and youth suffering from mental illness.
The event was such a success that Laundry Books decided to leave the record-breaking blog open even after the attempt, still allowing fans the opportunity to leave a comment and discuss child empowerment.
“These past few weeks have been incredible as people from Finland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Mexico, Bolivia and Russia pre-registered to participate,” Miriam said. “It is so exciting!”
Has Miriam's global record success inspired you or your group to attempt a record of your own? Make sure to contact the Guinness World Records events management team with your organization's details.
