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A schoolboy who was bullied for his love of reading has received support from celebrities, top authors and bookshops.

Callum Manning created an Instagram account dedicated to book reviews, but was mocked for it by fellow students who added him to a group chat which mocked his passion for reading.

​The 13-year-old, from South Shields, near Newcastle, was left "devastated" by the unkind messages about the page left by students from his new school.

A tweet posted by Callum's sister Ellis about the students' behaviour went viral and attracted an outpouring of support.

Stormzy's publishing business Merky Books said they had followed Callum's page and added: "If he ever wants any of our books or just wants to chat, give us a shout!"

Robert Stagg, an English language and literature professor at the University of Oxford, offered to arrange for Callum to visit the university, describing it as "a great bookish place".

Among the many writers who replied was bestselling Australian sci-fi author Jay Kristoff, who said he would be "happy to send [Callum] a bunch of books".

Novelist and screenwriter Neil Gaiman added that "all the interesting people I know were once considered weird kids with books."

Waterstones in Gateshead replied: "We're so sad to hear this! Talking about books is a great way to make friends and discover books you might never have otherwise read! Please tell your brother to keep up with the reviews!"

Callum's account now has over 230,000 followers - up from just 39 when his sister first tweeted about his bullying.

Callum told the PA news agency: “I don’t tend to cry that often but I think that was the first time in a while I’ve actually cried.

"I never thought this would ever happen, this just happened out of the blue, and it’s just showed that there are good people in the world."

Callum's mother Carla Landreth told PA her son was "a very, very clever kid".

She said: "He’s been reading since he was really young but he reads like Crime And Punishment and stuff that probably not your average 13-year-old would be interested in reading.

"He reads everything and anything."

Ms Landreth added: "His confidence has just soared. He’s a lovely kid, he’s a very loving kid, and he’s just saying, ‘I can’t believe these people want to follow me on Instagram and want to send me stuff’.

“We’re just so shocked. It’s been absolutely brilliant. He’s just over the moon."