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August News from The Reading Agency
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We were delighted by the great MyVoice Roadshows that young people and librarians put on at the end of July in five regions. Read more below. Cuts in youth services mean there are fewer positive local activities available to young people, so the library is a vital local resource. Our MyVoice programme with libraries reaches out to young people by giving them real decision making power over the kinds of activities available in libraries. The Roadshows are an important model for learning in this arena.
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The Summer Reading Challenge
HOUSE OF COMMONS LAUNCH: We had an excellent launch of the Summer Reading Challenge 2011 at the House of Commons, a rallying cry for the vital importance of libraries' work with young readers. MPs and many library champions including authors, broadcasters and sector leaders were there, as well as children and young people. The presentations were uplifting and included Louis Howell who is volunteering with the Challenge in Lewisham for the second year. "I can recommend volunteering for the Summer Reading Challenge - children don't deserve to be deprived of the chance to enjoy reading."
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Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools, Department for Education said: "We want every child by the age of six, at the latest by the age of seven, to be able to read and for them to be able to develop a love of reading, which is why we are so keen on the Summer Reading Challenge."
While Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad/LOCOG announced that they were inviting the Summer Reading Challenge to be part of the 2012 London Festival saying that she wanted to: "…sprinkle some Olympic magic dust in every library as part of the 2012 Summer Reading Challenge." |
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Here are authors Patrick Ness, Mark Haddon and Michael Rosen with some of the children at the launch. We were delighted by Mark's subsequent piece in the Guardian. He said the Summer Reading Challenge is "one of those simple, cheap, perfect ideas, like the sandwich or the mousetrap, which seem obvious when someone finally gets round to having them."
Visit the new Circus Stars website to read the lovely comments from the children who are joining in. Just three days after launching this year's Challenge we’ve had a staggering 2400 messages and 10,600 people signed up to the website. We love hearing from the fired up children: Maria, age 9, from Ipswich: "I cannot wait to get to the library and sign up. I'm so excited I could burst like a balloon!" Clara, age 8 from Hurnchurch: "I have never been to a library, so my dad said we can do the summer reading challenge" Connor, age 9, from Galway: "I thought I was the only 1 who loved reading!!!!!!!!!!!" Read more about the House of Commons launch. |
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MyVoice Roadshows
YOUNG PEOPLE AS LIBRARY PROGRAMMERS: The MyVoice Roadshows are the first of their kind in libraries. They gave young people the chance to co-create with librarians showcase days of reading and writing. The young people chose the artists and activities, spent the budget and were trained in digital skills so that they could develop content and promote the Roadshows.
This has been a powerful new model for audience development and developing relationships between librarians and local young people. Listen to Stephen Dodd, young people's librarian from Sunderland Public Libraries.
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While Daisy wrote after the Roadshow that she had helped to organise in Sunderland: "Started it off with a poetry workshop with Sky Hawkins. Lots of fun, we all came up with poems we didn't think we could ever think of. We had an A to Z of writing a story from Beda Higgins and learned loads, then we wrote our own short stories. I had a really good day today."
You can check out all the digital content from all five roadshows on the MyVoice website. Congratulations to the young people who have produced some amazing content. And thanks to our inspiring librarian partners in Norfolk, St Helens, Sunderland, Westminster and Dorset. The MyVoice Roadshows were funded by Grants for the arts. |
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Reading Groups for Everyone
LOOKING FOR ADULT LITERACY READING GROUPS: Social reading opportunities are an important way for people with lower literacy levels to develop confidence and skills. We want more groups for this audience on Reading Groups for Everyone - our website that showcases all the great things that reading groups offer. We've put up some brand new case studies that show the particular benefits these reading groups deliver. Plus there are some new resources if you are looking for support. We know there are many groups out there so please put up the details so they can benefit from the offers on the site.
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New Chatterbooks Reads
REVIEWERS NEEDED: Spotlight, our monthly new children's titles promotion, is changing its name. From this September it will be Chatterbooks Reads to link it to our innovative network of children's reading groups run in libraries, schools and other organisations. It will bring the best in the latest publishing for children by promoting new KS1 and KS2 books each month.
If children from your Chatterbooks group would like to review the autumn titles, contact tricia.kings@readingagency.org.uk and we'll send you copies to read, discuss and review. The reviews will go up on www.readinggroups.org |
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Our work with adult learners
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Six Book Challenge
WE REACHED OUR TARGET: We're thrilled to have made our target of 18,000 people taking part in this year's Six Book Challenge. We've done it with the involvement of hundreds of organisations across the UK, and registration by colleges, prisons and workplaces was greatly increased. Prizes for colleges, prisons and workplaces were won by Doncaster College, HMP Gloucester and McVitie's in Stockport. They all win a visit from a top author in the autumn. Suhad Al-Ozeimi won the national completer prize. Suhad is an ESOL learner who took the Challenge with the support of her tutor Debbie Hodgson from Westminster Adult Education Service and staff at Westminster Libraries. Suhad said "I was shocked when I found out that I had won the national prize but at the same time proud because of all the hard work that I have put into reading all those amazing books."
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NEW CHALLENGE: We are forging ahead with plans for 2012 and will announce new materials in early September with an Early Bird deadline of early October. We are aiming to introduce a stronger digital aspect to the Challenge for 2012 and will continue to strengthen our Find a Read resource to support Challenge participants from Entry Level to Level 2. We already know there's a strong list of new Quick Reads and we'll be making links to their launch in February and to World Book Day (1 March), World Book Night (23 April) and Adult Learners' Week in May.
BOOK FOR TRAINING: Booking is open for a training day on Friday 14 October in London. We will cover the growing range of transferable models for running the Challenge in different settings. |
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Our work with adult readers
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Reading Partners library/publisher scheme
GOLDING CENTENARY: Faber is marking 100 years since the birth of William Golding by offering beautiful Lord of the Flies A3 posters and questions you can discuss in your reading groups. Posters will encourage readers to borrow Golding's titles from their nearest library and come in packs of five. To place your free order, please sign up by Friday 5 August.
Faber are issuing centenary editions of Lord of the Flies and The Inheritors and if your reading groups sends in a review of either title you will be entered into a prize draw to win a signed set of Judy Golding's memoir. |
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Look out for...
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TWO TRANSLATED TITLES: We are working with English PEN to make sure that translated works reach as wide an audience as possible. In August we will be offering, through Reading Groups for Everyone, reading group sets of The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung and In The Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda. Both titles are supported by English PEN's Writers in Translation programme.
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Keeping in touch
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Our funding
We would like to thank everyone who is supporting our work to open up the transformative world of reading to more people, including the Museums and Libraries Archives Council and Arts Council England.
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read - The Reading Agency Ltd
Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA
Company limited by guarantee, registered number 3904882 (England & Wales)
Registered charity number 1085443 (England & Wales) Registered Office c/o CW Fellowes, Templars House, Lulworth Close, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire SO53 3TL |