Ambassadors

Adele Parks worked in advertising until she published her first novel, Playing Away, in 2000, which was the debut bestseller of that year. She has published twenty bestselling novels in twenty years, including the number 1 bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck. She has sold 3.8 million copies of in the UK and has been translated into 27 different languages.

Adele’s novels examine issues that are important to us all including concepts of family, our theories on love, parenting and fidelity with honesty and humour.

Adele is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme and the author of the Quick Read Happy Families (2008) and contributor to the Quick Reads short story collection A Fresh Start in 2020. Find out more about Adele at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading?

“Reading is so good for education, empathy and mental health. Creativity brings us together.”

Why have chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“I believe it gives reluctant readers a huge opportunity to start enjoying reading.”

Find Adele on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram @adele_parks and on her website.

Amanda Prowse is one of the UK’s most prolific storytellers with global sales of over 8 million copies and legions of loyal readers. Born in the east end of London, she is now based on a farm in the West Country. The author of 30 novels and 7 novellas with books sold in 22 countries and translated into over a dozen languages – no mean feat when you consider her first novel was published in 2012!

A passionate reader since the age of 6 when a visit to the local library changed her life. Armed with her precious library ticket – she spent hours reading Anna Sewell, Judi Blume and Nina Bawden while scribbling short stories of her own. As a teen, she progressed to authors like Mary Wesley, Colleen McCullough and Maeve Binchy whose gritty, emotional novels would inform her writing.

Her mantra is this, “I want to write the kind of stories I love to read – rich slices of family life packed with characters who are relatable and who, like the rest of us, wade through the sticky pond of life, offering hope and wisdom as they do so and praying they can get to the other side without losing a flip flop.”

Why have you decided to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency?

“I am truly honoured to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency. I was a little girl who grew up in a house without any books. The day I walked into a library is one I’ll never forget. With a book in my hand, I was able to travel in my mind, curled on the sofa. I could shut out noise, close out chaos and feed my imagination. To help someone discover books, to encourage reading, is I think, one of the greatest acts of human kindness. It does good. It changes lives. It certainly changed mine.”

Andy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide. He was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993.

Since then Andy has become one of the world’s best-selling writers, drawing on his insider knowledge and experience. As well as several non-fiction bestsellers including Bravo Two Zero (1993), the biggest selling British work of military history, he is the author of the best-selling Nick Stone and Tom Buckingham thrillers. He has also written a number of books for children.

Andy is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme and the author of four Quick Reads, On the Rock (2016), Today Everything Changes (2013), Last Night Another Soldier (2010) and The Grey Man (2007). Find out more about Andy at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading?

“Reading gives you power to do what you want to do in life. It teaches you so much – whether its other perspectives, skills, how to escape from life for a while…”

Why are you an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“When I joined the army out of juvenile detention at the age of 16 I could barely read and write. The army changed that and I will always be grateful for that. Education changed my life, there is no doubt about it. Everyone deserves the opportunity to make the most out of their life, and education is vital.

If I can do it, and make something of my life, as a result of learning to read, then anyone can do it!”

Find Andy on Twitter or Facebook.

Bali Rai is the author of over forty children’s, teenage and young adult books. His debut novel, [Un]arranged Marriage, was published in 2001 to critical acclaim. Rani & Sukh, published in 2004 became a GCSE set-text. He has also written several books for dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, such as Dream On and its sequel Game On. His work has been published in various anthologies, including the 2017 book Here I Stand, raising money and awareness for the human rights charity Amnesty International.
Rai has made appearances on television and radio to discuss racism, his writing, and promoting reading for pleasure.

Bali is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme. Find out more about Bali at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading?

“Reading is fun, it makes you smarter, encourages you to think for yourself, and gives you a deeper understanding of your fellow beings. I love escaping into a book, too, away from the pressures of everyday life.”

Why have you chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“I am passionate about promoting reading for pleasure and reading to succeed, too. So, [being] a Reading Ahead ambassador [is] a huge privilege and delight. It’s a brilliant and simple project, and it helps so many readers gain confidence in their abilities.”

Find Bali on Twitter, Facebook, and through his website.

Bobby Seagull is a school maths teacher, author and TV presenter. He rose to prominence through captaining Emmanuel College of Cambridge on BBC quiz show University Challenge.

Before becoming an educator, Bobby was an investment banking trader at Lehman Brothers & Nomura and qualified as Chartered Accountant at PwC. He is also an ambassador for the charity National Numeracy and a columnist for the Financial Times.

Bobby is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers and co-presenter of the podcast Maths Appeal. He co-wrote The Monkman & Seagull Quiz Book and co-presents BBC TV series Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Guides. He is also quiz host for Channel 4’s The Answer Trap.

Outside of his professional interests, he is a fanatical supporter of West Ham United!

Why have you decided to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency?

“Since University Challenge, I feel privileged to use my “15 minutes of fame” to support worthy causes. Every Saturday afternoon as a child, my dad took all of his boys to East Ham library. We spent several hours sprawled on the floor, voraciously absorbing books on Aztec civilisations to the marvel of Victorian engineering to children’s fantasy and more. We would return home with a shopping trolley full of borrowed books, and even visit our local charity shop to see if we could discover any hidden book gems. Books opened my mind and eyes to the world and I want others to have that same feeling as me.”

Find Bobby on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok or through his website.

Dara McAnulty is a naturalist, award-winning writer and broadcaster.

Why did you decide to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency?

I was utterly delighted and humbled, when The Reading Agency invited me to be an Ambassador as I am such a huge champion of organisations who promote reading, learning and education. It was the work that The Reading Agency carried out with libraries, as well as their programmes for children chock full of wonderful resources that help access to reading, that really moved me to become an ambassador. Getting stories and books into the hands of children and young people is something that needs constant energy. I hope that a young perspective and presence will help with that. As a very young author who is also autistic, I want to shout from the rafters the testimony that books can change our lives, they can widen our worldviews and create a society which is more compassionate and accepting. I hope that I can help with The Reading Agency’s vision ‘For a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life.’

Dreda Say Mitchell is a best-selling and ward-winning author who was appointed an MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her services to literature and education work in prisons. She scooped the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger Award in 2004, the first time a Black British author has received this honour. She writes with her writing partner, Ryan Carter across the crime and mystery genre and was one of twelve international female writers chosen to reimagined Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple in a new anthology of short stories. Their psychological thriller, Spare Room, was a #1 UK and US Amazon best-seller. They performed a specially commissioned monologue on the ground-breaking SkyArts50 on Sky TV.

Dreda is a passionate campaigner and speaker on social issues and the arts. She has appeared on radio and TV including presenting BBC Radio 4’s flagship Books programme, Open Book and written in a number of leading newspapers, including The Guardian. She was named one of Britain’s 50 Remarkable Women by Lady Geek in association with Nokia. She is a trustee of the Royal Literary Fund and an ambassador of the Reading Agency. Dreda grew up in the east End of London where she continues to live.

What do you love about reading?

“The escapism but also the reality of connecting to a main character because the issues they face may be issues I have faced too. Books help me work out what my place in the world is. I love the joy and beauty of reading words on a page.”

Why have you chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“On one occasion while I was visiting a prison, an inmate told me that one of my novels got her into books and now she was an eager reader of fiction. That’s what The Reading Agency does, connects with hard-to-reach communities to improve literacy skills and gets people who otherwise might not pick up a book, reading. I am a huge admirer of what The Reading Agency does, so what an honour to be part of such innovative and ground-breaking initiative that truly makes a difference in people’s lives.”

Find Dreda on Twitter, Facebook, and through her website.

Joseph Coelho is a multi-award winning children’s author and playwright. He writes across several mediums for children including stage plays, picture books, non-fiction and middle grade. His latest ‘Story told in poems’ The Girl Who Became A Tree’ was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. His latest stage play The Wishing Tree recently finished a run at the Little Angel Theatre in London. He wrote and presented ‘Teach Poetry’ – a 10-part BBC online series that aims to make the writing of poetry fun and accessible to all.

Why have you decided to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency?

“I am a huge fan of the brilliant work that the Reading Agency does from the yearly Summer Reading Challenge to the Reading Well Lists and beyond. It is a honour to be able to help shine a light on this wonderful organisation and all the good that they do.”

Lorraine Kelly CBE is a Scottish television presenter, journalist and author, best known for her ITV show, Lorraine. In 2006 she won the RTS Award for best presenter and in 2008 was awarded a “people’s choice” Scottish BAFTA. In addition to her television work, Lorraine continues to write weekly columns for Hello! Magazine, and was one of the longest serving columnists for The Sun. Lorraine lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Steve, daughter Rosie and alongside the loveable Angus. She is an avid Dundee United supporter.

Mahsuda Snaith is a writer of novels and short stories. Her debut novel ‘The Things We Thought We Knew’ was released in 2017 when she was named an ‘Observer New Face of Fiction’. Her second novel ‘How to Find Home’ was chosen as a BBC Radio 4 ‘Book at Bedtime’. She is the winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2014 and Bristol Short Story Prize 2014.

Mahsuda has led creative writing workshops in universities, hospitals, schools and a homeless hostel and has worked as a writing mentor for a variety of writing organisations. She has also released a series of short, YouTube writing workshops open and accessible for all.

She is a commissioned writer for the Colonial Countryside project and her short story is included in ‘Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold’ which is also available as a podcast from Audible. Mahsuda lives in Leicester and is currently working on her third novel.

Mahsuda is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme and a contributor to the Quick Reads short story collection, A Fresh Start, in 2020. Find out more about Mahsuda at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading? 

“One of the reasons I didn’t discover I was dyslexic until my early 20’s was because I always loved reading and escaping into story, I was just slower than others at it. The reason I loved reading from an early age was because of the way that reading can transport you to another perspective, another city or country, how you can live another life with a whole host of characters you didn’t know before without leaving the comfort of your room.”

Why have you chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead? 

“I’m a British-Bangladeshi writer who was brought up on a Midlands council estate and discovered I had dyslexia in my early 20’s. On paper, it seems impossible that someone like me would become a published writer but I had a love of reading and writing that drove me forward. I love the work The Reading Agency do to make reading fun and accessible to all and, in particular, groups that find reading challenging or think it’s just not for them. I hope that I can help spread the joy of getting your head stuck in a story – and the pleasure and knowledge that can come from that – to as many people as possible.”

Find Mahsuda on Twitter, Instagram @mahsuda, or through her website.

Martina Cole is the acknowledged queen of crime drama with more than twenty novels to her name, of which over a dozen have been No.1 bestsellers. Several of Martina’s novels have been adapted for the screen, including The Take and The Runaway which were shown on Sky 1 to remarkable reviews. In addition, Two Women and The Graft have been adapted for the stage.

Her books have sold thirteen million copies. In 2011 Martina surpassed the £50 million sales mark since records began and was the first British female novelist for adult audiences to achieve this. She has spent more weeks in the No. 1 slot on the original fiction bestseller list than any other adult novelist. Her hard-hitting, uncompromising and haunting writing is in a genre all its own.

Martina is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme. Find out more about Martina at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading?

“I love losing myself in other people’s lives, it relaxes me.”

Why have chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“I think reading is an incredibly important tool that everybody should have. The wonderful thing about Reading Ahead is that people who don’t normally read, or who think that reading isn’t their bag, are encouraged to pick up a book. When you read a book you have to picture it all in your own mind. No one tells you what you’re seeing or what you should be feeling. That’s the secret of reading – it’s such a personal thing.”

Watch Martina talk about about her favourite books, how she encourages non-readers to pick up a book and why she became an ambassador for us:

Michael is passionate about promoting reading for pleasure to and for children and to the essential role libraries play in local communities. He is our ambassador for our Summer Reading Challenge programme – the UK’s biggest reading promotion for children.

Prolific children’s writer, Michael Rosen, was born in Middlesex in 1946 and studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Since 1976, he has been writing, performing, teaching, and appearing on radio and television. He also writes regularly for The Guardian. His books include fiction and picture books for children, including We’re Going On a Bear Hunt (1989), which won multiple awards. His poetry books include Quick Let’s Get Out of Here (1983); You Wait Till I’m Older Than You (1996); Lunch Boxes Don’t Fly (1999); Uncle Billy Being Silly (2001); and No Breathing in Class (2003) – all of which are based on his own childhood. Michael Rosen was one of the first poets to visit schools and is committed to the teaching of writing and the reading of literature in schools. He was appointed the Children’s Laureate for 2007-2009.

On Twitter   Online

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. He has achieved global book sales of over 20 million copies to date and has been translated into 37 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer.

Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace will be coming to TV screens in 2021 thanks to ITV!

Peter is an ambassador for The Reading Agency’s Reading Ahead programme and the author of two Quick Reads, The Perfect Murder in 2014 and Wish You Were Dead in 2021. Find out more about Peter at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading?

“There’s so much to love about reading, but I think my passion for books began when I was growing up essentially as an only child. There’s a big age gap between my sister and I, so we didn’t play together much and books were my constant companions. It was often only through books that I discovered that I wasn’t the only person in the world to feel a certain way about a certain thing. Books have a unique ability to give you an insight into what it’s like to be inside another person’s mind. And you’re always learning when you’re reading – whether that’s on purpose because you’re reading non-fiction, or just a happy side-effect of being gripped by a great novel!”

Why have you chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead?

“I’ve written a Quick Read before, and I’ll never forget having a conversation with a lady who had read that story, which was called The Perfect Murder. She told me that she had always struggled with reading. Before participating in Reading Ahead, she had only been able to read children’s books and was too embarrassed to read in public – for example on the bus or in a library. She was so thrilled to have reached a level where she could read books for adults. So, I’m delighted to do anything I can to support people on their reading journey. A love of books is a joy everyone deserves, both for themselves but also so they can set a good example for their children and grandchildren. I was lucky in that my father was a voracious reader – he got through three or four books a week – so I know what a difference it can make to have a parent who reads.”

Find Peter on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram @peterjamesuk, and through his website.