Discover the joy of reading with Quick Reads. Short books and great stories by bestselling authors!

The need

1 in 6 adults in the UK struggle with reading and 1 in 3 adults do not regularly read for pleasure. England ranks 23rd out of 23 OECD nations for literacy level amongst 16-19 year olds. In addition, studies have shown that those who do read for pleasure have higher levels of self-esteem and a greater ability to cope with difficult situations.

The programme

Quick Reads provide a route into reading that prioritises great story telling and adult-focused content while ensuring the books are written in an accessible and easy to read style. The books are written by some of the most popular authors in the UK - including Andy McNab, Jojo Moyes, Anne Cleeves, Ian Rankin and Benjamin Zephaniah - so they can be a brilliant entry point to new genres, authors as well as the spark to reignite or build up the joy of reading.

The Quick Reads programme has collaborated with over 30 publishers to produce a total of 135 titles since 2006 (many still available to borrow from your public library or buy from The Reading Agency's bookshop) with over 5 million copies distributed and over 6 million library loans.

The programme is in the final year of funding received through a generous donation from best-selling author Jojo Moyes who has funded the programme for three years.

The latest titles

Six new Quick Reads were published on 27 May 2021.

The titles include: The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic); The Skylight by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster); Saving the Day by Katie Fforde (Arrow); Wish You Were Dead by Peter James (Macmillan); How to Be a Woman, abridged by Caitlin Moran (Ebury); The Motive by Khurrum Rahman (HQ).

Find out more and order the books from bookshops and library suppliers now.

The titles are available in paperback, ebook and for the first time this year, in audiobook!

Quick Reads are also produced in Welsh by the Welsh Books Council.

The impact

Quick Reads are an extremely valuable tool for boosting reading skills, confidence and engagement in learning. They can act as an entry point to different authors' work in diverse genres, and have led to thousands of adults reading, completing and enjoying a book for the first time. Our long-term goal is to build a nation of readers by getting Quick Reads into every home in the UK!

You can read reviews on Find A Read.

Take a look at our case studies to see the impact that Quick Reads have on emergent readers.

How to take part

Ordering the titles:

• Order Quick Reads online in paperback, ebook and audiobook from a range of retailers. Direct links to purchasing the 2021 titles are here.

• To support The Reading Agency and independent bookshops, place your order through our Bookshop.org page.

• Order Quick Reads for a public library from your usual library supplier such as Askews or Gardners and the ebook and audiobook from Overdrive or BorrowBox.

• Find Quick Reads in-store at Asda, Sainsbury's, the Works, WH Smith and Waterstones.

We work with public libraries, prisons, colleges, hospitals and adult learning organisations to ensure these books are accessed by those who may find reading difficult as they are a perfect entry point to reading for pleasure.

In 2021, you can support Quick Reads and help us tackle the adult literacy crisis with Buy One, Gift One: for every title sold until 31 July, a matching copy will be gifted by the publishers to The Reading Agency. We will distribute these Quick Reads to those who struggle with reading or have limited access to books.

Supporting resources:

• Download our toolkit for libraries and bookshops

• Browse the available learning resources, book group discussion guides and promotional posters and videos for using with the titles in the Quick Reads resources database

• Unionlearn have a toolkit for making the most of Quick Reads and how they can be used in workplaces.

Quick Reads are perfect for supporting the Reading Ahead programme either as reading material or to use as rewards and incentives. Find out more about Reading Ahead.

Get involved

• Find out more about the impact of Quick Reads
• Order Quick Reads and support The Reading Agency through our bookshop.
• Find out more about the 2021 titles.
• Take a look at our other reading programmes for adults, such as Reading Ahead and World Book Night.
• Contact the Quick Reads team with any questions.