Books by Dr Alex George, Aliya Ali-Afzal, John le Carré and the Quick Reads authors to be gifted as part of World Book Night 2022

The Reading Agency has today announced the titles that will feature on the booklist for World Book Night 2022, its annual celebration bringing people of all backgrounds together to read more.

World Book Night takes place on 23 April. In 2022, we will be giving away 84,000 books to organisations across the country to gift to people who don’t regularly read for pleasure or with limited access to books. These organisations include prisons, hospitals, youth centres, care homes and mental health groups. Last year, 738 organisations across the UK received titles, including: Bristol Libraries, Farleigh Hospice, ClwydAlyn Housing Ltd, The Prince’s Trust, HMP Edinburgh and more. Organisations can now apply to receive books and help share a love of reading. The closing date for applications is 28 January.

This year’s World Book Night titles have been contributed from publishers including Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Walker Books, Canongate, HarperCollins, Head of Zeus, Oneworld, Profile, Simon and Schuster and Bolinda UK. The World Book Night booklist includes a diverse selection of books for adults and young people. The booklist includes: Would I Lie to You?, the debut novel from Aliya Ali-Afzal; The Upper World, a young adult sci-fi drama by Femi Dedugba; and Dr Alex George’s Live Well Every Day.

This year, The Reading Agency’s 2022 Quick Reads titles will be part of the World Book Night celebrations and giveaway. Publishing on 14 April, these eight titles by bestselling authors will help to tackle the UK’s adult literacy crisis by encouraging less confident readers get reading great stories by celebrated authors. Alongside the World Book Night gifting, these titles will also be available to purchase online and through retailers for £1 each.

Quick Reads titles include: historical drama The Black Mountain by award-winning author Kate Mosse; an abridged version of Lemn Sissay’s astonishing memoir, My Name Is Why and The Swimmer by comedian and presenter, Graham Norton. This year also features memoir titles with a focus on prejudice and social belonging including Gyspy Boy by Mikey Walsh and Brown Baby by Nikesh Shukla.

The diverse list of authors and titles for this year’s World Book Night has something for avid readers and those new to reading for pleasure alike.

World Book Night 2022 Titles

• All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue (Walker Books)
• Brown Baby by Nikesh Shukla (Pan Macmillan)
• Dare to Change Your Life by Lawrence Okolie (Ebury)
• Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Laidlaw by William McIlvanney (Canongate)
• Live Well Every Day by Dr Alex George (Octopus Publishing Group)
• My Policeman by Bethan Roberts (Vintage)
• Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins Children’s)
• Recovery by Russell Brand (Pan Macmillan)
• Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (Oneworld)
• Straight Outta Crawley by Romesh Ranganathan (Transworld)
• The Boy Between by Amanda Prowse and Josiah Hartley (Amazon Publishing)
• The Dinner Guest by BP Walter (One More Chapter, HarperCollins)
• The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (Bolinda)
• The Upper World by Femi Fadugba (Penguin Random House Children’s)
• Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy by John le Carré (Bolinda)
• Transitions by Various (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
• Would I Lie to You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal (Head of Zeus)

Quick Reads 2022 Titles

• My Name Is Why (abridged) by Lemn Sissay (Canongate)
• Sofia Kahn and the Baby Blues by Ayisha Malik (Headline)
• The Cutting Season by MW Craven (Little, Brown)
• The Swimmer by Graham Norton (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Black Mountain by Kate Mosse (Pan Macmillan)
• Blind Spot by Paula Hawkins (Transworld)
• Witness by Alex Wheatle (Profile)
• The Kiss by Santa Montefiore (Simon and Schuster)

Building on World Book Night’s digital offer and improving access to books for the widest possible audience, the World Book Night booklist will continue to feature audiobooks, including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by the late spy novelist John le Carré, narrated by Michael Jayston and Russell Brand’s Recovery, narrated by the author.

Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency said: “We’re thrilled to be announcing our World Book Night 2022 booklist. We are so grateful to all the wonderful publishers and authors who are participating this year, including the writers of this year’s brilliant and accessible Quick Reads with the generous support of Jojo Moyes. This year, we want to ensure that there is something for everyone on the list – from those who read avidly, to those who have never picked up a book.”

Author Tayari Jones said: “World Book Night is a gift to readers and writers alike — and I happen to be both, so I am doubly delighted and moved to part of this year’s festivities. Books are paper miracles. They at once allow us the solitude of our own thoughts while also bringing us together with other people who have found themselves immersed in the same stories.  I am very honoured and grateful to be included this year. I don’t know what is more thrilling — the thought of Silver Sparrow reaching new readers, or the idea of readers reaching one another!”

Author Romesh Ranganathan said: “It’s a real honour to have my book used as a way of inspiring new readers, something I feel very passionate about. I hope that it encourages people to take up reading as a regular hobby, as well as maybe convincing my family to read it, as none of them have so far.”

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