Quick Reads has partnered with Pan Macmillan to publish Baby at the Beach Café by Lucy Diamond, in a project to help vulnerable mothers discover the love of reading.

Baby at the Beach Café, published on 4 February as part of this year's Quick Reads, is a story about many of the challenges faced by women when they are pregnant and having their first baby.

The project was developed by Anna Bond, UK Sales Director at Pan Macmillan and Cathy Rentzenbrink, Project Director of Quick Reads. Together they have partnered with a number of organisations including Home-Start who will take free copies into the homes of vulnerable mothers. Baby on the Beach Café will also be included in World Book Night who will be focussing on getting copies in to the hands of pregnant women and new mothers.

"Our ambition is that new mothers will share their love of reading with their children"

Anna Bond said:

"The idea was that if we could find an author to write the perfect Quick Read which spoke to women at that stage of their lives, to address many of the challenges that they are facing so that the reading experience feels very personal to them, we gift them the love of reading. Our ambition is that new mothers will share their new love of reading with their children who will in turn grow up loving books. Lucy Diamond has perfectly written the book to brief. It ties into her already bestselling Beach Café series so we have no doubt it will appeal to her existing fans and also be a wonderful introduction to new readers."

Cathy Rentzenbrink adds:

"Time and again when we read or hear how vulnerable women have changed their lives for the better, the intervention point was that they became pregnant and wanted their baby to have a better life. Lucy has written the perfect book which will entertain and inform people who may not be used to reading and, hopefully, help them open up to a whole new world. It's also a perfect book for Lucy's legions of existing fans and I'm excited, as I always am, that this book will break down some barriers precisely because it will be read both by prolific and less confident readers. That's the essence of Quick Reads, we are trying to make more people feel both capable and confident that they belong in a reading world.'

Rob Parkinson, Chief Executive of Home-Start UK said:

"Anything that allows people to talk about how challenging it can be having a new baby is very important. We're delighted that the Quick Reads project means Home-Start volunteers can make this new book available to some of the mums they are supporting."

Working closely with parents and developing readers

Copies of Baby at the Beach Café are also being used by reader development librarians and family learning practitioners in Devon and Cornwall. One library in Devon held a 'Baby Day' for new mums on World Book Day and the library service in Plymouth is working closely with parents and developing readers. The Cornwall College Group has 10 Learning Centres across Cornwall and Devon, and has deeply rooted partnerships with a wide range of local communities and organisations that provide programmes that help local people fulfil their potential, including projects such as Young Mums Will Achieve.

Kay Ecclestone, Learning Resources Manager for The Cornwall College Group said:

"I am really excited at the idea of being able to give these books and start more people on their reading journey."

Get involved

Quick Reads, part of The Reading Agency, aims to bring the pleasures and benefits of reading to everyone, including the one in three adults in the UK who do not regularly read for pleasure and the one in six adults in the UK who find reading difficult. Find out more about this year's books

Pan Macmillan is the UK general book publishing arm of the Macmillan Group. Find out more