Quick Reads reveals stellar list of authors for 2020
“I’ve seen first-hand the real impact of Quick Reads and I believe these books are more important than ever. I’m thrilled that this life-changing programme is re-launching in 2020 and proud to be in the company of such a stellar list of authors with the same goal: to show that a love of reading is for everyone.”
Jojo Moyes, best-selling author of Me Before You and Quick Reads 2020 short story The Makeover in A Fresh Start
8 September 2019: The Reading Agency is delighted to reveal the stellar line-up of high-profile authors who have penned an extraordinary, bitesize book for Quick Reads 2020. Names include Adam Kay, Candice Carty-Williams and Jojo Moyes, whose philanthropic gift made it possible for the life-changing literacy programme to return in 2020.
Quick Reads plays a vital role in addressing the UK’s adult literacy crisis, engaging the one in three adults who do not regularly read for pleasure and the one in six adults who find reading difficult. Publishing on 20 February with a new brand identity by Here Design, the engaging and accessible books by best-selling authors will help bring the pleasures and benefits of reading to everyone, by inspiring emerging readers as well as those who have little time or have fallen out of the habit.
Showcasing the very best contemporary writing with everything on offer from comedy to crime, the standalone titles include a psychological thriller from Clare Mackintosh; Candice Carty-Williams’ retelling of the West Side Story to a carnival backdrop; an adaptation of Adam Kay’s hilarious and painfully honest memoir; a story of a life changing hen weekend from Milly Johnson; an introduction to DI Harry Virdee from A.A. Dhand; and an anthology edited by Fanny Blake, featuring everything from nosy neighbours to new-found family, with short stories from the likes of Adele Parks, Ian Rankin and Sophie Kinsella.
The titles are available for just £1 at bookshops and are free to borrow from libraries. They are used across the country in colleges, prisons, trade unions, hospitals and adult learning organisations.
Debbie Hicks, Creative Director at The Reading Agency said: “We are delighted that Quick Reads is returning with such an impressive list of titles. We are so grateful to all the authors who have given their words and time to support this life-changing programme, and of course to Jojo Moyes who has made this all possible. We look forward to sharing these brilliant stories by brilliant authors and to inspiring even more people to discover a love of reading.”
Fanny Blake, Quick Reads Commissioning Editor and author of Sisters, in A Fresh Start said: “I have been involved with books and reading all my adult life, as a publisher, journalist, reviewer and novelist, and find it shocking that one in six adults in the UK find reading difficult. Quick Reads plays an invaluable part in changing this statistic, and I’m thrilled to have been involved with the programme for the last four years as an author and Commissioning Editor. Reading can widen your horizons without your even having to leave home, and should be a pleasure that that is open to everyone at any age or stage of their lives. Quick Reads can help make this happen, and I know that the extraordinary list of 2020 titles will bring pleasure to many more readers.”
Get involved
Head to this page for links to order our Quick Reads for 2020 online
Find out much more about the Quick Reads 2020 books here including quotes from the brilliant authors
Use our Find a read tool to search for past Quick Reads titles at different reading levels
