Research shows that reading improves mental health and well-being. The Reading Agency has teamed up with BBC Headroom to work with reading groups around the country to review and identify a selection of Mood-boosting Books. The books chosen by the groups make up a booklist, which forms the centre of the promotion. The booklist is supplemented with promotional material.

The promotion is aimed at all adults, particularly those who might have experienced mild mental-health conditions linked to stress, anxiety and depression. All the books on the reading list are around creative reading - mainly fiction, with some non-fiction and poetry.

The promotion will launch in libraries on World Mental Health Day on 10 October and will run until January.

Promotional material can be ordered from The Reading Agency shop. The order deadline is Thursday 16 September 2010.

We have carried out a study into how the scale of engagement achieved by the gaming industry could be harnessed to encourage adults with low literacy to read more.

We investigated the breadth of technologies already being used by learning providers and explored their attitudes to the use of gaming. Through carrying out a review of games we found the majority to be accessible to adults with literacy levels of Entry Level 3 to Level 1, which is lower than the average novel. And we talked to games developers and publishers about the potential of digital texts and games to reach new audiences.

The report concludes with recommendations for games developers, learning organisations, researchers, publishers, libraries and policy makers on how to maximise the links between gaming for reading to attract and support adults who struggle with reading.

The Reading Agency will be taking this work forward by setting up a working group to integrate the use of gaming and other digital technologies into our Six Book Challenge scheme and we invite games developers, publishers, libraries, learning specialists and providers to get in touch if they would like to be involved.

We're also keen to get people talking about the potential for gaming and reading and you can take part in our discussion on the forum or get in contact.

You can download a full copy of the report from the Resources section on the right.

Ten new bite-sized, fast-paced books by leading bestselling writers and celebrities will be published on World Book Day 2010 at £1.99 each so everyone can afford them:

• Last Night Another Soldier by Andy McNab
• The Perfect Holiday by Cathy Kelly
• The Perfect Murder by Peter James
• Doctor Who: Code of the Krillitanes by Justin Richards
• Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo
• Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom by Alvin Hall
• Traitors of the Tower by Alison Weir
• We Won the Lottery: Real Life Winner Stories by Danny Buckland
• Life's Too Short: True Stories About Life at Work Foreword by Val McDermid
• Buster Fleabags by Rolf Harris

Details about how to order the books can be found on the Quick Reads website. Library services which ordered copies by the deadline of 11 January 2010 should have received them by 8 February so should contact their library suppliers if this is not the case. A copy of the library supply schedule can be downloaded here.

Free Quick Reads packs were also available for libraries to order from The Reading Agency shop. The deadline for ordering the packs has now passed.

Please visit the Quick Reads website for more information on the Quick Reads titles and campaign.

We have created two packs to support use of the new Quick Reads in all formal and informal settings with less confident adult readers - the Quick Reads 2010 Guide and a Writing Pack - which are downloadable from this page. You can also download guides to support the Quick Reads published in 2009.

Below we have included downloadable packs created to support all the titles published since 2006. Please contact Genevieve Clarke if you have any comments or questions about these packs.
2008
10 Keys to Success by John Bird
Doctor Who: Revenge of the Judoon by Terrance Dicks
East End Tales by Gilda O'Neill
Girl on the Platform by Josephine Cox
Happy Families by Adele Parks
The Hardest Test by Scott Quinnell
Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay
Life's New Hurdles by Colin Jackson
One Good Turn by Chris Ryan
RaW Voices Ed Vanessa Feltz
The Hardest Test by Scott Quinnell

2007
Starting with Quick Reads

March 2006
Approaches to Reading for Pleasure
The Book Boy by JoannaTrollope
Blackwater by Conn Iggulden
Chickenfeed by Minette Walters
Don't Make Me Laugh by Patrick Augustus
Hell Island by Matthew Reilly
How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps by John Bird
Screw It, Let's Do It by Richard Branson
Someone Like Me by Tom Holt
Star Sullivan by Maeve Binchy
The Team by Mick Dennis
The Thief by Ruth Rendell
Woman Walks into a Bar by Rowan Coleman

May 2006
Further Approaches to Reading for Pleasure
Against the Odds - Desert Claw by Damien Lewis and Winner Takes All by John Francome
Other Worlds - Doctor Who: I am a Dalek by Gareth Roberts and The Poison in the Blood by Tom Holland
Private Passions - Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe by Danny Wallace and I Love Football by Hunter Davies
Revenge is Sweet - Cleanskin by Val McDermid and The Grey Man by Andy McNab
Who Am I? - The Dying Wish by Courttia Newland and The Name You Once Gave Me by Mike Phillips

One-to-one support in HMP Swaleside

For readers who need more intensive support a one-to-one reading environment can be more appropriate. Library assistant Pauline Valentine at HMP Swaleside has set up a reading group where she runs one-to-one sessions for readers. In each session Pauline supports the adult with reading and discussing the book, which sometimes sparks off other discussions. Prison Library Development Manager Marilyn Griffiths has noticed the impact of the project on its members:

"I have noticed one or two of the participants coming into the library now and taking a book to read for their own pleasure, which is a big step forward."

Literacy learners in Stamford

Many reading groups are part of existing groups, such as those run for literacy students. WEA tutor Ruth Read runs a literacy course in Stamford and regularly encourages her group to read for pleasure. The group particularly enjoy using Quick Reads books; the latest they read was Catrin Collier's Black Eyed Devils. The group are of mixed ability, from pre-entry to Level 2 and they meet once a week for two hours. The group starts by reading book extracts aloud with the learners often working in pairs. Discussion is an important part of the session, with learners enjoying talking about the characters and story development. Ruth has also created comprehension exercises for the higher-level learners to encourage writing. Everyone really enjoyed reading the latest book and several of the learners wrote reviews:

"I couldn't put it down, I wanted to know what would happen to Amy."

" I liked the romance and the mystery."

Brent Homeless User Group Reading Club

Brent Homeless User Group is a centre for homeless people and those in vulnerable housing, to visit and gain valuable training in IT, Literacy and Numeracy. Based in Harlesden, the centre provides a variety of courses at different levels to help their clients into further learning and / or employment. Brent Libraries, Arts and Heritage have been working closely with BHUG as part of the Outside Story Project to increase awareness of general library services but specifically encouraging BHUG clients to enjoy reading and develop their literacy skills.

The BHUG Reading Club meets on the third Monday of each month and so far has been focusing on Quick Read titles as their choice of books. Their reading and subsequent discussions have included The 10 Keys to Success by John Bird and Lola Jaye's Reaching for the Stars. Recently, Lola Jaye was a guest speaker at the Reading Club, which was a highlight for members, as Dwayne Foster performance poet and Training Officer at BHUG explains:

"The group love to meet and discuss books. The books that they have read and discussed so far have been very inspiring and Lola's visit was the icing on the cake! The Quick Reads are just the right length and format for our readers and for some it is the first time that they have finished a whole book - great achievement"

The Chatty Readers in Southend

Members of the Chatty Readers, a Skills for Life reading group set up by Southend Libraries and Southend Adult Community College in October 2007, each read different books but get together in order to recommend books to each other. They meet for a two-hour informal session on the first Monday of each month in Southend Central Library. Tutor Nikkie Fisher and community librarian Mandy Robinson started the group together but Mandy now takes responsibility for running the sessions and reporting back to her college partners when necessary. The group now has five regular members and three others who attend occasionally. The main aims of the group are to encourage students from Skills for Life classes to gain more confidence in the library environment and in selecting, reading and talking about books - and to have fun!

Mandy Robinson reports: "The members have become so much more confident in all respects and their reading choices have grown. The Quick Read audio/book packs have become firm favourites."

Amateur Readers in Tameside

Once she had introduced them to the idea of reading for pleasure, the learners in tutor Jill Harrison's class in Tameside asked if they could set up their own reading group. They've now met monthly in the local library for more than three years and have moved from choosing Quick Reads to full-length books by the same authors and titles such as A Thousand Splendid Suns. Jill has always woven reading into her teaching because of her own love of books, but she says that her senior managers have now recognised its value: "Reading for pleasure is now embedded at all levels and it is improving skills."

"Learners take ownership of the process from the start - they are involved in designing the review form, when to meet and choosing the books," explains Jill. "It improves all literacy skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing. Learners are also encouraged to become library members and use their local library services." One group member says: "I now feel confident to go to the library by myself. Sometimes I am looking for a book to read. At other times I take my book and sit in a quiet corner to read it. I used to be scared of going to the library, but now I love it!"

Quick Reads Book Group in Watford

Together with BBC Three Counties Radio and Watford Learning Partnership, Beverley Small from Hertfordshire Library Service helped to start a book group in the autumn of 2006 as part of the BBC RaW Campaign. Their initial hook was to hold meetings at Watford FC, and at the first meeting they offered a tour of the club and the opportunity to meet Watford player and Reading Champion Malky Mackay for those who read the first book and came back to the next meeting.

Watford Central Library is now their main venue but they also meet at West Herts College - the fourth regular partner in the Book Group - if they need a larger venue. When they started it was impossible to tell if anyone would turn up from meeting to meeting. They now have a fairly regular turnout of between eight and twelve members and meet eight times a year.

The group pick a Quick Read and try to organise a speaker or activity for each meeting, preferably linked to the book. They publicise the event in the library, on the radio and through other learning contacts and community organisations in Watford. Seven members took part in the Six Book Challenge and five completed it following a launch event attended by Quick Reads author Mick Dennis in January 2009.

"I enjoyed the books and now reading has become a lasting pleasure in my life," said one Challenge completer from the group. "I wasn't an avid reader but because of the Challenge I sure am."

Hertfordshire Libraries have now started a new Quick Reads Book Group in Oxhey with the Three Rivers Learning Partnership and community charity ASCEND - part of an initiative between learning partnerships in the county and Hertfordshire Libraries to launch more groups.

Book Group in Stockton on Tees

The book group at Stockton Library started in 2006 during the BBC RaW campaign. Stockton Library Service recruited Skills for Life students in partnership with Tees Achieve (adult education service).The group meets monthly in the library and continues to be run jointly by the library service and Tees Achieve. It has a membership of nine who read a variety of books from Entry Level to Quick Reads depending on reading levels. Each person takes it in turns to tell us about what they have read. Occasionally three or four people will read the same books and then we encourage discussion. Members recommend books to each other and have a reading group board on which they post their reviews as well as information about the authors that they have researched from the internet

"The monthly book group is a favourite with my Skills for Life learners," says tutor Anne O'Connor. "It has proved to be a resource through which learners have improved not only their reading skills but also their writing and communicative skills through discussion and debate. It has also been influential in helping learners take ownership of their own learning with confidence and enjoyment." This is endorsed by a member of the group: "I've learnt how to choose books at the library and I talk about books more."

Community Librarian Penny Slee reports: "I have seen members of the group grow in confidence - at first we chose the books to be read but now the group chooses what they would like to read. Reading is now a pleasure and an everyday part of their lives."

Reading groups in Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent Library Service has developed several reading groups with local partners. "People who had difficulty reading are now able to participate in book discussions and reading aloud," reports Community Librarian Emma George. "Several people completed the Six Book Challenge, which provided a real boost to their confidence. Group members are all very supportive of one another, and those who initially had no interest in reading are now practising their skills outside the group."

The library service has worked closely with Stoke-on-Trent College to start groups for Skills for Life learners. One group meets every fortnight in Tunstall Library. Members read together and three people who had difficulties reading are now confident and able to participate using Quick Reads titles. Everyone borrows books to read at home and discuss at the start of the session.

A second group was started in City Central Library, Hanley. This was initially facilitated by a member of library staff and then handed over to the group to run themselves. Despite the efforts of a very committed core of three people, they struggled to attract more members, but the group will be relaunched at Stoke Library in January. This is being promoted through library visits to Skills for Life classes and through college tutors and mentors.

A third Skills for Life group starts in December. This will meet weekly at Tunstall Neighbourhood College, and will consist of between six and eight members. A librarian will attend the first meeting and will supply the group with books on an ongoing basis.

Stoke also has two reading groups for adults with learning disabilities. The first, which was set up in partnership with Shelton Day Service in the autumn of 2008, has eight members. As well as reading the same book aloud, members have taken part in football-related reading activities through Premier League Reading Stars, completed the Six Book Challenge and had some Family History taster sessions with the City Archives service. The second group meets at Expressions Café in Hanley which is staffed by people with learning disabilities. The group borrows books and reads aloud together. It is open to other people who would like to practice their reading, and two Skills for Life students have recently joined this group.

TASC Reading Group in Middlesbrough

The TASC reading group have been meeting every Monday afternoon at Acklam Library, Middlesbrough since the autumn of 2007. The group is run by Outreach Librarian Ruth Cull with Fred Chiesa from TASC (Teesside Ability Support Centre) and has six regular members who all have different reading abilities. The group reads Quick Reads books, each reading a few pages aloud. They discuss the story as they read and predict what will happen. Everyone is involved in choosing the next book and members particularly enjoy humorous books such as Happy Families by Adele Parks. The group also write reviews for the TASC magazine and for display in the library and are starting their own creative writing in 2010. Rob Findlay, who has attended the reading group for about a year now, says "I like coming to the reading group because I like to learn through reading. The staff at the library are brilliant."

What can a reading group provide?

• A safe environment for building confidence among people just starting to choose and read books for pleasure. If you haven't read much it can be liberating but also daunting to share your views with others. People should feel able to say they've stopped reading a book because they didn't like it rather than feeling they've failed in some way.
• A flexible model that can be adapted to local need. A reading group doesn't have to follow the traditional pattern of members choosing one book to read and discuss - they can read different books and swap views about them. They don't have to read books either - it could be magazine or newspaper articles, short stories, online material. And it can be a short-term activity just to get people started.
• A level playing field - everyone will have their own views about a particular book, none of them right or wrong. New readers often have deeper insights - they may have read a book more slowly and intently than more competent readers which could have greater impact.
• An informal structure for developing and sustaining a new reading habit. Regular reading group activity can give people a real sense of progress as they gain wider reading experience and practise their new-found skills at the same time.
• A buzz around reading as people swap opinions and ideas. Readers may draw comparisons with their own life experience rather than with other books they've read.
• A sense of belonging for people who may have felt quite isolated because of their literacy needs. There's often unexpected common ground to share - "I didn't know you liked sci-fi/worked there/used to live there!"

Some hurdles to overcome

People who aren't very confident about their reading may resist the idea of getting together to talk about it. Here are some suggestions for how to answer those who think reading is not for them.

• "I'm not a reader."
  Reading isn't all about stories and novels. Think about the magazines, TV guides or newspapers you look at. Do you use the internet, go to football matches or go on journeys to see friends and family? You're bound to do some reading if you do.
• "What's it got to do with me?"
• There are books, magazines and websites about everything under the sun, so there's bound to be something relevant to you and your life. Start with something you're really interested in.
• "Reading is too personal. I don't want to talk about it."
  But we all have views on what we read about whether it's football, fashion or politics. You'll be surprised how good it is to share what you think about a newspaper article, magazine feature or crime novel. It might make you think about it in a completely different way.

How do you get the group started?

• Decide on your overall aim for the group and what you are trying to achieve. Is this part of a wider strategy or a one-off experiment? Do you want it to operate for several years or will it serve its purpose over a few weeks or months?
• Identify your target audience and how you will reach them. Are there partner organisations who can help you - the local library service, FE college, adult education service, voluntary organisation, children's centre, faith group or trade union? Can you work with an existing group such as a literacy or ESOL class which has completed its main objective but wants to continue meeting?
• Work out the logistics. Who will lead the group? Where and when will it meet and how regularly to suit most members? Who will supply the reading materials? Will there be any costs involved? Are there other considerations such as disabled access, refreshments, crèche facilities?
• Plan a recruitment strategy that is appropriate for the audience. Word of mouth is likely to be much more successful than posters and flyers.
• Think of a focus to get the group started and give it a purpose - it may be reviewing some Quick Reads for the local library, setting up a book swap in the workplace, taking part in the Six Book Challenge.
• Don't be too anxious about numbers. It's more important to start with a few core members - six is an ideal number - than a larger group who fail to turn up regularly.
• Start with an informal event to break the ice like a simple quiz, a film of a book or a chat about books people remember from their childhood. People may be put off if they think they will have to list the books they've read, so reassure them this isn't the case.
• Try to find out members' interests before the first session so that you can bring along appropriate reading material or make sure you have a really wide selection of books to offer.
• Discuss a name for the group. We're happy for you to call it Chatabout as long as you belong to our network.
• Share your tentative plans but ask members how they would like the group to develop - it's for them after all.

How do you keep it going?

• Set up a way to share people's comments about books - on a noticeboard, online forum or website. You can add your own recommendations and reviews to www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk
• Pick a theme and find a selection of related reading material - books, magazines, newspapers. Or ring the changes with a discussion about a TV or film tie-in.
• Try audio versions of the books you choose. Or make sure you have audio versions for people who want to join in but are not as confident as others.
• Share some poetry. Or try reading a play or TV script. You'll be surprised that people will want to join if the atmosphere is supportive.
• Try a scheme such as the Six Book Challenge to give everyone a goal. Celebrate people's achievements and set up an event to present certificates.
• Arrange a visit to the local library and ask for a special tour - even better if it's when the library is closed to the public. A simple quiz can break the ice and make people aware of what's on offer.
• Put plans in place to evaluate the impact of the group. How will you measure its success? You could talk about people's attitudes to reading at an early session and then revisit the discussion fairly regularly. Or you could suggest that members keep a reading diary with their thoughts about each item they read. Consider other more innovative ideas too - a short film or audio recording to gather people's views or some creative writing based on books that have been shared?
• Get together with other local groups to invite an author, storyteller or local personality to talk about their life.
• Run special events to mark World Book Day (first Thursday in March) or Adult Learners' Week.
• Vote for the group's favourite Quick Read title - keep an eye on www.quickreads.org.uk for their annual competition
• Above all keep it friendly and relaxed and people will come back for more.

What can a reading group provide?

• A safe environment for building confidence among people just starting to choose and read books for pleasure. If you haven't read much it can be liberating but also daunting to share your views with others. People should feel able to say they've stopped reading a book because they didn't like it rather than feeling they've failed in some way.
• A flexible model that can be adapted to local need. A reading group doesn't have to follow the traditional pattern of members choosing one book to read and discuss - they can read different books and swap views about them. They don't have to read books either - it could be magazine or newspaper articles, short stories, online material. And it can be a short-term activity just to get people started.
• A level playing field - everyone will have their own views about a particular book, none of them right or wrong. New readers often have deeper insights - they may have read a book more slowly and intently than more competent readers which could have greater impact.
• An informal structure for developing and sustaining a new reading habit. Regular reading group activity can give people a real sense of progress as they gain wider reading experience and practise their new-found skills at the same time.
• A buzz around reading as people swap opinions and ideas. Readers may draw comparisons with their own life experience rather than with other books they've read.
• A sense of belonging for people who may have felt quite isolated because of their literacy needs. There's often unexpected common ground to share - "I didn't know you liked sci-fi/worked there/used to live there!"

Some hurdles to overcome

People who aren't very confident about their reading may resist the idea of getting together to talk about it. Here are some suggestions for how to answer those who think reading is not for them.

• "I'm not a reader."
  Reading isn't all about stories and novels. Think about the magazines, TV guides or newspapers you look at. Do you use the internet, go to football matches or go on journeys to see friends and family? You're bound to do some reading if you do.
• "What's it got to do with me?"
• There are books, magazines and websites about everything under the sun, so there's bound to be something relevant to you and your life. Start with something you're really interested in.
• "Reading is too personal. I don't want to talk about it."
  But we all have views on what we read about whether it's football, fashion or politics. You'll be surprised how good it is to share what you think about a newspaper article, magazine feature or crime novel. It might make you think about it in a completely different way.

How do you get the group started?

• Decide on your overall aim for the group and what you are trying to achieve. Is this part of a wider strategy or a one-off experiment? Do you want it to operate for several years or will it serve its purpose over a few weeks or months?
• Identify your target audience and how you will reach them. Are there partner organisations who can help you - the local library service, FE college, adult education service, voluntary organisation, children's centre, faith group or trade union? Can you work with an existing group such as a literacy or ESOL class which has completed its main objective but wants to continue meeting?
• Work out the logistics. Who will lead the group? Where and when will it meet and how regularly to suit most members? Who will supply the reading materials? Will there be any costs involved? Are there other considerations such as disabled access, refreshments, crèche facilities?
• Plan a recruitment strategy that is appropriate for the audience. Word of mouth is likely to be much more successful than posters and flyers.
• Think of a focus to get the group started and give it a purpose - it may be reviewing some Quick Reads for the local library, setting up a book swap in the workplace, taking part in the Six Book Challenge.
• Don't be too anxious about numbers. It's more important to start with a few core members - six is an ideal number - than a larger group who fail to turn up regularly.
• Start with an informal event to break the ice like a simple quiz, a film of a book or a chat about books people remember from their childhood. People may be put off if they think they will have to list the books they've read, so reassure them this isn't the case.
• Try to find out members' interests before the first session so that you can bring along appropriate reading material or make sure you have a really wide selection of books to offer.
• Discuss a name for the group. We're happy for you to call it Chatabout as long as you belong to our network.
• Share your tentative plans but ask members how they would like the group to develop - it's for them after all.

How do you keep it going?

• Set up a way to share people's comments about books - on a noticeboard, online forum or website. You can add your own recommendations and reviews to www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk
• Pick a theme and find a selection of related reading material - books, magazines, newspapers. Or ring the changes with a discussion about a TV or film tie-in.
• Try audio versions of the books you choose. Or make sure you have audio versions for people who want to join in but are not as confident as others.
• Share some poetry. Or try reading a play or TV script. You'll be surprised that people will want to join if the atmosphere is supportive.
• Try a scheme such as the Six Book Challenge to give everyone a goal. Celebrate people's achievements and set up an event to present certificates.
• Arrange a visit to the local library and ask for a special tour - even better if it's when the library is closed to the public. A simple quiz can break the ice and make people aware of what's on offer.
• Put plans in place to evaluate the impact of the group. How will you measure its success? You could talk about people's attitudes to reading at an early session and then revisit the discussion fairly regularly. Or you could suggest that members keep a reading diary with their thoughts about each item they read. Consider other more innovative ideas too - a short film or audio recording to gather people's views or some creative writing based on books that have been shared?
• Get together with other local groups to invite an author, storyteller or local personality to talk about their life.
• Run special events to mark World Book Day (first Thursday in March) or Adult Learners' Week.
• Vote for the group's favourite Quick Read title - keep an eye on www.quickreads.org.uk for their annual competition
• Above all keep it friendly and relaxed and people will come back for more.

Chatabout is a free and unique new national network to support the growing number of reading groups for adults with literacy needs. We're inviting anyone already running or wanting to run one of these groups to join Chatabout at www.chataboutreading.ning.com.

We're holding a Chatabout Networking Day on Friday 8 October for Chatabout members to network, share best practice about running reading groups and source ideas for reading materials.

The cost is £25 per delegate and the day will run from 11am to 4pm in London. To find out more join Chatabout, contact Jenny Warner on 020 7324 2545 or email jenny.warner@readingagency.org.uk

You can reserve your place at the conference by downloading and completing the booking form

Reading groups are growing fast as a powerful form of learning and cultural activity - in England and Wales the number of groups has risen by 149% over the last four years. The Reading Agency wants everyone to have the chance to belong to one - and especially those at the start of their reading journey. Over half of adults (56%) have literacy skills below the level of a good GCSE. Research tells us that reading for pleasure can improve people's skills at the same time as increasing their motivation to read and learn more, thus creating a virtuous circle.

So what's on offer if you join Chatabout?

• A way to network and learn from each other online at www.chataboutreading.ning.com - only open to Chatabout members
• Free practical guidance and case studies for practitioners in setting up or running reading groups. We'll be adding to this as we find out about more groups around the country and how they operate.
• Lots of book recommendations from First Choice Books - our searchable database of more than 600 titles selected to appeal to emergent readers.
• An online list with details of websites where you can source books, resources and other useful information for working with readers from Entry Level upwards.
• Ideas from our learning resource packs to get people talking (and writing) about the Quick Reads titles published each year on World Book Day in early March.
• Monthly updates with information and ideas.
• Use of the logo to show that you're part of the network. You may already have a reading group up and running with its own name - we know about the Chatty Readers in Southend, the Quick Reads Book Group in Hertfordshire and Amateurs Readers in Tameside. But if you're only just starting and want to join our network, why not call yourselves a Chatabout group?
• The chance to feed in ideas as we develop a Chatabout membership pack and a special interactive website when funding allows.
• Advance notice of events and training that we will be running. Our first training day was run in June 2010 and we are planning our first Chatabout Network Day on Friday 8 October. For more information visit the Chatabout network.

We hope that Chatabout groups will inspire emergent or lapsed readers aged 16 upwards to share their thoughts, not just about books but about things they read, watch or experience that may lead them into reading. From surfing the web and gaming to films or TV programmes, anything can be used to get them chatting about books or other reading material. Chatabout can take place anywhere: in a library or in a college, workplace, community centre, hospital, prison, church or shopping centre. Chatabout can be a one-off session or a regular activity, with your local public library providing support. You can also cater for specialist audience needs, such as family reading, ESOL or health literacy.

We're developing Chatabout from our experience of supporting work with emergent readers over several years, most recently with our annual incentive scheme the Six Book Challenge. Join in now and be part of something new!

The aim is to support you in introducing learners to reading in all its forms - books, magazines, websites, lyrics - not just this year but every year. We need to widen people's concept of reading so that they can think of themselves as 'readers' whatever kind of reading they enjoy. We know that learners can get the reading bug if they are encouraged to choose what they read and can share their experience of reading with others. Reading needs to fit into their busy lives, be relevant to their interests and concerns but also to surprise them with new ideas and ways of looking at the world.

Research tells us that reading for pleasure "helps to increase enjoyment, self-confidence, motivation and the acquisition of functional literacy skills." Libraries are ideally placed to support learners as they discover an enjoyment of reading of all kinds. Other organisations also have expertise and resources to offer which can help to engage people in a love of reading, including local authorities, colleges, prisons, trade unions, businesses and voluntary organisations.

Ideas packs

Ideas to inspire new readers 1 - up to Skills for Life Entry Level 2

Ideas to inspire new readers 2 - Skills for Life Entry Level 3 and above

Ideas to inspire parents and carers

Ideas to inspire dads and male carers.pdf

Ideas to inspire ESOL learners

Ideas to inspire people in prisons and YOIs

Ideas to inspire people in the workplace

Ideas to inspire FE college students

Ideas to inspire HEstudents

Ideas to inspire people with additional needs

Three-quarters of participants in an evaluation of impact for The Vital Link reported an increase in skills and aspirations to continue reading and learning. Research with Essex Adult Community Learning and Essex Libraries showed that reading for pleasure helps to increase enjoyment, self-confidence, motivation and the acquisition of functional literacy skills and that is well supported by the expertise and resources of the library service. Our evaluation of the impact of the first year of The Reading Agency's national Six Book Challenge in 2008 reinforces the point that reading for pleasure improves readers' skills at the same time as giving them a sense of achievement and enjoyment and an appetite for more. Eighty-eight per cent of survey respondents said that they had gained something from the experience and 60% reported an increase in skills - a finding endorsed by tutors.

Reading for pleasure has tended to be sidelined in an era of achievement targets and constrained funding and yet it has a key role to play in motivating and inspiring learners. However we're pleased that a number of Government initiatives have coincided to focus attention on the role of reading for adults who are improving their skills:

• support for a push on reading for pleasure
• online publication of the revised core curriculum for adult literacy which now includes more explicit reference to reading for pleasure
• availability of a practitioner guide on teaching reading, a report on an action research project on oral reading and now a further report on oral fluency and use of phonics in teaching available here.
• This follows earlier research into effective practice by the University of Sheffield which shows the contribution of group and paired work in class and of self-study and practice between classes (ie reading for pleasure) to progress in reading.
• Greater awareness of the role of libraries in informal adult learning in the Learning Revolution White Paper published in March 2009 and the establishment of the Adult Learning Board on which The Reading Agency is a member.

This is based on the Vital Link improvement framework which sets out the management commitment and inputs required from library services if they are to achieve the outcome of a high-quality reading service for emergent readers. More than 80% of English library services have signed up to this approach and provision for adult literacy learners is a priority for the Society of Chief Librarians.

We have now revised this framework (downloadable from this page) in order to develop a new capacity-building programme for libraries engaged in supporting the adult learning and skills agenda. New training modules will be available from spring 2010. Please contact Genevieve Clarke if you would like to know more about this.

The materials that support these promotions are available through our shop. Some of them will be free and some will be available for sale.

Here are the promotions to support adult reading that are available from The Reading Agency. For more information about the promotions available during the year see our promotions calendar.

Mood-boosting Books

Please click here for more information.

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

We are pleased to announce a promotion to coincide with the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

The ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards have once again merged with the Crime Writers' Association Daggers to create the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010. The Awards feature three CWA-judged book categories (Best Crime Novel, Best Thriller and Best New Author of the Year). Please click here to see a full list of the shortlists and the finalists.

The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Friday, 8 October 2010, and from 29 August crime documentaries and dramas will be aired on ITV3.

The deadline for ordering material from The Reading Agency shop has now passed.

The promotion will run in libraries from 23 August until mid October.

The Best Audiobooks of the Year 2010

We are delighted to be running the Best Audiobooks of the Year promotion again in 2010.

A panel of audio experts has selected their 20 Best Audiobooks of the Year, based on all-round quality. There are representatives of many genres and a mixture of abridged and unabridged titles.

The full list of featured titles can be viewed here.

Promotional packs were available for libraries interested in running this promotion from The Reading Agency shop but the deadline has now passed.

The overall 'Audiobook of the Year' will be announced in mid-September. Check back then to see who the winner is then!

The TV Book Club Summer Read

Following the success of the first series at the beginning of the year, the TV Book Club returned this summer for a new series in which the team reviewed Summer Reads. The series was broadcast from 27 June to 15 August, and ran for 8 weeks. Each episode was 30-minutes long.

The 8 featured titles (in order of transmission) were:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Penguin)
The Man Who Disappeared by Clare Morrall (Hodder)
The Legacy by Katherine Webb (Orion)
The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse (Bloomsbury)
Stone's Fall by Iain Pears (Random House)
Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan (Macmillan)
The Devil's Acre by Matthew Plamplin (HarperCollins)
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (Mira)

The deadline for ordering promotional material from The Reading Agency shop has now passed.

Writers in Translation promotion

This year English PEN are celebrating five years of their Writers in Translation programme. Since its inception, the programme has supported 36 exceptional books (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) that have been translated into English from a wide variety of foreign languages. The programme aims to celebrate books of outstanding literary value, dedication to free speech and intercultural understanding.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the programme, English PEN have produced an A5 sampler (approx. 200 pages) featuring extracts from all 36 works.

We have teamed up with English PEN to offer libraries a fantastic opportunity to run a Writers in Translation promotion. For only £10 (which covers P&P), libraries could purchase a pack of 100 samplers. For every pack of 100 that was ordered, libraries received a free reading group set (10-12 books) of one of the 36 titles.

The deadline for ordering material has now passed, but you can download the booklist here. If you are a library participating in the Writers in Translation promotion, please click here to download the poster.

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010

The winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010, in association with Champagne Taittinger, is Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel, translated by John Cullen, and published by MacLehose Press.

The following titles were shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize:

• Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel, translated by John Cullen from the French, published by MacLehose Press
• The Blind Side of the Heart by Julia Franck translated by Anthea Bell from the German, published by Harvill Secker
• Fists by Pietro Grossi, translated by Howard Curtis from the Italian, published by Pushkin Press
• Broken Glass by Alain Manbanckou, translated by Helen Stevenson from the French, published by Serpent's Tail
• The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami, translated by Anthea Bell from the German, published by Arabia Books
• Chowringhee by Sankar, translated by Arunava Sinha from the Bengali, published by Atlantic Books

Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize acknowledges both the novelist and the translator equally, recognising the importance of the translator in their ability to bridge the gap between languages and cultures. The winning author and translator are awarded £5,000 each and a limited edition magnum of Champagne Taittinger.

This year we offered 10 reading groups the chance to shadow the prize and review the shortlisted titles. The Allington group from Kent won our competition for the best book review, and the prize was coming to the awards ceremony. We also supplied all library authorities with an A4 downloadable poster featuring the shortlisted titles so they could promote them in their libraries.

The TV Book Club

The TV Book Club is a new book show from the team behind the hugely successful 'Richard & Judy Book Club'.

The first series of the TV Book Club was broadcast on More4, and repeated on Channel 4, from January until March 2010.

There were five celebrity presenters: comedians Jo Brand and Dave Spikey, stylist Gok Wan, Inspector Lynley actor Nathaniel Parke and actress Laila Rouass. In each show the presenters were joined by celebrity guests who discussed one of the 10 selected paperback titles. The programme also featured a look back at some of the most successful titles and authors from previous Richard and Judy/Channel 4 book clubs, as well as celebrity interviews.

The 10 selected titles were as follows (in the order that they appeared in the series):

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (Little, Brown)
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Transworld)
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (Little, Brown)
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Penguin)
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Random House)
The Rapture by Liz Jensen (Bloomsbury)
Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne (Harper Collins)
The Way Home by George Pelecanos (Orion)
Wedlock by Wendy Moore (Orion)
The Silver Linings Play Book by Matthew Quick (Macmillan)

The deadline for ordering POS material (posters, magazines and sticker sheets) has passed.

The promotion is running in libraries from January to April 2010.

Please check back soon for more details about the Summer Reads series of The TV Book Club!

Quick Reads

Quick Reads is the initiative for adults who have never got the reading bug or who have lost the habit, or indeed avid readers wanting a quick read.

Please click here for more information.

Alibi TV Ladythrillers Season

Last November we ran a crime promotion with Alibi TV, the only channel dedicated to crime drama. Every weekend in October, Alibi TV's 'Ladythrillers' season showcased the investigations of the greatest amateur female sleuths, from Murder, She Wrote's Jessica Fletcher to the inimitable Miss Marple.

Research shows that there is a high correlation between people who watch crime dramas and people who read crime fiction, so this was the perfect opportunity to promote the very best crime novels by female authors alongside an exciting season of classic crime drama.

We offered free point of sale material (posters, leaflets, headers and bookmarks).

Best Audio Books of the Year

The 20 Best Audio Books of the Year promotion ran from 25 June to September 2009. A panel of audio experts made this fantastic selection, based on the criteria of all-round quality. There are representatives from every genre and almost every publisher. Some unabridged titles are included, but the majority are abridged.

A booklist of the 20 Best Audio Books of the Year can viewed here.

Richard and Judy Summer Reads 2009

The Richard and Judy Summer Read 2008 booklist was:

13th May Past Imperfect - Julian Fellowes ORION
20th May Guernica - Dave Boling PICADOR
27th May Palace Council - Stephen L. Carter VINTAGE
3rd June Mr. Toppit - Charles Elton PENGUIN
10th June The Great Lover - Jilll Dawson SCEPTRE
17th June Mystery Man - Bateman HEADLINE
24th June The Senator's Wife - Sue Miller BLOOMSBURY
1st July The Piano Teacher - Janice Y.K. Lee HARPER PERENNIAL

Galaxy British Book Awards 2009

In 2009, the Galaxy British Book Awards were promoted through extensive TV advertising as well as dedicated TV programming on Watch.

The Galaxy British Book Awards 2009 categories and their winners were:

• Galaxy Book of the Year
  The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)
• Richard and Judy Best Read Award
  When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson (Black Swan)
• Borders' Author of the Year Award
  Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger
  (Atlantic Books)
• Tesco Biography of the Year
  Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Canongate)
• Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year
  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Quercus)
• Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award
  Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks (Penguin)
• Play.com Popular Non-Fiction Award
  The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)
• Waterstone's New Writer of the Year
  Tom Rob Smith for Child 44 (Simon & Schuster)
• WHSmith Children's Book of the Year
  Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Atom)

We are very aware that parents are any child's first and most enduring educators. There's plenty of research which shows how important parents are for their children's learning and development. Where parents are involved in their children's learning, children do better at school.1

For all children, the quality of the home learning is more important for intellectual and social development than parental occupation, education or income, according to a report from the Department for Education and Skills2

One of the best things parents can do to support their children is to read together at home. This starts with babies. Parents who introduce their babies to books give them a head start in school.3 It continues as children grow, with reading aloud, sharing books and much loved bedtime stories. Research shows that parental involvement continues to be important well into the teenage years and even into adulthood.4

Librarians, teachers, early years workers, family learning tutors and others concerned with education and child development know what a difference reading makes. So to support everyone working with families, we have developed a range of offers to help libraries to engage families in reading.

Our programmes for families:

• The Big Book Share - using reading to bring together families separated by imprisonment.
• The Six Book Challenge - helping adults with literacy needs to gain confidence with reading, and being used successfully in a growing number of family settings, as a focus for children and adults to grow their reading together.
• The Summer Reading Challenge - the biggest national promotion of children's reading through libraries. An ideal way to engage families to support their children and expand their reading too.
• Chatterbooks - reading groups for four to 12 year-olds, which offer a great way to involve parents too.
• groupthing.org - online reading groups for young people aged 11 up to 18
• Family Reading groups - where adults and their children can come together to share and build their reading experiences.
• Training opportunities - we offer a range of training courses which support libraries and their partners in working with families - see our training page for current offers.

"Libraries are just totally different for my children than for when I was a child - you weren't allowed to speak! If you go to our library over the summer, adult customers can barely move for children rushing around looking at books, cutting and sticking and making things. I think that's really good." Debbie Jarrett, Yaxley library, Cambridgeshire

1. (Fan & Chen, 2001); (Feinstein & Symons, 1999), (Melhuish, Sylva, Sammons et al., 2001).
2. Sylva,K., Melhuish,E., Sammons,P., Siraj-Blatchford,I. & Taggart, B. (2004). Effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project: Final Report. London: DfES.
3. (Wade & Moore, 2000).
4. (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003).

NEW! Download Getting Reading to Workbooklet

NEW Read the latest article on the Six Book Challenge written by project manager Genevieve Clarke on The Reading Agency blog and let us know if you agree and what your experiences have been.

NEW! Join the Six Book Challenge blog to have your say and share your ideas and questions.

We want to make the process as easy as possible for you so we will be using this page to provide you with lots of guidance and templates. As a start, please see the list of downloadable files on the right and choose those which suit you. We've also provided several templates in Word which you can adapt for your own purposes. These are mentioned where relevant in the guidance pdfs.

Two that you are definitely going to need are the Registration form and the Participation record. Both of these are designed to help you keep accurate records before and during the Six Book Challenge.

We've also produced a Key dates planner, to indicate how you might want to run the Six Book Challenge from January to June - but please feel free to adapt this for your own local planning.

The Six Book Challenge 2009 partnership powerpoint contains key findings from the first year of the national Six Book Challenge in 2008 but again you can adapt this to include your local highlights and contacts.

Regular updates

We are sending out regular email updates to alert you to new items on this page and to other information you need to know. Here are the ones we've sent so far:

Update No 6 - April 2009

Update No 5 - March 2009

Six Book Challenge 2009 National Prize Draw Entry Form.doc

Prisons and YOIs Six Book Challenge 2009 National Prize Draw Entry Form.doc

Update No 4 - 9 February 2009

Update No 3 - 9 January 2009

Update No 2 - 9 December 2008

Update No 1 - 4 November 2008

Finally, keep an eye on Six Book Challenge 2009 where we are showcasing people's experience of taking part in and running the Challenge. And don't forget to join the Six Book Challenge blog to have your say and share your ideas and questions with others that are running the Challenge.

Andrea Levy (25.3MB)

George MacDonald Fraser (25.0MB)

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