Reading Partners

Our ambition is to revolutionise the way that libraries and publishers work together. We want to give readers more of a say in books. We want to create a buzz beyond the high street and have a say in how books are marketed. We want to give readers a vibrant and exciting experience when they visit their local library.

Download the 2007 Reading Partners evaluation report, which includes new information, statistics and other key achievements for libraries and the book trade.

Reading Partners is allowing us to achieve these ambitions.

Reader meets writer programme

A huge Reader Meets Writer programme including some of the UK's best-known authors and covering all of the 149 library authorities in England was announced on 15 April 2008 at the London Book Fair.

The programme has been created by Reading Partners and is part of the National Year of Reading.

  • 50 high profile author events will take place in library venues across the country. Kate Mosse will be in Lambeth, Derbyshire and Sutton; Hanif Kureishi appears in Leicester; Iain Banks in Gateshead, Alexander McCall Smith in Warwickshire, Mavis Cheek in Kent and Cumbria and Clare Francis in Brighton. To find out which big name authors are going to be where, and when, you can download the big name author event details.
  • Every library authority in England will be paired with a local author, covering major cities and far-flung locations alike. To find out who is going to be where, download the file that relates to your region from Resources. And keep your eyes peeled for what's going on at a library near you.

Reaching Readers

Our current Reading Partners project Reaching Readers is an exciting initiative for Black and Minority Ethnic readers.

Our Reading Partners publishers have teamed up with public libraries on six projects in Birmingham, Leeds, Lewisham, Manchester, Newham and Norfolk. Together they will work on innovative projects to promote books and the joys of reading to a culturally diverse audience. Activities include work with reading groups, exciting book promotions to introduce more readers to books by British Black and Asian writers, and engaging author events. The projects will help publishers and libraries learn more about each other's work and to find out more about all aspects of BME reading and writing.

You can find information and sign-up to the Reading Partners e-letters from Resources. Latest edition now available.

Libraries and publishers working together

Libraries and publishers running joint events can use the libraries and publishers' planning form devised by Nicola Thomas and developed with several West Midlands libraries and Helen Johnstone of HarperCollins.

Reading Partners publishers

Reading Partners has been running for three years and ten publishers have joined us to help realise our vision. They are:

  • Bloomsbury
  • Faber
  • Hachette Livre
  • HarperCollins
  • Harlequin Mills & Boon
  • Independent Publishers Guild
  • Pan Macmillan
  • Penguin
  • Random House
  • Time Warner

"The word transformative is blunt with overuse these days but this is a partnership about which it can be used with some justification." Gary McKeone, formerly of Arts Council of England