The Reading Agency, the charity behind World Book Night, is a UK charity with a mission to empower people of all ages to read.
In the UK…
- 1 in 6 (5.8 million) adults struggle to read
- 1 in 4 children in England cannot read well by the age of 11
This limits life chances and choices. Our work is changing this.
Reading for pleasure and empowerment makes us more aware and informed. It helps us grow our imaginations. It makes us more empathetic and understanding of other people and cultures. It supports our health and wellbeing. It increases our ability to learn new s kills. It helps us to communicate our ideas more effectively. It opens doors. It brings joy.
We know that not everyone has an equal start in life, so we champion the proven power of reading by providing activities for all ages and backgrounds. We support readers to create social connections and improve their reading skills. We help people manage their health and wellbeing through reading. Working with public libraries, prisons, hospitals and other community settings, last year our wide range of activities touched the lives of two million people. But with a UK population of over 67 million that isn’t nearly enough. We want to get more people fired up about reading because everything changes when you read.
Our impact evaluation means that we know that our programmes work. But we also know that we need more funding to achieve our goal of getting more people involved in reading. That’s why we value our existing fundraising partnerships so highly and are committed to seeking out further funding partners who share our belief in need for our work and in the power of books to change lives.
Support us this World Book Night
This World Book Night, we’re creating a nation of readers, and we’re thrilled to feature the new Quick Reads series as this year’s World Book Night booklist. Quick Reads are short books and great stories by bestselling authors, written in an accessible and easy to read style. They’re a valuable tool for boosting reading skills, confidence and engagement in learning, and have led to thousands of adults reading, completing and enjoying a book for the first time.
Join our mission to change lives through reading! Every pound you give could get a Quick Read into the hands of someone who will benefit most.
