Stories
Author Lee Child Backs Major Campaign to Deliver Half a Million Books to UK Prisons
- •Bestselling author Lee Child is championing an ambitious national initiative as the UK's first Prison Reading Laureate to distribute nearly half a million books across correctional facilities in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
- •Child emphasizes that improving prison literacy is a pragmatic approach to reducing reoffending, noting that stopping even a fraction of inmates from returning to crime benefits society as a whole.
- •Ministry of Justice data for 2024 to 2025 reveals that 65 percent of initial English assessments in public prisons fall below the standard expected of a typical GCSE student.
- •Poor literacy creates severe barriers for released individuals attempting to reintegrate, hindering tasks like reading tenancy agreements, navigating utility notices, and completing job applications.
- •The initiative equips cells with engaging titles from authors like Lee Child, Lemn Sissay, AA Dhand, and Andy McNab to address the root causes of the revolving door of reoffending.
Key Questions Answered
Author Lee Child is backing an ambitious national initiative to distribute nearly half a million books across correctional facilities in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland as the UK's first-ever Prison Reading Laureate.
Ministry of Justice statistics for 2024-25 show that 65 percent of initial English assessment results in public prisons in England fell below expected GCSE standards. Poor literacy creates severe barriers for released individuals trying to rent a flat, understand utility notices, or fill out job applications.
The initiative equips cells with engaging and accessible books, including Lee Child's own 'High Heat', Lemn Sissay's memoir 'My Name Is Why', AA Dhand's 'Darkness Rising', and Andy McNab's 'Today Everything Changes'.
