| There will finally be a Prison Reading Laureate, the Ministry of Justice has announced. This move comes as part of the National Year of Reading 2026. Author Lee Child, known for the Jack Reacher series, will hold the post. He had already been running a small literacy programme in prisons, which will now be expanded. The government scheme will use other existing schemes as ‘delivery partners’, including the Shannon Trust (peer to peer learning and support) and Storybook Mums and Dads (enabling parents in prison to record themselves reading stories for their children). Lee Child said: ‘This isn’t about being soft on crime, it’s about being smart. Improving literacy is an evidence-based, practical approach that works. When people leave prison better equipped to read and learn, they’re less likely to reoffend. That makes communities safer for everyone.’ ‘Low literacy skills are predictors of offending and reoffending,’ said Sussex Prisoners’ Families. It is ‘part of the reason prisoners, and their families, are often stuck in a cycle of trauma, societal exclusion, and poor socio-economic circumstances… an officer at a Sussex prison recently said that between 50% and 80% of [their] prisoners are illiterate. This is staggering and clearly needs addressing.’ There will be a new laureate every year, who ‘will bring their own passion and experience to the role, with the freedom to promote specific areas such as supporting children of prisoners, creative writing, or post-release employment in publishing’. We at TLC are greatly encouraged by this news. Prison libraries are a vital part of the public library service. |
