Colgan and Say Mitchell pen 2017 Quick Reads titles

Titles from Jenny Colgan, Susan Jeffers and Dreda Say Mitchell will be published next year as part of the Galaxy Quick Reads inititative.

Quick Reads titles are specifically designed to be easy to read, and are shorter and easier to tackle for adults who are less confident in their reading skills. The accessible, bite-size format means the books are also "perfect for people who want a light, easy read to pick up for their commute or to fit into a busy day", a spokesperson said.

Five fiction titles and one non-fiction book make up this year’s selection. The titles include Looking for Captain Poldark by Rowan Coleman (Ebury), a road trip novel about four people who meet online and drive to Cornwall to the Poldark set to find Aiden Turner, A Very Distant Shore by Colgan (Little Brown), a romantic novel set on a remote Scottish island, where a Syrian refugee goes to work as a doctor and The Other Side of You by Amanda Craig (Little Brown), a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, set in London.

The other Quick Reads titles are Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway by Jeffers (Ebury), a specially adapted book drawing on the late Jeffers’ self-help book, One False Move by Say Mitchell (Hodder), a gritty novel set on the Devil’s Estate in London, and Dead Simple (Orion), a crime anthology bringing together eight writers including Harry Bingham, Mark Billingham, Clare Mackintosh, James Oswald, CL Taylor, Angela Marsan, Jane Casey and Antonia Hodgson.

The titles will be published on 2nd February 2017.

According to the Reading Agency, which runs the Quick Reads initiative, one in six adults in the UK struggles with reading, whilst one in three does not read for pleasure. An evaluation into Quick Reads conducted this year found that 95% of literacy practitioners report that using Quick Reads has been effective at raising learners’ confidence to read, whilst 91% say that the books have been effective at improving readers’ literacy skills.

Baroness Gail Rebuck, DBE, founder of Quick Reads, said: “Since launching the programme eleven years ago, Quick Reads have introduced millions of adults to the joys and benefits of reading for pleasure. It is with a great sense of pride that we announce, together with the Reading Agency, the 2017 titles – a diverse list of entertaining and inspiring stories that will give even more emergent readers access to new experiences and new worlds, both on and off the page.”

Sue Wilkinson, chief executive of The Reading Agency, said: “At The Reading Agency, we believe that everything changes when we read. We were delighted to welcome Quick Reads to our organisation last year and we hope this exciting new list of titles will continue to encourage readers across the country to pick up a book and discover a love of reading.”

This is the seventh year Quick Reads has been sponsored by Galaxy and the second year that it has been run by The Reading Agency.