Books by Babalola and Olusoga part of Reading Agency’s Mark My Words library campaign

Books by the likes of Akala, David Olusoga and Bolu Babalola will form part of Universal Music Group (UMG) and The Reading Agency’s Mark My Words library campaign celebrating Black authors.

The selection of titles for adults and children features non-fiction including Lemn Sissay’s memoir, My Name Is Why? (Canongate) from this year’s Quick Reads series; Black and Great by Rene Germain (Coronet); Natives by Akala (Two Roads); Black and British: A Short Essential History by Olusoga (Macmillan Children’s Books); and This Book is Antiracist by Tiffany Jewel (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books).

The fiction titles include Love in Colour by Babalola (Headline); Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-lymide (Usbourne); and High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson (Knights Of).

The books were selected in line with the organisations’ "joint commitment to social justice, championing the role that reading plays in tackling inequality in areas of life opportunity and wellbeing". Organisers said: "[The list] aims to provide engaging and accessible titles which appeal to a broad audience of adults and children of different reading levels."

A set of the eight books will be given to 701 library branches across 31 authorities nationwide, including Bradford, East Lothian, Leicester, Newcastle, Rochdale and Jersey. The books, 5,608 in total, will be available to borrow from late January.

Karen Napier, c.e.o. of The Reading Agency, said: “We are delighted to be gifting books by such exciting and inspiring Black authors as part of this campaign. The Reading Agency is committed to reflecting the communities we serve through our programmes and initiatives and Mark My Words, in partnership with Universal Music Group, helps us to work towards that goal by getting books by excellent Black authors in the hands of people up and down the country.”

Menna Demessie, senior vice-president and executive director of Universal Music Group’s global Task Force for Meaningful Change, added: “Authentic, creative storytelling is something we know a lot about at UMG. We’re so proud to be working with The Reading Agency on this important piece of work. Self-awareness, understanding, knowledge and empathy all play such a huge part in the journey towards equity and this campaign is a beautifully powerful way to help us get there.”