Headline and National Literacy Trust to make audiobooks accessible to prisoners 

Headline Publishing Group is partnering with The National Literacy Trust (NLT) to make audiobooks available to people in prison around the UK, with An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie (Wildfire) the first to be made available. 

In conjunction with the NLT, Headline has selected several authors whose audiobooks will be delivered via digital devices in prisons and National Prison Radio over the next few months.

The first novel to be selected is Moses McKenzie’s’ debut novel, published in April and optioned for TV, which will be aired on the New Chapters afternoon programme on National Public Radio on 14th July. 

McKenzie will then visit a prison to join a session with those who have listened later in the year. This will then be followed by Nathan Harris’ The Sweetness of Water (Tinder Press), which was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. 

With support from the Rothschild Foundation, the NLT set up the New Chapters Audio Book Club in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, which meant people in prison had no access to work, education, enrichment activities or visits for many months, they say.

In addition to listening to weekly instalments of the audiobook, listeners can also request a physical copy, ask questions of the author which are then answered during an on-air interview, and write reviews of the book which are also read out on air.

Rebecca Perry, head of adult literacy at the National Literacy Trust, said: “Through our criminal justice projects, we are so often told by people in prison that books are a lifeline for them. Audiobooks particularly have the unique ability to reach people of any reading level, as well as those who cannot access the prison library. We are incredibly grateful to Hachette for supporting New Chapters, and to Moses for writing a book that we know will spark the imagination of both keen readers and brand new ones.”

Mari Evans, m.d. at Headline, added: “We have a tradition of working with the prison service at Headline – to mark Martina Cole’s 25th anniversary in 2017, we gave a copy of Dangerous Lady to every prison library across the UK. I therefore couldn’t be more thrilled that we are partnering with the NLT to bring audiobooks to prisoners in 2022. At Headline, we believe the audio format is ideal for delivering our entertainment to as wide a reach as possible, regardless of reading ability, and I’m sure An Olive Grove in Ends will find many new fans around the country.”