National Teen Book Club aims to expand reach with grant from Law Family

Speakers for Schools is hoping to reach 50,000 young people in 600 schools via its book club after receiving funding from the Law Family Charitable Foundation that will be used, in part, to grow the National Teen Book Club.

The book club was given a donation to expand its work over a three-year period, and plans to hire three full-time members of staff, increase its marketing spend, and increase its presence in schools outside of London. 

The National Teen Book Club (NTBC) launched earlier this year as a joint project by Speakers for Schools and Book Clubs in Schools. A virtual book club and creative writing course for secondary school pupils aged 14 and up, NTBC aims to boost literacy skills and help participants develop a love of books. 

Book Clubs in Schools had been running book clubs for around seven years and one of its founders, Alison Palmer, got in touch with Speakers for Schools when, during the pandemic, they had concerns about finding audiences digitally. The two organisations ran a pilot book club with Penny Joelson, the author of I Have No Secrets (Egmont), and the event reached 1,500 young people in 125 schools. 

“There was massive demand”, said Cailean Carvalho, Speakers for Schools chief customer officer. “[Book groups] were struggling to reach young people and schools, and we are experts at digital production of online events and activities, so we partnered to resolve the problem.”

Each book club runs as a five-week course, taking place after school on a Wednesday (3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.). The pupils read an e-book edition of the selected title, then meet in online breakout groups with other young people from all over the UK.

The groupings are randomly selected, and participants come from a range of backgrounds: 30% are from an ethnic minority background, 45% are male, and 35% are on free school meals. 

“We want every young person aged 14 to 19, including reluctant readers and those from disadvantaged areas, to take part,” said Palmer. “Our hope is that by participating in our book club, they will be inspired to read for pleasure and discover the wider world through discussing books with their friends.”

Participants will also get the chance to talk to hear from authors and book trade professionals, and over the five weeks of the club they will be tasked with coming up with their own piece of creative writing, which will be published in a digital library. 

The official launch of the National Teen Book Club was in June, when pupils read Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle (Andersen Press). “With Cane Warriors we asked them to do a historical piece in 1,000 words,” said Palmer. “We said, ‘Go and talk to an older person and get them to give you an idea about something in your background.’ That was optional, but most chose to do it. We gave them tips about researching a story, storyboarding and editing… and Alex kindly gave a masterclass to the authors of four [of the stories], of the hundreds who took part.”

The organisers also run a “brilliant and inclusive” Discord channel where the students can talk to each other about the book in question, Palmer said.  

Following Cane Warriors the book club featured Patrice Lawrence’s Eight Pieces of Silva (Hachette Children’s Group) and its next title will be Sue Cheung’s Chinglish (Andersen Press); Candice Carty Williams and Kit de Waal are also being lined up to take part. When considering which books to choose, the organisers look at several criteria, said Carvalho: the book has to represent diversity, and the author needs to be willing to speak on the programme. The publisher of the title also has to offer the e-book for 99p. 

Speakers for Schools was set up by broadcaster Robert Peston in 2010 to offer young people access to the same networks available to people in private, fee-paying schools. It runs a work experience programme and a series of talks, but the National Teen Book Club is the first project dedicated to books and reading.