The Reading Agency reveals 2022 Quick Reads covers

The Reading Agency has unveiled the covers for its 2022 Quick Reads titles, written by the likes of Paula Hawkins, Graham Norton and Alex Wheatle.

Other authors involved this year include M W Craven, Ayisha Malik, Santa Montefiore, Kate Mosse and Lemn Sissay. All eight books will publish on 14th April 2022. 

From August to October around 36,000 copies of the 2021 Quick Reads titles were donated as part of its 15th anniversary Buy One Gift One campaign and distributed via local authorities, libraries, prisons, adult learning organisations and community-based charities around the country. The Quick Reads programme helps less confident readers to start reading. 

Libraries in Newham, east London, gifted books to services supporting young people experiencing mental health issues and running functional skills courses.

Councillor Charlene McLean, deputy mayor for Newham Council, said: "Here in Newham we are really excited to be gifting The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite, through our Adult Learning Service, Supported Living Schemes, Youth Zones and Youth Offending Teams. By gifting through these routes we aim to reach those adults and young people who would benefit most from a Quick Read, discovering, perhaps for the first time, a book that is accessible end engaging, with no pressure to read it and no one judging their reading ability. We really hope that by gifting the right book, for the right person at the right time, our donations will help our selected residents to develop a love of reading and further improve their literacy skills."

Similar schemes saw Suffolk Libraries gift through their prison libraries and local foodbanks, while Oldham Libraries worked with its local homeless charity, The Street Angels. 

Karen Napier, c.e.o. at The Reading Agency, said: "Thanks to the support and generosity of our Quick Reads publishers and the close collaboration of our many partners, including the generous support of Jojo Moyes, tens of thousands of these transformative stories have been put directly into the hands of those who need them the most, helping progress of our mission to break down barriers to reading and spread the joy of books to new audiences."

Author Moyes stepped in to save the adult literacy scheme from closure in 2018 after it struggled to attract the necessary sponsorship, and continues to fund it.