Wildfire reveals accessible edition of Jessop’s memoir A Life Worth Living

Wildfire has unveiled an accessible edition of Tommy Jessop’s memoir A Life Worth Living: Acting, Activism and Everything Else, inspired by the Easy Read format.

Published on 6th July, the publisher says it is one of the first memoirs written for an adult audience by an author with Down’s syndrome, in their own words.

Moreover, the publisher says: “To ensure that the book can be enjoyed by as many readers as possible, Wildfire have positioned accessibility for those with a learning disability at the forefront of the entire publishing process, including creating an accessible edition.”

The Easy Read-inspired accessible edition is a presentation of extracts from the main text of the memoir in an easy-to-understand format tailored for readers with a learning disability and other conditions affecting how they process information.

It consists of sections matching the subtitle of the book – Acting, Activism and Everything Else – and is available to download via a QR code included in the main physical edition of the book as well as the e-book. The accessible edition can be read here.

Wildfire has worked in consultation with Jessop, Hachette’s Accessibility Network and the Headline production team. The hardback has been set using a specific sans serif font which has a single-storey "a" rather than a double-story "a", using a large point font size, wider line spacing and left alignment of the text.

Jessop said: “I have been relly enjoying writing my own memoir and working with Headline. It really has been fun having a voice and sharing my own thoughts. I wrote my book to send a powerful message by showing that all people’s lives including people with Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities truly are worth living for.

"I hope all readers will understand us better, see how we think and feel, and see that we are no different from other people. I am recording the audio myself. So, I hope people with Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities will be able to read it and be inspired to carry on dreaming their own dreams and start believing in themselves.”

Alex Clarke, Wildfire publishing director, commented: “It has been a complete delight working with Tommy on A Life Worth Living – it is one of the most uplifting and engaging memoirs I’ve read in years. We’ve tried to make sure that every part of the process has been tailored to achieve this accessibility – from the contractual process to the editing, to the production of multiple accessible editions, and into our PR and marketing campaign.

“The team has learnt so much working with Tommy, and we are hoping to share our learnings with the wider business to ensure that we can continue to open our publishing to as many different voices as possible.”