Lee Child supports the launch of a reading initiative to send half a million books to prisons

Author Jack Reacher, the first winner of the UK's Prison Reading Award, said efforts to improve literacy skills were a practical way to tackle re-offending and support rehabilitation. This autumn, nearly half a million books will be distributed across prisons in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in a campaign supported by best-selling thriller author Le Child.

Nearly half a million books will be distributed to prisons in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland this autumn in a campaign backed by best-selling thriller author Lee Child.

The initiative, delivered by the charity Reading Agency as part of its Speed Reading programme, will see copies of 11 short books with titles selected with input from prisoners as well as staff distributed. One book per cell will be distributed throughout the prison estate, and a stock will also be sent to prison libraries.

Child, the UK's first winner of the Prison Reading Award, said the initiative was aimed at tackling the "revolving door" - people who leave prison but struggle to cope on the outside and end up back in prison.

"If we can prevent one in 10 of these people from returning, that would be a huge achievement," he said. "It's good for the whole community, not just that inmate and their future employer."

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice for 2024-25 show that 65% of initial assessment results across public prisons in England, based on tests taken when people enter custody, were at entry levels 1 to 3, which is below the standard expected of a typical GCSE student.

People who want to change their lives after prison can face complex obstacles if they have trouble reading, Child said. The obvious beneficiary would be someone who is [in prison] because of some kind of mistake or unfortunate circumstance that they regret, and they want to leave immediately and never come back. "But if they have a conviction, and on top of that, if they have poor literacy skills, they're going to have a hard time finding a job," he said.

Everyday tasks can also become obstacles, he said. "If you want to rent an apartment, you can't read the lease. "If you can't read official notices, you can't deal with utilities or TV licence."

The Quick Reads series includes crime and thrillers, memoirs, well-being, and creative writing guides. Fictional titles include Heat by the child himself. Cell One, the Lagos thriller by Leye Adenle. and Darkness Rising, from the Harry Virdy series by Bradford crime writer AA Dhand. Other books include The Memoirs of Lehman Ceci, Why My Name Is, Andy McNab, Today Everything Changes, and Dr. Alex George's Guide to the Mind. Featured authors also include Dreda Say Mitchell, Fiona Cummins, Cathy Rentzenbrink and Alex Wheatle.

Child, who has visited the prison between 30 and 40 times since starting his work as a laureate last year, said one of the most common explanations he got from people who didn't read was that the books they were given at school were boring. Quick Reads offer an alternative, he said. They're decent books, decent storytellers, and there's nothing simplistic or childish about them, they're just short.

He added that improving access to books should be understood not as a soft approach to criminal justice but as a practical way to support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. "The problem with the public reaction to this is that it's a rather knee-jerk 'soft on crime' reaction." It's a focus on where the funding and attention should really be."

As well as distributing books, the Reading Agency will organize author-led workshops, creative writing activities, content for National Prison Radio and resources for prison libraries, education teams and peer supporters. The initiative is funded by the Henry Smith Foundation, a nonprofit focused on poverty.

AA Dhand, whose Darkness Rising is among the selected books, said: "Books should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or previous relationship with reading."

"In prison, studying can be much more than a temporary escape," Dhand added. It can build confidence, create empathy and give people the opportunity to see the world and themselves differently. If the right book reaches the right person at the right moment, it can open a door that would otherwise remain closed.

Karen Napier, executive director of the Reading Agency, said the program was designed to give people in prison a choice about what they read.

"When we put a book directly into someone's hands, we're delivering more than just words on a page," he said. “Reading can provide escapism, connection and space for reflection, while supporting well-being, confidence and learning. "We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to find a book that grabs them and to see where reading might take them."