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The Booksellers Association and Egmont have chosen the eight independent bookshops, including Rogan’s Books and Button and Bear, that will take part in its Eager Readers Project for reluctant readers.
The BA and Egmont Eager Reader Project, launched as part of the BA’s diversity and inclusiveness project and paid for by both parties, will fund a six-week reading scheme at bookshops across the country. Booksellers will work with local schools to give children who are reluctant to read a £10 book token, which they can spend in the participating bookshop on any titles they like. The parents will receive a £10 voucher for a local coffee shop each week and in return will commit to reading with their child for 20 minutes every day.
Rogan's Books in Bedfordshire and Shrewsbury's Button and Bear will take part in the scheme alongside Booka Bookshop in Oswestry, Shrophire and Powys-based Book-ish.
Bristol Stanfords, Drake The Bookshop in Stockton-on-Tees, Griffin Books in Penarth, and Read. Holmfirth have also been selected.
Egmont UK m.d. Cally Poplak said: “The quality of submissions was truly inspiring. All eight bookshops demonstrated a deep commitment to engaging disadvantaged families and families from ethnic minorities, and a thoughtful understanding of Egmont’s research methodology and how to roll it out in their local community.”
The partnership follows work Egmont carried out with Foyles (on Print Matters More) and W H Smith (on The Reading Magic Project) to help inspire reading for pleasure.
BA m.d. Meryl Halls said: “We are thrilled to be working with Egmont in making this project a reality for independent bookshops, having seen the massive impact Foyles and W H Smith had with their projects. We are looking forward to seeing the bookshop projects come to fruition and to hearing from the bookshops about the readers they’ve created.”
The Eager Readers Project will run for six weeks this summer.