Six Book Challenge

We've launched an annual challenge - the Six Book Challenge™ in association with the Costa Book Awards. The Challenge to libraries is to build stronger relationships with adult literacy practitioners. The Challenge to adult literacy learners is to read six books. The Challenge to us is to make sure that every library and adult literacy practitioner has the support they need to make this happen.

However, we are confident that this one will work. The Challenge was pioneered in Hull libraries and has since been run across Yorkshire. In Hull, 91 per cent of people who took part said they read more confidently, 96 per cent took part in book discussions and 100 per cent said that they felt more positive about libraries. And these were people who were not confident about reading and books.

So we've teamed up with the Costa Book Awards to make the Six Book Challenge an annual event. We are launching it at the beginning of the National Year of Reading (January 2008, in case you didn't know) and we hope it will run between January and May every year after that.

Public and prison libraries and adult literacy providers can now order the Six Book Challenge 2008 packs. Complete the relevant form available from Resources.

We can also announce the exciting news that best-selling author Mike Gayle has agreed to become patron for the Six Book Challenge. Read the press release. Mike is very enthusiastic about the Six Book Challenge and will be helping us to promote it over the coming months.


Costa have worked with us in appointing Mike as patron and publicising his support for the Six Book Challenge. The Challenge is featured in the booklet about the Costa Book Awards now on sale in all Costa coffee shops and will be mentioned at the Costa Book Awards Ceremony on 22 January 2008.

We are running the Challenge as part of our The Vital Link programme supporting adult literacy learning so you will also find information and resources on that website too.

"To read six books is quite hard for some people. But once you've read one you have to go on to another to compare them. It makes you appreciate books. You get a buzz out of it." Tina Hewitt, adult learner from Hull, where the Six Book Challenge was pioneered