Resources
The Vanishing Half – Women's Prize for Fiction Reading Guide
Download this reading guide, produced by the Women’s Prize for Fiction, for The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021.
Piranesi - Women's Prize for Fiction Reading Guide
Download this reading guide, produced by the Women’s Prize for Fiction, for Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021.
No One Is Talking About This - Women's Prize for Fiction Reading Guide
Download this reading guide, produced by the Women’s Prize for Fiction, for No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021.
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House – Women's Prize for Fiction Reading Guide
Download this reading guide, produced by the Women’s Prize for Fiction, for How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021.
The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph - Discussion Guide
Speaking directly to the reader, Frederick Joseph offers powerful reflections on his own experiences with racism in The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person. As a former “token Black kid”, he now presents himself as the friend many readers need, touching on topics including cultural appropriation, “reverse racism” and white privilege. Featuring interviews with figures such as writer Angie Thomas, content creator Toni Tone, and April Reign, founder of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, this...
The Strawberry Thief Reading Group Guide
If you are reading The Strawberry Thief as part of a reading group, here are some questions and resources to help get you started created by the author Joanne Harris. Warning: questions may contain spoilers!
Bloomsbury's Read, Talk, Share booklist
Bloomsbury has created a booklist for libraries and other organisations participating in The Reading Agency’s Read, Talk, Share campaign. The list can be used by people looking for books tackling loneliness, isolation, mental health issues, and maintaining human connection during lockdown. There are also a number of novels that have been chosen for their transporting and escapist quality. The list contains a mixture of fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children and can be used in a...
Promotional digital assets for MI9 by Dr Helen Fry
Download social media assets, including shareable cards with information on the book and an author video to promote MI9 by Dr Helen Fry in your library. You can also find an extract from the book about the invention of ‘Q-gadgets’, popularised by James Bond, here “A fitting tribute to the hundreds of men and women who risked their lives in assisting Allied escapees.”—Giles Milton, Sunday Times When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped...
Reading Guide for The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden, a Sky original tells the story of Mary Lennox (Dixie Egerickx – Genius, The Little Stranger), a 10-year-old girl sent to live with her uncle Archibald Craven (Colin Firth), under the watchful eye of Mrs. Medlock (Julie Walters) with only the household maid, Martha (Isis Davis) for company. The film is set in 1940s England at Misselthwaite Manor, a remote country estate deep in the Yorkshire moors. Mary begins to uncover many family secrets, particularly after chancing upon...
The Reading Agency's toolkit for hosting online events
As events continue to move to online formats, we have created a toolkit to support libraries and other organisations to host their own author Q&As, panel discussions and readings. If you have any questions or would like further information and support, please get in touch with [email protected].
How Much of These Hills Is Gold - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang by clicking below.
Love and Other Thought Experiments - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward by clicking below.
Shuggie Bain - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart by clicking below.
Redhead by the Side of the Road - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler by clicking below.
Real Life - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Real Life by Brandon Taylor by clicking below.
Such a Fun Age - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid by clicking below.
The Shadow King - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste by clicking below.
Apeirogon - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Apeirogon by Colum McCann by clicking below.
The Mirror and the Light - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel by clicking below.
Who They Was - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze by clicking below.
Burnt Sugar - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi by clicking below.
This Mournable Body - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga by clicking below.
The New Wilderness - Readers' Guide
In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The New Wilderness by Diane Cook by clicking below.
Reading group guide for For When I'm Gone by Rebecca Ley
Sylvia knows that she’s running out of time. Very soon, she will exist only in the memories of those who loved her most and the pieces of her life she’s left behind. So she begins to write her husband a handbook for when she’s gone, somewhere to capture the small moments of ordinary, precious happiness in their married lives. But Sylvia also has a secret, one that she’s saved until the very last pages. And it’s a moment in her past that could change everything… Use these free reading group...
National Poetry Day reading group resource
This list of ten books is perfect for reading groups thinking of dipping into poetry, often edited or written by great names who love poetry so much that they want to share it – Clive James, John Carey, Kate Clanchy, Cerys Matthews and Carol Rumens.
The Dordogne Mystery series digital pack
Quercus are excited to invite libraries and reading groups across the country to celebrate Martin Walker’s Dordogne Mysteries series. A hugely popular series in Germany and the United States, Martin Walker’s novels take you to the Dordogne region of France where readers follow Bruno, Chief of Police as he investigates crimes and mysteries in the area. This is not just a gripping crime series as Martin transports you to the gastronomic heart of South-West France by incorporating its rich...
Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth digital pack
Headline would like to invite libraries and reading groups across the UK to share their excitement about this summer’s hottest debut novel – Hazel Barkworth’s Heatstroke. We don’t want readers across the country to miss this gripping page-turner, described by the Evening Standard this week as ‘a perfect sun-lounger read: a sizzling page-turner with twists, turns and revelations in all the right places’. DIGITAL PACK CONTENTS: - An extract from Heatstroke - Reading Group questions - A Spotify...
The Reading Agency Hub
Here you can access The Reading Agency at home. You’ll find ideas, activities and challenges from across our programmes to entertain and educate yourself, your family or those you are teaching remotely. The activities will be refreshed every couple of weeks and we have The Reading Agency Toolkit available for you to download, which gives some great hints and tips for keeping well and reading during this time of isolation.
On Chapel Sands - reading group guide
Waterstones Book of the Month for April 2020 A deeply moving story of family and community that is striking and unforgettable, On Chapel Sands is part-true crime narrative, part-investigation into the subjectivity of memory and part-witness to a vanishing provincial way of life. Why not start reading with your Zoom book club with Vintage’s reading group discussion pack, available here. More about Laura Cumming Laura Cumming is the art critic for the Observer. Previously, she was a presenter...
The Farm - Book Club Kit
The Farm was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. Ambitious businesswoman Mae Yu runs Golden Oaks – a luxury retreat transforming the fertility industry – where women get the very best of everything, so long as they play by the rules. Jane is a young immigrant in search of a better future. Stuck living in a cramped dorm with her baby daughter and her shrewd aunt Ate, she sees an unmissable chance to change her life. But at what cost? A brilliant, darkly funny novel that explores the role of luck...