The National Year of Reading 2026
The National Year of Reading 2026 is a transformative national initiative designed to reignite a culture of reading for pleasure across the UK. Stewarded by the National Literacy Trust and sponsored by the Department for Education, its goal is to reverse long-term declines in reading for pleasure by making reading relevant, engaging new audiences and building the systems and partnerships to embed lasting, meaningful change.
Reading for pleasure is in crisis, with fewer than 1 in 3 children and young people saying they enjoy reading. Yet the OECD (2021) affirmed that engagement in reading, framed by a desire to read for pleasure can mediate socio-economic status and may help young people to overcome structural inequalities in their lives. Research also demonstrates that reading makes people less lonely, more engaged in their communities, happier, and more employable.
The National Year of Reading celebrates all personally meaningful reading - everything from gaming narratives to novels, song lyrics to poetry, recipes to newspapers, encyclopaedias to football programmes - in digital, audio, print and graphic formats. Reading is a powerful complement to your passions, not their competition – why not 'Go All In' with the things you love through reading.
Through the National Year of Reading, there is activity happening in schools, the criminal justice system, and in communities. Organisations of any size can pledge their support for the project in a variety of ways, from sharing our messaging, to organising events, to encouraging staff to volunteer in their communities and more.
In Cannock, we are actively seeking individuals who are already working or volunteering with pre-school children, families on lower incomes and/or teenagers, who are willing to add some activity to promote reading through 2026 with our support. There are a huge range of easy actions you can take, from very small scale to more significant, and we have a small budget to help support targeted activities and resources which reach our priority groups. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in this way, please contact the Midlands Project Officer, Emma Ritson: emma.ritson@literacytrust.org.uk
