Britain’s New Reading Radical

The Reader Organisation, founded by Jane Davis, has been chosen as one of Britain’s New Radicals: 50 inspiring individuals and organisations whose fresh and innovative approaches are transforming society.

Jane's vision, to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to develop a love of reading and to share their experiences, has seen her build up a charity which now employs 60 staff members, across the UK, and offers a lifeline for hundreds of people, simply by reading aloud together.

On receiving the award, Jane said:

“It's great to be seen as a radical; it's so easy to take books and reading for granted. Reading aloud is an experience in its own right, bringing people together through sharing deep experiences. Since my teaching days, I’ve worked to take books to where they are not always found, bringing people together in care homes, prisons, hospitals, schools, libraries, community centres, supermarkets and corporate board rooms. ”

So, what next? She'd like to see the successful Get Into Reading model adopted as standard practice in the NHS, care homes and libraries, enabling them to do more to meet social and individual needs for the twenty-first century.

Our team of interns entered Jane for the competition, run by NESTA and The Observer, by creating a video to showcase her ethos, leadership, and delicious cooking, which you can watch here:

To find out more about Jane, why not visit her blog, follow her on Twitter, or read her essay explaining how The Reading Revolution came into being in Stop What You’re Doing and Read This!