Lee Child backs launch of reading scheme to send prisons half a million books — SkimNews
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- Lee Child, the Jack Reacher author and the UK's first prison reading laureate, said improving literacy was a practical way to address reoffending and support rehabilitation.
- Nearly half a million books will be distributed across prisons in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland this autumn as part of the reading scheme.
- The scheme is framed around literacy as a reoffending-reduction tool, with Child's endorsement placing the bestselling author's profile behind the push.
Why it matters: A high-profile thriller writer lending his name to a government-backed literacy push brings mainstream attention to a rehabilitation intervention, and the cross-jurisdiction scope (all four UK nations) signals a coordinated rather than piecemeal approach to prison reading provision this autumn.
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