The Big Sporting Read - a new national celebration of reading - has announced its list of 25 titles, using the power of books to unite communities and celebrate a landmark summer of sport.
The Big Sporting Read is a collaboration between national charity The Reading Agency and BBC Arts, aiming to use the power of sport to inspire readers across the UK – highlighting the links between sporting excellence, reading, health and wellbeing.
There is significant evidence that accessing reading through interests such as sport increases people’s engagement with books more widely. Data from The Reading Agency shows that sports-themed content used in previous programmes has been a key driver of getting people of all ages across the UK involved in reading-related activity, with four in five librarians agreeing that a sports theme brought new audiences into the library.
The specially curated list of titles was announced at Hay Festival, offering book-lovers a range of genres and sports, across fiction and non-fiction. The books have been expertly curated by The Reading Agency together with librarians, booksellers, and an expert advisory panel.
The full list of titles were revealed on the first ever Hay Festival Sports Day, Wednesday 29th May. Taking place within the Festival programme, the day saw a sporting takeover of the Festival site, exploring the relationship between sport and the arts through events and activities.
The full list of titles is:
- A Fan for All Seasons by Jon Harvey
- A Woman's Game by Suzanne Wrack
- Beryl: In Search of Britain's Greatest Athlete by Jeremy Wilson
- Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka
- Coffee First, Then the World by Jenny Graham
- Coming Up for Air by Tom Daley
- Don't Tell Me You're Afraid by Giuseppe Catozzella; translator Anne Milano Appel
- Eat, Drink, Run by Bryony Gordon
- Fearless by Louise Minchin
- Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
- Gold by Chris Cleave
- How (Not) To Be Strong by Alex Scott
- My Story by Mary Peters
- Our Life On Ice: The Autobiography by Torvill and Dean
- Proud by Gareth Thomas
- The Boys in The Boat by Daniel James Brown
- The Damned Utd by David Peace
- The Extra Mile by Kevin Sinfield
- The Hard Parts by Oksana Masters
- The Lido by Libby Page
- Unbelievable by Jessica Ennis-Hill
- Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
The campaign will run throughout summer 2024, coinciding with a packed sporting calendar including the UEFA Euro 2024, Wimbledon Championships, The Open Championship and the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
BBC Arts will be supporting the campaign with special programming across its broadcast channels and digital platforms, using its unrivalled reach into UK households to engage diverse audiences.
Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency said: "Reading has such incredible power to enrich our lives in so many ways. The Big Sporting Read campaign brilliantly harnesses the passion around major sporting events this summer to inspire more people to pick up a book. Whether you're a sports fan or not, the fantastic titles on this list offer something for everyone; from exhilarating autobiographies to entertaining novels that capture the drama of competitions. We're thrilled to partner with the BBC to use the power of sport and reading to bring people together.”
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