Penguin Books Collaborates with Bradford for UK City of Culture 2025

Penguin Books partners with Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 to promote reading, writing, and publishing through book donations, workshops, and public events.

on Sep 20, 2024

Penguin Books Collaborates with Bradford for UK City of Culture 2025 | Frontlist

The Partnership between Penguin Books and Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 promotes reading, writing, and publishing by removing barriers to books and reading. This is the first time Penguin Books has collaborated with the UK City of Culture initiative which selects a different city every 4 years to host a year-long program of cultural events.

Penguin Books will carry out a series of initiatives throughout 2025 to promote and involve the Bradford community. To encourage a love of reading and educational diversity, Penguin will donate 4,600 books to the 46 local state secondary schools in Bradford.

Penguin is organizing an event called “Reflective Practice on Diversity: What Can I Do from Today?” for secondary school English literature teachers. The event aims to increase teachers’ confidence and knowledge about race and discrimination by presenting practical tips, book recommendations, and sample lesson plans to diversify English literature teaching. The publisher will also host a free public event to demystify the publishing process for aspiring writers, featuring a published author, a Penguin editor, and a literary agent in a panel discussion. It will also conduct careers workshops in three Bradford secondary schools, led by Penguin employees, to provide students with an in-depth understanding of various career opportunities in publishing, including free books and merchandise.

The UK City of Culture initiative drives long-term cultural regeneration and provides significant funding to the winning city. The initiative is projected to attract around 3.3 million new visitors, with an estimated visitor spend of about £140 million, directly contributing to the district’s economy. Furthermore, the industry will create around 6,500 jobs and more than 6,000 training chances for local citizens by 2030.

Meredith Adams, head of social impact at Penguin, expressed joy in working with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture to celebrate the power of literature and reading in local communities. The year-long program includes book donations to local secondary schools, workshops for aspiring writers, and activities for young people interested in publishing careers.