Adele encouraged the audience by desribing what reading has meant to her over the years, eventually leading to her becoming a full-time writer. "It's a great privilege to be an ambassador of the Six Book Challenge, a brilliant scheme that successfully engages less confident or reluctant readers in their thousands, helping individuals and ultimately helping our country to be a better place. It's as big as that."

She had some great advice for people who find it a struggle to keep reading. "If you try to eat a cake all at once, you end up not liking cake any more. You don't have to finish a whole chapter in a night; just read a page and then the next, and then another the next night. ... It will be a lovely exploration, a positive thing and a way of empowering you. If you stick at it, you will be more articulate in your community, you will be able to read your own contracts at work or the manual for setting up your satellite TV."

Adele also set herself a challenge for 2012 - to conquer her fear of swimming and complete 100 metres. The Reading Agency will be keeping her to that!

After a lively Q and A session, Blossom Brooks (see pic) explained that she will be taking the Challenge for the third year running and told everyone to 'give it a go!'. Learners Rupert Mikely, Leila Pakvar, Nicola Moses and Clifton Lewis (pictured left to right with Adele below) also revealed that they would be taking part in the Challenge again.

Brent Libraries are star performers for the Six Book Challenge having enrolled over 500 participants in 2011, 111 of whom completed six books or more. Librarian Adele Finch and her colleagues are working with tutors from BACES to increase the number of completers for 2012. "There is no doubt that the Six Book Challenge enriches the learning opportunities that we are able to offer our learners at BACES," agreed Diana Teesdale, head of Skills for Life for Brent Council.

Photographs by Isabelle Plasschaert.

The adults all attend a local community centre and the sessions were planned by Judith Robinson and Maz Iqbal from Kirklees Libraries in partnership with Community Support Officer Sally Hanson.

The participants were presented with their Six Book Challenge certificates at a celebration event. Their feedback has been really positive:

"I like books about animals and have borrowed books about hamsters, rabbits, dogs and parrots." Kate

"I didn't know where to find the books I like in the library but now I know where to find them" Kevin

"Coming to the library has been really great for the group," comments Sally Hanson.
"We like to get out and about and use local facilities and as the library is on our doorstep we've been glad to do the Six Book Challenge here. We'll certainly continue to visit to borrow books and use the facilities. Using books to stimulate speaking and listening activities has been fantastic. We have had some very lively discussions!"

Judith Robinson agrees: "It's been a very positive experience for us and for them."

Inhabitants of Stockton wanting to take part need to register, take a diary and choose their first book. They can read more than one book at once but must fill in their diary and get a library stamp for each book completed. The draw will take place at the beginning of July and certificates will be given out to everyone who has taken part and read two books or more.

This special Challenge has been promoted widely across the council and at local council sports venues as part of the 'culture events in sporting venues and sporting events in culture venues' initiative for the Olympics. It is also part of a string of challenges that the council is promoting to the public in Stockton during the year. The ain is to involve 450 participants and with over 100 registered so far, they're off to a flying start!

Please contact us if your organisation is linking the Six Book Challenge to an Olympic theme. Our own Summer Reading Challenge for children, this year themed as Story Lab, is part of the Cultural Olympiad so anyone running the Six Book Challenge in parallel with this will certainly benefit from some Olympic fever. An increasing number of library services are engaging parents and carers in the Six Book Challenge alongside the children's Challenge as a way to add a family dimension.

National prize draw for Challenge completers - first prize remains a weekend in London for a Challenge completer and guest including a show and £150 spending money
NEW! Prizes of eReaders for three runners-up - the great new way to get reading
Please note that entrants for this prize draw must be from the main target audience for the Challenge, ie people aged 16+ who are improving their literacy skills or are just getting into reading for pleasure.
National prize draw for workplaces - an author visit, courtesy of Transworld Publishers, for a winning workplace that runs the Six Book Challenge and marks the Campaign for Learning's Learning at Work Day (see Andy McNab's visit to McVitie's in Manchester who won the prize in 2011)
National prize draw for colleges - an author visit for the winning college (see Bali Rai's talk to students at Doncaster College for the 2011 prize which was arranged with support from The Reading Agency's My Voice programme)
National prize draw for prisons - an author visit for the winning prison (see visit by Spiel Unlimited to get offenders writing at HMP Gloucester as their prize for 2011)

The entry forms will be available on the website from early January 2012. Please get in touch if you have any queries about eligibility.

We're also introducing a new gold/silver/bronze award to recognise the achievement of organisations taking part in the Challenge and encourage everyone to increase the impact of the scheme. Any participating organisation that returns valid data to us by Friday 6 July will be eligible to receive a certificate based on their Challenge completion figures as follows:

• 150 completers gets gold

• 100 completers gets silver

• 50 completers gets bronze.

If we'd run it in 2011 we would have had 16 bronze, 4 silver and 2 gold winners - so go for it and make sure that you're an award winner for 2012!

- 57% of the working age population are at Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE grades A*-C) or above in literacy. This is a rise from 44% in the previous survey in 2003.

- 15% (5.1 million people) are at Entry Level 3 (the level expected of an 11 year old) or below which represents no significant change since 2003.

- more people are at the lowest level of literacy than in 2003 - 1.7 million compared to 1.1 million

Research tells us that engagement in reading for pleasure can help to improve people's skills as well as increasing their motivation to read and learn more. In addition to the Six Book Challenge, we have now developed several tools to support adult literacy as follows:

Words for Life - a new resource pack to help practitioners introduce reading for pleasure to adults at the lowest level of literacy drawn from pilot work by library and learning partnerships in Essex, Warrington and at HMP Birmingham. A full evaluation report of the Words for Life project, funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, is also available.

Game On - a report on how digital games can be used to engage learners in reading for pleasure

Find a Read - our unique database where practitioners and readers can find more than 1000 recommended reads ranging from books written specially for readers with low literacy such as the Quick Reads as well as other print and online items selected according to criteria developed by The Reading Agency. Users can browse by category, format (including audio, large print, e-books, digital games) and reading level

Reading Groups for Everyone - our new campaign includes case studies, tips and guidance for emergent reader groups

Bali has blogged about the event as part of his support for both the Challenge and the Reading Agency's My Voice scheme for young people. Despite having a horribly painful back that day, he engaged the audience with his passion for reading and its role in increasing understanding and knowledge.

College principal George Trow introduced the event with his own supportive comments about the Six Book Challenge and its beneficial impact on learners, having observed their increase in self-confidence and enjoyment of reading. Students across the college are already signing up for the Six Book Challenge 2012 thanks to the enthusiasm of librarian Carol Wootton and tutors such as Naomi Nikhata who has run the scheme with several of her ESOL students for the last couple of years. She has seen how the Challenge has increased their ability to read, write and speak in English.

Bali summed up the event: "It was great to be able to congratulate the college on their success in last year's challenge, and to encourage a new intake of students to get involved for 2012. The Six Book Challenge is a fantastic project, as the experience of Doncaster College shows."

Adele has always been a passionate supporter of libraries and for giving everyone a chance to enjoy reading, so it's particularly appropriate that she's agreed to support our programme for less confident readers. "Ever since I was a child I've considered libraries to be havens. In libraries I learnt that reading is a pleasure and a privilege. Libraries are treasure troves; you never know what you are going to discover! Reading is the ultimate in entertainment, education, inspiration and escapism. Reading taught me not to accept limits and I'm thrilled to be working with The Reading Agency as Ambassador to the Six Book Challenge in 2012 to support other readers who are refusing to accept limits and are motivated to embrace every opportunity that reading offers."

Those who complete the Six Book Challenge in 2012 will receive a certificate signed by Adele Parks in her role as Ambassador for the scheme. Adele will also be able to attend a library-based launch event early in 2012 and a celebration event next summer as part of her ambassadorship.

Six Book Challenge activity at McVitie's Manchester was linked to the biscuit factory's successful Learning At Work Day (19 May 2011) thanks to partnership working by management, trade union USDAW's workplace unionlearn representatives and a special relationship with Stockport Council's library service. 50 McVitie's Manchester employees took part in the Challenge this year, the third year McVitie's have run it.

Andy McNab did a question and answer session for a lively audience of around 60 McVitie's employees and partner organisations and signed copies of his new book Dead Centre, which then went on sale in the factory's Learn 4 U Centre. Following his visit, Andy said: "Reading and literacy changed my life. So it is wonderful to see partnerships such as the one at McVitie's working so successfully to promote and encourage reading through programmes like the Six Book Challenge."

"It's been a coup to have both a real life hero and successful author visit the Learn 4 U centre at McVitie's. The event with Andy McNab resulted in a real buzz within the factory," said Jonathan Waterhouse, USDAW learning rep coordinator at McVitie's Manchester. "The Six Book Challenge is another great example of how USDAW unionlearn representatives at McVitie's have engaged with our union members, allowing us to reinvigorate or start a reading culture with the support of both The Reading Agency and Stockport Libraries. It was also great to have Paddy Lillis, deputy general secretary of USDAW, in attendance to see what's been achieved."

"The Six Book Challenge has gone from strength to strength here at McVitie's Manchester and it's great to see so many employees not only enjoying this challenge but generally expanding their learning through the support of the Learn 4 U Centre and everyone here who is committed to making this a success," said Helen Day, factory general manager at McVitie's Manchester.

'Andy McNab' is the pseudonym of a former Special Air Service (SAS) operative and soldier. He first came to public prominence with Bravo Two Zero, his account of the failed SAS patrol for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1991, to add to medals he had won previously in action, becoming the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He has written two other autobiographies and several fiction books including two titles for the Quick Reads initiative; Dead Centre is his latest thriller in the bestselling Nick Stone series.

"McVitie's have been fantastic supporters of the Six Book Challenge together with Stockport Council's library services," says The Reading Agency's adult literacy specialist Genevieve Clarke. "We're thrilled that they won this annual draw that we run with the Campaign for Learning, and we're very grateful to Transworld Publishers for bringing Andy McNab to meet McVitie's staff who have taken part in the Challenge. It's been a real boost for everyone."

Councillor Dave Goddard, Leader of Stockport Council, said: "The Six Book Challenge is a great way to encourage people to read more and to discover a love of reading. I'm delighted that the council's library service has been able to support this scheme to help local people discover the joy of reading and promote the many facilities that Stockport Council's excellent libraries offer."

Photo: Mike Corrie

It's the first time that Islington Libraries have run the Six Book Challenge but Head of Library and Heritage Services Rosemary Doyle was pleased to announce that they had shot straight into the top performers' chart with 206 people registered and 89 completers. Participants included residents of housing estates reached by the library service's unique New Horizons Estate Reading Scheme, Royal Mail employees, young mums and ESOL learners.

"The Six Book Challenge awards were a great success," commented Rosemary. "Lucy's supportive comments about the importance of reading is exactly the message we are here to promote. It was pleasing to see such a diverse group of people completing the Challenge and we will build on this success for 2012."

Natalie Kremez, pictured here to the right of her tutor Ingrid and fellow completer Cecilia Weta, came to England from Russia six years ago. She's been going to English classes for the last couple of years and has read some lengthy books for the Challenge including The Partner by John Grisham and Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. "It's been very helpful to me in improving my English," she said.

Participants in the creating writing workshop were entertained with word play and riddles and surprised to find that they could turn their hand to writing acrostic poems and stories. Comments received at the end confirmed that it was a worthwhile event for all concerned.
"Enjoyed the different uses of vocabulary, a poem as well."
"I found it quite emotional; I would like to thank all the people for their time."
" It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some genuine, talented & enthusiastic people."

Prison librarian Joanne Brown, who organised the event, runs the Six Book Challenge from the library. "I encourage library users to take up the Challenge for numerous reasons," explains Joanne. "Reading gives prisoners something constructive and useful to do and shows that they have made good use of their time in prison.

"The prison library is very well used and we have more than a 50% enrolment from prisoners. All prisoners are entitled to a 30-minute library visit per week and all prisoners in education classes are also allotted a library visit. We're involved in Toe by Toe (a scheme where prisoners teach other prisoners to read) and Storybook Dads (a scheme where prisoners record a story to send home to their child/ren) as well as the Six Book Challenge We'll definitely be running the Challenge again in 2012."

There are discounts for orders of multiple packs and there's a special offer of free coasters to publicise the Challenge for every triple pack ordered. The new materials feature quotes from Challenge completers and organisations that have taken part as follows:

Reading diary - "I didn't only enter the Challenge hoping to win a prize but I wanted to enter a different world of stories in my mind." Suhad Al-Ozeimi, who took part in the Six Book Challenge through Westminster Libraries and Westminster Adult Education Service and won the national prize

Participant leaflet - "Reading has given me a lot more confidence. I believe in myself a lot more now." David Cameron who completed the Challenge as a student at Trafford College

Information flier -
"When someone tells you that they want to improve their reading so they can read their child a bedtime story you know it's all worth it." Jane Baker, Librarian, Telford & Wrekin Libraries where 129 registered and 71 completed the Challenge in 2011

"I love the Six Book Challenge. It involves all learners, increases confidence, aids learning and brings about a love of books in people, many of whom did not have it before." Rachel Gilham, Co-ordinator - GCSE English, Peterborough Regional College where 100 students registered and 41 completed in their first year of running the Challenge

"The Six Book Challenge provided a sense of achievement and improved literacy, confidence and self-esteem for those offenders who took part." David Taylor, Governor. HMP Wandsworth, where 50 registered and 35 completed the Challenge this year

"The Six Book Challenge gives HR, team managers and shop floor workers the chance to work on a common goal, which in these difficult times is win-win." Lesley Flood, Training Coordinator at McVitie's in Manchester where 50 staff took part

18,000 registered for the scheme this year - around 10,000 through libraries, 3000 in prisons and YOIs (at least double the previous year), 2500 in FE colleges and another 2500 in workplaces.

The response from colleges has been very positive with several now having run the Challenge for a few years with growing success. Northampton College has been celebrating an 89% increase in completers from 2010. Doncaster College has continued to innovate with the involvement of media students as well ESOL and Skills for Life learners. And Bolton College (see picture) has taken the Challenge wider than ever before with the involvement of Warburtons, nearby Alpha Hospital and college students including a group of young mums. College principal Marie Gilluley attended their award ceremony and comments: "I was moved by the stories of those involved who described how proud they were of themselves, of setting examples for their children, of their increased confidence and most of all of their determination to keep reading and progress in their studies. The Six Book Challenge provides a uniquely accessible and enjoyable way to stimulate interest and improve literacy. We're very pleased to be involved."

Doncaster College has won the first prize draw for colleges. Carol Wootton and her colleagues in the college's learning resource centre have worked closely with tutors to run the Challenge for the last couple of years, this year linking with media students as well as literacy and ESOL classes. They've thrown themselves into the Challenge and had a great celebration event back in May.

HMP Gloucester has won the prisons prize in their fourth year of running the scheme. Librarian Joanne Brown has registered over 80 prisoners this year of whom 24 had completed by the prize deadline.

McVitie's in Stockport has won the workplace prize which we offer in partnership with the Campaign for Learning's Learning at Work Day and Transworld Publishers. This is so well deserved because they've been running the Challenge in their learning centre for the last three years in close partnership with librarian Eddy Hornby from Stockport Libraries as reported in our booklet published with unionlearn last year.

We've also run draws for organisations in each sector that have returned data to us who will each receive a reading group set of books. The winners are as follows:
Public libraries - Anne Mackey, Principal Librarian: Service Development at Stoke-on-Trent Libraries which registered 141 participants through the local college and trade unions
Learning providers - Moya Curran, Senior Tutor: Skills for Life at Stockport Continuing Education Service which engaged 50 learners in the Challenge
Prisons - Barbara Theobald, Senior Prison Library Manager, HMP Swansea, where 57 offenders have taken up the Challenge
Workplaces - Joanne Shawcross, Academic Liaison Librarian at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust which operates across sites in Barrow, Kendal and Lancaster where 73 employees got involved

And finally, we promised a free Quick Read to six Challenge participants who completed a post-Challenge survey and gave their name and address. So these lucky winners are:

Lucy Tinniswood, an employee at Royal Bolton Hospital who said "I have always read a lot of books for enjoyment, though the Six Book Challenge probably made me pick up another one sooner than I would have after finishing a book."
Teresa Middleton who is on a literacy course at Riverside College and visited nearby Widnes Library
Emma Misell and Julie Fox, both of whom took the Challenge at Hattersley Library in Tameside and read more than six books. Emma said "It was a great challenge and they should be done more often. It got my friend and myself talking about books which is something we never usually do."
and two prisoners from HMP Forest Bank near Manchester where LIbrarian Samantha Abrahams got 88 people involved

Congratulations all!

A young mother of two teenagers, Suhad has been living in London since 1994 when she left Iraq. She decided to go to classes to improve her written and spoken English two years ago and enrolled with a weekly group. She has passed her Entry Level 3 exam and is now going on to Level 1.

"If you can't read you can't do anything," says Suhad. "The challenge for me was to read the books on my own and this has improved the way I read. I'll definitely carry on reading now. I was shocked when I found out that I have won the national prize but at the same time proud because of all the hard work that I have put in reading all those amazing books. I didn't only enter the competition hoping to win the prize but I wanted to enter a different world of stories in my mind. The one thing people must remember is 'nothing is better than learning and achieving'."

Suhad read a mix of books for the Challenge but particularly enjoyed The Elephant Man by Tim Vicary - "I liked the character in this book because he has a kind heart even though he is ugly."

She received her certificate at an award ceremony held at Paddington Library on 14 July attended by dozens of other ESOL learners who had taken part in the scheme. Author Linda Stratmann gave out the certificates and talked about the power of reading to change people's lives. Westminster Libraries registered 287 participants this year of whom 76 completed the scheme. "We are very pleased with the rate," said Mary Enright, Reading, Learning and Community Services Manager. "Our success was due to successful partnership working with colleges and other learning providers. Schemes like this help learning providers recognise libraries as a valuable partner in supporting their delivery."

Steven Curic, ESOL Skills for Life Course Team Leader/Teacher Trainer at WAES, commented: "I encourage my colleagues to visit our local libraries as part of the student induction procedure, in order to familiarize the learners with the process of borrowing books and enhance their learning experience. The value of books should not be underestimated. As a life-long learner myself, I am very enthusiastic about passing this message on to my learners and motivate them as much as possible to develop their own reading practices, which will in turn help their overall language acquisition and make a considerable difference to their lives."

So don't be shy, tell us your stories and don't miss those deadlines!

Prize draws deadline Thursday 30 June - get your entry forms in.

Evaluation deadline Thursday 7 July - fill in the relevant forms

If you're having trouble returning to a survey form that you've already started, please follow this advice:

Open Internet Explorer
Go to Tools
Then Internet Options
On the General Tab under Browsing History click the Delete button.
Then click Delete Cookies
When asked if you are sure click Yes