Bali Rai's Manifesto

I am absolutely thrilled to become the sixth writer-in-residence for Booktrust, taking over from Clare Wigfall – a hard act to follow. Booktrust is such a powerful voice in support of reading for pleasure and literacy and I feel honoured at being asked to step in. I’m coming into the post with a few fixed ideas about what I want to do. Yet I’m also very open to anything that comes along too. My primary focus will be reading for pleasure, with a particular focus on teenage and young adult readers. That doesn’t mean that I wish to exclude readers in other age groups, and I won’t, but with the Teenage Booktrust prize being put on hold, and with young adults generally receiving such a bad press, my wish is to focus on positives for that age group. So, in no particular order, my aims for the next six months are:

• To promote the concept of ‘reading for pleasure’ at every given opportunity. To continue to link that concept to achievement in education.

• To encourage parents, teachers and schools to increase their focus on reading for pleasure and to support the maintenance and promotion of books, school libraries and librarians.
• To encourage teens and young adults to participate in the wider debate around reading and literacy. This will hopefully include a panel event at which teenagers will be asked questions by the publishing industry.
• To promote and support a new teenage section on the Booktrust website. To encourage participation from young adults at all levels of this, through short story competitions, book reviews etc…
• To actively support any organisation or campaign that seeks to promote literacy, reading and the great work done by public and school libraries.
• To promote the concept of wider diversity in teen and young adult fiction and to challenge the artificial divide between 'adult' and 'young adult' books.

As mentioned, the points above are not exhaustive, and I have not set any defined goals or deadlines. The debate over ‘reading for pleasure’ is not something short-term anyway. It is a debate we should be having daily (and we are), and one that should continue well past my residency or any other. Reading for pleasure is so vital to the future achievements of our young people, and to the greater good of our country, that it transcends all issues of economics, politics or anything else used to excuse financial cutbacks. There is only one 'cost-benefit analysis' involved. The more our young people read for pleasure, the cleverer they will become, and the more likely they will be to fully achieve their massive potential. This will provide huge profit to our country for generations to come, financial and otherwise. An investment in our youth is guaranteed to bring rewards. And I will support any initiative that understands that basic and correct reasoning.

So, there are just some of the things I hope to promote during my residency. I am eager to get started, and to continue the great work done by Clare over the last six months, for which she deserves great credit. Much like Clare at the start of her term, I can’t say that I’ve been brilliant at regular blogging. In fact I’ve often wondered why certain people blog so often. Well I’m about to find out. Thankfully (for the readers) I spend a vast amount of time out in schools and at events, so there’ll be plenty to talk about. I hope, too, to provide some reader-led insights into life as an author. Whatever happens, I’m sure the next six months will be a great adventure, and I do hope that you’ll come along for the ride.