The Queen’s Reading Room Medal 2026
On the 25th March, we were delighted to celebrate the winners of The Queen’s Reading Room Medal 2026 at a literary reception in Clarence House, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Camilla.
Her Majesty presented Selina Brown (National Reading Hero) and Liz Waterland (Local Reading Hero) with their medals, beautifully crafted by Worcestershire Medals. Joined by His Majesty King Charles III, the Queen also met our three other finalists: Emily Rhodes, Sheila Hayman and Jordanna Riches.
Vicki Perrin, Chief Executive Officer here at The Queen’s Reading Room, then announced the winners before a star-studded guest list, including Sigourney Weaver, Stanley Tucci, Sir Ben Okri, Jojo Moyes and Tan Twan Eng, alongside some of The Queen’s Reading Room’s closest partners, supporters and friends.
Addressing the five finalists, Vicki said: “We are so grateful to each and every one of you. Your passion, your commitment, together with the work of literacy charities and programmes around the UK gives me hope that we can yet place reading back at the heart of national life.”
The Queen’s Reading Room Medal was launched by Her Majesty Queen Camilla in 2025 to spotlight and promote the everyday heroes helping people to discover the joy of reading all over the UK. We received hundreds of nominations, and were moved by many accounts of great reading initiatives, of passionate advocating for books, and of using the power of stories to help people feel connected to each other.
Keep reading to learn about our winners, Selina and Liz, and our finalists, Emily, Sheila and Jordanna, who have each gone to remarkable lengths to help others make room for reading – improving wellbeing, strengthening communities and transforming lives.
Meet the Medal Winners
Selina Brown: National Reading Hero
Shortlisted for her incredible dedication to, and success in, creating spaces that celebrate, uplift and inspire Black British literature. With beginnings grounded in local grassroots events, the Black British Book Festival has grown to reach over 100,000 people and is now Europe’s largest celebration of Black literature. Originally self-funded, the project has since resulted in partnerships with major publishers, including Pan Macmillan with whom Selina has founded a community-led publishing imprint. She’s donated thousands of books, supported over 300 emerging Black British authors and facilitated the opening of two community libraries, while her Reading for Smiles programme has taken inclusive stories into primary schools in areas of low literacy and high free-school meal rates, with teachers reporting that children who once avoided reading now borrow books from school libraries weekly, start reading at home, and even write their own stories. One teacher from Wolverhampton described the impact as “the first time our pupils truly saw themselves in books.”
From our judges:
If this award is about extraordinary impact, then it’s Selina who has made extraordinary impact. The breadth of her work, from taking reading into schools where young people might not read for pleasure, to supporting Black British writers, to attracting and including a broad audience of readers and writers, she’s demonstrated utter determination and developed her work from its original activity to really reach out to and represent a community. She’s shown a sophisticated approach to leading the call for – and finding and funding solutions to – better representation of Black writers in Britain by taking an integrated system approach: to the betterment of Britain as far as readers and reading is concerned, but also writing too.
Liz Waterland: Local Reading Hero
Shortlisted for her commitment to making a difference in the local community through her work volunteering at the Deepings Community Library for over a decade, Liz, who turns 80 later this year, has demonstrated initiative and dedication across multiple reading programmes. Ten years ago, Liz was Chair of the Save Deepings Library Committee when it was faced with closure, securing 8000 signatures (which represented half of the local population at the time). The Library reopened in 2016 and has just celebrated its 10th anniversary of being community-run. Liz has continued to volunteer here, initiating many projects: visiting schools to promote the Summer Reading Challenge (Deepings library is regularly one of the libraries with the highest number of participants nationwide); running a reading group for the local University of the Third Age; co-ordinating volunteers to run Story Time for children and young people; writing and circulating the library newspaper; obtaining grant funding for and running an Age Concern bus service to bring less mobile elderly to the library; and originating and running a book delivery service to those that are truly housebound. Liz has seen, valued and promoted the joy of reading all her life: prior to her volunteering, Liz was a teacher of reading – and then lectured about the teaching of reading, helping others to inspire in children a love of books and understanding of literature that goes beyond literacy.
From our judges:
Liz’s nomination stood out for its depiction of an extraordinary lifetime of service devoted to helping people of all ages and stages access reading. Her volunteering is clearly led by values of community, inclusivity and a passionate enjoyment of literature, and has contributed to the success of Deepings Community Library. Her story is a brilliant example of how community libraries, supported by the local Public Library Service, can work so well in serving a local community. Liz is a true local champion, a role model for community action and is somebody who has – many times over – seen a problem and found solutions for them. She’s shown how much difference an individual can make to a community, and to opening up access to books through such a range of thoughtful, tailored and enduring programmes.
Meet the Medal Finalists
Emily Rhodes
Emily was shortlisted for her work in increasing people’s access to books and stories through founding Bookbanks. Beginning as a volunteer at a local food bank, Emily organised a mass book donation and established a stall where people could come and choose a book while waiting for food. On seeing the appetite there for stories, and the opportunity it brought for connection, she set up Bookbanks as a registered charity. It is now established at nine partner food banks in London, East Anglia and the North West, and its volunteers have put over 17,000 books into the hands of people in poverty. Emily also spearheaded Matthew’s talks, a programme of live literary events inside partnering food banks, including author talks and workshops “all [of which] celebrate and explore the power of words in a way that’s interactive, inclusive and – most importantly – exciting.” Emily also runs a Walking Book Club, a 4,000-strong community that has been meeting for monthly walks for over a decade.
From our judges:
Emily found and recognised a need in people who aren’t necessarily considered readers, who may find access to books challenging and accessing libraries intimidating. Reading should be a right: everyone should have the right to read and a right to be fed, and her work with Bookbanks has demonstrated how much nourishment is about mental, emotional and imagination-based needs as much as it is about physical needs. Her work bringing authors to give talks and workshops also shows that the project extends beyond book donations, and that it’s about treating people who are struggling with dignity and respect.
Jordanna Riches
Jordanna was shortlisted for improving a local community’s access to books through her dedication to the local Phone Box Library. Jordanna’s small village in Oxfordshire was left without a library when a mobile library that visited once a fortnight was cancelled in 2016. Jordanna voluntarily fundraised for a phone box to be installed by the village hall, and for books to go into the Phone Box Library – she took local children to Oxford so they could select the first books to go into the library. She now curates the Library’s offerings on a regular basis, offering shelves for contemporary fiction, classics, crime, YA, children’s books and baby starter books. Rotating the stock on a regular basis, she donates unused books to a local hospital and community bookstore. It’s created a reading hub for the community, with grandparents and their grandchildren, bin men, window cleaners and hikers passing through frequently stopping to read, to chat, and to connect with each other.
From our judges:
Jordanna’s role in setting up the Phone Box Library shows initiative and a problem-solving approach to a lack of access to books in a rural community – but her commitment to maintaining the library, to taking pride in its stock and shelves, shows admirable dedication and persistence. To grow a project as a volunteer to the point that the library is a source of community pride, and a community hub where all different types of people meet and access books, is truly heartwarming.
Sheila Hayman
Shortlisted for her initiative and commitment in leading the Write to Life programme at Freedom from Torture, the world’s only creative writing group for survivors of torture. When Sheila joined as a volunteer, the group had five members, whose writing was only read by themselves. Realising that the writers wanted to share their stories and that this would widen the project’s impact, Sheila developed it as Coordinator: through collaborations with Tates Britain and Modern, Kings Place, the British Museum, the Edinburgh Literary Festival and many more, members have performed and exhibited their work, using their own written words to reclaim their voices and to speak on behalf of those that no longer can, thereby assuaging their survivor guilt. A group of 15 meets regularly, publishes zines and recently performed at the South Bank Centre. Over 100 survivors have taken part in the project over the years, some of whom have gone on to leadership roles at Freedom from Torture. Currently, they are conducting the first clinical evaluation of this writing as an effective way of rebuilding voice – essential for those whose identities has been destroyed by torture. They hope with the results of this study to spread this practice more widely, both in the UK and the world.
From our judges:
Sheila’s commitment came through so strongly – it’s immensely moving that her work focuses on giving those who were denied a voice, a voice that is heard and respected. Her work with the Write to Life group is an affirmation of humanity for those that have been denied it previously, and Sheila’s drive, input and initiative in helping the group – and via many different means – demonstrates both courage and deep empathy. By using stories to facilitate healing, empowerment and connection between survivors of torture, she’s provided and sustained an incredibly original solution to a specific need.
