News
PRG is grateful to Profile Books for new sponsorship
PRG in the News
The Guardian visited the PRG group at Wandsworth and discovered what a prison reading group can do. Read Ros Coward’s - article
PRG PRISON WINS LIBRARY OF THE YEAR AWARD
HMP Lewes has been named Prison Library of the Year by
the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).
The award recognises the outstanding work of the Lewes
library team in helping prisoners to enjoy literature and equip themselves for
a more positive future.
With support from PRG, the Lewes reading group started
two years ago and is thriving. Rachel Sweeney, librarian at the prison, writes: 'It was
fantastic to win the award and I think a large part of why we did is due to our
successful reading group which wouldn't have been possible without PRG, so
thank you!'
Congratulations to everyone.
Give a Book backs PRG
PRG is delighted to acknowledge a generous donation from Give a Book, a new charitable project that gives books to a wide range of people at a time when they really need them. These include First Story, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Age Concern and Volunteer Reading Help.
PRG news and group reports will appear regularly on the Give a Book blog and we look forward to working together.
PRG Celebrates
In September 2012, PRG completed our Knowledge Transfer Fellowship, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The initial aim of the project was to start at least 10 new reading groups. In partnership with the Prisoners’ Education Trust, PRG started over 25 new groups and now supports 30 groups in 20 prisons.
To celebrate, we held an event at the University of Roehampton, attended by over 70 librarians, volunteers and representatives from partner organisations including The Reading Agency, English PEN, the Prison Radio Association and Random House Publishing Group.
We shared experiences of our groups and advice: the books that bombed, unexpected winners, managing discussion and top tips for flagging moments.
The highlight of the afternoon was the guest appearance of Jake Arnott who wove a fascinating discussion about prisons and prisoners around some brilliant reading from his own books.
The final triumph was the PRG cake, decorated with the names of all our reading group prisons. It was delicious!
PRG joins the Prisoner Learning Alliance
In October 2012 PRG was invited to join the Prisoner Learning Alliance, a new initiative launched by the Prisoners' Education Trust.
The aim of the PLA is to provide expertise and strategic vision to inform future priorities, policies and practices relating to prison education, learning and skills.
The 15 members are all representatives from non-statutory organisations, including the Community and Voluntary Sector (CEO’s or Senior Management Team Members), social enterprise, representatives of education and skills providers, and academics.
For PRG this is an opportunity to help raise the profile of reading groups in prisons and we look forward to being part of the Alliance.