THE READING AGENCY - Key Persons
Adele Parks worked in advertising until she published her first novel, Playing Away, in 2000, which was the debut bestseller of that year. She has published twenty bestselling novels in twenty years, including the number 1 bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck. She has sold 3.8 million copies of in the UK and has been translated into 27 different languages.
Adele's novels examine issues that are important to us all including concepts of family, our theories on love, parenting and fidelity with honesty and humour.
Adele is an ambassador for The Reading Agency's Reading Ahead programme and the author of the Quick Read Happy Families (2008) and contributor to the Quick Reads short story collection A Fresh Start in 2020. Find out more about Adele at readingahead.org.uk.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Managing Director of KNIGHTS of
Aimée Felone is managing director of Knights Of a multi award-winning inclusive publisher focused on bringing underrepresented voices to the forefront of commercial children's publishing. With a team led by women of colour, and an unwavering focus on their intended readership for each book, Knights Of works to engage with gatekeepers across the industry, including booksellers, teachers and librarians, and supports non-traditional community spaces with events, outreach, marketing and partnerships.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications Manager
I work in the Marketing and Communications team managing our national campaigns, expanding our reach and getting more people reading.
I lead on public affairs for The Reading Agency, building awareness and support for our programmes - and ambitious agenda - with key political stakeholders.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager, Reading and Health
As part of the Reading and Health team I manage the delivery of our reading and health work including Reading Well Books on Prescription, Mood-boosting Books and other health and reading projects.
Andy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide. He was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993.
Since then Andy has become one of the world's best-selling writers, drawing on his insider knowledge and experience. As well as several non-fiction bestsellers including Bravo Two Zero (1993), the biggest selling British work of military history, he is the author of the best-selling Nick Stone and Tom Buckingham thrillers. He has also written a number of books for children.
Andy is an ambassador for The Reading Agency's Reading Ahead programme and the author of four Quick Reads, On the Rock (2016), Today Everything Changes (2013), Last Night Another Soldier (2010) and The Grey Man (2007). Find out more about Andy at readingahead.org.uk.
Assisting the Research and Evaluation team, I help to ensure that we deliver our evidenced-based approach to programme effectiveness. Through a combination of programme assessment and research evaluation, I support the team in certifying that our work is reaching where it is needed and has a positive impact.
Job Titles:
- Head of Research and Evaluation
I am responsible for leading, managing and supporting research and evaluation projects for each of The Reading Agency's programmes. I ensure that we are reaching people as effectively and widely as possible through the collection and analysis of robust evaluation and evidence-based research.
Job Titles:
- Campaign Officer, Reading Partners
As Campaign Officer, I work with publishers to create tailored campaigns that maximise reach and impact for publishers and their authors. I also lead on The Reading Agency Presents, our virtual event series.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager, Skills and Engagement
I am the Programme Manager for the Summer Reading Challenge, the UK's biggest reading for pleasure summer programme. Delivered in partnership with libraries, the Challenge combats the 'summer holiday reading dip', and encourages 4-11 year-olds to develop the habit of visiting their local library.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance and Operations
I lead on financial management and operations across the organisation. With the considerable assistance of our Finance Officer, I support the Finance, Commercial and Business Director, other members of the Senior Management Team and heads of department to deliver The Reading Agency's Business Plan.
David Shelley started his career at independent publisher Allison & Busby. He joined Little, Brown as Editorial Director in 2005. Initially commissioning mainly crime and thriller novels and overseeing the audio and ebook lists, he became Publisher of their commercial imprint Sphere in 2007, then overall Little, Brown Publisher in 2011. Authors he published include Mitch Albom, Mark Billingham, Carl Hiaasen, Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid and J.K. Rowling. He became CEO of Orion and Little, Brown in 2015, and in January 2018 became Group CEO of Hachette UK, which is the second-largest consumer publisher in the UK. David is an Officer of the Publishers Association.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chairman of the Diversity and Inclusion
- Director for Stonewall Cymru
- Specialist
Davinia Green (she/her) is Director for Stonewall Cymru (Wales), where she provides strategic vision, oversight and operational management of activities across Wales.
Before joining Stonewall, she worked for a range of charities including Breast Cancer Care, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, Macmillan and Alzheimer's Society.
Davinia is a health promotion specialist by background, and in particular specialised in developing health promotion programmes for people who face high levels of physical, psychological or structural barriers to optimal health or prevention of disease.
Davinia has had a number of career highlights, the most recent being at the Stroke Association, where she developed and launched the first stroke prevention day for the UK. She was able to combine an awareness campaign with a measurable health promotion intervention, enabling the organisation to identify key factors that can influence positive health behaviours related to stroke prevention.
Davinia has a great love of reading and has a particular passion for crime fiction, her favourite authors include Peter James, Karin Slaughter and Cody MacFadyen.
Davinia is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group for The Reading Agency.
Davinia is Director for Stonewall Cymru (Wales), where she provides strategic vision, oversight and operational management of activities across Wales. She is a health promotion specialist by background, and in particular specialised in developing health promotion programmes for people who face high levels of physical, psychological or structural barriers to optimal health or prevention of disease. Davinia is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group for The Reading Agency.
Job Titles:
- Finance, Commercial and Business Director
I am the lead on financial, commercial and business affairs. I am responsible for developing and overseeing our business plans, exploring opportunities for diversification and ensuring we remain financially resilient to deliver our services.
I am a founder member of The Reading Agency and believe passionately in the transformative power of reading. Reading for pleasure is a powerful antidote.
Job Titles:
- Head of Skills and Engagement
I lead our work engaging children, young people and families with reading for pleasure; helping them to build their skills and confidence and develop a lifelong love of reading.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager, Community and Schools Engagement
Job Titles:
- Business Support Assistant
I work within Business Support to assist our programmes and core business teams.
Job Titles:
- Head of Health and Wellbeing
I lead our reading and health work, aiming to address inequalities and deliver better health and wellbeing outcomes for all. This includes working with Libraries Connected on the Universal Health Offer; and the Reading Well and Reading Friends programmes.
Job Titles:
- Programme Officer, Reading and Health
I support the delivery of our reading and health work including Reading Well Books on Prescription and other partnership projects.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing and Communications
I lead the Comms team to amplify the great work of our programmes with the aim to impact and reach even more people across the UK.
I help the team to deliver national campaigns including The Big Jubilee Read, a reading for pleasure campaign celebrating great reads from across the Commonwealth to coincide with Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Karen Napier MBE is an experienced leader in the arts, cultural and education sectors. Many of her roles have included working closely with Boards and senior teams on organisational development, particularly at key transitional points to unlock major impact and growth.
Previous appointments include: Executive Director of the Swarovski Foundation, Chief Executive of the English National Ballet, Chief Executive of Wac Arts, Director of Development at the Southbank Centre leading the £111m transformation of the Royal Festival Hall and the first Associate Dean of Advancement at London Business School. Amongst non-exec roles, Karen Chaired Greenbelt Festival for many years and was a founding Trustee of Hofesh Shechter Company.
She is currently a Trustee of Kiln Theatre and Mousetrap Theatre Projects and has recently completed an MA in Philanthropic Studies at Canterbury University.
With our great Board of Trustees, I am responsible for the strategic direction of The Reading Agency, ensuring the continued growth and impact of our work. Ultimately it's about changing lives and tackling life's big challenges everyday through the proven power of reading.
Job Titles:
- CAMPAIGN OFFICER, READING PARTNERS
As Campaigns Officer, I work with publishers to create tailored campaigns that maximise reach and impact for publishers and their authors. These campaigns give library users and reading groups access to brilliant books, nurturing a lifelong love of reading and supporting book sales.
Job Titles:
- Campaign Manager, National Reading Campaigns
I lead The Reading Agency's work on World Book Night and Reading Groups for Everyone, bringing people together and inspiring new readers.
Job Titles:
- Programme Officer, Adult Reading
Working within the Skills and Engagement Team, I support organisations, stakeholders and partnerships with the delivery and promotion of the Reading Ahead programme.
Job Titles:
- Campaign Manager, Reading Partners
I connect our publisher partners with libraries and reading groups to help people discover new titles and enjoy more reading activities. This involves leading over a hundred campaigns in libraries, supporting the organisation of author events and facilitating read and review opportunities.
Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the '60s and '70s.
Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. In 2022 it was adapted for television by the BBC.
Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah was shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. A collection of short stories, Supporting Cast was published in 2020. An anthology of working-class memoir, Common People was crowdfunded and edited by Kit in 2019.
Kit founded her own TV production company, Portopia Productions and the Big Book Weekend, a free digital literary festival in 2020 and was named the FutureBook Person of the Year 2019. Kit is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Professor and Writer in Residence at Leicester University.
Her memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes was published in August 2022
Job Titles:
- Finance Officer
- As Finance Officer I Am Responsible for the Day to Day Running of the Finance System. I Also Provide Support for the Finance Manager and Business Director
As Finance Officer I am responsible for the day to day running of the finance system. I also provide support for the Finance Manager and Business Director.
Job Titles:
- Database Coordinator
- As Database Coordinator, I Am Responsible for Cleaning Databases of Organisations and Contacts, to Help Streamline Communications With Stakeholders and Partners
As Database Administrator, I am responsible for cleaning databases of organisations and contacts, to help streamline communications with stakeholders and partners.
I have been Chair of The Reading Agency's board since January 2018. With over 30 years of experience in television production, broadcast and digital, I currently sit on Ofcom's Advisory Committee England. I also advise and support a variety of other organisations including, FMP, a commercial theatre company, Resource Productions, whose focus is on increasing diversity, and Jist, an independent production company.
Michael has over 30 years' experience of working in and managing libraries, supporting local community organisations and encouraging greater community partnerships. He is currently the Head of Libraries at Shropshire Council.
He also advises and supports the development of Waterfront, a sports and education charity, creating activities for deprived communities as a trustee, boxing and martial arts coach. As well as helping cultural charities, supporting culture, arts and education organisations, connect and collaborate to develop cultural and sporting programmes in Leicester.
I am also ex-chairperson of the West Midlands Region of Libraries Connected raising the profile of public libraries and helping to develop services nationally.
Michael is passionate about promoting reading for pleasure to and for children and to the essential role libraries play in local communities. He is our ambassador for our Summer Reading Challenge programme - the UK's biggest reading promotion for children.
Prolific children's writer, Michael Rosen, was born in Middlesex in 1946 and studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Since 1976, he has been writing, performing, teaching, and appearing on radio and television. He also writes regularly for The Guardian. His books include fiction and picture books for children, including We're Going On a Bear Hunt (1989), which won multiple awards. His poetry books include Quick Let's Get Out of Here (1983); You Wait Till I'm Older Than You (1996); Lunch Boxes Don't Fly (1999); Uncle Billy Being Silly (2001); and No Breathing in Class (2003) - all of which are based on his own childhood. Michael Rosen was one of the first poets to visit schools and is committed to the teaching of writing and the reading of literature in schools. He was appointed the Children's Laureate for 2007-2009.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager, Reading Friends
I am the Programme Manager for our Reading Friends programme. I am responsible for communicating with our Reading Friends projects and developing the content and resources as we go through our pilot phase year.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Officer
I work in the Marketing and Communications team, managing our online channels and campaigns to support and share the essential work of our programmes.
Job Titles:
- Programme Officer, Skills and Engagement
I support the delivery of our programmes for children and young people, mainly the Summer Reading Challenge, the country's biggest reading for pleasure summer reading programme. I manage and develop online content for our children's website and work closely with libraries to deliver the Challenge.
Parvin Musayeva has over 14 years of experience working at the EBRD with the responsibility of fundraising and leading partnerships with governments and corporate foundations that provide grant and investment co-financing resources. She is currently studying towards her EMBA at London Business School.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- VICE CHAIR
- CEO for DK Books
- CEO of DK Worldwide
Paul is the CEO of DK Worldwide, the world's leading illustrated non-fiction publisher and part of the Penguin Random House group. DK's mission is to spark curiosity and inspire a love for reading, something Paul is hugely passionate about
My first novel, How to be Human, was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott prize 2018. In my day job I am a staff writer at the Guardian newspaper. As a young teen, reading changed my life. It opened doors that I didn't know existed.
Job Titles:
- Business Support Assistant
I work in the Business Support Team to help assist various programmes and teams across The Reading Agency.
Job Titles:
- Research & Evaluation Manager
I manage the delivery of a research and evaluation programme that demonstrates the value of The Reading Agency's work, reaching as many people as possible and making a positive difference to individual lives and communities across the UK.
Sue worked in public libraries for 18 years in a variety of roles, finishing as Head of Library Services in St Helens before joining the Arts Council in 2018 as National Director for Libraries. Under her leadership, the Arts Council tripled its investment in libraries and supported a wide variety of library projects with national and international significance. Her love of libraries is rooted in her passion for reading for pleasure, a passion she is devoted to sharing now that she is retired, but not retiring.
Job Titles:
- Communications and Campaigns Assistant
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Professor of Literacy Education at the Open University
Teresa Cremin is a Professor of Literacy Education at The Open University. She is co-director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre, a Fellow of the English Association, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Royal Society of the Arts. Teresa leads a "reading for pleasure research and practice coalition, seeking to build readers for life.
I was called to the bar in 1995. A member of Middle Temple, I was awarded a Queen Mother Fund Scholarship in 1994. I took a first class degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University specialising in microbiology, genetics and the history and philosophy of science and is a scholar of Gonville & Caius College.
Ukesh Mittal is a passionate product delivery professional with over 17 years of strong technological and managerial experience of delivering products in Telecom and Satcom domains.
Vera is an experienced lawyer and civil servant. She has a sound understanding of the creative and cultural sphere, gained in the private and public sectors. Vera is passionate about reading for pleasure and the way it connects us to the world and to each other.
Job Titles:
- Business Support Administrator
As part of the Business Support Team, I provide administrative support for programmes and the wider organisation as a whole.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Senior Local Government Manager
Zoinul is a senior local government manager with expertise in library services and community development. He is currently Head of Universal Services for London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.
Zoinul is the Safeguarding Lead for The Reading Agency.