Regular Linda’s Book Bag visitors will notice far fewer posts this year as I begin to step back from posting to deadlines and head to my 65th birthday. However, as my poor sight meant I was a later reader because I had no idea those blurry black smudges had form and meaning, I simply had to take part in today’s announcement as part the National Year of Reading. Books offer so much joy and escape but so many of our potential young readers are missing out. It’s my pleasure to share the following press release provided by Midas PR.

London, Monday 2 February 2026. Bookshop.org is bringing back its charitable initiative Read It Forward for a third year in a row, in partnership with BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust. Once again in February 2026, 10% of every children’s book sale (including pre-orders) will be donated to the charities, while also supporting independent bookshops.

Top children’s authors will once again throw their support behind the charitable drive, with the 2026 ambassadors confirmed as: children’s author of the Fairytale Woods series and star of film, television and stage Ben Miller; former Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho; and Gill Sims, author of hugely successful parenting blog ‘Peter and Jane’ and of the YA novel Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood.

Ben Miller, Joseph Coelho, Gill Sims

The aim of the initiative is to inspire a love of reading in the next generation, with the money raised going towards BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust’s work in supporting children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds.

This year, Read It Forward takes place in the context of the National Year of Reading, the nation-wide campaign to encourage people of all ages to read for pleasure. The campaign is a response to declining reading enjoyment among young people and aims to increase literacy, boost wellbeing, and build a culture where “reading is for everyone”.

Last year, Read It Forward raised money to support over 1,550 families, bringing books to children who need them the most, and received incredible support from ambassadors Alexander Armstrong, Catherine Rayner, Andy Day, Serena Patel, and Nadine Aisha Jassat, as well as authors, illustrators, publishers, influencers and beyond, including Adam Kay, Jessie Burton, Tim Harford, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Robin Stevens, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Abi Elphinstone, Christopher Edge and many more backing the initiative on their channels.

Customers are encouraged to place their pre-orders for some of the biggest children’s titles for the first half of 2026, including the highly anticipated Volume 6 and final instalment of the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman, The Last Wolf by Rob Biddulph, Evenfall: The Tempest Stone by Alexander Armstrong, Hari Kumar, Ultimate Superstar by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and The Long Way Home by Holly Bourne, to name a few.

Ben Miller said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of Read It Forward. Anything that helps children discover the joy of stories — and supports our wonderful independent bookshops at the same time — is worth shouting about from the highest rooftops. In my books, I try to celebrate the old magic of fairytales: the spark that lights up a child’s imagination and, if we’re lucky, keeps burning right through adulthood. This campaign is such a brilliant reminder that we all have a part to play in keeping that magic alive. I’m also delighted to be teaming up with Bookshop.org, whose mission to help local bookshops thrive online is something I wholeheartedly believe in. And what better time to support such a brilliant drive than with the National Year of Reading just upon us?”

Joseph Coelho said: “Reading for pleasure broadens horizons and enables us all to learn more about ourselves and each other. When you pick up a book you don’t know where it’s going to take you, or the person you will be when you put it down. It is every child’s right to read for pleasure and to have the opportunity to find those books that can profoundly change their lives or just let laugh out loud. I’m so excited to be an ambassador for Read It Forward this year. Scottish Book Trust and BookTrust do wonderful work to get books into the hand of those who need them the most, so I encourage book buyers to get behind this brilliant charity drive this month.”

Gill Sims said: “I’m thrilled to be one of the ambassadors for Read It Forward 2026. After writing my first book for young adults, I’m especially passionate about making sure that teenagers, as well as children, continue to experience the benefits of reading. Adolescence is a phase where no-one seems to understand you. I believe reading can be a wonderful way to unlock empathy, and help young people realise that actually, their feelings and experiences are valid. I encourage everyone who has a teen in their life to get behind Read It Forward, and buy a book or two in support of both young people’s literacy and bookshops!”

Diana Gerald MBE, Co-CEO of BookTrust, said: “We’re extremely pleased that Bookshop.org is supporting BookTrust again this year. Shared reading early on in life can have a huge impact on bonding, happiness, wellbeing and much more, but not all families have the chance to experience it. Funds raised by Bookshop.org and its customers will help us reach even more children, particularly vulnerable children and those from lower income backgrounds. Through our ongoing Reading Rights campaign and with the National Year of Reading happening in 2026, it’s more important than ever that every child can access the transformative power of books.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “Scottish Book Trust is delighted to be part of Read it Forward in 2026, and to build on the impact of this year’s campaign during the National Year of Reading. Funds raised will continue to help support young families facing challenging circumstances across Scotland, particularly through our early years work including specialist outreach programme Bookbug for the Home. The demand for our work continues to grow and we’re excited to be part of an initiative that supports families and children as well as independent bookshops.”

Nicole Vanderbilt, Managing Director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “We’re so excited to be launching our third Read It Forward drive this month, and to be joined by such high-calibre authors as our ambassadors. Knowing that we were able to support 1,550 families through last year’s initiative makes us confident in the impact of our efforts, and even more willing to help BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust to inspire a love for reading in the younger generations. Read It Forward is a great opportunity for publishers across the UK to get behind the initiative not only to support children’s literacy and indie bookshops, but also to promote and amplify their best children’s titles of the year. We encourage readers of all ages to get behind the initiative and buy a book (or two) during Read It Forward!”

Find out more about Read It Forward here. A comprehensive toolkit, including social media assets, is available at this link. Follow the latest developments on social media using the hashtag #ReadItForward.

About Ben Miller

Since penning his first children’s book in 2018, Ben Miller has become one of the UK’s most beloved children’s authors and was in the top 10 biggest bestselling Children’s Fiction Author list in both 2021 and 2022. Ben’s books include the Fairytale Woods series, with hilarious diaries from the Big, Bad Wolf and Puss in Boots,  Robin Hood Aged 10 ¾, Once Upon A Legend, The Day I Fell Into A Fairytale, How I Became a Dog Called Midnight, The Boy Who Made the World Disappear, The Night We Got Stuck in a Story and the Christmas Elf Chronicles. A much-loved, longstanding star of film, television and stage, Ben rose to fame as one half of the eponymous comedy duo behind the BAFTA winning THE ARMSTRONG AND MILLER SHOW (BBC) with Alexander Armstrong. Currently playing the title role in the hit ITV series PROFESSOR T, Ben is also known for his performances as Bough in the JOHNNY ENGLISH feature films alongside Rowan Atkinson, the Colonel in the much loved PADDINGTON franchise, and Richard Poole in the hugely popular DEATH IN PARADISE (BBC).

 About Joseph Coelho

Joseph Coelho OBE, FRSL is a multi-award-winning children’s author and playwright. His YA ‘Story told in poems’ The Girl Who Became A Tree’ was shortlisted for The 2021 Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. He has written plays for Little Angel Theatre, Tutti Frutti Productions, Polka Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre amongst others. He is two-time winner of the Indie Book Awards (2019 & 2022) with Picture Books ‘If All The World Were… and ‘My Beautiful Voice’ respectively ‘(illu. Allison Colpoys). His Poetry Collection Werewolf Club Rules (Illu. John O’leary) won the 2015 CLIPPA Poetry Award. His plays for adults have received a special commendation from the Verity Bargate Award and been longlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition. He won the 2024 Carnegie Medal for writing with The Boy Lost In The Maze (illu. Kate Milner) and was Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2022 – 2024.

 About Gill Sims

Gill Sims is the author of the hugely successful parenting blog and Facebook site ‘Peter and Jane’. Her first book Why Mummy Drinks was the bestselling hardback fiction debut of 2017, spending over six months in the top ten of the Sunday Times bestsellers chart, and was shortlisted for Debut Novel of the Year in the British Book Awards. Her globally bestselling Why Mummy… series has now sold over a million copies. She lives in Scotland with her husband, two children and three Border terriers. Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood is her first YA book.

About BookTrust

We get children reading from their earliest days, especially those from low-income families or vulnerable backgrounds.  As the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, we know that children who read regularly experience better mental well-being. They form stronger bonds and relationships. They do better at school and are more creative. This is why we work with families, supporting them to start sharing stories and books together from the earliest possible age. We work in every community in England, Wales and Northern Ireland through over 6000 local partners to reach 1.3 million children every year. BookTrust also supports the work of the Children’s Laureate (currently Frank Cottrell-Boyce). Former Laureates include Jacqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman, Anthony Browne and Quentin Blake.

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About Scottish Book Trust

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes everyone living in Scotland should have equal access to books. Our work provides opportunities to improve life chances through books and the fundamental skills of reading and writing. Access to books and a love of books bring many important benefits from family bonding and advancing children’s learning, to unlocking creativity, helping employability and improving mental health and wellbeing. Scottish Book Trust aims to support all communities across Scotland, with particular focus on those who are vulnerable and under-represented.

Our programmes and outreach work include:

Gifting books to every child in Scotland to ensure families of all backgrounds can share the joy of books at home, through Bookbug and Read, Write, Count

Working with teachers to inspire children to develop a love of reading, creating innovative classroom activities, book awards and author events such as Authors Live with the BBC and our Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour

Supporting and nurturing Scotland’s wide-ranging literary talent, both emerging and established through our training, awards and writing opportunities including New Writers Awards

Creating events to share books and connect writers with communities, including Book Week Scotland

Providing support to people living with dementia and their carers through Reading is Caring

In addition to the funding we receive from the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland, we need the constant support of trusts and foundations, corporate sponsors and individual donors.

Find us online at scottishbooktrust.com. Follow @scottishbktrust on Twitter, @scottishbooktrust on Instagram or like Scottish Book Trust’s Facebook page.

 About Bookshop.org

Bookshop.org is an online bookselling platform and affiliate network with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and literary culture.

Bookshop.org first launched in the USA in January 2020 and has already raised over $40m for independent bookshops in the States. Bookshop.org launched in the UK in November 2020, and currently has over 600 independent bookshops and over 11,000 affiliates using the platform. The UK site has generated over £4.5m for independent bookshops since its launch, being named Retailer of the Year in the British Book Awards in 2022.

Independent bookshops receive 30 percent of the cover price from each sale they generate on the platform. Print books are offered to consumers at a small discount, with free shipping on all orders over £25, and in stock books are delivered within 2-3 days.

Bookshop.org is a Certified B Corporation and has received the prestigious status as a B Corp Best for the World 2022.

For more about Bookshop.org, please see www.bookshop.org or visit their social media channels on Instagram @bookshop_org_UK, X @bookshop_org_UK, Facebook @BookshopOrgUK, Threads @bookshop_org_UK, and Bluesky @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social.