Laura's Book Group triumphs

London, 28 August 2008: Laura’s Book Group from Edinburgh has won the 2008 Penguin/Orange Broadband Readers’ Group Prize. As part of their prize, the reading group will receive a visit from author Lauren St. John who will lead a reading group session on her book, Rainbow’s End (Penguin).

Now in its seventh year, the aim of the prize is to find reading groups that illustrate individuality, reflect diversity of reading choices and demonstrate the pleasure of shared reading.

Laura’s Book Group has been meeting for over two and a half years, in and around Edinburgh. There are eleven women and two men in the group, who travel from all over central Scotland to attend meetings which are occasionally held in venues pertinent to the book’s theme. Recently they met in the meeting room of a pub below the Forth Road Bridge when discussing The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Laura Wilkie, founder of the book group commented: 'We can’t believe it! We love our book group, so to be given this recognition from Penguin and Orange is such an honour. Laura’s Book Group has made a difference to all our lives, taking on a life of its own with catch-phrases, weekend AGM’s away, culinary experimentation and stimulating friendships with people we would otherwise have never met. The benefits have been more than we would ever have expected three years ago!'

Nicci Jones, author and Chair of judges said: 'We felt Laura's Book Group demonstrated exactly what we were looking for - a total passion for books. Literature had seeped into every area of their life with their annual awards, meetings in themed venues etc.

'It was also tremendously encouraging for me as a writer to see such enthusiasm for literature amongst such a young group of professional men and women who obviously have full and busy lives, but who make time to read and discuss books together.

Second place was awarded to Bullingdon Prison Reading Group from Oxfordshire. Founded in 2001, this is one of the longest running prison groups in the country. Its members are male prisoners of all ages, joined by library staff and a volunteer co-ordinator. They win two sets of the 2008 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction shortlist.

Entries from Canterbury, Doncaster, London and Warwickshire were among the finalists. Entrants were asked where they meet, what they read, how they choose their members and what their reading group means to them. Entrants were also asked to write up to 500 words about what makes their reading group special.

Magda Lojszczyk, Partnerships Manager, Orange UK commented: “We’ve had such an interesting mix of entries this year. Congratulations again to Laura’s Book Group who demonstrated a genuine passion for books and their group.”

In addition to the prizes, groups also had a chance to win visits from Penguin ambassadors including Rachel Johnson, Jane Johnson and Nicci French. They will each undertake a reading group session with the following reading groups chosen at random from the 2008 entries:

Bullingdon Prison, Oxfordshire – will receive a visit from Nicci Gerrard
Fowey Library Reading Group, Cornwall – will receive a visit from Jane Johnson
Final reading group being confirmed for Rachel Johnson’s visit.

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