The third iteration of our free book giveaway campaign featured four compelling Young Adult titles. Selected from a longlist of 56 books by Nottingham City of Literature’s Young Ambassadors and Youth Advisory Board, these titles were chosen to resonate with teen and young adult audiences, ensuring their relevance and appeal.
Centred on the theme of Belonging, the 2024 selected titles delved into themes of acceptance, inclusion, and identity, giving readers the opportunity to engage in a city-wide shared reading experience.
Big City Reads empowers and inspire young minds with feel-good, upbeat stories, alongside promoting reading as a practice that enhances wellbeing.
Alongside our book giveaway, we partnered with 175 organisations in the city including schools and colleges, community groups, libraries, city centre cafes and shops, media outlets. We also ran author workshops in three Nottingham schools, the Nottingham Ukranian Cultural Centre, Switch Up and Nottingham Boxing School and at Nottingham Central Library, engaging over 120 young people meaningfully with our Big City Reads authors. Read the full impact report below.
Our Big City Reads 2024 books
Vern: Custodian of the Universe by Tyrell Waiters, published by Flying Eye Books.
A thought-provoking and hilarious romp through time and space from debut creator, Tyrell Waiters, that explores what it means to be human in a world that is becoming more confusing and frightening by the day.
Electric Life by Rachel Delahaye, published by Troika Books.
This fast-paced and thrilling story set in a fictional yet believable future explores important themes and asks some big questions about where our society could be heading.
Stand Up Ferran Burke by Steven Camden, published by Macmillan.
Ferran is stepping into the new world of high school alone and needs to learn quickly how to survive. New allies. New enemies. New feelings. New passions. Stand Up Ferran Burke is a verse novel as unique as the boy at its heart.
Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy, published by Head of Zeus.
Escaping war is only half the battle as the Kovalenko family swap Ukrainian dangers for life with a British family. But their new beginning brings a whole new set of problems.