Launch Year of Reading 2008

At a Downing Street launch for the National Year of Reading on Tuesday 8 January, Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared literacy "one of the best anti-poverty, deprivation and crime policies we can think of". The event saw Brown lay out his ambitions for a year which would "make thousands who can't read able to read, and get thousands of those who can read to read more", leaving a lasting legacy of readers in the country.Co-hosted by Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the event was attended by librarians, reading champions, authors Tony Parsons, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony Horowitz and Sophie Kinsella, and Richard Madeley and Amanda Ross, presenter and producer of Channel 4's "Richard and Judy".Speaking to The Bookseller, Balls said that publishers should encourage their authors to get involved in events to promote excitement around reading, while bookshops could contribute by creating "fun places to go". He called for all employers, schools, libraries, colleges and local authorities to get involved by signing up to the National Year of Reading website at www.yearofreading.org.uk.