The Booker Prize Foundation, in partnership with The Reading Agency, has launched a Booker Prizes Quick Read, All Around the World: Stories by Booker Prize Writers.  

A collection of seven short stories by seven Booker Prize- and International Booker Prize-nominated authors, told from very different places. Japan, Ireland, Ukraine, Holland, Somalia – and mid-air. The book is curated and introduced by Roddy Doyle – winner of the Booker Prize in 1993 and Chair of the Booker Prize judges in 2025.   

Published in the UK by Vintage, and available internationally, All Around the World supports the Quick Reads mission to get more people reading for pleasure through access to the world’s best fiction.  

The stories in the collection are:  

• ‘Until the Girl Died’ by Anne Enright 

• ‘Afternoon at the Bakery’ by Yoko Ogawa 

• ‘The Buggy’ by Roddy Doyle 

• ‘Flight’ by David Szalay 

• ‘Filsan’ by Nadifa Mohamed 

• ‘No Need to Fear the Depths’ by Andrey Kurkov 

• ‘Into the Mud’ by Yael van der Wouden   

In total, 12,000 copies of the book will be gifted by the Booker Prize Foundation and The Reading Agency across the UK through libraries and community partners, Bookbanks, the Big Issue and via the Booker Prize Foundation’s prison reading programme Books Unlocked, delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. The book will also be available to buy for £1 from retailers, including BookKind, the online bookshop that donates 10% of every sale to charity, including the Booker Prize Foundation. 

New research from The Reading Agency and the Booker Prize Foundation into the reading habits of adults in the UK finds that key barriers to reading include competing demands on adults’ attention, busy lives and the cost of books. 

• 35% find it hard to finish what they’re reading 

• 21% say books are too expensive to buy more often 

• 44% would like to see greater representation in books 

• 22% don’t have enough time to read 

• 26% get distracted before finishing a book 

The Reading Agency’s forthcoming State of the Nation Adult Reading report found that of 4,000 UK adults three in ten (35%) find it hard to finish what they are reading and 55% say they read less than they intend to. A separate survey of 2,018 UK adults, commissioned by the Booker Prize Foundation, found that four in ten (40%) who abandon books do so because they lose interest, while more than a quarter (26%) become distracted and more than one in five (22%) say they simply don’t have enough time to read.  

An additional barrier to reading includes the cost of books, with 21% of respondents to the Booker Prize Foundation survey saying that books are too expensive to buy more often. In addition, The Reading Agency found that 78% of adults with low reading confidence identify as non-readers, compared with 15% of the wider population. When asked what might get them into or back into reading, 24% of non-readers and 33% of lapsed readers thought that ‘a quick and easy read’ would help. 

Further findings from The Reading Agency’s State of the Nation Adult Reading research preview suggest readers want to see themselves better reflected in the books they read. One in 10 (11%) adults said they cannot easily find themselves or their culture represented in books, rising to 19% of 16-24-year-olds. Exploring this issue deeper, research commissioned by the Booker Prize Foundation found that almost half (44%) of adults would like to see greater representation in books, including more diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and family structures. 

Booker Prize-winning author and former Chair of judges Roddy Doyle said: 

‘It’s an invitation to read. Quick Reads is like dipping your toe in the water of literature, with some of the barriers that might put people off removed. A lot of people might feel there is nothing about their world in books. The stories in All Around the World have access points, and I hope they alert readers to the fact that, actually, their life might be in here somewhere.’ 

10,000 copies of the book will be gifted by the Booker Prize Foundation and The Reading Agency through libraries and community partners across the UK, including Bookbanks and the Big Issue, helping the collection reach adults facing barriers to reading, such as affordability, confidence and accessibility. As part of a partnership with the Big Issue, readers of the magazine will get a free download of the digital and audio editions of All Around the World with their copy of the Big Issue in the week commencing 8 June 2026, while 300 free physical copies will also be shared with Big Issue vendors, helping introduce the stories to more people in their communities. An additional 2,000 copies will be distributed via the Booker Prize Foundation’s prison reading programme Books Unlocked, delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. The collection will be available to buy for £1 through retailers including Waterstones, Bookshop.org and BookKind from Thursday, 11 June 2026. 

Delivered by The Reading Agency, Quick Reads are short, accessible books written by popular authors and aimed at adults who may lack reading confidence, struggle with concentration or time, have English as a second language, or those that simply want stories that fit more easily into everyday life. The programme celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year.  

Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation Gaby Wood said:  

‘We know from previous research from The Reading Agency that regular reading can transform lives, improving wellbeing, social mobility, and long-term life chances, but these new findings highlight the real barriers preventing many adults developing or sustaining a reading habit.  

‘This collection was created to make some of the world’s best fiction more accessible to people facing some of these barriers, without compromising on the highest quality fiction from Booker Prize and International Booker Prize-nominated authors. Making the book available to as many people as possible was incredibly important to us, and we’re very grateful to our partners The Reading Agency, Bookbanks, the National Literacy Trust and the Big Issue for helping us to get 12,000 copies of All Around the World out into communities across the UK, as well as  to publishers Vintage.  

‘Thoughtfully curated by Roddy Doyle, who is beloved for his own witty and tender portrayals of everyday lives, it brings together seven tales by these master storytellers that take readers to different parts of the world and to different places in their minds. Designed to fit into real lives, we hope it will inspire new and lapsed readers to discover and rediscover the joy of reading great fiction.’ 

CEO of The Reading Agency Karen Napier said: 

‘For 20 years, Quick Reads has shown that when books are accessible, relevant and easy to fit into busy lives, more people discover the pleasure and power of reading. The findings from our research show that many adults want to read more, but factors such as limited time, competing demands and confidence can get in the way. That’s why All Around the World is so exciting. Working with the Booker Prize Foundation and Vintage, we’re bringing exceptional storytelling to people in a format designed to meet them where they are. We hope this collection helps spark a reading habit that lasts a lifetime, opening the door to new stories, new perspectives and new possibilities.’