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Unionlearn authors toasted by literati at Number 10 celebrationWinners of a unionlearn writing competition won a special tribute from Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, at a reception at Downing Street to celebrate World Book Day. She said: 'I want to pay a special tribute to the people from the TUC and the Quick Reads* Campaign, which celebrates its fifth birthday this year. One of the Quick Reads books, Life's Too Short, being launched today is very special. It gathers short stories about the world of work written by members of trade unions who won a competition run by unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation, which encourages lifelong learning and informal adult education. Today's winners are an example of all that can be achieved.' The unionlearn authors met Anthony Browne, the Children's Laureate, Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and other guests including playwrights Sir Tom Stoppard and Sir David Hare and authors and celebrities such as Amana Weir, Lola Jaye and Jo Brand.
Quick Reads are aimed at those who struggle with reading, lack confidence in their abilities, or have fallen out of the reading habit. They are short books sold at affordable prices in bookshops nationwide and in over 800 workplaces and over 1,000 doctors' surgeries, adult education centres, prisons, hospitals, care homes and community centres. So far over 1.25 million Quick Reads books have been distributed and ten new titles have been written for 2010. Life's Too Short has stories from builders, bakers, care workers and the driver of a bus full of unruly schoolchildren. The collection has an introduction by Val McDermid, author of more than 20 novels and creator of TV's Dr Tony Hill, played by Robson Green, in the series Wire in the Blood. All the authors at the Downing Street reception can thank their union for giving them a second chance in life to improve their education and gain new skills. In A Brief History of Typing, PCS member Demelza Burrell gives a hilarious account of her job as a personal assistant in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, where her typing skills took her to 12 countries in two years and how she encountered bats, snakes, giant snails and eccentric ambassadors; in Don't Put Barney in the Bin Bag, Unite member Anthony Connolly tells of his days on the bins when he and his workmates were asked to remove a dead family Labrador without the children noticing; Fred Creamer, of Unite, recalls how he tried to quell a riot during the occupation of a factory; Unison member Frank Kenny's story is about the scams and hazards of the 'building game' and Esti Mardiani-Euers, of UCU, tells of her experiences finding work in England after arriving here from her native Indonesia.
Anthony Connolly, now a health & safety adviser at MerseyTravel, left school with basic qualifications and it was through his union that he took a health & safety qualification that eventually led him on to degree-level studies. He said: 'Many people have been victims of a poor education system and it has become an important role of unions to give their members the confidence and support to get back into learning and acquiring new skills.' Fred Creamer, author of Riot and a union learning organiser in Cambridgeshire and Essex,said: 'I left school with a certificate for 25 yards breast stroke and my cycling proficiency test and it was when I got involved in the Employee Development Assistance Programme at Ford, organised through my union, that I later went on to get an A-level in English literature.' NOTES TO EDITORS: 1. This is the 13th World Book Day. It's a focal point for celebrating books and opening up the benefits of reading to everyone. It is supported by the industry - authors, publishers, booksellers, libraries and literacy specialists 2. The Quick Reads campaign is the publishing industry's adult literacy initiative . Quick Reads reach out to adults with reading difficulties - as many as 17.8 million over-18s have poor literacy levels in the UK - and those who have lost the reading habit or feel they do not have the time to pick up the book. 3. More information on Quick Reads can be found at http://www.quickreads.org.uk/ 4. Research by the adult learning organisation NIACE* found that 65% of union learning reps said that staff are now reading for pleasure as a result of Quick Reads and about a half are more likely to engage in learning in the workplace. 5. Pictures of the event show: Picture 1 Sarah Brown with the 5 authors; picture 2 Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw MP with the authors and TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady and ULR* of the Year Nicola Njie. All unionlearn press releases can be found at www.unionlearn.org.uk Media enquiries: Press release (900 words) issued 11 Mar 2010  Six Book Challenge: empowering adults to enjoy reading and improve skills for life Training time for toon heroes! Ex-postman learns to sort email |
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