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| Jail inmates barred from collecting reading prize |
| By London Times |
| Published: 08/08/2005 |
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A reading club of ten inmates who meet each week in the library of High Down prison in Surrey has won Britain's most prestigious reading group prize - but they will not be able to claim their reward, it was announced today The High Down Prison Reading Group, which was founded by Kay Hadwick, the prison's librarian, in 2001, won this year's Penguin / Orange Reading Group Prize ahead of entrants from across the country. But, for obvious reasons, they will not be able to enjoy the trip to the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which was the top prize in the competition. Instead, the runners up, The Port Ellen Book Group, which is made up of nine women from the tiny Scottish island of Islay, will travel to Edinburgh to meet a celebrity panel and a Penguin author. Today, Catherine Lockerbie, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said that it would be a "real pleasure" to welcome them to the event, which begins next week, although she regretted that the circumstances of the High Down group would keep them firmly in their library. "We love to pay specific tribute to particular reading groups," said Ms Lockerbie. "Obviously there was an ironic twist to the competition this year and I wish the winning group had been able to come." The High Down group, described as "an inspiration" by Joanna Prior, Publicity Director of Penguin, were given a special prize of a visit from Nick Hornby, the author, and £200 of book vouchers. "Winning is not really one of our strong points so we are pleased that the judges saw something appealing in our reading group," said one of the group's members, identified as Jamie. "The chance to meet Nick Hornby is incredible, especially for the Arsenal fans amongst us." According to its winning entry form, the all-male High Down group was founded nearly four years ago and is "non-judgmental" in its approach to reading. Answering the question: "What makes your reading group special?" The group identified its coffee, biscuits and the chance to escape the monotony of life in prison. "In an environment which is very grey at the best of times," the members wrote, "the reading group offers a chink of light though which members can escape the daily irritations of prison life, relax with a cup of coffee and some nice chocolate biscuits in the soothing atmosphere of the library, and talk about something other than prison-related topics." |
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