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Monday 10am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm Thursday 9am - 5:30pm Friday 9am - 5:30pm Saturday 9am - 5:30pm Sunday 9am - 6pm

Give A Book

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Give A Book

Give a Book is a charity dedicated to promoting books and the pleasure of reading in the hardest places. Silver winners at the Smiley Charity Film Awards 2025.

Our main work is in prisons, schools and with disadvantaged children. We give books to people who really need them. Give a Book mainly works in prisons and primary schools, and anywhere we can help spread the pleasure of reading. For more information please go to our website. We also have a Book of the Month every month chosen by special guests. "...I could escape for as long as I was reading..." Simon Gray, Coda

01/10/2026

A big thank you to the wonderful, bookish box of delights that is The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London Childrensbookshoplondon 🙏

They have given us all these books for our projects.

If you’re in the area, why not pop in today and buy a beautiful children’s poetry book*? It is National Poetry Day, after all!

* There are so many types of books available, there’ll be something for every child and young person.

30/09/2026

We were busy packing books for Family Days* at our Store Day last week 📚

A huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteer helpers from , and .

You are all superstars, and we could not have done it without you ✨

* Prisons organise Family Days to help prisoner parents bond with their children and partners. We bring along books for families to enjoy together and for children to take home as a reminder of a good time spent with their mum or dad.

29/09/2026

We're sharing a Book of the Month chosen by Toby Litt, writer, academic and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Toby's work has received numerous awards. The Retreat won the 2020 Short Fiction/University of Essex Prize, and John & John won the Manchester Fiction Prize. A Writer’s Diary was published in 2023 and continues online on Substack. His comic, Dead Boy Detectives, became a TV series. He is also the editor of the Writers Rebel website and is developing research in contemporary writing as environmental activism.

Toby recommends a book for fellow writers: Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin. Find out why: https://giveabook.org.uk/book/toby-litt-steering-the-craft/

Every Book of the Month is sent to each of our projects, along with a bookplate explaining why it was chosen.

If you've been inspired by Toby's choice, you can buy Steering the Craft from our Bookshop.org page. 10% of the proceeds go towards our projects: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/giveabook

Toby Litt Ursula K. Le Guin (managed by her estate)

25/09/2026

Today is Give Like Dolly Day 📚

The Dollywood Foundation has introduced Give Like Dolly Day: 25 September will be a day to honour Dolly Parton’s generosity and lifelong commitment to children and reading.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library posts a high-quality, age-appropriate book to children from birth to age five. The books are specially wrapped and addressed to each child, and are delivered at no cost to the family. In the UK, the Imagination Library works with local partners.

We’re proud to have worked with the Imagination Library UK to provide books to asylum seekers in London in a cross-borough initiative.

Thank you to Dolly, the Imagination Library and everyone else who believes that children should have books of their own 💛

Dolly Parton

23/09/2026

Congratulations to Ruthvika Rao, whose book The Fertile Earth (OneWorld Publications) has won the tenth annual Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 🎉

We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank The Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation, who are very supportive of our charity's work.

13/09/2026

It’s the final day of Remember A Charity Week. We’ve given you an insight into our prison-based projects this week, and we hope you can see the impact of our work.

We also provide all six mother and baby units (MBUs) in the UK with picture books, chewy books, and touchy-feely books. These help very young children bond with their mother in difficult circumstances.

After looking after family and friends, even a small gift in your Will could help us make a big difference. If you already support us through your Will, we are extremely grateful.

Our legacy page has more information and access to discounted Will-writing services and more through our partnership with Remember A Charity

👉 https://giveabook.org.uk/support-us/leave-a-legacy/

12/09/2026

Our project Books in the Nick gives detainees, who can be as young as 10 years old*, books while they are held in police custody and to keep when they leave.

Someone can be held in a custody suite before processing for as little as two hours or for a whole weekend.

Providing books diffuses tense and sometimes harmful situations, particularly for young people.

Visit our legacy page to learn how you can help our projects by leaving a gift in your Will. We also offer discounted Will-writing services and free legal advice through our partnership with Remember a Charity.

👉 https://giveabook.org.uk/support-us/leave-a-legacy/

* Source: www.london.gov.uk

11/09/2026

Will you provide books for children to share with their parent and take home on prison family days?

Prisons organise Family Days, special, extended visiting days for prisoners to bond with their partners and children. We provide a diverse range of books for families to enjoy together, breaking the ice and bonding on the day. Children take the book home with them as a tangible reminder of a good time spent with their mum or dad.

In 2025, we supported 214 family days in 48 prisons.

👉 Visit our Leave a Legacy page: https://giveabook.org.uk/support-us/leave-a-legacy/

Here, you can also access discounted Will-writing services and free legal advice, all thanks to our partnerships with Remember A Charity.

10/09/2026

Will you help ease someone's transition into prison life with a book?

Our project Books for First Nighters (BFFN) provides books for those spending their first night in prison, often a frightening and isolating experience. As well as helping ease the difficult and traumatic transition into prison life, it helps facilitate the relationship between staff and inmates.

As of 2025, BFFN is running in more than 80 prisons.

👉 Find out how you can support reading for pleasure in the hardest places by leaving a gift in your Will:
https://lnkd.in/eEVQvS6X

Here you can learn how to register your Will for free, and access discounted Will-writing services and free legal advice thanks to our partnership with Remember A Charity.

Ministry of Justice UK

09/09/2026

Through our family reading project, Raising Readers, we provide parents in prison and their children with the same books to share over the phone or in person.

Prisoners and their families tell us how reading together can transform family relationships 💛

Thank you to our supporters who have already left us a gift in their Will. Every gift, small or large, makes a huge difference in helping parents in prison connect with their children through books.

Visit our legacy page to find out more and access discounted Will writing services thanks to our partnership with Remember a Charity.

👉 https://giveabook.org.uk/support-us/leave-a-legacy/

Address

112-114 Holland ParkAvenue
London
W114UA

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm
Saturday	9am - 5:30pm
Sunday	9am - 6pm

Website

http://www.giveabook.org.uk/

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