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J.K. Rowling named as one of Britain’s top ten “Literacy Heroes”

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BBC News has reported that J.K. Rowling is one of first, along with nine other recipients, to have been awarded with the honor of being a Literacy Hero. She has been named so for “turning a generation of children into readers.”

The campaign was set up by the National Literacy Trust in order to find those who are looked up to because of how much they have helped others or progressed themselves with reading and writing skills, whether famous or not. It was launched back in October when nominees were selected by the public, and the winners were recently picked by a panel that included authors Joanna Trollope, Cressida Cowell and Dorothy Koomson; comedian and writer Miles Jupp; entrepreneur Levi Roots; and columnist Lucy Mangan. The top ten were revealed at an event at Clarence House by known patron of the Trust, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Happy Days actor Henry Winkler was among the other winners, along with schoolchildren Jodie Evans and Lisa Yong Hui Li, librarians Ruth Gasson and Lyn Hopson, teaching assistant Velda Jackson, teacher Caroline Thain, Romani author Richard O’Neill, and an unnamed prisoner from The Mount jail who was involved in a project called Storybook Dads in which prisoners could record themselves reading storybooks for their children.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, announced that the winners

made inspiring and significant strides to improve their own literacy or create positive opportunities for others.

J.K. Rowling took to Twitter today (December 4) to give her thanks for the honor, although she was unable to attend the ceremony herself.


We give our congratulations to Jo on an award well deserved!