ABOUT I am a reader
CELEBRATING THE CREATIVITY OF READING
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
What is I am a reader?
It's a project that aims to uncover authentic insights into the adult reading experience.
By giving readers a chance to explore their role as co-creators of fictional worlds alongside professional writers, I Am A Reader aims to find new ways of talking to, and engaging with, readers.
It will use beautiful illustration and wonderful words to share the insights we find with a wide and diverse audience.
I Am A Reader is led by Inspire: Culture, Learning and Libraries - a charitable community benefit society delivering cultural and learning services across Nottinghamshire, and is supported using funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Why?
At Inspire, we believe all readers play a real part in bringing stories to life, and we want to challenge perceptions of reading and raise up the role of the reader. Reading is often underestimated as a creative act, yet it requires huge leaps of imagination - the ability to empathise, enquire and embrace new ideas.
We want to empower readers to recognise and embrace the role they play as co-creators of fictional worlds - regardless of background or perceived lack of creative skill.
We want to re-vitalise the way we engage with readers and how we promote reading - by exploring the authentic reading experience of real readers from a range of backgrounds.
What are we trying to find out?
Prompts we might use to spark exploration…
Do you think of yourself as being creative when you read? Why/why not?
What do you see when you read? What do you visualise?
What happens when you read? Are you always aware of your surroundings?
What do you hear when you read? Your own voice? The author? The characters?
Has reading ever changed the way you think or feel?
How aware are you of the writer when you read?
What made you a reader?
Planned outcomes
1
A published anthology of six stories co-created with readers, including illustration
2
A digital campaign to spark a conversation about reading as a creative act, to gain insights from a wider audience
3
A touring exhibition of striking visual art and wonderful words, inspired by the insights gained from readers
4
A web-based home for the project and virtual version of the exhibition
5
A celebration event for the readers and creatives involved
6
A legacy website that can be used by libraries and the wider literature sector to inform and inspire future reader engagement
MEET THE WRITERS
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Eve Makis
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Stephan Collishaw
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Clare Harvey
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Jacob Ross
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Joanne Limburg
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Mahsuda Snaith
Introducing Carol Adlam
Carol Adlam is a UK-based writer and illustrator, specialising in graphic journalism, graphic novels and book illustration (children's and older, fiction and non-fiction), and she writes scripts, short stories, and adaptations.
In 2018 she won a World Illustration Award in the Research/Knowledge Communication category for her graphic novel/installation Thinking Room, and she was shortlisted for the same award in 2015 and 2016.
Carol’s work has been shown nationally and internationally, and she has held residencies at a number of museums and galleries. Clients include the National Army Museum, The National Archives, Nottingham Castle Museums and Galleries, Nottingham Lakeside Arts (Museum of Archaeology) and the United Nations.
She is a senior lecturer in Illustration at Nottingham Trent University, and in 2021-22 she holds a Visiting Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge.
