Read for Empathy Collections

Miranda is a social justice entrepreneur who has spent 35 years turning kitchen table ideas into nationwide campaigns, culminating in founding The Reading Agency in 2002. The charity’s Summer Reading Challenge now involves 800,000 children every year. 

Having “retired” to go trekking, she became fascinated by the building body of research showing that reading builds empathy, which led her to found EmpathyLab.

Sarah is one of EmpathyLab’s founders whose library background has long convinced her of the power of stories to change children’s lives. 

She is the Programme Manager at Libraries Connected. 

Jon is a teacher at one of EmpathyLab’s pioneer schools, with a passion for developing genuine reading cultures in schools. 

He coordinates the Patron of Reading initiative, writes a regular blog and talks about books at every possible opportunity. In 2019 he won the Experienced Teacher Award in UKLA’s Reading for Pleasure Awards.

Shaheen is Engagement and Programmes Assistant at Bolton Library and Museum.

Richard is an experienced Key Stage 2 teacher and reading lead and Assistant Headteacher at Avonmore Primary, London. He is an advisor for the OU/UKLA Research Rich Pedagogies website and has spoken at various conferences exploring Creative Writing, picturefiction and Reading for Pleasure. Richard is the UKLA representative for London.

Having studied the effect that graphic novels may have on their readers in his own research, he is interested in developing children’s empathy through a wider range of texts. He Tweets @rcharlesworth.

Teresa Cremin is a Professor of Education (Literacy) and Co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre at The Open University (OU). An ex-teacher and teacher educator, Teresa currently undertakes research and consultancy in the UK and abroad on volitional reading and writing. 

Her research has spawned a reading for pleasure website https://ourfp.org/ and wider movement which supports over 100 OU/ UKLA Teacher Reading Groups annually, has 32 HEI partners and currently works with over 70 whole schools in yearlong CPD to develop the habit of reading in childhood. Teresa is a Reading Expert on the DfE English Hub Council, and co-director of the OU Centre for Literacy and Social Justice.

Scott is a primary school teacher, reading for pleasure enthusiast and children’s books consultant, critic and influencer. He reads, reviews and recommends a range of children's literature on his website The Reader Teacher which is designed for teachers, schools, parents and children to find the best books. He is also the author of 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Reading for Pleasure. 

Scott has been a judge on the panels for the Blue Peter Book Awards, the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards (Lollies), the Branford Boase Award and the Wales Book of the Year Award. Scott has previously appeared on and written for BBC Teach discussing ideas on how to encourage a love of reading and raising children as readers. He also hosts #PrimarySchoolBookClub - a monthly online children's book club, chat and vote for anyone working in primary education.

Sonia is the Head Teacher at St Matthew’s C.E. Primary School, in Nechells, Birmingham: the first winner of the OU/UKLA Whole School Reading for Pleasure School of the Year. She is passionate about evidence-based reading for pleasure practices and places these at the heart of the school. 

She has run an OU/UKLA Teachers’ Reading Group for two years and is an advisor for the OU/UKLA Research Rich Pedagogies website. She has spoken at various conferences about RfP, including Peters Love Literacy and ResearchED. Sonia is a co-opted member of the UKLA National Council, representing the Teacher Reading Groups.

Dawn is a Member Development Librarian at the School Library Association. She has spent all her career mainly with a Schools’ Library Service, moving to include children’s libraries, then back as manager of SLS. 

She has more recently brought that knowledge and experience to the School Library Association where she still enjoys the challenge of getting the right book into the hands of students and teachers who need a particular book for a specific need at any one time.

Sarah is the Libraries Development Manager for Brent Libraries. Her role involves the planning and delivery of strategic service provision for libraries covering children and young people's services, adult learning and adult reading services. 

A highlight of her role was being a lead partner with Apples and Snakes arts organisation for the delivery of the Spine annual arts and literature festival for children and young people across half of London.

Kevin has been a teacher for 24 years in Primary Schools across the West Midlands and a reader for as long as he can remember. During his career he has held the positions of Literacy Co-ordinator, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. He has also worked as a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Birmingham City University. He currently works at The University of Birmingham School with Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 to support and develop their Literacy and Numeracy skills. 

He is an avid reader, a massive fan of Philip Pullman and enjoys sharing a love of books with his classes and colleagues. He is also head of Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction at VIP Reading and has created a number of resources for the Reading Realm. He is passionate about the importance of Reading for Pleasure and exploring how it can be promoted in Schools and Communities.

Graham is Senior Librarian at the High School of Glasgow. 

Jake Hope is a reading development and children's book consultant. He was the Reading and Learning Development Manager for Lancashire Libraries, one of the largest library authorities in the UK. Jake has judged nearly every major children's book award in the UK and has chaired numerous promotional selection panels. Alongside delivering training and public speaking on books and reading, Jake is an active reviewer and a passionate advocate for libraries books and reading. Jake is past-chair of the Youth Libraries Group, and the Chair of the Working Party for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal. 

Phoebe joined the CLPE as Librarian in 2021. Prior to that, she worked as a Bookseller for over five years in both commercial and independent bookshops, strengthening her knowledge of children’s literature and fine-tuning her aptitude for offering the perfect book recommendation.