GLOBAL READING CENSUS & 90th ANNIVERSARY PRIZE DRAW
‘Reading is about how to be you and how to think about the world.’ Mary Beard - Chair of the 2026 Booker Prize
‘Reading is about how to be you and how to think about the world.’ Mary Beard - Chair of the 2026 Booker Prize
Reading is freedom. But today too much of our precious free-thinking time is being taken away by machines.
This first ever Global Reading Census is Heywood Hill’s banner-raise to save books and protect reading. It is time for book-lovers worldwide to reclaim some of the space we need to nourish our minds.
To enter our Prize Draw complete the form below and have your say about why reading matters to you. And you might win free books for life. Don't forget to tick the box at the end if you would like to hear about the results. Scroll further down to see all six fabulous prizes on offer from A Year In Books, Heywood Hill's famous range of book subscriptions.
Please note all entries will have an equal chance of winning. It is not a qualitative test. The prize winners will be drawn entirely at random. Entries close at midnight GMT on 29 November 2026.
One winner will receive twelve new hardback books every year for the rest of their life, individually selected by Heywood Hill’s booksellers according to the winner's personal reading interests. Wherever the winner lives in an eligible country, the books will be delivered to their door, year after year. See full terms and conditions.
Free books for a year. Twelve inspirational books chosen by some of the world's most fearless writers and journalists. Created in association with Truth Tellers, our Refuse To Be Scared subscription features twelve exceptional books, each selected by a speaker at the 2026 Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit. See full terms and conditions.
Free books for a year. Twelve hardback books chosen just for you. Our famous top of the line tailored annual book subscription. After a reading consultation with one of our talented booksellers you will receive twelve books chosen with you mind, in six two-book parcels throughout the year. See full terms and conditions.
Digest the best writing on espionage, past and present, both fictional and factual. Tradecraft is our homage to all the many writers who have mastered the form, past and present, and our own connection to the genre. Subscribers will receive six parcels throughout the year, beautifully gift-wrapped in our trademark livery of brown paper and blue ribbon. See full terms and conditions.
Free books for a year. Explore the twentieth century through fictional glories with our new Perennial subscription. Over the course of the year ahead our team of booksellers will choose twelve modern classics which reflect both the quality and variety of twentieth-century writing. See full terms and conditions.
A year of the best mystery writing, old and new, this subscription is one of our themed Classic & Contemporary range where each beautifully wrapped parcel of books contains one paperback classic of the genre, and one hardback contemporary novel. From locked room crimes to inverted mystery, through golden age mysteries, Japanese mid-century writing up to modern pastiche, this subscription will sate even the most ardent puzzler..
Ten years ago in 2016 Mariadela, a law student from Texas won free books for life from our London shop. She writes, 'Winning Heywood Hill's Library of a Lifetime was a truly life-changing gift. I do not exaggerate when I say it has enriched almost every facet of my life. I am constantly exposed to ideas and stories from people I never in a million years would have found on my own. The gorgeously wrapped parcels from London have become a comforting and beautiful constant I get to count on to always lift my spirits. The shop’s blue ribbon is a beacon to an unexplored world. Heywood Hill changed my life. I hope with all sincerity that it changes someone else’s.' Thank you Mariadela. We are passionate about protecting books and reading itself now and in future. A Year in Books, our famous range of book subscriptions, is the beating heart of our business. We believe books are an intimate and essential part of everyone's individuality. Retaining a human scale to what we do is very important to us. We hope you agree and we look forward to hearing from you again.