11 November, 2026
Heywood Hill, one of Britain’s most celebrated independent bookshops, is issuing a rallying cry to readers around the world: save books, protect reading and win free books for life.
Heywood Hill has launched the first-ever Global Reading Census. This international initiative will discover which books mean the most to book-lovers around the world, why reading matters and how the habit of reading books can be sustained in a rapidly changing world.
Entries for the inaugural Global Reading Census are open now and will close at 11.59pm GMT on Sunday 29 November. Every census submission automatically constitutes one entry into a spectacular prize draw, with six bookish prizes on offer from Heywood Hill, the first being free hardback books for life.
A global rallying cry for books
Nicky Dunne, bookseller-in-chief at Heywood Hill, explains,
‘Reading is freedom as all book-lovers instinctively understand. For centuries books have provided a unique imaginative escape from almost any situation: from persecution, from trauma, from conformity. Think of Nelson Mandela in his cell, Maya Angelou in her school library and Virginia Woolf among her books. Now reading itself needs defending.
‘Our precious free-thinking time is being taken away by the machines. Schools are waking up to this. Adults know it too. We sense a huge hunger out there to reclaim the crucial time we all need to nourish our minds properly.
‘Our Global Reading Census is an important step. We call on book-lovers everywhere to have their say about why reading matters. Their submissions via the Heywood Hill website will inform a campaign to defend books during 2027 and beyond. Whoever completes our online census will have a chance to win free books for life among other fantastic bookish prizes.’
Stephen Fry, author, says ‘A fabulous initiative that I’m proud and pleased to support. Now more than ever books are the answer. But they’re not medicine - they are friends.’
Alice Loxton, historian says, ‘A campaign to mobilise book-lovers around the whole world is exactly what we need. And Heywood Hill is ambitious enough to make it happen. Save books, protect reading and win free books for life. What is not to like?’
John Simpson, world affairs editor of BBC News, says ‘I love Heywood Hill’s Global Reading Census! It’s a brilliant idea and I am sure readers around the world will respond with huge enthusiasm.’
Ben Okri, Booker winner, says ‘Your life is only as rich as your reading.’
What qualifies Heywood Hill to begin a global campaign?
Heywood Hill, the biggest little bookshop in the world, has a uniquely international reach with book subscription customers in 80 countries, including in some very far-flung communities. The shop’s fiercely independent ethos is all about fostering human connections particularly via our incredibly versatile book subscriptions.
Ten years ago Mariadela Villegas, then a Mexican-American law student based in Texas, won Heywood Hill’s 80th anniversary prize draw which had 50,000 participants. Now an Attorney in Massachusetts, Mariadela has enjoyed ten years of free hardbacks from Heywood Hill.
She says, ‘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.’
Heywood Hill expects the results of its Global Reading Survey will reveal a fascinating snapshot of reading across the world in 2026, the bookshop’s 90th anniversary, from the books that have most profoundly influenced individual lives to the habits, preferences and concerns of readers.
Ninety years after first opening its doors in Mayfair, the bookshop is inviting readers of every persuasion, from lifelong bibliophiles to occasional holiday readers, to join its cause by answering one deceptively simple question:
Which book means the most to you, and why?
Participants will also be invited to share their reading habits, favourite genres, a key childhood book, the importance of reading in their lives, and their ideas for encouraging reading in the age of artificial intelligence.
Writers supporting the launch of Heywood Hill’s international campaign include Fran Lebowitz, Lousie Penny, Edmund de Waal, Alice Loxton, Ben Okri, Stephen Fry, Sophy Roberts, Anthony Horowitz, James Cahill, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Neil MacGregor, Lyse Doucet, John Simpson, Ben Macintyre, Sara Wheeler, William Hague, Sophie Winkelman, Justin Marozzi, Jennie Godfrey and Antony Beevor.