The Kingston University Big Read
Join the KU Big Read
The Kingston University Big Read is our award-winning shared-reading scheme. If you are a new student starting Kingston University in September 2024, you will receive a free copy of this year's Big Read title.
To take part in the Big Read, just read the book over the summer and join in the discussions and events that take place online over the summer. Arrive ready to talk about your experiences when you reach University in September. Current students and staff will read the same book so you will have plenty to talk about when you meet. You might also like to share the book with your family and friends – finding out how different people read the same book can be fun and interesting.
When you get to Kingston University there will be lots of opportunities to share your thoughts – as well as the chance to meet the author and have your book signed. For now, bear in mind that all the students coming to Kingston, as well as the staff and students already here, are having the same experience.
If you are a new student starting Kingston University in September 2024, you will receive a free copy of this year's Big Read title, Everything is Everything.
The Big Read 2024
Everything is Everything is a memoir from internationally renowned journalist and broadcaster, Clive Myrie. Reflecting on a life spent telling some of the biggest stories of our time, from the horrific violence in Borneo to the British-American invasion of Iraq and, most recently, the ongoing war in Ukraine.
As a Bolton teenager with a paper round, Clive Myrie read the newspapers he delivered from cover to cover and dreamed of becoming a journalist. In this deeply personal memoir, he tells how his family history has influenced his view of the world, introducing us to his Windrush generation parents, a great grandfather who helped build the Panama Canal, and a great uncle who fought in the First World War – and later went on to become a prominent police detective in Jamaica.
He reflects on how being black has affected his perspective on issues he's encountered in 30 years of reporting, showing us how those experiences gave him a better idea of what it means to be an outsider. He talks of the pride he feels for his roots, and his determination not to be defined by his background.
Moving, engaging, revealing, this is a story of love and hate but also hope. Our next Big Read for 2024 is Everything is Everything, by Clive Myrie.
Check out this special message Clive has kindly recorded for us.
The Big Read Book Club
The Big Read Book Club began during lockdown, as a means of connecting our university community when we could not meet. It offers a series of online hour-long seminars which draw on themes from our shared-read, with experts from a variety of disciplines and roles offering relevant perspectives on the weeks topic.
The full schedule of the Big Read Book Club events for 2024 and links to book your free ticket are below.
The Big Read 2024 shortlist
We are proud to announce the Big Read 2024 shortlist:
- The Darkness Manifesto by Johan Eklof
- Iron Curtain by Vesna Goldsworthy
- Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
- The Future of Geography by Tim Marshall
- Everything is Everything: A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope by Clive Myrie
- The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
What are the origins of the KU Big Read?
Kingston University has a really strong sense of community. Since 2015/16 we have been building this through the development of our award-winning Kingston University Big Read.
First offered in 2015, the Kingston University Big Read aims to make those coming to the University feel welcome before they arrive, and to create links between them and the staff and students already here.
On meeting their offer, each new student (undergraduate and postgraduate) will receive a free copy of that year's special edition Kingston University Big Read title. Current students and staff will be invited to help themselves to a free copy from one of the many locations across the University's campuses. Available early in July, copies can be taken away on holiday and discussed with wider family and friends.
The scheme is based on similar projects in the USA, which have shown that creating a community through shared reading before students arrive helps them feel welcome, settle in quickly and adjust to their new life as a student. Whereas a few universities in the UK have experimented with reading schemes linked to specific types of books (e.g. prize winners) within particular faculties, Kingston University is the first UK university to establish a scheme on such a wide scale, and to involve both the full University and the local community.
Colleagues from Kingston University attending the prestigious Times Higher Education's Annual awards where the project secured 'Widening Participation/Outreach of the Year' in November 2017
How the Big Read developed
The potential relevance of the project was explored through questionnaires given to first year students in 2015. After a very positive response, we trialled the scheme for those joining the University in autumn 2015. Students loved it, and talked of their excitement at receiving a 'gift' from their University – as well as feeling 'expected' and 'welcomed'. One of the most interesting findings, however, was the impact the project had within Kingston University staff. Many were more eager to participate than had been anticipated. The title chosen for the first Kingston University Big Read was Nick Hornby's About a Boy.
Since 2016, the process for choosing the book has been much more complex. The starting point is suggestions made by staff and students. All suggestions are carefully analysed according to a number of criteria considered important, in order to find a book that all can read with interest. The information is loaded into a database so that comparisons can be made. The result is an algorithm, which produces a shortlist of six titles. A panel of volunteers spends two months reading and deliberating, before coming to its final decision: the chosen Kingston University Big Read.
Previous winning titles
Here is a list of our previous winning titles since the beginning of the project in 2015:
- 2015: About a Boy by Nick Hornby
- 2016: The Humans by Matt Haig
- 2017: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal
- 2018: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- 2019: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
- 2020: Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News by Emily Maitlis
- 2021: The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu
- 2022: The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
- 2023: Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry
In 2016/17 we shared our Big Read with Edinburgh Napier, to explore how pre-arrival shared-reading worked across two universities committed to widening participation. In 2017/18 we worked with Wolverhampton University and in 2018/19 with Wolverhampton, Edge Hill University and the University of the West of Scotland. In both 2020/21 and 2021/22 we worked with Edge Hill University and St. George's, University of London. In both 2022/23 and 2023/24, we are working with St George's, University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of Sussex.
Big Read partners
We work with many partners to bring you the Kingston University Big Read. These include publishers, authors, Kingston Borough, and the Higher Education sector. All the universities we have worked with are institutions committed to widening participation. If you would like to know more, or consider becoming a partner too, please contact us at kubigread@kingston.ac.uk.
Contact us
If you would like more information regarding the Kingston University Big Read, to suggest a title, or to volunteer to be part of an upcoming selection committee, please contact us at: kubigread@kingston.ac.uk.
Alternatively, for press information, please contact the Kingston University Communications team.
