BBC newsreader and journalist Clive Myrie's memoir chosen as this year's Kingston University Big Read

Posted Wednesday 29 May 2024

Moving, engaging, revealing, Everything is Everything is a fascinating insight into someone determined to succeed on his own terms and has been selected as annual Big Read title by Kingston University, now in its tenth year.

In Everything is Everything: A Memoir of Love, Hate and Hope, Clive Myrie tells how as a Bolton teenager with a paper round, he read all 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, later to become a prominent police detective in Jamaica.

He tells of his pride in his roots, but his determination not to be defined by his background in dealing with the challenges of race and class to succeed at the highest level.

The book, published by Hodder and Stoughton, was chosen from a shortlist of six and will be sent out to all first-year students ahead of the next academic year, with further copies made available for staff and students from other years.

The multi-award winning journalist and one of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondents and news presenters said it was a privilege to have been chosen for the Big Read at Kingston. "I'm so chuffed and I hope all those taking part will enjoy the experience and find something that resonates for them in my book. Wow, and thank you," Clive Myrie said.

The Big Read is an award-winning initiative that aims to foster a strong sense of belonging through shared reading among students and staff, providing a common talking point during the first term at University.

The Big Read began in 2016 at Kingston University and we are again working with partner institutions St George's, University of London, and Royal Holloway, University of London in order to measure the outcomes across different student bodies and organisations. This year's selection panel comprised 46 people from across all the universities and communities involved – students and staff, comprising both administrative/professional and academic colleagues.

Big Read Director, Professor Alison Baverstock, commented: "this was a really hard-fought contest this year, with animated debate throughout, however our robust processes for analysing the online vote ensured a winning choice emerged. Myrie is a national figure who actively engaged with the process of selected our Big Read author early. We are both proud of our new connection and fascinated to watch world events unfold with him. We look forward to his upcoming visit to Kingston University. Many thanks to the entire reading panel and for everyone involved so far."

Big Read events exploring themes within the book will take place throughout the next academic year for readers across the University to get involved in.

Previous winning titles of the Big Read have included Hello World! How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry, About a Boy by Nick Hornby, The Humans by Matt Haig, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, Airhead by Emily Maitlis, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu and The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper.

Categories: Staff, Students