Have you heard of Quick Reads? Now in its eleventh year, the initiative publishes six titles each spring that are aimed at people who struggle with reading.

Baroness Rebuck, DBE, founded the project in 2006 with the hope of countering the fact that one in six adults have difficulty reading, while one in three do not read for pleasure.

The books, which will be published tomorrow, are written by bestselling authors including Hertfordshire’s Rowan Coleman.

She juggles writing novels with raising her family, which includes a very lively set of twins whose main hobby, she tells me, is going in opposite directions.

Despite being dyslexic Rowan loves writing, she says: “I’ve had times in my past where it seemed impossible to have access to the world of words. I want to draw back the curtain for other emerging readers and help them access the many wonderful opportunities that are waiting between the pages of a good book.”

Her Quick Reads publication, Looking for Captain Poldark, follows the road trip of four people who meet online and drive to Cornwall, set to find Aiden Turner.

All of the books are just £1 and are specifically designed to be easier to tackle for adults who are less confident in their reading skills, but do not shy away from hard hitting topics such as gangs, Syrian refugees, homelessness and poverty.

Other authors include Dreda Say Mitchell, Amanda Craig, Jenny Colgan, Susan Jeffers and a crime collection edited by Harry Bingham, including short stories by Mark Billingham and Antonia Hodgson. 

Quick Reads is now part of The Reading Agency, a charity inspiring people of all ages and all backgrounds to read for pleasure and empowerment and funded by the Arts Council.

Details: readingagency.org.uk.