Black British Book Festival founder Selina Brown receives Queen's Reading Room honour

Launched to combat declining reading rates, the Queen's Reading Room medal recognises individuals who champion books and storytelling across the UK. Brown has been awarded this historic honour in recognition of her tireless work in establishing Europe's largest celebration of Black literature - the Black British Book Festival - as well as her Reading for Smiles programme, which introduces inclusive stories into primary schools in underserved areas.

Reflecting on the award, Selina Brown shared what the milestone means to her:

‘The medal recognises an outstanding contribution to literature and reading in this country. To be the first person to receive it is something I take seriously. But this moment is part of something much bigger than me. My granny — the first storyteller I ever knew — came to this country from Jamaica in the 1950s as part of the Windrush generation. She carried stories, memory and history with her, which I loved listening to.

'I come from people who were once denied the right to read and from a people of excellence who used the power of words to build and shape culture. This work has never just been about a festival. It’s about making sure Black British stories are treated as essential.’

Brown was among hundreds of nominations, which were whittled down by a judging panel featuring figures from across Britain’s literary landscape including Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, Dan Conway, chief executive of the Publishers Association, and the author Ann Cleeves.

‘This medal has my name on it. But it was built by all of us. And what we build next, we build together.’

— Selina Brown, founder and CEO of the Black British Book Festival

Our ongoing partnership with the Black British Book Festival is a source of great pride for Pan Macmillan, with our support helping to provide the resources to amplify the celebration of Black literature on a large scale. We are pleased to support vital community initiatives such as the Croydon Black Book Library, which makes Black literature more accessible to local families year-round.

In October 2025, Pan Macmillan announced a pioneering community-led publishing collaboration with the BBBF. The collaboration is an evolution of Pan Macmillan’s four year relationship with the festival and will champion and amplify new talent. This new model will take a fundamentally different approach, combining our editorial expertise with the BBBF's community reach. As Brown noted when the collaboration was announced:

‘This collaboration is about reimagining how publishing can work: putting community, access and authenticity at the heart of decision-making. Together, we’re building a model that doesn’t just publish books for the community but with the community.’

Together, we have also developed the Writers on the Rise programme, a ten-week mentorship initiative that connects emerging Black British writers with our experienced editors. By providing one-to-one mentorship and actionable industry guidance, the programme aims to demystify the publishing process and create a pipeline that reflects the richness of Black British voices.

Wrapping up her thoughts on the award, Selina commented:

'Every person who bought a ticket, shared a post, came to an event, told a friend, believed in this before it was big, you are the reason this exists. I do not take that lightly. I never have. This medal has my name on it. But it was built by all of us. And what we build next, we build together.'