By Dan Thompson
Users of Margate’s dedicated Writer’s Room have backed calls from a government inquiry to turn the National Year of Reading into a National Decade of Reading.
The Writer’s Room at Marine Studios is a dedicated space for writing and runs a programme of development opportunities.
Current residents include award-winning LGBTQ+ writer Ellen Jones, decorated poet Connor Sansby and golf writer Adam Lawrence, currently completing a book about golf course architecture. Alumni include Sunday Times bestseller Harry Baker, and Poppy Cockburn who is on the long list for this year’s Forward Prize.
The Reading for Pleasure inquiry was launched in November 2025, as reports suggested the number of children reading books was in decline.
The report suggests a decade of support for reading, including a National Reading Guarantee which would promise all children, opportunities to “enjoy books, stories and shared reading experiences from birth to 18 as part of everyday life”.
Ideas also include issuing library cards at birth, to encourage parents to read to younger children, and more support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Reading to children is good for their mental wellbeing, providing comfort, reassurance, and security. It builds self-esteem, vocabulary, feeds imagination, and research shows even improves their sleeping patterns. Children who have been read to achieve better at school.
Once children learn to read for themselves, reading will improve educational outcomes, help them to better understand the world around them, and support independent learning. It continues to support mental wellbeing.
A report from Oxford Press says reading increases empathy and understanding of others, and can help children to navigate big life events or experiences. It also said reading is useful for managing transitions, like starting at a new school.
“In an area of real deprivation and low educational outcomes, we know that reading matters,” says co-director Dan Thompson, “and we know that writing that reflects real life helps children better understand the complicated world around them.”
To find out more about the Writer’s Room at Marine Studios, visit marinestudioswritersroom.substack.com/
