A free book for every reader! Get your free Quick Reads short story collection here

Reading is a powerful tool. It can inform us, take us to incredible imaginary places and give people the skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty – a free book certainly helps.

That’s why The Reading Agency launched the Quick Reads collection to get books into the hands of as many people as possible to spread the joy of reading.

Around a million books will be gifted this year to mark Quick Reads’ 20th year, including 480,000 to prisons across the UK.

Now Big Issue has teamed up with the Booker Prize Foundation and The Reading Agency to give away a new free book to every reader.

Critically acclaimed author and 1993 Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle has curated All Around the World: Stories by Booker Prize Writers, a new Quick Reads collection of short stories designed to make the world’s best fiction accessible to everyone.

The aim is to persuade or remind us that great literature should not be exclusive or intimidating – and hundreds of copies have been distributed to Big Issue vendors to read and give away to customers.

“It’s an invitation to read,” Doyle told Big Issue. “There’s something really nice about being able to read a book relatively quickly. 

“And I would imagine, if you’re somebody who isn’t used to reading, that some books can be quite intimidating because of the sheer heft of them. Or if the font is tiny. Or if you flick through it and it just seems to be one interminable paragraph. 

“Quick Reads is like dipping your toe in the water of literature, with some of the barriers that might put people off removed.”

Doyle contributes his short story The Buggy to the collection. He is joined by fellow authors Anne Enright, Yoko Ogawa and David Szalay as well as Nadifa Mohamed, Andrey Kurkove and Yael van der Wouden.

The short story collection, published by Vintage, is out now for £1 from bookshop.org and Waterstones retailers. 

But if you’re a Big Issue reader you can get a copy absolutely free.

How to claim your free book

To claim your ebook: Click on this link to the Google Play store or enter the redeem code 4UU8Z020R747X in the Google Play store.

Or to claim your audiobook: Click on this link to the Google Play store or enter the redeem code 07F5KGERTFJK in the Google Play store.

You will need a Google account claim your free book. iOS users will need to download Google Play Books from the App Store and sign in with a Google account to redeem the code.

Terms and conditions

Offer: Eligible readers may claim one free Google Play code for one copy of All Around The World: Stories by Booker Prize Writers in [either ebook or audiobook] format.
Promoter: Big Issue Media Limited (company registration number 02612480), 3rd Floor, 113-115 Fonthill Road, London N4 3HH. The offer is run in conjunction with Penguin Random House UK. Google Play is the redemption platform and is not the promoter of this offer.
Eligibility: Open to readers resident in the UK and Ireland aged 13 or over. 
Offer period: The offer opens at 01.00 am on Monday 8 June 2026 and closes at 23.59 on Sunday 14 June 2026, or earlier if all available codes are claimed. Codes must be redeemed before the download link/code expires.
Availability: A limited number of codes is available. Codes are available on a first-come, first-served basis and may run out before the closing date. The Promoter has made a reasonable estimate of likely demand.  One code per person/Google account. Codes are non-refundable, not for resale and have no cash value.
Redemption: Codes are redeemable through Google Play only and require a valid Google account, internet access, a compatible device/app and compliance with Google Play terms. Your Google Play account country/region must be eligible for the offer. Consumers outside the UK and Ireland, or whose Google Play account settings are outside the eligible territory, may be unable to redeem.
Access after redemption: Once validly redeemed, the title should remain available in your Google Play library, subject to Google Play terms.
Technical issues: The Promoter is not responsible for inability to redeem caused by Google Play unavailability, device incompatibility, account settings, network failure, incorrect entry of a code, or circumstances outside its reasonable control. Lost, expired, deleted or misused codes will not be replaced except at the Promoter’s discretion.
Changes: If the advertised title or format becomes unavailable for reasons outside the Promoter’s reasonable control, the Promoter may substitute an equivalent title or format.
Rights: Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.
Privacy: Google’s use of personal data in connection with redemption is governed by Google’s  terms and privacy policy.
Contact: For Google Play redemption issues, contact Google Play support.
Law: These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, without affecting any mandatory consumer protections that apply in your country of residence.

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