Cityread London announces Rivers of London as its 2015 book

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz) has been chosen as the focus of Cityread London’s 2015 campaign. The title will be the centre of a month-long celebration of reading in the capital, starting on 30 March and running throughout April, which aims to engage London’s residents, workers and visitors with reading for pleasure, focused around the shared reading experience of a single book.
Taking Aaronovitch’s novel as a starting point, a programme of events will take place across all 33 London boroughs in libraries, bookshops, museums and other venues including a series of interactive theatrical performances by award winning theatre company Look Left Look Right as well as a tour by Aaronovitch that will include a library visit or event in every London borough.

Cityread 2015 will also include a specially produced Quick Reads title aimed at engaging Londoners who struggle with reading and will be supported by a partnership with BBC London.

Ben Aaronovitch said:
“As a native Londoner it’s hard to imagine a more exciting honour than having my book selected to be the London Cityread for 2015. Added to that is the sheer pleasure of working with and helping support the public libraries of London. My love of reading began in my local library and I frequently find myself drawn into the many fabulous local history libraries when researching my books – they are a resource beyond price and their contribution to the intellectual and cultural capital of London is beyond measure. If I have one hope for Cityread 2015 it is that many other people, young, old and those travelling in between, who have yet to fall in love with books will find that same first love. I mean it would be nice if it’s Rivers of London. but I’m not fussy – there’s plenty of books to go around.”

Andy Ryan, Director of Cityread London said:
“The world created in Rivers of London, a magical but very real modern-day capital, complete with river spirits, vampires and a secret branch of the Met dedicated to dealing with the supernatural, makes it the perfect Cityread title. We’re thrilled to be working with Ben and the team at Gollancz on our 2015 programme as the book presents so many exciting opportunities to bring reading to life for Londoners. There’ll be opportunities to interact with the characters at immersive theatrical performances, and to discuss the book with the author as Ben will be visiting each of London’s 33 library services during April.”

Watch Ben Aaronovitch talk about City Reads here:

About Cityread London:
Created and delivered by Stellar Libraries CIC, Cityread London is supported and funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Cityread London promotes the key ideas of reading for pleasure, engaging new library users, enhancing the experience of existing readers, and encouraging people to explore and celebrate London’s culture, landscape and history. Cityread London represents culture for all, with all London library services developing a programme of reading, activities and events using a variety of formats including ebooks, audiobooks, large print, and in translation where possible, aimed at encouraging readers at all levels. Founded in 2012 it has featured: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (Penguin), 2012; A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks (Vintage), 2013; My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young (Borough Press), 2014.
Full details of all Cityread London activity can be found at the website.

About Rivers of London:
Rivers of London is the first of an urban fantasy / crime fiction series, that follows the adventures of a rookie copper-turned-apprentice-wizard, Peter Grant, and his boss, the last wizard in England. A unique blend of police procedural, supernatural mayhem and threads of fascinating hidden history woven through the very fabric of the plot, Rivers Of London is fast-moving, funny, full of warmth and features at its heart one of the greatest and most historically rich cites in the world: London.

The fifth in the series, Foxglove Summer is published in hardback on November 13th 2014. The other three books in the series, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground and Broken Homes are all available in paperback.

About Ben Aaronovitch:
Born and raised in London, Ben Aaronovitch now lives in Kentish Town. He worked as a scriptwriter for Doctor Who and Casualty before the inspiration for his own series of books struck him whilst working as a bookseller in Waterstones Covent Garden. Ben Aaronovitch’s unique novels are the culmination of his experience of writing about the emergency services and the supernatural.