Chris Meade spent three days with us working and debating all sort of questions on literacy within the digital environment in our Salamanca Centre.

Chris Meade is Director of if:book. Chris has an M.A. in Creative Writing & New Media and his digital fiction In Search of lost Tim was described by the Independent on Sunday as “a jeu d’esprit and just possibly the future of fiction. He was Director of Booktrust from 2000 – 2007, running the Bookstart scheme and a range of book prizes and promotions, and Director of the Poetry Society from 1994-2000, where he set up the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden and the lottery funded Poetry Places project, described by Andrew Motion as “a modern miracle”. In the 1980s and 90s he worked in Sheffield and Birmingham libraries, promoting Creative Reading and ‘Imagination Services’.

Chris Meade gave us his views on some of the innovation projects he is involved such as HOTBOOK, BOOKSTART and also Chris opinion about our R&D in literacy:

 "Places for R&D on reading are absolute vital more now than ever"

Also we talked about the literacy in the digital environment and the different ways that young people, teachers and parents are living the experience of this revolution and its challenges: 

"Above all, the great thing is that digital reading puts literature back in the main stage: puts it on the devices"   

"Reading digitally is fantastic because it allows us to read the way we write these days"

 Finally, as many of the guests in our Labs, we talked about our personal definitions of reading:

 "Creative reading helps your brain to sparkle and it helps you to take breath, fantastic kind of imaginative space" 

During his stage with us Chris made a brilliant speech on reading in the digital age. You can follow it in this video.

Also Chris wrote this wonderful and inspirational paper.