What the programme will do

Through Nine Red, we are developing a programme of poetry, storytelling and book‑based activities that will:

• Create gentle, welcoming spaces where people can read, listen and share without fear of judgement.
• Spotlight writers, poets and storytellers from across Bedfordshire, including those whose voices are rarely heard in mainstream spaces.
• Use reading and writing as tools for wellbeing – helping people process life events, build confidence and feel less alone.
• Publish three Anthologies sharing the voices of Bedfordshire. A Women’s Anthology, A Cultural Voices Anthology, A Young Voices Anthology.
• A Bedfordshire Day Event celebrating writers from Bedfordshire. The Bedfordshire Day Book Salon & Poetry Recital

In people’s lives this might look like a mother and daughter reading a poem together for the first time and recognising themselves in its lines. It might be a young person turning difficult experiences into spoken word, and realising that what they have survived has value and meaning. It might be an older resident sharing memories of Bedfordshire from decades ago, so that a new generation can inherit that living history.

At the heart of my pledge is a simple belief: every person in Bedfordshire deserves to see themselves reflected in stories, and to feel that their own words are worth reading and listening to. Reading can open doors – to education, to opportunity, to self‑respect – but it can also open hearts. In a time when many of us feel isolated, unheard or under pressure, sitting with a book or a poem can be a powerful act of self‑care and connection.

The National Year of Reading gives us a chance to bring partners together – libraries, schools, community groups, faith spaces, arts organisations and grassroots projects – to make reading more visible, more joyful and more accessible across the county. I am especially passionate about reaching people who might never walk into a traditional literary event: those navigating trauma, caring responsibilities, financial stress or health challenges, who still carry whole worlds of story inside them.

Alongside this work, the books NINE RED Presents… (CIC) publish are part of the same vision. The Collateral Beauty Series is a love story to Luton – told through poetry, play and prose – and the anthologies emerging through this pledge will help capture the voices, memories and imagination of Bedfordshire in print. Together, these books are part of how we read Bedfordshire and how Bedfordshire reads itself.

My hope is that, by the end of this year, more Bedfordshire residents will be able to say: “I found myself in a book,” or “I wrote something I didn’t know I was allowed to say.” If our work can help even a handful of people feel more seen, more resourced and more loved through reading, then this pledge will have done its job.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who is already part of this journey, and I warmly invite new partners, readers and would‑be readers to join us. The pages are open. The stories are waiting. This is our year to read Bedfordshire – and to read ourselves – with compassion, curiosity and pride.

BedfordSHARE (Poetry Together) / Bedfordshire Voices

Five‑week local rollout

As part of our National Year of Reading – “Go All In” – Read Bedfordshire campaign, the Bedfordshire Voices structure is a five‑session programme delivered in each of six Bedfordshire communities. Across Weeks 1–4, local residents take part in gently structured workshops in reading, creative writing, storytelling and spoken word, building their own poems and short pieces in response to Bedfordshire life, memory and identity. These sessions also create contributions for Our House: Doors into Bedfordshire – a travelling installation that gathers “doorway” texts, poems and audio fragments from every stop on the tour.

Week 5 is Sekhmet’s Sanctuary & Radiant Roots, a dedicated closing wellbeing session. Here, participants are invited into a calm, boundaried space with grounding, breath, sound, colour and light practices to help integrate what has surfaced during the creative work, with the option (never requirement) to share pieces within a held, celebratory circle.

Naz Knight’s BedfordSHARE / Poetry Together project is woven throughout as a named intergenerational strand. Their poems contribute both to the national Poetry Together campaign and to the local Bedfordshire Voices anthologies, ensuring that every tour stop includes a clear space where generations meet on equal footing as readers, writers and bearers of the county’s stories.

Naz Knight

Get Involved in BedfordSHARE & Bedfordshire Voices

If you’d like to bring Bedfordshire Voices, BedfordSHARE or any part of our National Year of Reading – “Go All In” – Read Bedfordshire campaign into your community, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a library, school, faith space, community group or an individual who wants to host or attend a session, you can use the form below to register your interest. We’ll be in touch to explore what might work best in your setting and how we can support your readers, writers and would‑be readers.

Activity from June 2026 to December 2026 across six Bedfordshire communities, with public milestones linked to Bedfordshire Day 2026.

Get in touch

Whether you’d like to join a session, host Bedfordshire Voices in your community, partner with us for the National Year of Reading, or ask about the anthologies, we’d love to hear from you. Click the link below to register your interest, ask a question or start a conversation about bringing reading, poetry and storytelling into your space.

Be a part of our National Year of Reading – “Go All In” – Read Bedfordshire.