Amazon UK announced this year’s recipients as part of the Amazon Literary Partnership. Now in its second year in the UK, the Amazon Literary Partnership has awarded 23 nonprofit literary organizations whose mission is to champion emerging writers and diversity in storytelling.

To coincide with this, Amazon UK surveyed the nation to uncover the top 25 books covering modern and classic literary titles that we would have loved to write ourselves, featuring JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at the top of the list. In second place, the Pulitzer Prize winner, Kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee, the remaining top five including Stephen King’s horror novel, HE, the mysterious thriller of Dan Brown, The “Da Vinci Code and Helen Fielding’s comedy of well-being, Bridget Jones Diary close the first five.

The dystopian classic The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Of mice and Men, the masterful representation of the failing American dream, by the romantic novel of manners of John Steinbeck and Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice also featured in the top 25 list.

Research from 1,500 Britons also reveals that more than a quarter of the nation (27%) believe they have a bestselling book inside of them waiting to be written – although 54% admit that ‘they just wouldn’t know where to start. A quarter (25%) insisted that they did not have enough free time to sit down and write a novel, while more than a fifth (22%) did not think their spelling and language grammar are good enough to become full time writers.

In fact, 60% agree that they thought their writing skills had deteriorated since leaving school, instant messaging (50%), use of spellchecks (42%) and increased usage social media (38%) all affecting people’s ability to write well. Despite this, more than a third (37%) now believe that technology has made writing a story easier and more accessible than ever.

From Amazon’s beginnings as a business, the company has always strived to help writers not only tell their stories, but also find their readers. Through programs such as the Amazon Literary Partnership, Amazon provides grants to a range of literary organizations across the UK that empower writers of all ages and stages, helping them to create, publish, learn, teach. , experiment and prosper. This year’s grant recipients include six organizations supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership in 2020 and a wide range of new groups such as the National Center for Writing, Africa, Writes, Papatango Theater Company and the Scottish Book Trust, among many. other.

Darren Hardy, UK Author and Editorial Programs Manager, Amazon.co.uk, said:

“While as a nation we may have had the opportunity to imagine the wizarding world of Hogwarts or secret codes and plots, we know, by working with incredible literary organizations backed by the literary partnership. Amazon, that there is still so much untapped writing talent to be discovered in the UK. By funding groups that advocate for the voices of underrepresented writers, we hope to encourage people to write (and read) about a wider variety of perspectives on the world we live in today. With the Amazon Literary Partnership now in its second year in the UK, we’re excited to support more nonprofits than ever before. “

Writing isn’t exclusively reserved for those starting a novel, and many Britons find themselves getting creative with words in other ways, with 37% frequently making up social media posts, nearly ‘a quarter (24%) write a daily journal and 24% like to write. letters to their friends and family. Almost half (44%) of those surveyed said they used this type of writing more in the past 12 months due to time spent at home.

The study also found that, so important is literature to the nation, a quarter (22%) say they have read at least one life-changing novel, and in terms of the novels we love to read, half (50 %) say they think there are more diverse characters appearing in today’s novels, while 43 percent think there are more diverse writers who come to the fore when they are is successful literature.

Further details on all of the organizations supported under this year’s Amazon Literary Partnership grant can be found on the Amazon Day One blog here.

Books the British wish they had written:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling 34%
2. Kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee 20%
3. HE by Stephen King 19%
4. The “Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 18%
5. Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding 16%
6. Fifty shades of Grey by EL James 15%
7. Of mice and Men by John Steinbeck 14%
8. The girl with the dragon tattoo by Sieg Larsson 13%
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 12%
10. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 11%
11. Jack Reacher Series by Lee Enfant 11%
12. the wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort ten%
13. Tinker Tailor Spy Soldier by Jean le Carré 9%
14. The wife of the time traveler by Audrey Niffenegger 9%
15. Gatsby the magnificent by F Scott Fitzgerald 9%
16. The portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 8%
17. The catcher in the rye by JD Salinger 8%
18. About a boy by Nick Hornby 8%
19. Sex and the city by Candace Bushnell 7%
20. The alchemist by Paulo Coelho 7%
21. American psychopath by Bret Eastern Ellis 7%
22. Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab 6%
23. Play it like Beckham by Narinder Dhami 6%
24. Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip K Dick 6%
25. How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie 6%