SHKP Chairman and Managing Director Dr Raymond Kwok (back centre) and Joint Publishing General Manager Elvin Lee (back, third left) with winners of the fifth Young Writers' Debut competition
The SHKP Reading Club is committed to promoting reading and is staging a series of Love Reading summer activities, encouraging people to have fun in the world of books with enriching literary adventures for different ages. Initiatives included sponsoring underprivileged children to visit the Hong Kong Book Fair where publications of the eight winning entries to the fifth SHKP Young Writers' Debut competition were first offered to the public. It was also inspiring that the 2015 SHKP Reading Index showed an overall rise of the popularity of reading in Hong Kong.
The Read to Dream programme has been running for eight consecutive years to encourage children's interest and reading habits. The Reading Club took 1,300 deprived children to the Book Fair with allowances to buy books again this year, and had three days of celebrity seminars and a creative workshop to inspire children by broadening their horizons, thinking and imagination through reading. Read to Dream has sponsored about 9,000 underprivileged children to visit Book Fairs so far with the assistance of the SHKP Volunteer Team. The Club also sold notebooks designed by disabled artist Apple Tong at its booth in the Hong Kong Book Fair for charity in collaboration with the Hans Andersen Club to promote reading.
The Reading Club and Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) staged a fifth Young Writers' Debut competition and the eight winning books by new young winners were available at the Book Fair. Some of the young authors participated in seminars to talk about the rewards and tribulations of writing. Young Writers' Debut competitions have given a start to 41 talented new writers so far, and this year was the first time that the competition welcomed entries from Taiwan and Macau as well as Hong Kong and the mainland to facilitate cultural exchanges among the four regions.
The latest SHKP Reading Index survey shows that Hong Kong people's interest in reading and assessment of the reading atmosphere in society are at historical highs. The average hours spent reading per week also increased significantly from 1.3 to 2.3 during the year, showing that the interest in literature is rising in Hong Kong. And 56% of the people interviewed had joined book sharing or recycling programmes, which are expected to become ever more popular. The Reading Club and World Green Organization are running the Recycle your Read campaign and have collected about 23,000 books by the end of June; a mark of success in encouraging people to share good reading with the others to extend the lifespan of books and promote sharing the joy of reading.
SHKP Reading Club
Website: www.shkpreadingclub.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shkpreadingclub
| District | Name | Book title |
| Hong Kong | Tang Wen Shun | Living in the World |
| Zhu Mao Wen | The World has Changed | |
| Kwan Ka Lee | 7 Years | |
| Mainland | Zhong Yu Ling | The Body's Life in the Kingdom of Disease |
| Zhang Yi Liang | Another Representation - Visual China in a Westerner's Eyes | |
| Samantha Lee | Burning Letters at Your Old Place – My Retro Youth | |
| Qian Yi | A Weird Guy | |
| Taiwan | Lai Ying Xi | Postman of the God of Flying Fish |
