Conference Sneak Peak

We’re really looking forward to our 3^rd Annual Conference 17 & 18 May in the British Library (left) in London – our first two-day conference and our first in London. We are holding the conference in the capital to showcase the dynamic projects we are involved in there – from our borough-wide groups in Barnet, Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea, to our new groups in Broadmoor Hospital and HMP Wormwood Scrubs – as well as our national activities and ambitions.

The conference is always eagerly anticipated by staff, volunteers and those who have completed our training: this year, the support of our commissioners and patrons is also strongly in evidence. Our panel discussions (the full listings are available on our website for Day One and Day Two) will involve key people who are funding our work and patrons who passionately believe in the benefits of what we do, alongside our own staff who make it all happen, week in, week out.

To give you a sense of the range of voices on each panel, the “Why Shared Reading Works in Criminal Justice Settings” will involve one of TRO’s newest author-patrons, Erwin James, Dr Jude Robinson of the University of Liverpool, and commissioner Maggie Roy, alongside TRO staff Alexis McNay and Amanda Brown. Erwin James is a writer and Guardian columnist, for whom he began writing on criminal justice issues while a serving prisoner. While serving a twenty year sentence, he developed an interest in reading and education, which he credits with changing his life. Jude Robinson is Reader in the Anthropology of Health and Illness in the Dept of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology in the University of Liverpool. She is currently involved in a research project in HMP Low Newton on “Reading with Women in Prison”. Maggie Roy is a Service Manager with Central London Community Healthcare’s Offender Healthcare, based in HMP Wormwood Scrubs. Alexis McNay is TRO Reader-in-Residence in HMP Liverpool. He currently hosts Get into Reading groups in the healthcare and vulnerable prisoners’ wings; the session will be chaired by Amanda Brown, TRO’s Criminal Justice Manager.

Full details for each session will be available from Tuesday 3 April; in the meantime, booking information can be found on our website (cheque/invoice) and our dedicated Eventbrite site (online payment).