About this list

BBC, 70 Books

The Big Jubilee Read is a 2022 campaign celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II by promoting reading for pleasure. A list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, with 10 from each decade of Elizabeth II's reign, was selected by a panel of experts and announced by the BBC and The Reading Agency on April 18, 2022. The selection process involved a long-list compiled from readers' suggestions, refined by librarians, booksellers, and literature specialists, and aims to engage readers in discovering and celebrating great books. Supported by the Arts Council, Libraries Connected, and the Booksellers Association, the project highlights the joy of reading and its power to connect people. The list includes 19 Booker Prize winners, mainly novels in English, but also features poetry and short story collections, as well as works originally published in Welsh and French.

This list was originally published in 2022 and was added to this site almost 2 years ago.