National Magazine Day launches with over 10,000 families taking part in its inaugural year
Friday 16 October 2026
National Magazine Day took place on Wednesday 14 October, marking the start of an inspiring, inclusive campaign designed to help every child discover the joy of reading. In its inaugural year, the initiative has already seen extraordinary momentum, with more than 10,000 families across the UK entering the nationwide schools competition – a clear sign of how strongly magazines resonate as an accessible, confidence‑building route into reading.
This first‑year success reflects the collective effort of the magazine publishing community. Leading publishers – Immediate, DC Thomson, Egmont, Kennedy and Future – have come together with distribution partner Frontline, literacy organisations, including the National Literacy Trust, and independent charities such as The Children’s Book Project and Book Bank Charity.
Alongside these established partners, a wave of independent publishers have joined the movement, including Creature & Co, Howzat, Storytime, Launchpad Publishing and Young Stock, demonstrating the breadth, creativity and commitment of the wider magazine sector. Together, these partners are delivering more than 70,000 magazines directly into the hands of children who may not otherwise have access to reading materials, reaching families through food banks, community hubs, breakfast clubs and school libraries.
The national schools competition, which ran from 1 July to 1 September, invited parents and carers to nominate their child’s school to receive bundles of children’s magazines. Entries were received from across the UK, reflecting the campaign’s broad reach and growing resonance with families. Twenty winning schools have now been selected from towns and cities across the country, each receiving 250 magazines to support reading for pleasure in classrooms and libraries. Families who nominated a winning school will also receive a £100 Amazon voucher as a thank‑you for taking part.
One school has been awarded the coveted Golden Ticket, receiving an additional £1,000 to spend on books, magazines and reading resources for its library. Poppy (age 8), whose entry was selected from more than 10,000 submissions, said: “I’m really proud that I’ve won it for my school and that we can share it throughout the classrooms. I think we’re a really lucky school to have won!”
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as a National Magazine Day Golden Ticket winner. A huge thank you to Poppy for entering the competition on behalf of the school. Winning £1,000 to spend on reading resources is a fantastic prize and will make a real difference to our pupils. We are so excited to see what new books, magazines and reading resources we can bring into school for everyone to enjoy.”
Mr Bardsley, Executive Headteacher at Waltham-on-the-Wolds Primary School
“This first year of National Magazine Day has shown what’s possible when the entire magazine community comes together with a shared purpose. The response from families has been extraordinary, and the support from publishers – from household names to brilliant new indie titles – demonstrates the impact we can have when we work collectively. Our ambition is for National Magazine Day to grow year on year, reaching even more children and helping to make reading accessible, enjoyable and part of everyday life.”
Ali Foster-Grose, Director of Community & Events at Immediate
Friday 16 October 2026
The latest research from the National Literacy Trust, published 14 October, shows that the number of children and young people reading comic books and graphic novels is at its highest level since 2017, with almost half of all children reading comics at least once a month. The findings from the charity’s Annual Literacy Survey found that levels of engagement with comics have increased amongst all age groups and the gender gap has halved, as the format becomes increasingly popular with girls, with boys being the most likely to read comics.
Of the children and young people surveyed, many reported wanting to read comic books or graphic novels because they can often find stories in those formats which connect to their existing interests, such as TV series, films, video games or hobbies. They reported that comics complemented their wider cultural and media ecosystem, and that the visual elements helped to immerse them in stories and characters.
“There are lots of ways for children and young people to meaningfully experience reading, with comics and graphics novels continuing to grow in popularity. Children and young people told us this is because comics reflect their interests, help to bring stories to life, create both accessible and immersive reading experiences and support their emotional wellbeing. When children have opportunities to explore reading in all its forms, they are much more likely to find something that feels relevant to them and build an enduring connection with reading, which will shape their lives. Comics can play an important role in children’s reading lives; that’s why we’re encouraging everyone to Go All In on comics in the National Year of Reading.”
Lucy Starbuck Braidley, Head of School Libraries at the National Literacy Trust and Host of the Comic Boom: Comics in Education podcast
Friday 16 October 2026
National Magazine Day aims to help address this gap in a simple but effective way, using magazines as an inclusive, low‑barrier entry point into reading at home, in schools and in communities. As the initiative grows year on year, the ambition is to reach as many children as possible – ensuring every child has the chance to discover reading in a way that feels fun, accessible and inspiring.
Find out more about National Magazine Day
Full list of winning schools:
- Broomhill Infant School, Sheffield
- St Anthony’s School for Boys, London
- Green Park School, Newport Pagnell
- St Mary and St Paul’s C of E Primary School, Prescot
- Waltham-on-the-Wolds CE Primary School, Melton Mowbray (Golden Ticket winning school)
- Crawfordsburn Primary School, Co Down
- Totley All Saints CE Primary School, Sheffield
- Ashmole Primary School, London
- Dr Challoner’s High School, Amersham
- Davenies, Beaconsfield
- Edgar Sewter Primary School, Halesworth
- East Haddon Primary CEVC School, Northampton
- Bruntsfield Primary School, Edinburgh
- St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School, London
- Laycock Academy, Keighley
- Hillborough Junior School, Luton
- Ysgol Gymunedol Plascrug Community School, Aberystwyth
- Oakfield Primary Academy, Dartford
- Harlands Primary School, Haywards Heath
- Merchant’s Academy, Bristol