Open Book is looking to appoint Lead Reader/s to Lead Wednesday Sessions in HMP Barlinnie and HMP Low Moss
These posts are six-month freelance positions to support our Prison Programme, with the possibility of extension. The engagement is to deliver 15 Wednesday shared reading sessions in each of HMP Low Moss and HMP Barlinnie from 1 September 2025 to 31 March 2026.
The rate of pay is £115 per session, plus a £25 travel allowance per session. Each Lead Reader will also be entitled Open Book and SPS training time, funded at £30 per hour. Applicants may apply for either or both roles.
About Open Book
Since March 2013 Open Book (openbookreading.com) has run shared reading and creative writing sessions for adults. In our 2024/25 year, we’ll have delivered around 1000 sessions in approximately 80 locations – from Shetland to Stranraer and in places like Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee and in the Central Belt. We work in a number of sectors – libraries, health care settings, with refugees and migrants, community groups, libraries, other public settings and in 6 Scottish prisons. The roles advertised here relate to our shared reading programme in those prisons, specifically HMP Barlinnie and HMP Low Moss. In those sessions, stories and poems are read aloud then discussed in a relatively relaxed and informal setting.
Applicant Requirements
The successful candidate will:
- have a love of reading and books;
- be free to run the sessions on a Wednesday;
- be asked to join the Extended PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) scheme required for those working in the Scottish Prison Service (Open Book will cover the costs of PVG membership and support the Lead Reader to complete the process);
- be asked to undertake at least two HMP half-day training sessions prior to working in HMP Low Moss/HMP Barlinnie (Open Book will cover the costs of this training at £30 per hour, plus travel expenses) to be completed ahead of 1 September when session delivery begins;
- be able to attend a paid online training session in the Open Book model to be held shortly after appointment; and
- be invited to attend Open Book’s annual conference on 5th November 2025. Attendance at that conference is also funded at a fixed rate of £120 plus expenses.
Previous experience working in prisons is not essential, but preferred.
Shared Reading
A Lead Reader will be contracted to lead 15 Wednesday shared reading workshops in each of HMP Low Moss and HMP Barlinnie. These workshops will take place in the education departments of HMP Low Moss and HMP Barlinnie.
Application Process
Please submit a CV to amy@openbookreading.com by 5pm on Tuesday 17 June outlining any experience you feel would be relevant, along with a covering letter telling us why you are eligible for this work. A shortlist of applicants will be invited for an interview over Zoom on Wednesday 25 June. Please direct any questions related to the application to amy@openbookreading.com.
