Author “still taking it in” after winning award from Queen Camilla

Author Selina Brown is “still taking it in” after winning Queen Camilla’s inaugural Queen’s Reading Room Medal.

Queen Camilla presented the first Queen’s Reading Room Medals at Clarence House on Wednesday at a reception with authors, the literary community and representatives from the Queen’s Reading Room.

Two awards were presented: the National Reading Hero Medal and the Local Reading Hero Medal. The National Reading Hero Medal went to Selina Brown for her “work in founding the Black British Book Festival, Europe’s largest celebration of
Black literature and for also bringing inclusive stories into primary schools with low literacy rates.”

Taking to X after receiving the award, Brown said that she “received something I will carry for the rest of my life.” She also dedicated her medal to black British authors.

“Books changed my life long before I ever thought about changing anything else. As a young Black girl growing up in Britain, I found possibility in stories before I saw it anywhere else. This medal is not mine. It never was.

“It belongs to every Black British author who has ever felt unseen in this industry. It belongs to every child who has searched for themselves in a story and not found it. And it belongs to every single person who supported @BBBookFestival who came to an event, shared a post, bought a ticket, or believed in this before it made sense. Five years ago, this didn’t exist. Today, we’ve reached over 100,000 people.

“And we’re just getting started. Gratitude is ah muss! Thank you,” Brown wrote.

I don’t even know where to begin. 😭🖤

Yesterday, inside Clarence House, I became the first ever recipient of the Queen’s Reading Room Medal @queensreadingroom and was named the UK’s National Reading Hero.

I’m still taking it in.😭 pic.twitter.com/P8DTgIUPT3

— Selina Brown (@TheSelinaBrown) March 26, 2026

Liz Waterland won the Local Reading Hero Medal for her “commitment to making a difference in her local community through her work volunteering at Deepings Community Library in Lincolnshire.”

The Queen’s Reading Room began as the Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so successful that Queen Camilla continued its work after becoming Queen consort in 2022.