We are thrilled to announce that Sussex is taking part this year, for the first time, in the award-winning shared-reading scheme – the Big Read!

Each year universities taking part in the Big Read choose a book and share it across their respective communities. Aptly, for 2024, the selected title is Everything is Everything written by Sussex alumnus Clive Myrie.

We will be posting bespoke editions of the book to new students ahead of the coming academic year and also making copies freely available across campus to current students and staff. This will include copies being shared at the All-Staff Wellbeing Festival on July 17.

The Big Read aims to foster a strong sense of belonging through shared reading among students and staff, providing a common talking point for the whole Sussex community.

The initiative began in 2016 at Kingston University and we are working with them as partners, along with St George's, University of London and Royal Holloway.

Staff and students from these universities suggested titles for this year’s Big Read, from which came a shortlist of six books. A panel of volunteers then spent two months reading and deliberating, before coming to its final decision. Although we were not involved in the selection process on this first occasion, we are delighted that the selected book comes from our esteemed Sussex alumnus, Clive Myrie.

In this year’s book, Everything is Everything: A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope, Clive  tells how as a Bolton teenager with a paper round, he read all the newspapers he delivered from cover to cover and dreamed of becoming a journalist. In this deeply personal memoir, he tells how his family history has influenced his view of the world, introducing us to his Windrush generation parents, a great grandfather who helped build the Panama Canal, and a great uncle who fought in the First World War, later to become a prominent police detective in Jamaica.

He tells of his pride in his roots, but his determination not to be defined by his background in dealing with the challenges of race and class to succeed at the highest level.

The multi-award-winning journalist and one of the BBC’s most experienced foreign correspondents and news presenters said it was a privilege to have been chosen for the Big Read. Clive said: “I’m so chuffed and I hope all those taking part will enjoy the experience and find something that resonates for them in my book. Wow, and thank you.” Big Read events exploring themes within this moving memoir will take place throughout the next academic year for readers across the University to get involved in, and we will also be visited by the author. If you are interested in holding a reading group in your school or division, please complete the form on the Big Read webpage and we can organise a box of books to be delivered to your department. On the same page you can also sign-up to the Sussex Big Read distribution group for updates on events, and let us know where you’re reading the book on social media with #SussexBigRead.