Federation of European Publishers

Get Caught Reading Campaign 2020

fep-fee admin — 2022-07-07T15:48:45Z

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) launched the fourth edition of the Get Caught Reading Campaign (GCR) in December 2020. By collaborating with MEPs, Commissioners and FEP members, the campaign aims at promoting books and drawing attention on the importance of reading on the political agenda. In its previous edition, in 2016, FEP organised an exhibition at the European Parliament to display portraits of European personalities who participated and shared their passion for books and reading. Due to the sanitary situation, it wasn't possible to replicate it, but FEP hopes to organize a new one once again for the next Get Caught Reading campaign.

As for the 2020 GCR campaign, 16 European personalities participated and shared their love for reading. Yet, the persistency of COVID-19 hindered the organization of an exhibition and influenced the participation of the personalities involved. Nevertheless, FEP organised a social media campaign during the Christmas period and the portraits are available on the Get Caught Reading Campaign website.

“I have chosen a Swedish author, Klas Östergren, and his book Renegater, a brick of a novel, which blends Swedish contemporary history with fiction. I enjoy the language. The way the author uses words opens up new dimensions in the story.”

“Colum McCann's fantastic “Apeirogon” brought the Middle East conflict home to me in a sensitive, touching, deeply human and wise way. A father of daughters myself, I understood the pain, but also the unconditional will of Rami and Bassam for reconciliation and for understanding each other's views.”

“L'uomo della provvidenza, by Antonio Scurati, tells us the strength and the banality of evil. Fascism as a Dictatorship able to seduce the crowds with the production of the scapegoat but also the total reliance on the charisma of a leader, giving up freedom and democracy. Reading this book is a journey of self-discovery and also an antidote to the hypnosis of the single man leading”.

“I'm reading the book The Wind in my Hair written by Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist and writer, civil rights activist and critical voice against the ayatollahs' regime. It is a very strong, intense, autobiographical book, in which the author, who fled Iran in 2009 for New York, where she still lives, tells of the vicissitudes she went through after being born in 1976 in a conservative family, in a village in Mazandaran, a province in northern Iran. Today she is one of the most representative figures of dissent towards the ayatollahs' regime.”

“I am reading a book called Nenhum Caminho Será longo, written by the Portuguese Catholic cardinal, theologian and poet José Tolentino Mendonça. The book borrows its title from the Japanese proverb: “No road is too long in the company of a friend”. It is, of course, a book about friendship, revisiting how this connection is portrayed in the Bible and in the work of philosophers and historians throughout the ages.”

Get Caught Reading 2016 campaign and exhibition

fep-fee admin — 2016-01-19T13:54:01Z

The Federation of European Publishers has launched the third edition of Get Caught Reading, to promote books and reading.

This campaign has two main purposes: to promote and celebrate reading by European citizens and to increase the importance of books and reading on the political agenda.

More than 120 European personalities shared their passion for reading in photos capturing them with their favourite book and a quote explaining why reading is important to them. The participants included Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, national ministers, and many Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of the book industry. In addition, further photos were taken of those visiting the exhibition in the Parliament.

©Roberta Balduzzi

Those pictures were displayed during an exhibition at the European Parliament, supported by MEP Sylvie Guillaume and sponsored by Bertelsmann, between the 22nd and the 26th of February 2016.

©Roberta Balduzzi

At the official launch, on the 24th of February, attendees were welcome by Ms Sylvie Guillaume, Vice President of the European Parliament, Ms Silvia Costa, President of the Committee on Culture and Education, and Mr Pierre Dutilleul, President of the Federation of European Publishers.

©Roberta Balduzzi

Get Caught Reading aims to have as wide a European outreach as possible. As well as continuing the campaign online through social media, FEP aims to make the exhibition available to visitors at other locations throughout the year.

©Roberta Balduzzi

Visit Get Caught Reading Website

The Get Caught Reading book is now available!

fep-fee admin — 2014-04-04T10:23:08Z

The Get Caught Reading book, gathering the pictures and quotes of each and every participant is now online! Our Brussels and Frankfurt exhibition are also featured. Don't hesitate to share this and see you in 2015 for the next edition!

The book is on a zip format. Click and download- the book will then open in your browser. When the front page appears, go and click on the upper right corner to go to the instructions.

Get Caught Reading campaign & exhibition

fep-fee admin — 2013-10-21T12:24:49Z

Get Caught Reading is a campaign to promote books and reading inspired by a US campaign organised by the Association of American Publishers, at the initiative of its former President and CEO Patricia Schroeder. FEP ran the first European edition in 2005 when more than one hundred personalities were 'caught' reading, including former and current Presidents of the European Parliament, Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament. The 2013 edition has been even more successful, under the patronage of MEP Luigi Berlinguer, and with the support of Bertelsmann, Librius and Pearson.

More than 160 European personalities shared their passion for reading in photos capturing them with their favourite book and a quote explaining why reading is important to them. The participants included José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, national ministers, and many Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of the book industry. In addition, further photos were taken of those visiting the exhibition in the Parliament.

Get Caught Reading set out with two main purposes: to promote and celebrate European citizens reading, and to increase the importance of books and reading on the political agenda. We want to remind people that reading is both a real joy and the gateway to a world of opportunities.

Get Caught Reading aims to have as wide a European outreach as possible – as oppose to only being available to those in Brussels. As well as continuing the campaign online through social media, FEP aimed to make the exhibition available to visitors at other locations throughout the year of its launch.
The pictures were first displayed at the European Parliament in Brussels between the 17th and the 20th of June 2013. At the official launch, on the 18th, FEP were delighted to welcome those coming to see the pictures, including Ms Fadila Laanan, Belgian Minister for Culture, the Audiovisual Sector, Health and Equal Opportunities, Ms Doris Pack, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education, Mr Piotr Marciszuk, President of the Federation of European Publishers and Mr Luigi Berlinguer.

The exhibition of photos then went to the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany in October.

The pictures featured were of Martin Schulz, Herman Van Rompuy, Jose-Manuel Barroso, Gottfried Honnefelder (President of the German Booksellers' and Publishers' Association), members of the European Commission and Parliament, and national ministers who participated in the campaign. The photos of the famous faces being caught reading made for an impressive display at the Fair and were a popular exhibition.

From the initial exhibition of photos in the European Parliament in June 2013, to the creation of a commemorative e-book, this edition of Get Caught Reading has been a tremendous success, a pleasure for the visitors of the exhibition and an important reminder of the value of reading for Europe and each of our lives.
FEP looks forward to a third edition which is scheduled for 2015.

To keep up to date with the campaign please visit the website, Facebook page and Twitter!