Ken Follett and Kate Clanchy recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Ken Follett, who has worked with numerous literacy charities including acting as president of Dyslexia Action for 10 years and chairing the National Year of Reading, is to be appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Literature and Charity.

Ken Follett said: “I am very pleased and proud to receive this honour for doing something I love – making books and stories as entertaining and accessible as possible. Reading is a hugely important part of my life and I am glad to have helped others to enjoy it too.”

Jeremy Trevathan, Publisher at Pan Macmillan said: “Ken Follett has been one of Britain's leading global authors for over 30 years. His novels are one of Britain's great cultural gifts to the world at large and it is therefore more than fitting that he should be honoured in this way. I'm so delighted and proud for him and his family, who are so important to him.”

Kate Clanchy, Oxford Spires Academy Writer in Residence with decades of experience of teaching in state schools, is to be appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Literature and School.

Kate Clanchy said: “I was very surprised to be nominated for an MBE and also very grateful. I have worked in all sorts of literary fields over the years – poetry, memoir, fiction, reviewing – but the most consistent thread has been my work in schools. I like to think this award honours that, and the importance of literature and creativity in the classroom.”

Don Paterson, Poetry Editor at Picador said: “This is a richly deserved honour for one of our finest poets, and one of the most inspirational and innovative teachers of poetry working today. Kate has shown that with the right kind of inspiration, guidance and encouragement – as well as, crucially, access to the very best poetry written in the language – children of all ages and cultures can learn to use poetry as a powerful and moving means of self-expression and truth-telling.”