The UK has an exceptionally rich literary tradition: authors such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Austen, Dickens, Eliot, Kipling, Hardy, Orwell, Wells, Auden all continue to have a global audience. Contemporary writing has many cultural influences. Writers such as James Kelman, Caryl Philips, Jeannette Winterson, Salman Rushdie, Irvin Welsh and Benjamin Zephaniah are changing perceptions about the use of language and dialect in writing, drawing from many influences to produce challenging and innovative work.

The quality and range of literature for children is also a particular national asset - from Edward Lear to Beatrix Potter, from Roald Dahl, to JK Rowling and Philip Pullman. A common theme is that they are also enjoyed by adults too. In particular JK Rowling is a global publishing phenomenon with more than 100 million copies of her Harry Potter books sold to audiences across the world.