As digital media play an increasing role in children's lives, the Queen has spoken of her fear that electronic devices will reduce the time they spend reading traditional books.
She shared her concerns with Joanne Harris, author of the best-selling novel Chocolat, as the writer received an MBE for services to literature at Buckingham Palace. Speaking after the ceremony, Harris explained that the Queen "asked me what I thought about ebooks and computer games and said that she feared that children were playing with those more than they were reading books".
The comments echoed the findings of a recent study by the National Literacy Trust that showed children are turning away from reading in favour of other activities, particularly visual-based media. When it comes to leisure time, 56.2% of children prefer watching TV to reading. The materials children are reading outside school are changing too, with 68.4% of children reporting they read text messages and 53.2% reading websites. This compares with 41.6% reading fiction outside school, 31.1% reading non-fiction, and 11.9% saying they read ebooks.
Stephanie Duncan, the director of digital media at Bloomsbury, admitted that publishers were increasingly in competition with other media, but rejected the suggestion that ebooks were part of the problem.
"People should read in whatever format they choose to," she said. "Children will be on devices, so let's make books available on there. There is no question that we are competing for children's attention with games and other digital media. That's all the more reason to ensure that children using devices can choose to read as easily as doing other activities."
She added that Bloomsbury had seen a "huge increase in sales of young adult books" in digital format.
According to the National Literacy Trust survey, ebook reading among children doubled in the past year, up from 5.6% in 2011.
