United Kingdom · Editorial · Books & Culture
A book that announces itself on the shelf — Blind Not Broken with NaviLens.
Blind Not Broken (Lucy Edwards, Hamlyn / Hachette UK) adds NaviLens to the book's accessibility ecosystem — alongside the RNIB braille edition and the audiobook. The code lets blind and partially sighted people detect the book in a bookshop, hear title, author, blurb and ISBN, and decide whether to take it home — no help needed.
- Among first
- Trade books with NaviLens on the cover
- 42
- Languages supported by NaviLens read-out
- Braille + audio
- RNIB braille edition and audiobook also available
- 2 M+
- People living with sight loss in the UK
Hamlyn · Hachette UK · Lucy Edwards
Lucy Edwards is a broadcaster, journalist and disability activist. She lost her sight at 17 to a rare genetic condition (incontinentia pigmenti) and has built a community of millions on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. She is a long-time ambassador for NaviLens and RNIB.
Blind Not Broken is her memoir and self-help guide, published by Hamlyn (an Octopus Publishing Group imprint, Hachette UK). Hachette UK runs an active accessible-publishing strategy and RNIB distributes a braille edition in its official shop.
- 01
Finding a book while blind
In a bookshop or on a shelf, a blind person can't read the spine, tell one book from the next or decide whether to buy it. Asking a bookseller breaks the intimacy of choosing a book.
- 02
Braille and audio aren't enough on their own
Braille and audiobooks are essential — but the blind reader still depends on someone guiding them to the title. There's a missing layer to recognise the physical book on shelf.
- 03
Coherence with the book's message
Blind Not Broken is about turning loss into purpose and independence. The cover had to live up to it — picking up the book had to be accessible from the first touch.
The NaviLens code is part of the cover design. A blind or partially sighted person can detect it from the bookshop entrance with the free NaviLens / NaviLens GO apps — up to 12 times further than a QR, at angles of 160°, in 1/30 of a second and with no focusing required.
On scan, they hear title, author, publisher, blurb and ISBN in their language – up to 40 – and can decide to buy it, order the RNIB braille edition or download the audiobook. The initiative closes the loop: braille + audio + NaviLens on cover = a book fully accessible from the shelf.
“People are often shocked when I say going blind was the best thing that ever happened to me, but it's true. I am more empowered today than I ever have been — and I want my book to be accessible from the cover for anyone who picks it up in a bookshop.”
British Vogue ↗
- 2022
Lucy Edwards & NaviLens · viral moment
Lucy Edwards' video scanning a Kellogg's Coco Pops box with NaviLens – "the first time in 9 years I could pick my own cereal" – racks up millions of views and makes NaviLens a symbol of independence for blind people.
- 2023
Hamlyn acquires Blind Not Broken
Hamlyn (Octopus Publishing Group, Hachette UK) announces the acquisition of Blind Not Broken — Lucy Edwards' memoir and self-help guide on sight loss.
- 2024
Accessible launch · braille, audio and NaviLens
Blind Not Broken is published as a trade edition with a NaviLens code on the cover, a braille edition distributed through the RNIB shop, and an audiobook narrated by Lucy herself.
- CoverNaviLens code integrated in the book design
- Braille + audioRNIB edition and audiobook available
- 42 languagesAudio read-out of title, author and blurb
- CultureInclusive publishing — the book finds the reader
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