Red Queen's absorbing a bookworm? (6)
I believe the answer is:
reader
'bookworm?' is the definition.
(bookworm is a kind of reader)
'red queen's absorbing a' is the wordplay.
'queen' becomes 'ER' (abbreviation for Elizabeth Regina).
'absorbing' is an insertion indicator.
'red'+'er'='reder'
'reder' placed around 'a' is 'READER'.
(Other definitions for reader that I've seen before include "' -- , I married him' (J. Eyre)" , "University lecturer; book of educational extracts" , "Senior lecturer" , "Reared by book lover" , "Publisher's selector" .)