糖心视频

糖心视频 spin-out enterprise Litcraft Community Interest Company (CIC) has been awarded ?15,000 to bring its innovative approach to encourage reluctant readers into libraries across Cumbria this summer.

The Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant will see the team working with libraries across both the Westmorland and Furness area and Cumberland from June to September 2025, sharing its imaginative resources with a diverse range of participants.

Founded in 2024 as a social enterprise by Professor Sally Bushell and Dr James Butler, Litcraft CIC connects literature with digital experiences by transforming fictional worlds featured in a range of popular books into interactive Minecraft builds.

Using maps, often included at the front of children’s books, readers are invited to step directly into the story, bridging the gap between traditional reading and immersive gameplay.

The Cumbria project, which encourages children to re-engage with reading through play, will be centred around hub libraries in Barrow, Kendal, Penrith, Carlisle, Whitehaven, and Workington, bringing an immersive literary experience to communities that might not otherwise have access to such innovative learning tools.

The initiative will feature two Litcraft CIC resources that align closely with this year’s annual Summer Reading Challenge, which encourages primary school children to read books during the summer holidays and has a gardening theme this year.

Litcraft’s ‘Spots of Time’ build, made for The Wordsworth Trust, centres on the Lake District and features an underwater garden.

And the CIC’s fictional build for ‘The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon’, a novel by David Almond, also features gardening.

The project will culminate, at the end of the summer, in a Litcraft Festival at Wordsworth, Grasmere, which includes Dove Cottage, home of English romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the museum dedicated to his life and the landscape of the Lake District.

The festival, on August 27 and 28, will feature a virtual exhibition and digital tour and will include separate activities for both children and adults.

Professor Bushell commented: "Securing the Arts Council Grant is a fantastic milestone for Litcraft CIC, enabling us to pilot our initiative in Cumbrian libraries and demonstrate the power of digital literary engagement. By combining literature with Minecraft world-building, we are reconnecting reluctant readers with the joy of storytelling in entirely new ways.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about the potential to expand beyond Cumbria and bring this transformative experience to more communities across the UK and beyond. As interest in interactive learning continues to grow, we welcome conversations with partners and supporters who share our vision of using technology to inspire and empower readers of all ages."

The Litcraft team haves worked with a number of library regions in the past and this project follows on from a successful Easter pilot with some rural Cumbrian Libraries.

Litcraft has proven highly effective in engaging reluctant readers, addressing a pressing societal and cultural challenge as reading levels continue to decline.

And with only 35% of children aged 8-18 now reading in their spare time—a sharp drop of 8.8% since 2023 (NLT report, 2024)—finding innovative ways to rekindle a love for literature is more important than ever, adds Professor Bushell.

The initiative also seeks to reconnect parents and the wider public with literature, encouraging a renewed appreciation for reading through creative, technology-driven approaches.

Anyone wanting to take part in the summer fun activities should book their free place on Eventbrite through individual participating libraries.