Building bibliotherapy project awarded £29,657 by the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy

Researchers Francesca Benatti (English and Creative Writing), Siobhan Campbell (English and Creative Writing) and Alessio Antonini (KMi/STEM) have won £29,657 from the Connected 5 fund of Northern Ireland Department for the Economy. The project, Immersive Online Reading for Mental Wellbeing (Nov 2024 – Oct 2025), will work with reading charity The Verbal Arts Centre in Derry/Londonderry and further education college Belfast Met to develop a remote version of Verbal’s group bibliotherapy interventions and promote wellbeing through engagement with reading. Benatti, Campbell and Antonini will bring their expertise in digital humanities and creative writing to this project, which will deliver a range of online materials (including poetry and short fiction) via dedicated digital tools to support immersive reading to promote mental wellbeing. Research has shown that immersive reading of fiction and poetry can have a positive impact on readers’ mental health. Verbal Arts have over 25 years’ worth of experience in running community-based reading room programmes with diverse audiences and have extensive experience of working with researchers at The Open University to promote reading for wellbeing.