Reviving Reading: The Interactive Novel Concept

According to the UK’s  The National Literacy Trust in 2025 only 32.7% of children enjoyed reading. While only one in two adults read one book in a year.

With such damming statistics it is vital that we look innovative ways of encouraging reading is needed.  What I am proposing may be one way of encouraging a greater engagement with a novel.

I would like to introduce you to the Interactive Novel. The serialised novel with the aim of encouraging reader engagement. The Novel is a weekly serial with each instalment ending with a poll for the readers to vote on what they would like to happen next. This gives the reader a stake in the novel – through their vote they can actively influence the outcome of the novel.

With only 18.7% of 8 – 18 years olds reading daily in their free time during 2005 the Interactive Novel is aimed towards a young adult audience and beyond. It is important to instil a love  of reading in this age group so they can develop and enjoy the habit of reading in later life.

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The Key Points of The Interactive Novel

Reader engagement with the story is not only encouraged it is essential. For this reason I have removed as many boundaries as possible.

• The novel is a weekly serial to maintain reader interest with each new instalment written between a Monday when votes close and Thursday when the next instalment is released.
• There are two versions of each instalment of The Interactive Novel.
• An abridged version of each part is published. The abridged version is around 1000 words to give reluctant readers the opportunity to take part. The shorter length is a less daunting proposition for those that find long lengths of prose intimidating.
• Reading evolved from verbal storytelling, and that is why for each instalment and each version an audio file is available.
• Accessible to all. Each instalment is published as a blog post that can be read on phones, tablets, computers, etc.
• Free to all. There are no fees, no obligations and any subscription is voluntary (the subscription is only to have the next instalment emailed directly to the reader).
• With each weekly instalment ending with a poll the Interactive Novel naturally promotes conversation and discussions amongst its audience.

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Part one is already available and the voting will close on the 2^nd of February 2026.

Part 2 will be published on Thursday the 5^th of February and from that moment on the Interactive Novel will be weekly until the novel reaches its natural conclusion. It is impossible to predict when and how many instalments this will be in.

Please take the time to explore this opportunity in more detail and read Part 1

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