On Monday 2 February, the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland launched at Stormont with a landmark roundtable event to mark the start of a year-long national effort to reignite a love of reading.
Primary school pupils, authors, government officials, community groups, charities and businesses came together to explore how the initiative can help more of the nation’s children, young people and adults to rediscover reading through the things they already love.
Led by the National Literacy Trust, the National Year of Reading 2026 aims to address the steep decline in reading engagement and launched in Northern Ireland as our latest research found that:
- fewer than 3 in 10 (28.9%) children and young people aged 8-18 in Northern Ireland said they enjoy reading in their free time, while
- only 1 in 6 (16.9%) read daily in their free time.
To help address this challenge, the campaign is asking the nation to ‘Go All In’ on their interests and passions and (re)discover how reading can unlock the things they already love – from music and sport to films, food and family time – in whatever way works for them.
Indeed, children and young people in Northern Ireland say they’re more likely to read when content reflects their interests and passions:
Half of the children and young people we surveyed said that finding books linked to their hobbies (50.6%) or favourite films or TV series (49.0%) would make them want to read more, while around 2 in 5 said that interesting covers or titles (43.4%) and the freedom to choose what they read (39.4%) would appeal to them.
Going all in on our passions through reading can spark curiosity, strengthen wellbeing and bring people together, not just in 2026, but well beyond.
Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive, National Literacy Trust
The event in Northern Ireland follows National Year of Reading launches in England at the Emirates Stadium in London and in Scotland at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Landmark launch event
Nick Mathison, Chair of the Education Committee in Northern Ireland who kindly sponsored the event, opened proceedings and was joined by government officials and delivery partners for the campaign including Paul Givan, Minister of Education in Northern Ireland; Gordon Lyons, Minister for Communities; and Jim O’Hagan, CEO of Libraries NI.
Three pupils from Holy Evangelists’ Primary School also spoke about the positive impact their new school library has had on sparking a love of reading and helping to build pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.
The school received a flagship library transformation as part of our Libraries for Primaries campaign, enjoying 500 brand new, high-quality books, comics and additional audiobooks that reflect the pupils’ interests and experiences, while teachers received training and resources focused on strategies for developing a whole-school reading for pleasure culture.
Excitingly at the event, Shirley-Anne McMillan, author and Children’s Writing Fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre, and award-winning writer Jan Carson were announced as National Year of Reading ambassadors for Northern Ireland.
Reading has been the one constant running through my life. I’ve learnt so much about myself and the world through the books I’ve read over the years. Other people’s words have been a source of comfort, solidarity, education and entertainment and I can’t imagine life without books.
Jan Carson, award-winning writer and National Year of Reading ambassador
Numerous business, government and charity sector partners also backed the campaign, joining a roundtable discussion to agree the priorities and actions required across the year to spark a love of reading in Northern Ireland’s early years settings, libraries, schools, communities and homes. Representatives from the following organisations took part in the discussion:
- An tSnáthaid Mhór
- Belfast City Council
- Booktrust NI
- Business in the Community
- Children’s Books Ireland
- Children’s Books Belfast
- Crescent Arts Centre
- EA board
- Education Committee
- Education Library Service
- Fighting Words NI
- Imagination Library
- Libraries NI
- The Reading Agency
- Seamus Heaney Centre
- St Mary’s University
- Translink
- West Belfast Partnership Board
What’s next?
Across Northern Ireland, the National Year of Reading will harness bold, modern messaging and culturally relevant voices to make reading visible, engaging and accessible.
The campaign will bring together organisations across literacy, arts, culture, education, community and business to create shared momentum, building on Northern Ireland’s strong community-centred culture, deeply embedded local networks, and collaborative public and voluntary sectors.
Throughout 2026, the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland will focus on:
- Community activation, supporting reading in local places and spaces; and
- Supporting families in local settings, helping embed reading into everyday life.
The National Literacy Trust’s work in Northern Ireland
For the last two years, the National Literacy Trust has been supporting children in Northern Ireland to rediscover a love of reading through our Libraries for Primaries campaign, made possible through our partnership with Chase and supported by Penguin Books.
Since February 2024, we have transformed reading spaces in over 73 primary school libraries across the home nation – including Holy Evangelists’ Primary School, whose pupils attended the National Year of Reading launch event in Stormont. This work is ongoing.
In addition, throughout 2026, we will lead the delivery of the National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland, working together with a network of national, local and community partners.