BACK TO BOOKS 2026
LEGACY REPORT
Back to Books was an eight‑month creative programme delivered in partnership with Leicester Libraries, designed to inspire young people to reconnect with reading and discover the joy of storytelling. Guided by the 2026 Summer Reading Challenge theme Read to the Beat, the project brought together music, art, digital media and creative writing to help young people explore books in fresh and exciting ways.
Working with professional artists, participants created original music, lyrics, spoken word, digital artwork and printmaking inspired by stories they discovered in their local libraries. The project placed equal value on all forms of text — poems, prose, letters, beat‑boxing, spoken word and more — giving every young person a meaningful way to express themselves.
Throughout the programme, workshops took place in libraries, schools, community settings, Leicester Print Workshop and at Pedestrian’s city centre base. These sessions explored themes of reading for pleasure, the environment, modern urban life and activism, resulting in a rich body of creative work shaped by young people’s ideas and experiences.
In early August, the project culminated in a relaxed outdoor performance at Leicester Cathedral Gardens. Young people shared their original music and spoken word live, accompanied by digital projections created by MBD. A professional mural was also installed at Leicester Central Library, leaving a lasting visual legacy for future visitors.
Back to Books produced a series of long‑term creative outputs, including:
- a vinyl featuring original music
- a printed anthology of writing and artwork
- a documentary film capturing the journey
- a legacy mural
- digital projections
- printmaking artwork
- a website of learning resources for schools
The project responded to the city’s low average reading age and the decline in reading for pleasure, celebrating all forms of creativity and encouraging young people to see themselves as readers, writers and artists.
Partners included Leicester Libraries, LeicesterShire Music, Rendah Films, Leicester Print Workshop, Inspirate, MBD, De Montfort University, Leicester City Council Events Team and Leicester Cathedral.
Creative Workshops
Back to Books delivered a rich programme of creative workshops across Leicester, bringing music, art, digital media and writing to young people in libraries, schools, community spaces and at Pedestrian’s city centre base. Each session invited participants to explore books in new ways and respond to stories through hands‑on, expressive, youth‑led creativity.
Music & Lyric Writing
Working with professional musicians, young people created original tracks inspired by books and themes that interested them. They experimented with melody, rhythm, beat-making, lyrics and spoken word, building confidence and collaboration skills along the way. Through a partnership with DMU, a music technology student also worked with SoundLab participants to create a city soundscape, later played in the garden during the Back to Books family festival.
Visual Art & Printmaking
Young people explored visual art and printmaking through workshops that encouraged bold, imaginative responses to books and the themes they discovered. They created illustrations, posters and artwork for the project anthology, exploring subjects including the environment, activism and modern urban life. Lyrics developed during the music workshops also inspired printmaking sessions delivered in partnership with Leicester Print Workshop, helping connect different creative elements of the project.
Digital Art & Animation
Through workshops delivered by specialist partner MBD, young people explored digital art, animation and creative technology as new ways of telling stories. Participants created digital imagery and animations inspired by the project’s themes and the books they encountered. Their work was later incorporated into projections shown during the summer performance, giving participants the opportunity to see their ideas transformed into large-scale visual pieces and shared with a wider audience.
Creative Writing, Spoken Word & Poetry
Young people explored poetry, prose, lyrics, spoken word and other forms of creative writing, using books as inspiration for their own ideas and experiences. Workshops encouraged participants to experiment with language, rhythm, voice and storytelling while developing confidence in sharing their work. Sessions led by Leicester Poet Laureate Akshay Sharma included playful writing and performance activities, with many of the resulting poems later performed at the summer festival’s Poetry Slam.
School & Community Delivery
Alongside sessions at Pedestrian’s city centre base, Back to Books delivered workshops directly within schools and community library settings across Beaumont Leys, Eyres Monsell and Belgrave. Taking activity into local neighbourhoods helped ensure more young people could participate, including those who might not usually access arts provision. The sessions also strengthened connections with local libraries, encouraged reading for pleasure and created accessible opportunities for young people to explore creativity close to home.
Anthology
The Back to Books anthology was created as a lasting celebration of the young people’s writing and artwork produced throughout the project.
Working with professional artists and printmakers, young people took part in hands‑on workshops to design and create illustrations, prints and visual responses for inclusion in the publication. These sessions encouraged experimentation, bold thinking and creative risk‑taking, resulting in a vibrant collection of work that reflected the themes explored across the project — reading for pleasure, the environment, activism and modern urban life.
The anthology was designed by Foil Design and professionally printed by Chartwell Press (both in Leicester) and made available to the public, with copies also gifted to participants and donated to libraries across the city. As a legacy piece, it showcased the breadth of talent involved in the project and ensured that the young people’s voices continued to be seen, shared and celebrated long after the programme ended.
Vinyl
One of the most exciting legacies of Back to Books was the creation of a professionally pressed vinyl featuring original music written and performed by the young people involved in the project. The music was recorded, mixed and mastered by Maniscooler and Flynny o’Flynn at Green Room Studio in Leicester, and then pressed by Sonic Wax in Wigston. Inspired by books they discovered in their local libraries, participants worked with professional musicians to compose tracks that blended melody, rhythm, spoken word and storytelling.
Throughout the programme, young people explored beat‑making, lyric writing and vocal performance, developing their ideas in weekly workshops at Soundlab, Pedestrian’s Alternative Education Provision, and intensive residencies in February half-term and in the Easter holidays. They experimented with genre, structure and sound, using literature as a springboard for musical creativity. These sessions not only built technical skills but also encouraged collaboration, confidence and self‑expression, with some work previewed at local festivals in the city centre – Riverside and An Indian Summer.
The music was then professionally mixed, mastered and pressed onto vinyl, creating a tangible legacy that celebrated their achievements and gave them a unique insight into the world of music production.
Copies of the vinyl were shared with participants, showcased at the summer performance event, and made available to the public. As a lasting artefact of the project, the record stands as a testament to the creativity, talent and dedication of the young people who took part.
Family Festival
The Back to Books Family Festival took place on Saturday 1st August and brought together young people, families, artists and partners for a joyful celebration of everything created throughout the project. Set in the beautiful outdoor garden space at Leicester Cathedral, the festival offered a relaxed, welcoming environment where the community could gather, take part in activities and experience the young people’s work first‑hand.
Live Performances
The festival featured live performances of original music and spoken word created throughout the project, alongside a commissioned poem by Leicester Poet Laureate Akshay Sharma. Young people took to the stage to share their tracks, lyrics and stories with confidence and pride. Inside the cathedral, more intimate performances were accompanied by digital projections and animations created with MBD, bringing music, performance and visual art together in an immersive setting.
Digital Art & Visual Displays
Digital artwork created during the project was displayed throughout the event, including animations and imagery shown on an indoor projection wall. These displays celebrated the creativity and imagination of the young people involved. In the lead-up to the festival, professional graffiti artist Uh-Oh also created a permanent mural at Leicester Central Library, capturing the spirit of Back to Books and leaving a visible legacy for future visitors to enjoy.
Family-Friendly Activities
Alongside the performances, families were invited to take part in hands-on creative activities inspired by the themes of Back to Books. These included printmaking with Leicester Print Workshop, storytelling activities and a visit from the library service’s Book Bus, offering opportunities to discover books connected to the young people’s work. Together, the activities created an accessible, welcoming space where creativity, reading and community could be enjoyed side by side.
Celebrating the Project’s Legacy
The festival also marked the release of two of the project’s most important creative outputs: a professionally pressed vinyl featuring original music and a printed anthology of writing and artwork. Copies were shared with participants and made available to the public, creating lasting records of the work produced. These finished pieces helped ensure the creativity, ideas and achievements of the young people continued to be shared and celebrated beyond the festival itself.
Partner‑Led Workshops
Back to Books was strengthened by a series of specialist workshops delivered by our partner organisations, giving young people access to high‑quality creative experiences across printmaking and digital art. These sessions expanded the project’s artistic reach and introduced participants to new tools, techniques and ways of expressing their ideas.
Printmaking with Leicester Print Workshop
Delivered in partnership with professional printmakers, these workshops gave young people the chance to explore contemporary printmaking techniques including letterpress printing. Participants created bold visual artwork inspired by lyrics and poems already generated as part of the other workshops, experimenting with colour and composition.
The printmaking sessions played a key role in shaping the project’s visual identity. Young people produced artwork for the anthology and contributed to guerrilla‑style creative campaigns that brought Back to Books into public spaces. These workshops encouraged hands‑on creativity, risk‑taking and a sense of ownership over the project’s visual storytelling.
Digitial Art with MBD
Digital art workshops, delivered with specialist digital media partners, MBD, introduced young people to animation, projection design and creative software. Participants learned to transform their ideas into moving images, digital illustrations and visual effects, exploring how literature could be reimagined through technology.
The digital pieces created in these sessions became a major feature of the summer performance, where they were projected onto a large wall to accompany live music performances. These workshops not only built digital literacy but also opened up new creative pathways for young people who may not have previously engaged with digital art.
Project Film
A documentary film was created to capture the Back to Books journey from start to finish. Rendah, our filmmaking partner, followed participants as they took part in workshops, developed their ideas, created artwork and music, and prepared for the final summer performance.
The film documented the energy of the sessions, the relationships built across libraries, schools and community spaces, and the creativity that emerged as participants explored books through music, art, digital media and writing. It also highlighted the voices of the young people themselves, sharing their reflections, inspirations and experiences in their own words.
Footage from the final festival — including live performances, digital projections and the unveiling of the legacy mural — formed the culmination of the documentary, celebrating the achievements of everyone involved. The completed film now stands as a lasting record of the project’s impact, creativity and community spirit.
School Lesson Plans
As part of Back to Books, a set of curriculum‑ready learning resources has been created to help schools continue the project’s themes long after the programme has ended. A specialist teacher was commissioned to develop lesson plans in Creative Arts (music, art and drama), English/Creative writing and PSHE, each inspired by the books and creative processes explored by the young people during the project.
The resources offer practical, flexible activities that support reading for pleasure, creative expression and cross‑curricular learning. Schools are able to use the materials to run their own Back to Books‑themed sessions, encouraging pupils to experiment with storytelling, performance, music‑making and visual responses to literature. These resources now form a lasting legacy, enabling teachers across the city to build on the project’s impact in their own classrooms.
Partners & Collaborators
Back to Books was generously funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and shaped by the support of a wide network of partners across Leicester. Each organisation brought specialist skills, creative expertise and community connections that helped the project reach young people in meaningful and inspiring ways.
Leicester Libraries played a central role in hosting workshops and supporting reading engagement, while creative partners such as MBD and Leicester Print Workshop delivered specialist sessions in digital art and printmaking. Their contributions expanded the artistic possibilities available to participants and helped shape the project’s visual and digital identity.
Rendah Films documented the project from start to finish, capturing the energy of the workshops and the final festival performance. De Montfort University supported the project through student involvement in music technology and creative development. LeicesterShire Music connected us with a passionate and talented composer, and Leicester Cathedral supported the programme by offering space and opportunities for participants to showcase their work. The Green Room Studio recorded, mixed and mastered the work of the young people and gave them an exciting first experience of a real‑life recording studio. Leicester City Council Events Team and Inspirate offered important opportunities to perform to the public before the family festival in August, helping to build confidence.
Together, these partners helped create a rich, multi‑artform project that celebrated youth voice, reading for pleasure and the creative talent of young people across the city.