LITCRAFT is an entirely unique resource that makes accurate scale models of literary worlds in Minecraft to re-engage children with reading through play. From 2024, Litcraft has been a Social Enterprise with two aspects to it: research and outreach/impact activities. We provide all of the educational builds and resource booklets at no cost and these can be downloaded directly from this website. To cover the cost of doing this we seek to generate income in two ways: through paid for training sessions and through custom builds.
Litcraft was created in 2018 by two Lancaster academics, Professor Sally Bushell and Dr James Butler. It uses the popular Minecraft gaming platform to build accurate scale models of authorial maps from classic works of literature. Double immersion, first in the text and then in the game world, has a powerful impact upon motivation. Readers re-engage with literature in entirely new ways, combining the textual and the digital.
A structured educational framework provided in a downloadable booklet includes prior reading and vocab tasks out of game; an in-game activity in the immersive environment that builds on the textual preparation; and a follow-up task. This virtuous loop means that the text and the game-world are vitally connected with the experience of each reinforcing the other and strongly helping children in key areas of reading (empathy; reading for pleasure; contextualisation).
LITCRAFT essentially enables an entirely new way of reading that moves across and between the text and its visual/spatial representation. It has the most powerful impact on pedagogy and on individual readers – potentially changing reluctant readers into lifelong readers. But it also has an impact on use of, and numbers of, visitors to libraries and museums and on larger accessibility to and understanding of literary culture and heritage. Our partnership with Minecraft.edu makes our work accessible worldwide.
Explore immersive Minecraft worlds, discover classic stories, and make reading unforgettable.
Build vocabulary, improve literacy, and ignite a lifelong passion for literature.
Inspire creativity through interactive writing challenges that bring your favourite stories to life.
We harness innovative digital tools to make literature accessible, enjoyable, and impactful—empowering learners through free, high-quality resources that re-engage readers at a critical point in their educational journey.
Our core values:
To have a positive impact on society by making literature accessible to 21st century readers
To use digital tools in innovative ways that are of benefit to all
To benefit all members of society by creating free high quality educational resources that anyone can download and use
To address the fall in reading ages at Secondary school by re-engaging children with reading at a critical point in their education
To make reading enjoyable by creating new forms of experiential reading in Minecraft
In 2024, Litcraft became a Social Enterprise. This means that it functions as a commercial business as well as a research project but it does so with the clear aim of social and educational improvement rather than in the interests of profit and it does so in order to create a sustainable model for the impact work.
Litcraft is a Community Interest Company with three directors: Sally Bushell; James Butler and Rebecca Hutcheon. At least 50% of any profit made goes directly back into the business.
Becoming a Social Enterprise enables Litcraft to maximise opportunities to trade, enter into commissioned contracts and attract funding and social investment with profit being re-invested back into the development of the educational resources.
