The #NapierBigRead is a shared reading scheme at Edinburgh Napier University where staff and students receive a free book and are encouraged to come together in University-wide events and discussions.
2015 – The Big Read was launched at Kingston University, as a scheme that aimed at increasing student engagement and initiating conversations through a shared reading experience. Every arriving student received a free copy of Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, and the project sparked very positive reactions from both the staff and students.
2016 – Edinburgh Napier University joined the Big Read initiative, promoting Matt Haig’s The Humans.
2017 – We decided to do something a little different to Kingston, and from this point forward our version of the Big Read puts students at the centre.
2018/19 – We selected Detective McLevy’s Casebook as our #NapierBigRead. This collection of short stories is based on true crimes investigated by Detective McLevy, who is credited as being the real-life inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.
2019/20 – We partnered with University of the West of Scotland in a joint BigRead where we will share the same book with students and staff at both universities.
The choice of book decided in a #BigReadBigVote!
2020/21 – Launched the first ever Napier Big Read anthology. Students and staff across the university invited to submit their work to be published in a new Big Read book!
New book will showcase the experiences of our staff and students during COVID-19!
Some launch photos from 2019…