Abstract:

This paper presents the design and implementation of a workshop – “Creative writing and reading with AI: from idea to pitch” –, which is situated at the intersection of Digital Humanities and Languages for Specific Purposes in higher education. The workshop responds to a paradox in contemporary university classrooms: students’ reading practices are increasingly shaped by fast, image-based social media, while academic success still depends on deep reading, disciplinary literacy and advanced written/oral communication.

BookTok has emerged as one of the largest global online reading communities, with videos under the hashtag #BookTok showing growth rates above 140% in views and more than 60 million posts worldwide. In addition to boosting the global publishing market, BookTok functions as an ‘affective ecosystem’ that connects readers, authors, and publishers through the aesthetics of recommendation and the sharing of reading experiences. In Portugal, the BookTok phenomenon has been gaining relevance among Generation Z, being recognised by publishers and literary entities as an effective tool for promoting books and authors. However, the question arises: what about higher education? Do young students continue to read? Data from the Survey on Reading Habits of First Cycle Higher Education Students (DGEEC, 2023) reveal that only 49% of students are reading books for leisure, with 82% citing academic demands as a factor that strongly limits this habit. Although 76% say they still enjoy reading and 83% consider that entering higher education has not changed this enjoyment, the time available for recreational reading is severely limited.

Against this backdrop, students from different degree programmes work in mixed groups through four stages:
(1) They create a short narrative using Story Cubes and nine random words, one of them “book”.
(2) They turn that narrative into an innovative concept (service, campaign or micro-business) that promotes reading, structured in a simplified Business Model Canvas.
(3) They script and produce a short BookTok-style pitch (up to 60 seconds) using AI-based tools for idea generation, language editing, visual design and/or voice.
(4) Groups present their pitches, followed by peer and teacher feedback and a collective reflection on the responsible use of AI in academic and professional communication.

A short post-workshop questionnaire (Likert scale and open questions) invites students to self-assess perceived development of analytical and creative thinking, collaboration, written and oral communication in specific genres, reading motivation, digital literacies and AI literacy. The paper will describe the pedagogical design, present initial findings from the first implementation with higher-education students, and discuss how similar formats can be adapted in language and communication courses, writing centres and academic libraries that wish to embed Digital Humanities approaches and AI-mediated practices in their work with student readers and writers.

Keywords:

Digital Humanities, higher education, Languages for Specific Purposes, creative writing, BookTok.