In the United Kingdom, a new partnership between publishing company Pan Macmillan, music streaming service Spotify, and brand HYPHNT has launched children's shoes that feature **NFC chips**—small devices that enable wireless communication between objects. These shoes, called Nova, were introduced on September 24 as part of the National Year of Reading 2026, a campaign aimed at encouraging more children to read. The initiative starts with the children's graphic novel series InvestiGators by John Patrick Green. The shoes are available for pre-order at £79 and use the NFC chip to connect with smartphones. When a child holds their phone near the shoe, the Spotify app opens and directs them to a highlighted audiobook title. The project aims to combine children's interests in technology, music, and books, according to Jason Black, founder of HYPHNT, who previously used NFC technology in adult shoes for musical and video game content. Pan Macmillan describes the shoes as a way to make stories more accessible, working alongside traditional methods such as libraries and classrooms. The National Year of Reading 2026, titled "Go All In," was created to address a drop in leisure reading among children. According to data from 2025, only one in three children aged 8 to 18 said they liked reading during their free time, the lowest rate since 2005. A survey by the National Literacy Trust in 2026 found that nearly half of children in the same age group listened to audiobooks, podcasts, or both, with more than half doing so at least once a week. Many of these children felt that listening to audiobooks gave them the impression of reading, and nearly a third said it sparked an interest in reading printed books. Spotify's research, conducted by Censuswide in February 2026, showed that 68% of parents who listen to audiobooks use them to encourage reading at home. Around a quarter of these parents said their children had developed a desire to read printed books after listening sessions. The partnership with Pan Macmillan and HYPHNT supports Spotify's growing role in audio publishing, which now includes over 700,000 audiobook titles in its Premium service across 22 markets as of May 2026. The Nova shoes are not tied to a single story. Pan Macmillan plans to offer new books and audiobooks over time, allowing children to discover different content using the same pair of shoes without any changes to the product. The initiative is part of a larger effort to bring reading into daily life and use technology to engage children with literature in new and interactive ways.