Books that spark ideas, authors who leave their mark, and readers who are no longer satisfied by simply turning pages but seek to understand the world through them. This was the start of the 6th International Conference of Restless Readers at the Universidad Católica San Antonio, an event that has turned the Campus into a meeting point for those who experience literature as a tool for personal, educational and social transformation.

The conference, organised by the Language and Literature Didactics research group and subsidised by the UCAM Vice-Rectorate for Research, brought together dozens of writers, teachers, researchers and students willing to share essential readings, discover new voices and discuss the role of reading in the training of critical thinking and humanistic sensitivity.

The event combined lectures and debates on subjects as diverse as melancholy in the literature of the Golden Age, restlessness in children's fiction, the psychology of literary characters and poetry as an inner refuge.

Among the most outstanding interventions were the participation of national and international researchers such as Professor Felice Gambin of the University of Verona and the journalist and writer Manuel Madrid, who provided complementary views on the transformative power of reading. In this sense, Antonio Candeloro, UCAM professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the Faculty of Education, pointed out that ‘reading is a source of renewable energy for your imagination and critical thinking; it is key in forming citizens who do not allow themselves to be manipulated’.

The dean of the Faculty of Education, Juana Mulero Cánovas, highlighted the appeal of the conference for students and its educational value: ‘This conference highlights the importance of reading for our future teachers and journalists, with versatile speakers who appeal to a wide range of audiences’.

With an agile, academic and informative approach, the 6th International Conference of Restless Readers has contributed to fostering literary curiosity among students and the general public, inviting them to become active, critical and ‘restless’ readers, capable of engaging in dialogue with all kinds of texts. Once again, this literary event has reinforced UCAM's commitment to culture, humanistic research and comprehensive education.