Barnstaple Library to host a free writing-for-children workshop with acclaimed local author Polly Ho Yen, following selection through national competition.
Barnstaple Library has won an All Stories national competition to host a fully funded workshop, which aims to encourage and support aspiring writers from underrepresented backgrounds. The workshop, taking place on Saturday 22 February 2025 at 12.30pm will introduce participants to the basics of writing for children and inspire them to develop their creativity.
Intended as a true introduction, the workshop requires no awareness of publishing, writing as a career or previous written work. The workshop welcomes people from underrepresented backgrounds of any kind, including people of colour, disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, working class and socio-economically marginalised.
The workshop is one of 16 All Stories workshops being held across the UK, and made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Inclusive Books for Children and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society.
All Stories will also establish a writing group at Barnstaple Library to continue supporting local writers, as well as providing a ‘writer resources’ pack, containing information about supportive writing organisations. The pack will be made available to workshop participants, along with anyone visiting the venue after the workshop.
The library team say: This is an exciting opportunity for the community of Barnstaple Library to be able to facilitate such a fantastic project. The project will help those that are socio- economically marginalised to have a sense of belonging within the community and break down any barriers building community cohesion and positive wellbeing, giving the confidence they may need to progress with their writing.”
The workshop will be presented by Polly Ho Yen, who is a writer based in Bristol. Her debut novel, Boy in the Tower, was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups Book Award. Four of her middle-grade novels (Boy in the Tower, Where Monsters Lie, Fly Me Home and How I Saved the World in a Week) have been nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
Following her experiences working as a primary school teacher in south London, Polly puts these places and communities centre-stage in her narratives. She aims to create stories firmly rooted in a world that young people will know and recognise, even when a science fiction or fantastical element creeps in. Polly regularly runs writing workshops in primary and secondary schools across the UK.
The All Stories writing for children workshop at Barnstaple Library will take place on:
SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2025 at 12.30pm.
Barnstaple Library is a welcoming, vibrant, inclusive space situated in the heart of the town.
To find out more and book your free place at the workshop, please go to: allstories.org.uk/writing-workshops/
A direct ticket link is here: https://buytickets.at/allstories1/1415460/share/4af030ab6c06925ab9e97a2dd001563e
For further information about All Stories please contact [email protected]
For information on Barnstaple Library please contact Lisa.d’[email protected]
Follow on social media:
X: @AllStoriesWrite
Instagram: @allstorieswrite @barnstaplelibrary
Facebook: @allstorieswrite @BarnstapleLibrary
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