The Writers’ Block has been developing a programme of specialist Writers’ Rooms around specific genres. They are focussed on emerging writers working with experienced professional writers on a genre, creating writing with a direct route to audiences.
This Writers’ Room is focussed on writing for young children and will take place 11 – 13 July 2022. It will be led by children’s author Anna Wilson.
The Writers’ Block is seeking 3 emerging children’s writers who are interested in creating work for our early years’ programmes for children aged 2-7 years old. These are stories to be told, rather than picture books, possibly using visual props, paintings etc.
The aim is to create an original piece of writing for children. In the mornings there will be workshops based on prompts to free the imagination. There will also be writing exercises to help hone the more technical aspects of writing including dialogue, point of view, character and world-building. In the afternoons there will be time to write, either together or on your own. By the afternoon of day 3 we will have created a piece to share with young children. These will be read by the Story Republic storytellers.
Writers will receive a fee of £400 to attend the workshops, write new work and attend the sharing session. There is no extra funding for travel or accommodation. Workshop venue to be confirmed but in West Cornwall accessible by public transport.
Over the past couple of years we have created story videos for young children. If you would like a taste of how our storytellers work with children, please view the videos on www.shorturl.at/iwFLR or search ‘Little Story Seekers’ on YouTube.
To find out more about The Writers’ Block visit www.thewritersblock.org.uk . If you have any queries please call Amanda Harris on 07712331421.
To apply please send an expression of interest and a sample of your work for children to [email protected] by 9am on 13 June. You must be able to attend all 3 days to take part.
The Writer
Anna Wilson is a published writer for children and adults. Her young fiction series Vlad the World’s Worst Vampire has been described as ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Hotel Transylvania’. It has been translated into twelve languages. Her children’s almanac Nature Month-by-Month was shortlisted for the ALCS Writers in Education Award. Her picture book, The Wide, Wide Sea, has been shortlisted for the Hampshire SLS Award and the Teach Primary Book Award for Early Years. Her memoir A Place for Everything: my mother, autism and me was featured on BBC Woman’s Hour. She is a Creative Writing tutor for the Arvon Foundation and the HarperCollins Author Academy and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow for the University of Exeter.
Reply