Appeal to help young people get into Creative Writing

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Appeal to get young people writing

Tuesday, 13 February, 2018

Paper Nations, a creative partnership led by Bath Spa University and funded by Arts Council England, has launched an appeal urging organisations to share information about activities and resources on offer that support young people to develop a talent for the art of writing.

Paper Nations works in partnership with writers and educators across the UK to share and develop resources that give all children the opportunity to access regular high quality Creative Writing support.

One of the largest barriers facing young people who show potential in Creative Writing is knowing what support is on offer. To overcome this, Paper Nations in partnership with Bath Spa University, the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) and Bath Festivals, is asking front line staff and industry experts to share events and current information on Creative Writing opportunities for children and young people happening in their area or online.

Data will be brought together by the project into an interactive website for young people and will be launched this Spring. This will enable families and young people to find out how to get involved in Creative Writing close to home.

Announcing the appeal Bambo Soyinka, Director of Paper Nations at Bath Spa University, said: "This is an invitation to arts, education and creative industry organisations across the UK to tell us about upcoming Creative Writing support for children in their area. We want you to become partners in the Paper Nations cause and help us increase regular access to Creative Writing opportunities for young people."

Organisations invited to respond to the appeal range from libraries, schools, colleges, academies, bookshops, local art classes and community engagement groups. Creative Writing support is defined as an event, a class or club, a website, or any activity that helps young people to develop and celebrate Creative Writing skills. Information is also needed about festivals and events that provide young people with an opportunity to publish their work, learn about the industry and meet authors.

Jonathan Davidson, Chair of NAWE, said: "Young children with an interest in sport or music can access progressive support from the age of eight upwards. There is similar support available for young writers available in pockets across England but many young people are not always aware of these opportunities."

Hazel Plowman, Head of Creative Learning at Bath Festivals, said: "There are so many great opportunities across the country delivering quality Creative Writing projects for young people and a nationwide audience of young people, full of potential and ideas who would benefit from opportunities to share their voice. Our new platform, due to be launched in Spring this year, is a fantastic opportunity to combine these efforts to create opportunities and support all children to access what's on offer."

Celebrated author, Paper Nations' Chief Writing Champion and Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, David Almond, said: "We all have in ourselves the ability to write stories. Paper Nations is working to make sure any child can nurture this ability."

Paper Nations is a flagship research and development partnership run through TRACE (Bath Spa University's Research Centre for Transnational Creativity and Education) and supported by Arts Council England's Creative Writing in Schools Fund. Paper Nations works in partnership with organisations and individuals across the UK to give all children access to regular, high quality Creative Writing support, regardless of where they live or the economic barriers they may face.

Running a number of projects and initiatives, Paper Nations works with local schools, businesses, and communities across the UK to create and share resources that sustain the writing ecology so that more young people can access support to develop their writing talent. Other projects include research into the barriers that face children who want Creative Writing support and developing an award for Creative Writing.

More information about Paper Nations and the Creative Writing audit survey can be found on their website, www.papernations.org. For any other inquries, please email writers@papernations.org.

Those wishing to share information and events of Creative Writing support for young people can submit here.