Volunteers, post primary schools and community groups wanted in Derry for creative writing project

Education and creative writing charity, Fighting Words Northern Ireland, is calling for volunteers, schools and community groups in the Derry area to take part in all-island story writing project taking place from November 2023 to January 2024.  

Story Seeds invites children and young people to write about the places they live and is delivered across five cities in Northern Ireland: Belfast, Newry, Armagh, Derry and Coleraine. Stories will be co-written with young people in County Louth, County Monaghan and County Donegal.   

Story Seeds is Fighting Words NI’s largest project to date and will be delivered in partnership with Fighting Words, funded by funded by the Creative Ireland Programme, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Government of Ireland.   

 Hilary Copeland, Director at Fighting Words NI, explains: “Volunteers will be a key part of Story Seeds and we’re  inviting anyone interested in volunteering with us to get in touch by emailing volunteer@ fightingwords.co.uk.  

"We’re  looking for people interested in any kind of creative writing, illustration or songwriting and we’ll hold a dedicated training session for volunteers in Derry City Library on 28th November 2023.  Anyone aged 18 and over can be a volunteer and full training will be provided.  

“Meanwhile we’d love to hear from all kinds of community groups, too –from youth clubs through to sports clubs.    

 “We piloted the model last year, working in primary schools in Dublin, Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.  The young writers had an incredible experience developing their characters, talking about the places they live and using their imaginations to create ‘Titan and Friends’ which was illustrated by the Nerve Centre.”  

Volunteers will be involved in the delivery of Story Seeds workshops to participating children and young people in primary and post-primary schools, and community groups in the Derry city area in December 2023 and January. 

As a volunteer-centred charity,  Fighting Words NI workshops provide an opportunity for those interested in storytelling, writing and illustrating to help young writers find their own creative spark.   Click on www.fightingwords.co.uk or email hannah@fightingwords.co.uk to sign up or find out more.   

Fighting Words NI runs a free, year-round programme of after-school activities for teens alongside creative writing workshops for school groups.