We invited First Story Alumni to an in-person event at The London Library on 8 November. It was a chance for those who'd taken part in the Young Writers Programme to meet each other, and us, and take …
Alumni
Fair Education Alliance Youth Summit 2024
By Tilly Wiggins, First Story AlumnusThe 2024 Fair Education Youth Summit took place on Tuesday 29 October and brought together 200 young people passionate about reducing inequalities in …
Announcing: Folio Academy Mentorships 2024/25
We are now in the eighth year of our partnership with The Writers' Prize, through which talented First Story students benefit from working one-to-one with an acclaimed writer from The Folio …
Folio Academy Mentorships 2024 showcase
The Folio Academy Mentorship scheme gives talented First Story alumni the opportunity to be mentored for one year by experienced, acclaimed writers from the Folio Academy. On 13 July our 2023/24 …
Winners of the inaugural Philip Pyke Memorial Prize announced
Open to writers of poetry and prose who have completed our Young Writers Programme, the Prize is awarded in memory of Philip Pyke to support young writers as they continue their writing journey. …
Announcing: Folio Prize Mentorships 2023/24
We are now in the seventh year of our partnership with the prestigious Folio Prize, through which talented First Story students benefit from working one-to-one with an acclaimed writer from the Folio …
Folio mentorships 2023 showcase
The Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships scheme gives talented First Story alumni the opportunity to be mentored for one year by experienced, acclaimed writers from the Folio Academy. On 15 July our …
Young Writers Festival Highlights 2023
On 30 March 2023, more than 240 First Story participants from across England came together at the University of Cambridge to take part in our annual Young Writers Festival. Held for the first time at …
Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2022/23
We are now in the sixth year of our partnership with the prestigious Rathbones Folio Prize, through which talented First Story students benefit from working one-to-one with an acclaimed writer from …
Folio mentorships 2022 showcase
The Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships scheme gives talented First Story alumni the opportunity to be mentored for one year by experienced, acclaimed writers from the Folio Academy. On a hot summer …
Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2021/22
This is the fifth year of our partnership with the prestigious Rathbones Folio Prize, through which talented First Story students benefit from working one-to-one with an acclaimed writer from the …
WATCH: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2020-21 Showcase
Now in its fifth year, our exclusive partnership with the Rathbones Folio Prize offers a unique opportunity for talented First Story alumni to be mentored for an academic year by five acclaimed Folio …
Summer 2021 residential highlights: another digital success
Our annual summer residential programme is usually hosted at Lumb Bank, Arvon's idyllic venue in rural West Yorkshire. The pandemic kept us away for a second consecutive year. But after last year's …
WATCH: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2019/20 Showcase
Now in its fourth year, our exclusive partnership with the Rathbones Folio Prize offers a unique opportunity for five talented First Story alumni to be mentored for an academic year by five acclaimed …
New First Story Young Ambassadors Programme
Young writers who complete our flagship programme constantly tell us that they enjoyed it so much, they just want to keep going. We are keen to develop new pathways for our alumni to continue creative …
Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2020/21
This is the fourth year of our partnership with the prestigious Rathbones Folio Prize, through which four talented First Story students benefit from working one-to-one with an acclaimed writer from …
Summer 2020 Virtual Residential
Our annual summer residential programme provides an incredible opportunity for a small number of First Story participants who've shown great promise during the academic year, to further develop their …
Rathbones Folio Mentorships 2020-21 Open
Applications are open now for the 2020/21 Rathbones Folio Mentorships programme beginning this September.Our exclusive partnership with the Rathbones Folio Prize offers a unique opportunity for …
National Writing Day Instagram takeover!
In the week leading up to this year's National Writing Day on 24 June, we invited two former First Story students from West Yorkshire, Henna Ravjibhai (17) and Sophie Crabtree (19), to take over our …
First Story alumna featured in Rathbones Review
Henna Ravjibhai took part in the Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships scheme in 2019. She has recently been featured in the Rathbones review to talk First Story, working with Joe Dunthorne, and writing …
BBC Radio 1 Life Hacks with Chloe Holland
Chloe Holland took part in First Story's intensive creative writing programme during 2016-17, as a student at Appleton Academy in Bradford. Diagnosed with severe dyslexia and also dyspraxia, Chloe …
Announcing our 2019-20 Rathbones Folio Mentees
We’re delighted to announce the four First Story programme graduates from our 2018-19 cohort chosen to participate in the third year of the Rathbones Folio Mentorships programme. The Folio Mentorships …
First Story alumni in Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2019
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is the biggest poetry competition in the world for 11–17 year olds. Organised by the Poetry Society, and this year judged by First Story favourites Jackie Kay …
First Story at BBC Contains Strong Language festival
Contains Strong Language is the UK’s biggest annual poetry and performance festival. Over three days the BBC festival stages some 30 events in the city of Hull, with leading poets and world-class …
