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First Story

England's leading creative writing charity for young people

  • Bookshop
  • News
  • Login
  • Donate
  • Programmes
    • Young Writers Programme
    • Young Writers Festival
    • Summer residential
    • Folio Mentorships
    • National Writing Day
  • Writers
    • Our ambassadors
    • Who we work with
    • Becoming a First Story writer
  • Schools
    • Partner schools HUB
    • Free writing resources
    • BBC Teach x First Story resources
    • Becoming a First Story partner school
  • Locations
    • North of England
    • East Midlands
    • Greater London
  • About
    • About us
    • Our impact
    • Staff and trustees
    • Vacancies
  • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Make a donation

News

FIVE tuition fee bursaries on offer from University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education

11 November 2020 //  by First Story

This is the third year that First Story will be collaborating with the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education to help educators share the power of creative writing. Up to five …

Category: News, Partnerships, Teachers

New First Story Young Ambassadors Programme

29 October 2020 //  by First Story

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 …

Category: Alumni, News, Partnerships, Young Ambassadors

Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2020/21

29 October 2020 //  by First Story

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 …

Category: Alumni, News, Partnerships

Summer 2020 Virtual Residential

29 September 2020 //  by First Story

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 …

Category: Alumni, News, Residential

Post-pandemic, how could literacy education change?

29 September 2020 //  by First Story

First Story recently teamed up with the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), Drivers Youth Trust (DYT), and the Fair Education Alliance (FEA), to organise a virtual roundtable discussion …

Category: News, Opinion, Teachers

First Story writers create new BHM resources

29 September 2020 //  by First Story

In preparation to celebrate Black History Month this October, we recently commissioned three Black writers in our network to produce original creative writing resources exploring key themes, for use …

Category: News, Teachers, Writers

Saint Gabriel’s College ’20:20 Vision’ anthology launch

27 July 2020 //  by Antonia Byatt

Earlier this month, we were invited to St. Gabriel's College in South London, for a special socially-distanced event to celebrate publication of their new First Story anthology, 20:20 Vision. After …

Category: Anthologies, London, News

National Writing Day 2020 #247Challenge Highlights

17 July 2020 //  by First Story

The fourth annual National Writing Day took place on 24 June 2020. In the context of a global pandemic, activities necessarily shifted online. We framed the day around a mass participation creative …

Category: National Writing Day, News

Rathbones Folio Mentorships 2020-21 Open

1 July 2020 //  by First Story

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 …

Category: Alumni, News, Partnerships

First Story partnership with Unislam

18 June 2020 //  by Jess Tickell

For the past year, First Story has been working in partnership with Unislam, the National Slam Poetry Festival, to place its artists as 'shadow writers' in First Story schools. Jess Tickell caught up …

Category: East Midlands, News, Partnerships

Writing From Home

26 May 2020 //  by First Story

National Writing Day 2020 takes place on 24 June. With most young people at home due to the pandemic, this year's programme is being delivered digitally. Our NWD 2020 resource bank includes nine, …

Category: National Writing Day, News

National Writing Day Ambassadors Announced

22 May 2020 //  by First Story

National Writing Day is our annual mass celebration of the pleasure and power of creative writing, driven by a coalition of leading literacy organisations and publishers, led by First Story. Now in …

Category: National Writing Day, News

School closures have highlighted the gulfs in inequality between young people

28 April 2020 //  by Antonia Byatt

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, more than ever, that there are fundamental problems with the parity of access to education in the UK. Our CEO, Antonia Byatt, writes about how the gap has become …

Category: News, Opinion

Announcing the 100-Word Story Competition 2019/20 winners

30 March 2020 //  by First Story

It’s been another brilliant year for our 100-Word Story competition. Our fabulous judges over at Vintage books have picked their top three favourite entries from those submitted from across the …

Category: Competitions, News

Covid-19 Update

19 March 2020 //  by Antonia Byatt

With current government advice in mind, First Story's Chief Executive, Antonia Byatt, responds to the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19. As schools close this week, I wanted to …

Category: News

Hull College students’ response to 21st century pressures: We Are Strong

12 March 2020 //  by Jessica Fear

Last month, an inspiring group of young women from Hull College staged an event to launch their new First Story group anthology, for which they chose the title We Are Strong, and in which they have …

Category: Anthologies, News, North of England

Regional Writing Stars – Autumn term

3 March 2020 //  by First Story

This autumn, First Story ran a fun new bi-annual competition called Regional Writing Stars. This competition is designed to highlight regional voices and provides us – the team at First Story, across …

Category: Competitions, East Midlands, News

A good education for all: First Story and the Ofsted inspection framework

20 February 2020 //  by Antonia Byatt

Last month, Ofsted published its Annual Report for 2018/19, the year it introduced its new education inspection framework and sparked fresh debate about what works best to tackle disadvantage. Is …

Category: News, Opinion, Outcomes and Impact

Watch: Six Word Story 2019 finalists showcase

20 February 2020 //  by First Story

In December, we piloted an exciting new platform to showcase and celebrate the shortlisted young writers in our annual Six Word Story competition. For the first time, 12 finalists saw their …

Category: Competitions, News

How our writers and teachers support each other

19 February 2020 //  by Andy Hill

We're committed to providing regular forums for our writers and teachers to share knowledge, skills and practical experience. Over the last couple of weeks, teachers and writers have been getting …

Category: News, Teachers

We’ve created an LGBT+ training resource

5 February 2020 //  by Jess Tickell

February is LGBT+ History Month. In honour of this year's theme — ‘Poetry, Prose and Plays’ — we’ve released a dedicated training resource for First Story Writers-in-Residence. We're delighted to be …

Category: News, Writers

YWF19 Highlights

21 January 2020 //  by First Story

First Story’s Young Writers’ Festival in 2019 was yet again a packed event that saw over 330 students, more than 30 teachers, 24 volunteers, and 18 Writers-in-Residence from around the country …

Category: News, Young Writers' Festival

First Story alumna featured in Rathbones Review

21 January 2020 //  by First Story

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 …

Category: Alumni, News, Partnerships

BBC Young Writers’ Award 2020 Launches

16 January 2020 //  by Jessica Fear

It’s that time of year once more: the BBC Young Writers’ Award is now open! We're encouraging young writers, aged 13–18, from across the country to submit your best short stories (up to 1,000 words) …

Category: Competitions, News

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