We're excited to announce the winners of our Tiny Poems Competition - for poems of five lines or fewer. Judged by Kimberley Knaggs, Shaniah Shields and May Tatum from Penguin Random House, the …
Partnerships
North West Connect at Manchester Metropolitan University
In sunny June, First Story hosted their North West connect event at Manchester Metropolitan University, in partnership with the Manchester Poetry Library and the Festival of …
First Story at Literary Leicester 2026
Every March the University of Leicester opens its doors to the general public for a sumptuous array of free literature events. Since 2022, schools in the region have been invited to take part, writing …
Young Writers Festival North 2026 at Lowry
On 2 March 2026, 160 young writers from across Greater Manchester and Yorkshire arrived at Lowry, Salford Quays for our second Young Writers Festival North. With the Quays …
Six Word Story Competition Winners 2025/26
Our annual Six Word Story competition is a challenge in concise storytelling. Inspired by the famous six word story attributed to Ernest Hemingway “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” we ask …
East Midlands Connect at Nottingham Trent University
On a brisk Tuesday morning in December, First Story young writers from across the East Midlands came together at Nottingham Trent University for our annual East Midlands Connect event — a day of …
Announcing: Folio Academy Mentorships 2025/26
We are now in the ninth 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 …
London Connect 2025
In early July, First Story young writers from across London gathered at the University of Greenwich for our annual London Connect. Students from Aylward Academy, Commerce House, St Paul’s Way School …
Facilitate
Feedback from participants The programme blew me away – I learned so much, both from the facilitators and the other participants, and reframing facilitation as a 'part of creative practice' rather …
Tiny Poems Competition Winners 2024/25
We're excited to announce the winners of our first ever Tiny Poems Competition - for poems of five lines or fewer. Participation was high, with 231 young writers taking part. This year's judges …
Young Writers Festival North Highlights 2025
On 3 June 2025, First Story participants from Bradford, Manchester and Rochdale came together at Manchester Metropolitan University, to take part in our first ever Young Writers Festival North. Hosted …
Young Writers Festival Highlights 2025
On 2 April 2025, 260 First Story participants from across England came together at the University of Cambridge, to take part in our annual Young Writers Festival. It was a day packed with workshops, …
Six Word Story Competition Winners 2024/25
Our annual Six Word Story competition is a challenge in concise storytelling. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famous six word story “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” we ask our young …
First Story students appear live on Leeds radio station Chapel FM
First Story students from Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford were invited to read their writing live on Leeds' Chapel FM on Friday 6 December. Students had prepared pieces for the broadcast, with writer …
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 …
First Story at Nottingham Poetry Festival
This June we were proud to celebrate the finale of our collaboration with Nottingham Poetry Festival, at an inspiring event at Nottingham's new Central Library. Two schools - The Bulwell Academy and …
Young Writers Festival Highlights 2024
On 27 March 2024, nearly 300 First Story participants from across England came together at Downing College, University of Cambridge, to take part in our annual Young Writers Festival. It was a day …
First Story bursary opportunities for PGCert Teaching Creative Writing at University of Cambridge
For the sixth year running, First Story are collaborating with the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education to offer a bursary opportunity for those applying for the Postgraduate …
A day of creative collaboration – First Story Writers at the Courtauld Gallery
We recently reignited our partnership with London's Courtauld Gallery, which had previously hosted Schools Connect Events before the pandemic. 10 of our London writers attended a 'meeting of …
Six Word Story Competition Winners 2023/24
Our annual Six Word Story competition is a challenge in concise storytelling. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famous six word story “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” we ask our young …
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 …
School Writing Trail with Manchester City of Literature
Nineteen students from the six local schools who took part in Manchester Connect event in April 2023 featured in Manchester UNESCO City of Literature's first Schools' Writing Trail in June …
