Welcome talks

Ravena Guron (First Story Alumni),
Dr Bonnie Lander-Johnson (Writer and Downing College Fellow) and Katriona Gregory (Access & Widening Participation Manager at Downing College) all gave welcome talks.

On behalf of Downing, Dr Bonnie Lander-Johnson, fiction writer, essayist and Shakespeare scholar, warmly welcomed festival attendees to the College. Her colleague Katriona Gregory, shared what student life is like at Downing College.

First Story Alumni Ravena Guron, now a published Faber author (and also a biochemist turned lawyer) who herself attended the Young Writers Festival when at school shared her top writing tips with Festival attendees.

Headlined by Dean Atta

In conversation with First Story Young Ambassadors Alex Applegate, Khadija Senghor and Maha Sharez.

Dean Atta is the author of YA novels-in-verse The Black Flamingo and Only on the Weekends. Named as ‘one of poetry’s greatest modern voices’ (Gay Times). The Black Flamingo was a top-selling debut of 2020 and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, CILIP Carnegie Medal, The Jhalak Prize and The YA Book Prize. The Black Flamingo was also awarded the prestigious Stonewall Book Award and the Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Award 2020, and sold to the US in a five-way publisher auction. Dean is also a former First Story writer in residence.

Writing workshops

Festival participants attended two different group writing workshops during the day, facilitated by First Story writers, in a variety of impressive settings around the College campus.

I really enjoyed it, because it felt like I was part of a community with people who also care about writing and care about becoming better. I just felt so accepted and at home. I loved meeting more accomplished writers, authors and peers, because they all do it so differently! 

Festival participant

Lunchtime Activities

At lunchtime participants were given tours of the campus by Downing Student Ambassadors who also ran talks on student life. Plus, there was an expo including a bookstall, participatory Festival poem and book signing session by Dean Atta.

Downing College, Cambridge is one of the University’s few open colleges, set amongst a spacious, stunning landscape of lawns and gardens. Downing staff and students were such welcoming, generous festival hosts.

Titles for the lunchtime bookstall were generously donated by CLPE, Penguin Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Own it!, Pan Macmillan, Usbourne and World of Books as well as individual First Story writers.

Quentin Blake Competition

In the afternoon, the winner of our Quentin Blake Competition was announced. This unique creative writing competition, in partnership with Downing College, is exclusively open to students who attend Festival.

Elizabeth Reynolds from Trinity C of E High School in Manchester won the 2023 Prize with her poem ‘Hoarder’s Honeymoon’ inspired by Quentin’s illustration of a couple in an over-packed car.

Festival Poem

The day concluded with host Lewis Buxton reading out the collaborative Festival Poem ‘The Moon Has Feelings Too’ that had been created by Festival attendees.

Created via a fun tombola game at the lunchtime expo and written on a very, very long roll of paper – the final couplet was a fitting way to conclude the day:

This festival is a dancefloor of stories,
it is everything,  
Don’t let anyone discourage you, sing. 

from ‘The Moon Has Feelings Too’

Read the full poem here.