Her Majesty, who became First Story’s Patron in 2011, held a reception at Clarence House on 11 July to celebrate 15 years of our work empowering young people with the confidence and skills to tell their own stories. During the reception, The Queen met First Story guests including programme alumni, writers, teachers, supporters and trustees.
Photo by Ian Jones 
Photo by Ian Jones 
Photo by Ian Jones 
Photo by Ian Jones
Guests included: First Story’s co-founders Will Fiennes and Katie Waldegrave MBE; former Chairs Charlotte Hogg and Drea Minton Beddoes and our current Chair, Ed Baden-Powell; First Story writers Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Rachel Seiffert and Francesca Beard; First Story Ambassadors Tracy Chevalier and Patrice Lawrence MBE; Young Writers Programme alumni Habiba Desai (co-founder of independent publisher Fox and Windmill Books), Chloe Holland and Priya Gill; and many of our funders, donors and supporters.
Antonia Byatt, CEO of First Story, gave a speech in which she thanked the many long-standing supporters in the room who have helped First Story reach this milestone anniversary.
From a single pilot school in 2007, First Story programmes now run in London, across the East Midlands and Yorkshire, and this year we launched in Manchester. Over the years we’ve published over 550 brilliant anthologies and worked with over 10,000 young people in the Young Writers Programme – and even more through competitions, live events and National Writing Day. So many incredible teachers have benefited too; we know that working alongside a professional writer can really improve their confidence in teaching creative writing. We’ve also worked with an extraordinary host of professional writers.
Antonia Byatt, First Story CEO
Daniella Koranteng, who participated in our Young Writers Programme in 2021/22, whilst a student at Skinners’ Academy in north London, was invited to read at the event. The piece she chose to perform developed on a poem originally published in her First Story’s group’s anthology.
Once I was the ground
extract from an untitled poem read by Daniella Koranteng, a First Story alumna
I never had nothing
Just the brown dirt rich with nutrients
The potential for success
A total mess, rough nothing more nothing less
Another Young Writers Programme alumna, Priya Gill from Derby, presented Her Majesty with a selection of First Story anthologies. Alongside her keen interest in supporting young people’s literacy, Queen Camilla is known to be an avid reader.
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