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 packed with workshops, readings, performances and more. Our 2024 festival was headlined by award-winning YA author, Dean Atta
Hosted by Lewis Buxton
A playlist of motivational tunes (compiled from suggestions made by First Story writers and participants) welcomed attendees in to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre. First Story writer Lewis Buxton introduced our guest speakers.
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 Downing College campus.
Young Writers showcase
The festival culminated with everyone returning to the main hall for a showcase of the day’s best writing. Students took to the mic and performed their work. We heard so many inspiring, moving, funny, original pieces!
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 welcoming and 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’
Participants feedback
100%
of teachers agreed the festival helped their students enjoy and/or appreciate writing, and also feel more confident to share and talk about their work with others.
90%
of participants agreed that they enjoy and/or appreciate writing more after attending.
94%
of participants would recommend taking part in the Young Writers Festival to other students.
82%
of participants agreed that after attending the festival they are more confident about sharing and talking about their work with others.
I like how we had the opportunity to visit one of the best universities in the world and have the help of students staying in campus. I liked how the students helped us understand more about the university.
Festival Participant
I loved how open and free all the sessions were, especially the free writing! I loved meeting all the writers, all the books and just everything about this whole event! helpful.
Festival Participant
It was fun and has helped build my confidence a lot, and shows my skills about what I can do / what I’m capable of.
Festival Participant
Our students get to meet students from other schools, travelling to Cambridge gives them an experience of life/surroundings outside of Bradford. Working with different authors has given them a chance to produce a different style of writing and to think about things from a different viewpoint
Teacher at Coop Academy Grange
