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Sheffield Young Writers is a writing group led by mentors and writers for young people in and around Sheffield who like to come together and share writing and ideas with other young people. If you're a secret scribbler,
closet novelist or part-time poet then why not contact Sheffield
Young Writers about joining. As part of SYW you can: Questions about Sheffield Young Writers Who is it for? How do I join? When do we meet? Who runs it? “I think there is a massive need for opportunities for young writers in Sheffield. I know from my own experiences when I was a young person that there’s very little opportunity for you when you have a passion for writing to explore it. People don’t know about the kind of careers that are open to them in the Arts and Cultural sectors, particularly relating to writing”.
Sheffield Young Writers is:
Although the project welcomes opportunities to work with a range of partners, SYW deliberately operates outside of the school system. This independence from formal education allows project leaders to have a more equal relationship with young people and relieves young writers from the pressure to perform according to external targets. It also allows young people the freedom to be themselves away from peers who may not understand their identity as writers. The young people who attend the project value the fact that it is recreational and nothing to do with school. “People at school don't know that I write. I like to keep it that way.” The project has an open-access policy restricted only by age parameters. It welcomes young people from all backgrounds who have a desire to write. Young people are not expected to commit to any particular period of time with the project or to achieve any particular outcome. There is encouragement but no pressure to read out or perform. Young people have the freedom to write in their own voice, in their own genre and to take writing tasks in a direction that appeals to them. “It's kind of no obligation, but you feel you want to contribute The aims of the project The Sheffield Young Writers aims to give young people the opportunity to:
Sheffield Young Writers aims to encourage and facilitate young writers who:
“I dream that young people will have ownership of their writing – the confidence and ability to choose for themselves what they want to write about, to understand the process of moving from life as raw material to a finished product.” Matt Black, Signposts Writing Development Project The activity of Sheffield Young Writers Sheffield Young Writers is centred around a weekly writers' workshop that runs from 5-7pm on a Wednesday. Currently the young writers are supported by project mentors (Vicky Morris and Sue Shaw) on a weekly basis with other writers delivering themed blocks of workshops throughout the year. Writers who have worked with the Sheffield Young Writers include journalists, poets, performers, novelists and script-writers. The young writers also have the opportunity for one-to-one sessions with project mentors and have received email feedback on their writing from a range of professional writers. They also have the facility to communicate with each other via a forum (hosted by Cubeweb) and via Facebook. The young writers explore a range of outlets for their work. Their writing has been:
They have interviewed authors, spoken at conferences, performed at prestigious events, produced podcasts and contributed to regional and national consultation events. They have also taken part in annual local events such as:
Some of the young writers have also received Arts Awards for their work which, in addition to writing, has included delivering presentations and workshops to their peers. Sheffield Young Writers and Cube Magazine Since 2006 SYW and Cube have worked in close partnership to extend and enhance the opportunities for young writers across both projects and beyond. Collaborations have included:
The origins of Sheffield Young Writers ‘I don’t believe creative writing is encouraged enough in schools. Nobody ever sat down with a careers advisor and said “I’m going to be a poet” without them suggesting that journalism, publishing or teaching might be a more viable career. I want young people to know now that there are possibilities as a writer even though the competition is tough. I don’t want my group to wake up one day and remember that they used to have dreams.’ Beverley Ward, Founder of Sheffield Young Writers Sheffield Young Writers was set up in 2005 by writer and consultant, Beverley Ward to provide recreational writing opportunities for young writers in a relaxed setting outside of formal education. After years of working creatively with young people in schools, youth groups and community settings Beverley recognised that there were large numbers of young people writing without any real support. She wanted to provide a safe space for young people to experiment with writing in a community of like-minded people. The future of the project Sheffield Young Writers continues to evolve each year in accordance with the demands of the young people who make up the project. Collaborations with other projects and initiatives are always welcome. Please contact sheffyoungwriters@yahoo.co.uk if you have any ideas or suggested. |
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Email: sheffyoungwriters@yahoo.co.uk
