The Worry Balloon is an anthology of work written at or inspired by Spark Young Writers group sessions which took place between September 2023 and July 2024.
We invited our young writers to submit a piece of writing that they were particularly pleased with which they had begun at one of the sessions they attended during the year. Some of our groups worked on a piece of writing collectively and others are individually written.
We hope you enjoy the range, breadth and scope of the writing included.
Available to buy as an ebook or paperback here.
Hero Yeti is an anthology of work written at or inspired by Spark Young Writers group sessions which took place between September 2022 and July 2023.
The writing is as individual as the children and young people are: showing their interests and revealing insights into their personalities.
This anthology is testament to their tenacity, their love of writing, and the commitment of the lead and assistant writers to keep inspiring and encouraging them to write.
Our young writers range from 7 to 18 years old. Some groups meet online, but most meet in venues across the West Midlands.
Available to buy as an ebook or paperback here.
Hero Yeti is an anthology of work written at or inspired by Spark Young Writers group sessions which took place between September 2022 and July 2023.
The writing is as individual as the children and young people are: showing their interests and revealing insights into their personalities.
This anthology is testament to their tenacity, their love of writing, and the commitment of the lead and assistant writers to keep inspiring and encouraging them to write.
Our young writers range from 7 to 18 years old. Some groups meet online, but most meet in venues across the West Midlands.
Available to buy as an ebook or paperback here.
Writing West Midlands is proud to present The World That I Know, an anthology of writing produced by young writers who participated in Spark Young Writers during the school year 2021-2022.
Once again, our creative writing groups were forced to take place online mostly, which has been difficult for some of our young writers. We asked all our young writers – even those who only managed one or two sessions with us – if they would like to contribute a short piece for our Anthology.
We are delighted to share with you a collection of varied writing: poems, stories, scripts, letters and reviews. Some have been written collectively, most independently.
Our young writers range from 7 – 18 years old.
Available to buy as a paperback or ebook here.
Writing West Midlands is proud to present The Sound of a Creature’s Wings Spreading, an anthology of writing produced by young writers enrolled in the 2021 Summer Writing Challenge.
Lead Writers Liz Berry and Fiona Joseph met with our young writers online over the course of a week in July 2021, encouraging them to try their hand at a whole range of styles and genres of writing, from riveting fantasy to emotionally charged tales to chilling poetry. The results are gathered here in a brilliantly diverse collection as ambitious and promising as the writers responsible for it.
With contributions from Sadeen Ahmad, Umar Arshad, Angelica Hadjianastasis, Khadeeja Irfan, Emily Londsdale, Eva Maltby, Iona Mandal, Erin Oakley, Hattie Payne, Chloe Pick, Fanni Doroti Polgar, Luca Rezzano, Petra Rihan, Jeya Sandhar, Blake Scammell & Eirini Vassilas-Smith.
Available to buy as a paperback or ebook here.
All the different Spark Young Writers groups joined together for the first time to make a single anthology of work that they produced during the year.
From September 2020 – July 2021, our creative writing groups were forced to take place online, which has been difficult for some of our young writers. We asked all our young writers – even those who only managed one or two sessions with us – if they would like to contribute a short piece for our Anthology.
We are delighted to share with you a collection of varied writing: poems, stories, scripts, letters and reviews. Some have been written collectively, most independently.
Our young writers range from 7 – 17 years old.
Available to buy as a paperback or ebook here.
The Warmth of Home and Other Stories is an anthology of wonderful new writing by young people who took part in a week long Summer Writing Challenge in July 2020.
The young people were given writing prompts by writers Ruth Stacey and Rick Sanders and this collection contains some of the writing produced in response: a wonderfully eclectic collection of poetry and short fiction which represents the creative young people who wrote it.
With contributions from Mohamed Ali, Laurie Archer, |Olivia Bibb, Bridey Bingley, Patrick Dale, Chloe Guy, Amira Helate, Emily Lonsdale, Nusayba Nabeel, Elias Madeley, Thalia Madeley, Iona Mandel, Petra Montford, Fanni Doroti Polgar, Kristof Polgar, Jeya Sandhar, Joshua Vaughan. Compiled by Greg Dimmock, produced by Spark Young Writers and Writing West Midlands, with support from Arts Council England.
Available to buy as a paperback or ebook here.