And that’s a wrap! Booking for our 2022-23 season is closed.

We are working hard behind the scenes preparing all the groups to go on sale as soon as we can.

We’ll have groups meeting all over the West Midlands, as well as three online groups, so as many young people as possible can take part. Our groups will mostly be split into junior aged groups and high school or secondary school aged groups. Designed as a course of 10 sessions, we are able to offer one-off taster sessions so you can try before you commit to the whole year. 

If you want to find out when the groups go on sale, please sign up to our mailing list and we’ll let you know when they’re available to book. 

Spark Young Writers groups are writing groups for children and young people interested in any kind of creative writing.

Each group is: 

  • fun! We laugh a lot during the sessions
  • friendly and informal
  • small – max. 15 children
  • led by a professional writer along with an assistant
  • varied – your child will do all kinds of writing, from fiction to poetry to playwriting
  • working on creative writing rather than spelling or punctuation
  • a chance for your child to develop their creative writing 
  • a way to grow their confidence in their writing
  • not assessed – your child will get feedback and suggestions, but no “grades” or “attainment levels” are given
Image © Lee Allen.

To keep up to date with everything that is going on, including reminders about submission deadlines for our termly online magazine, you can sign up for the Young People and Schools mailing list.

For exact times and dates of each group, please see below.

If you have any questions about Spark Young Writers, please have a look at our Young Writers FAQs page.

There are occasional opportunities for group members to share their work at events for family members and friends as well as more public events. In previous years, members of the groups have shared their work at the Birmingham Literature FestivalLedbury Poetry FestivalCoventry Mysteries and Wenlock Poetry Festival. Several have also been involved in publications and regularly submit to Spark Young Writers Magazine. 

 If you have any questions, check out our FAQs.

To get an idea about what an online group looks like, you can watch this short film.

Young Writers’ group Supporters

For more information about the supporters on sponsors of our Spark Young Writers’ Groups please click here.

School years and ages

Year 3 (age 7-8), Year 4 (age 8-9), Year 5 (age 9-10), Year 6 (age 10-11) – Key Stage 2

Year 7 (age 11-12), Year 8 (age 12-13), Year 9 (age 13-14) – Key Stage 3

Year 10 (age 14-15), Year 11 (age 15-16) – Key Stage 4

If you have any further questions about the Spark Young Writers’ Groups please have a look at our Young Writers FAQs page. If you have a question that isn’t on this list, please email emma[at]writingwestmidlands.org. If you would prefer to discuss the groups, you can call Emma on 0121 246 2770 (option 2).

Get Writing

If you’d like to submit a piece of your writing for possible inclusion in the magazine, please see the Get Involved page to see more details. This magazine is published online three times a year: summer (June/July), winter (October-December) and spring (February-April) terms.

Our Spark Young Writers groups for September 2023-June 2024 are now available to book, including three new junior groups for Staffordshire, starting in January 2024.

 

Young Writers can submit up to three pieces of writing to our online magazine. The deadline for submissions for Issue 28 is 26th March 2024. Full details can be found here.

Check out all our ideas for writing prompts at our Get Writing tab. A wide selection of images, videos and funsheets for young writers to complete.