National Writing Day 2019
National Writing Day is the annual celebration of creative writing, designed to inspire people across the UK to tune into their writing skills. The initiative will be taking place across schools and other educational institutions on the 26th June 2019. It has been running in the UK since 2017.
From poetry to play-writing, storytelling to songwriting, the aim behind the programme is to celebrate all forms of writing. Communities are encouraged to come together creatively via a range of public, educational and online activities. It is based on the idea that literature needs greater attention and celebration in today’s society, and that everyone has a story worth sharing. The organisers say that having the courage to embrace creative writing “can be a source of pleasure and power”.
Take Part
Schools are encouraged to take part in National Writing Day in a number of ways. This could include delivering a dedicated creative writing lesson using free teaching resources on the official website, or inviting a local writer for a reading or workshop. It could be as simple as dedicating the school assembly to creative writing, giving budding young writers a platform to share their work, or facilitating a lunch-time book-club or writing session.
National Writing Day is pioneered by First Story, a national literacy charity dedicated to changing lives through writing. The programme is supported by fifty-five official partners and numerous other associate organisations, along with support from Arts Council England and Old Possums Practical Trust.
There are numerous online teaching resources for Early Years to Key Stage 5 as well as “Write Away” activity packs. You can join in by writing your own original piece on the day using some of the free creative resources, attending an event hosted by one of the organisation’s partners or sharing your own work on social media using #nationalwritingday.
You can find the official website here: https://www.nationalwritingday.org.uk/resources/by/resources/
For information on organising an event:
https://www.nationalwritingday.org.uk/events/
Jade Cuttle: https://www.jadecuttle.com/
Jade Cuttle graduated from the University of Cambridge with First-Class Honours in Literature, going on to undertake an MA in Poetry at the University of East Anglia. Selected by Ledbury Poetry Festival as an Emerging Critic and winning Best Reviewer (Editor's Choice) in the 2018 Saboteur Awards, Jade has written for the Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, The Spectator, The Times & The Sunday Times, the Observer, BBC Radio 3, BBC Proms, The Poetry Review and elsewhere. She is Deputy Poetry Editor at Ambit and judging the Costa Book Awards 2019. You can find out more on her website: www.jadecuttle.com
