Welcoming our new Trainee Writing Facilitators
We’re excited to welcome four brand new Trainee Writing Facilitators to the Ministry of Stories team.
These brilliant writers will learn a whole host of skills to make writing exciting for young people. Over the next year they’ll shadow a variety of different writing workshops, be mentored by an expert facilitator and learn how to plan and deliver their own creative writing workshops.
In return for them bringing their skills to our team, we will be offering termly reviews and a chance to develop their skills to plan, create and deliver creative writing projects across school and community settings. By the end of the programme they will have learned how to deliver inspirational creative writing projects that help young people discover the joy and power of writing.
Rowan Kiffin-Murray
Rowan is a poet from east London. He writes about feelings he struggles to articulate and lessons he has learned and wants to share. Poetry allows Rowan to express himself in a way he would not be able to in everyday conversation; it is an outlet for the subtle and overwhelming emotions that shape his life.
My three favourite pieces of writing are:
- My City by George the Poet
- Do Not Tell Me Good Things by Natasha Polomski
- Be Free (Live on David Letterman) by J.Cole
Nadia Lines
Nadia is a poet and playwright from Hertfordshire. Their poetry has been published widely, and she won the 2019 Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, the 2019 Orwell Youth Prize and the 2020 Tower Poetry Competition. Nadia’s plays, often inspired by medieval literature, have been performed across the UK. They’re thrilled to be working with the talented young people at Ministry of Stories.
My favourite pieces of writing are:
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Happy Birthday Moon by Raymond Antrobus
- Pearl by the Gawain Poet
Hannah Shury-Smith
Hannah is a writer and facilitator. Having won the 2022 Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play of the Year, her plays have been performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Talawa. She currently works part-time at Black Cultural Archives, delivering Black History workshops and leading the archives’ Youth Programme, while working as a Freelance Teacher at The National Archives.
My three favourite pieces of writing are:
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion by Kei Miller
Lucie Long
Lucie is a writer and facilitator. She is currently the Community Assistant at the Polka Theatre and loves creating stories with young people. She also co-runs the writing collective Page of Wands at Set Social in Peckham and is looking forward to gathering lots of new prompt ideas!
My three favourite pieces of writing are:
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
- Goodlord by Ella Frears
- Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
