Plymouth Central Library Workshops

On the 16th December 2009, the Plymouth launch of the Young Muslim Writers Awards took place at the Central Library in the heart of the city centre. Children and young people from both primary and secondary schools across the city attended morning or afternoon workshops organised by Plymouth Ethnic Minority Achievement Team and Plymouth Central Library.

Members of the EMA Team read extracts from stories by Muslim authors and led the pupils in exploring the imaginative use of artefacts as inspiration for story writing. During the workshops pupils were supported in developing plans and openings for their own poems and short stories, and were given practical advice in navigating the Muslim Writers Awards website in order to support them in entering the competition. 

Each pupil was provided with a writing pack containing materials and guidance to enable them to continue developing their writing back in school or at home, and teaching assistants who accompanied the pupils were keen to support them further. A local restaurant provided tasty snacks to sustain the young writers, and help make the workshops an enjoyable experience. Both primary and secondary workshops ended with pupils proudly sharing their ideas.

This was the first time Plymouth has actively promoted the Muslim Young Writers Awards, but it is something we will definitely do again. The response from children and young people who attended the workshops was extremely positive, with pupils describing how much fun they had writing, and how much they appreciated this special event celebrating their culture and heritage. All the pupils expressed interest in entering the competition, so we hope they may be amongst the future winners!

Written by Lucinda Ross, Education Adviser & EMA Team Manager, Plymouth Services for Children and Young People.