What is Young Writers Collective (YWC)?

Young Writers Collective (YWC for short) is a growing group that anyone aged 11 to 18 in Sussex can join to express yourself, develop your skills, and connect with other writers. Led by young writers and for young writers, Young Writers Collective is a project managed by charity Little Green Pig.  Founded in 2020, it has been growing and developing since then with new members welcome to join at anytime.

Who can join and how do I sign up?

Anyone aged 11 to 18 that lives/works/studies in Sussex. See our “Join In” section to sign up to be part of the collective. We need parent/carer permissions for those who are under 18 so we can keep in touch with you with YWC updates.

Where do you meet?

Existing digitally and in person, Young Writers Collective members join together to express themselves how they choose to - through poetry, prose, journalism, zines, spoken word and more. We believe that writing is powerful, fun and that we all have the right to write! As we grow, there will be opportunities for workshops with professional writers and creatives, masterclasses, skills sharing, publications, and performances. These will take place across Sussex, from Brighton to Worthing to Eastbourne and beyond. We also will meet on Zoom and other online platforms.

What sort of writing do you do?

That’s totally up to you! From poetry to prose, journalism to zines, comedy, scripts, spoken word and more. YWC chooses what and how to write. The theme and prompts for each zine publication will be suggested voted on by members of YWC.

How much does it cost?

Nothing! Nada! Zero! Zilch! Young Writers Collective is completely free! It is free to join and all workshops and events will be free too. We want it to be open to as many writers as possible to take part so we don’t charge for anything we do. To enable this to happen, we are a funded charity. If you’re a funder with money to invest in young creativity - get in touch!

Who runs Young Writers Collective?

The collective aims to be led by young writers, for young writers- allowing creatives to develop and shape the collective themselves. Members of the collective can make decisions together and certain roles are available for leading meet-ups/taking on more leadership/editing decisions.

YWC has been set up by, is managed and funded by a local writing and mentoring charity called Little Green Pig. As the collective grows and establishes, professional adult writers, mentors and artists from across Sussex will be supporting young writers through workshops and master-classes. Little Green Pig’s Youth Board members have been involved in shaping and advising on YWC too.

Young Writers Collective is a sub-brand of Little Green Pig charity, which is a registered charity, and look after things like safeguarding and funding for Young Writers Collective. More can be found out about Little Green Pig and its’ staff/Board here: www.littlegreenpig.org.uk You can find our charity and company information, plus our Safeguarding and Equity and Diversity policies at the bottom of this website.

Do I need to be “good” at writing / grammar / spelling to join?

No! We welcome all levels of skill and confidence. We believe that everyone has the right to write, for pleasure and purpose. It doesn’t matter if you don’t yet feel confident in your writing skills, or if you’re not the best in your class at English. You may have English as an additional language, have SEND, be dyslexic, or find getting your ideas down on paper tricky…Young Writers Collective is for you to enjoy practicing creating, expressing yourself and developing your skills. With words, with communication, with spoken word, with ideas, with writing in all its forms.

You may prefer to write on the Notes on your phone than with pen and paper, or using a laptop. You might prefer not sharing your writing with anyone, or speaking out your words in improvised style to writing them down. You can write how and what you want - in any language - everything is welcomed at YWC and there is no judgment/competition. It’s about exploring your own ideas and connecting with others who enjoy exploring what writing is and can be too.

I’m a parent/carer/social worker/youth worker/educator - how can I find out more?

YWC is managed by staff at charity Little Green Pig. You can contact Sally/Nikki at ywc@littlegreenpig.org.uk to find out more or phone our office number 01273 234 776

We are keen to connect with youth groups, colleges, schools, home ed groups, youth centres and more. Get in touch if you’d like us to come speak about the collective to your group/do an assembly/intro talk or invite us to collaborate with you on a project.

How do you make sure it is safe for young people?

Young Writers Collective is managed by registered charity Little Green Pig. Our staff and volunteer team are trained in safeguarding, equity, diversity and inclusion, and first aid - different ways to keep young people as safe as we can. We have management and governance structures in place to try and ensure that digital platforms and in person events are safe for young people and all of our community of writers. You can read our Safeguarding Policy, EDI and privacy policy at the bottom of our website. If there are any concerns/questions, our Safeguarding Lead Director Nicky Crabb can be contacted via email nicky@littlegreenpig.org.uk or phone number 01273 234 776

Where will my writing be shared/published? Do I still have intellectual property rights?

When you submit your writing online in response to one of our publication / zine call outs, you will give permission for us to share your writing and creative work digitally and in printed form. You can choose when you submit how you’d like your work to be credited (with your name/anonymously). Even though we will share your words online and in printed publications, you will still be the owner of your work and remain the author. You can let us know if you change your mind and don’t want us to feature your work online anymore at any time. You keep copyright and intellectual property rights of your own writing, and you can reproduce your work yourself anywhere and anytime you want to.