Celebrating London’s libraries as places to make and share stories.
City of Stories Home is a creative reading and writing programme in the heart of local communities in London. It discovered aspiring local writers and introduced new stories from diverse writers to audiences in library reading groups and at events.
Originally, the project took place over two years (2017 and 2018), it positioned libraries as the place to discover and create stories by:
* Celebrating and promoting short stories to readers across London libraries;
* Engaging London’s diverse communities with telling their own stories;
* Supporting the development of London’s emerging short story writers.
It offered Londoners the chance to:
* Take part in free creative writing workshops across London;
* Enter the City of Stories 500 word story competition (if they have attended a City of Stories workshop);
* Attend reading events in libraries;
* Read new work by City of Stories writers-in-residence and competition winners.
In 2017, 430 writers took part in the City of Stories. The short story writing competition received 227 submissions, resulting in 20 competition winners, two of whom went on to be selected for Spread the Word’s PLATFORM scheme for emerging talented writers.
In 2018, over 800 people participated in City of Stories. We received 313 entries into the competition, resulting in 21 competition winners and 40 highly commended writers. The winning entries over the two years were published in City of Stories anthologies, available to read in participating libraries across London.
In February 2022, there were 33 free online creative writing workshops for writers aged 18+ run by experienced creative writing facilitators. Londoners who attended a free workshop were encouraged to enter the City of Stories Home short story writing competition.
The City of Stories Home Anthology was published in June 2022, featuring over 70 London writers, including 63 competition winners and 8 commissioned writers. The Anthologies were launched at 33 special free celebration events across London’s libraries throughout June.
London writers Amer Anwar, Natasha Brown, Jarred McGinnis, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, Ruth Goldsmith, Iqbal Hussain and S. Niroshini have written stories on the theme of home to inspire Londoners to get creative and write their own story. You can read them here.
Illustrations by Tasia Graham
