Young Women’s Reading

I was thinking earlier, that being a teenager is hard but then I thought, being a mother must be really hard.  I suppose being a teen mum is the hardest job in the world. But I wouldn’t know, I’m just little old me, muddling along.  Muddling along with someone else holding the reins, holding the keys, holding the lock shut.         - Vanessa 

This is the first year that we will stage a reading open to young women writers like Vanessa.

Words And Women in partnership with Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library’s Community Development Worker – Young People, Charlotte Creed invited  girls from Years 10 - 13  at The Hewett School to write about anything close to their hearts. The project was championed by Hayley Ross, an English teacher at the school, and a core of strong writers emerged. These writers have been joined by a handful of other participants from youth groups associated with the library.  The result is a strong selection of prose and poetry which is compelling, honest and revealing of the lives of young women today.  The threads and themes exploring self-esteem, bullying, family relationships, living with loneliness and finding a place in the world are intertwined with courage, insight, humour and grace.

The girls will be able to take part in a workshop to help them read extracts of their work in public and the full pieces will be posted on this blog and put together in a short printed anthology. Hodder And Stoughton have kindly donated a hardback copy of Jenn Ashworth’s The Friday Gospels  to each of the girls and Jarrolds are offering a book token to the extract judged most outstanding.

The reading will take place with music from Matilda Pine at 5pm in the Express Section of the Millennium Library on March 8^th.