Since opening in Redfern in 2012, Story Factory has supported more than 50,000 young people to write and share their stories. Now, it’s helping budding young writers thrive in the world after school too.
Story Factory is a not-for-profit that runs free writing programs to support young people aged 7 to 17 to build their literacy and find their voice. It has always worked with primary and high school students, but has now introduced Year of Opportunities, a program for young people who have graduated from these programs.
These young people, aged up to 22, have been through Story Factory’s longest programs, Year of the Novella and Year of Poetry, so have all written and professionally published their very own book. Some even have two or three books under their belts.
Every fortnight, this group of diverse and beautiful young writers comes together at Story Factory’s creative writing centre in Parramatta to discuss how they can continue their writing journeys.
As soon as they walk in, they are welcomed with big smiles and open arms by Story Engineer Bilal Hafda and Storyteller-in-Chief Richard Short. The morning starts with a heartfelt Acknowledgement of Country and it’s at this point that Story Factory is transformed into a home where these young people from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds feel safe to speak their minds and share their ideas.
Through their connections with Bilal and each other, they find out about writing prizes, publishing internships and creative projects they can apply for. They also share what they’re working on.
Jihad Yassine, author of two books of poetry published by Story Factory, River and Interpretation, said: “The poetry workshops at Story Factory are amazing, and they create a very welcoming space and a very comforting and warm environment … They also helped me understand what opportunities there are as a creative artist, as a creative writer and they also help me find confidence within my own voice and my own performances because I was encouraged to perform my poetry in front of an audience.”
Story Factory works with young people at all stages of their writing journey. To learn more about its after-school and holiday programs for students aged 7-17, go to
https://www.storyfactory.org.au/programs/after-school-holiday-programs/
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Aphrodite Delaguiado is Senior Manager, Communications and Publishing, for Story Factory.
