ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

This autumn we held an exciting course in our Open Centre.Ìý The course ran for seven weeks, the first three weeks the group worked with local writer Alex Johnson where each person started writing their own personalised stories.Ìý

By the end of week three they had all finished crafting their stories.ÌýIn the fourth week, they had the opportunity to work with two illustrators from Coventry University's School of Art & Design to help bring their characters to life with pictures.ÌýThe final three weeks gave the group the chance to complete their project by working with paper craft tutor Karen Everitt from Let's Create.ÌýEach person made their own book, beautifully hand-crafted, illustrated and written by them for someone special. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Coventry & Warwickshire also recorded their stories and you can listen to them here or at some point over the festive break on air.

Click on the link below to view photos from the workshops:

........

Liz Bloomfield

Liz Bloomfield - A very special birthday

A short story about twins who are looking forward to their birthday celebrations.

"I was a bit apprehensive about writing a story because I haven’t done one before.Ìý So it started off as a spark of an idea and coming here to do the course has really helped me believe I could do it, put it down on paper and here we are with a completed book. . . . It’s certainly the sort of course where you look forward to coming back week after week.â€�

........

Yvonne Brissett

Yvonne Brissett - Daddy takes us to the fair

A short story about two girls who are taken to the fair by their daddy.

“It’s been really fantastic because it has encouraged me to explore an area that I’ve never written for before which is children’s story and also think about illustration so it’s quite creative in that respect.â€�Ìý

........

Sylvia Donegan

Sylvia Donegan - Pasta and Peas

Pasta and Peas is a short story about a granddaughter's trip to see her grandmother.

"It’s been a real challenge and it’s made me think about so many things really.Ìý Not just about how precious family are but just the little things that you do with them are so important, that is what I enjoyed. It was like revisiting a day with her, and I don’t spend a lot of time with her but when I do we have a lot of fun.â€�Ìý

........

Michael Harvey

Michael Harvey - That's what pirates do

A pirate story in a modern setting.Ìý A boy on holiday finds a pirate and helps him find a new job.

"At first I thought this would be nice and easy, I’ve read lots of stories just knock another one out, piece of cake but there is actually a lot of work involved.�

........

Stephanie Morris

Stephanie Morris - Oddy the Owl

A story about an unusually green owl called Oddy and his antics with his friends in the forest.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity of taking part in such a brilliant course.Ìý The tutors were excellent and I think all of us got so much out of the workshops.Ìý It was an opportunity to meet other like-minded people and to produce something tangible which had been sitting in my head for a long time!Ìý Thanks again.â€�Ìý

........

Amy Rugg

Amy Rugg - Soul School

A story about a girl facing a long school summer holiday break in America, but her plans about having no plans are scuppered by her mother, who sends her to 'Soul School'.

“The course has been a great success for me, because I’ve had a chance to meet other people and hear their stories to get inspiration to write my own bedtime story.Ìý And I think my children are going to be delighted.ÌýÌý My favourite part of the course has been to write a story that has been in me for a long time that I think my children will enjoy and maybe pass on to their children.â€�Ìý

........

Menna Salter

Menna Salter - A pond reflection

A poem about life by the pond.

"It’s been nice to meet people that are similar to me and enjoy doing creative stuff.Ìý We’ve all learnt off one another and gelled together well, we’ve all bounced ideas off one another, been brainstorming ideas together.Ìý It is amazing how all the books are so different and individual.Ìý All the books have a different theme and a different approach to it which I think we’ve all found quite refreshing because we can all get ideas from one another and it’s been a really good experience.Ìý I’ve really enjoyed myself.â€�

........