Writing for Children/Young Adults or Writing about Children/Young Adults

Writing into the Heart of Childhood Experience with Sita Brahmachari

A groundbreaking course for those writing for - or about - children and young people


Most of the basic material a writer works with is gathered before the age of fifteen.
Willa Cather

Sita Brahmachari, whose books push the boundaries between children’s, YA and adult fiction, winning many awards for their exceptional portrayals of children and young people, has created a unique course for Writing Room to help our writers navigate the challenges of writing from the perspective of childhood.

This course is for you if you'd like to write for children/young adult readers, or if you want to feature authentic young characters in your work.

During our weekly explorations we'll immerse ourselves in the experience of childhood, rewilding our imaginations and revisiting places of awe, wonder, fear, confusion, curiosity, injustice, agency and potential.

We'll consider early rites of passage; a childhood sense of place and the passing of time; magic realist imaginations; the pushes and pulls of culture, history, family and school; and what is shown to the world or kept inside as personal identity is formed in keeping with, or in conflict with, societal and global expectations and realities.

We'll look at texts for children/YA readers and at work aimed at adults written from the point of view of young protagonists in a variety of genres, voices and perspectives.

The course will help us create authentic, contemporary young characters with believable voices, giving genuine expression to the experience of childhood.

All levels welcome, whether you’re taking your first steps in writing for or about young people or whether you have a manuscript on the go. This course will focus on producing new work, but the techniques can be applied to ongoing projects.


UNLEASHED MY CREATIVITY


I just wanted to say what a fantastic course Writing Into The Heart of Childhood was. Not only did I delve back into children's books (as well as adults' books with childhood as a key theme), but I learnt about a whole new writing process that really unleashed my creativity, and most importantly, allowed me to nurture and share my writing voice. Sita was wonderful at creating a comfortable, safe and accepting space, constantly reminding us that there was no such thing as censored, 'wrong' writing. In fact, that's the very thing that inhibits us as adults. I can safely say this course is one of the most important I have attended in my life.


Aoife

SO SPECIAL TO BE PART OF


Thank you for a brilliant 6 weeks! It has been so special to be part of such a welcoming and open group, thank you for leading us on such an inspiring journey and holding the space for us all. I really feel like it's given me permission to start my storytelling from whatever patchwork piece I find and to follow my nose where it feels right. So a big thank you, I've learnt so much, it has been a joy and a treat.


Bethany

ZOOM DELIVERY

Cost £148

Spring 2025: Evenings

  • Tuesdays 6.30-9pm
  • Jan 7, 14, 21, 28, Feb 4, 11

    Autumn 2025: Evenings

    • Tuesdays 6.30-9pm
    • Sept 16, 23, 30, Oct 7, 4, 21

      Our tutor Sita says...

      On the writing way I have met so many people passionate about writing for children and young adults. I am delighted to be sharing my writing inspirations and journey with Writing Roomers. I have seen how creating authentic young characters can be transformational for both aspiring writers and young readers. In Writing into the Heart of Childhood Experience I want to pass the baton on. I can't wait to see the stories that emerge from the creative writing seeds planted here.

      Sita Brahmachari


      Sita Brahmachari has an MA in Arts Education (Central School of Speech and Drama, 2019)  and a background in Theatre and Education. In 2011 Sita won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize with her debut novel Artichoke Hearts named among the top fifty novels with diverse representation since the 1950s by the Guardian. In the interim years Sita has written many highly acclaimed, Carnegie and United Kingdom Literary Award nominated novels and short stories. In 2018 she was awarded an Honour for the writing of Tender Earth by the International Board of Books for Young People, and her novels Where The River Runs Gold (2019) and When Secrets Set Sail (2020) have received great acclaim. She was the 2015 Booktrust Writer in Residence and is the current Writer in Residence at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. In March 2021 Sita's novella The River Whale was a World Book Day Story. Swallow’s Kiss launched at the British Library in June 2021. Sita’s latest novel is When Shadows Fall (2021). She is a Royal Literary Fellow and an Amnesty International ambassador. Sita has recently been made a Fellow of the Society of Authors.

      Writing Room is a registered Community Interest Company: a non-profit arts organisation committed to serving the interests of our diverse community of creative writers.

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      contact@writingroom.org.uk

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