Accord Literary And Rock Retreat Young Writers Workshop
A Young Writers’ Workshop organised by Accord Literary and The Rock Retreat attracted over 40 young creatives over the midterm break. The initiative which was led by illustrator Eleanor Taylor Dobbs, author Frances Moloney and publisher Sarah Odedina and supported by Gibraltar Cultural Services, was aimed at boosting the participants creative writing skills. The sessions which ran over three days saw the participants explore the different ways of storytelling writing, illustrating and discussing ideas on how to develop a plot, characters and the other building blocks of storytelling.
The young people received advice and guidance from a selection of authors and writers from around the world, many of whom joined the group via zoom from the John Mackintosh Hall. They also connected with other young people based in Ghana and Bermuda, further cementing the international connections established by the Rock Retreat. The focus of the event was writing and illustrating stories for the Young Writers’ Competition being hosted by Accord Literary and The Rock Retreat. Organisers welcomed contributions from writers, poets, song-writers, illustrators, animators and archivists from all over the world to give the young people the broadest possible experience. The group was energised and excited to meet the speakers and to hear their stories and learn about the creative process, using these experiences when developing their own ideas.
Minister for Education and Culture John Cortes visited the event and had an opportunity to speak to the participants, commenting “It was wonderful to see the engagement of these children, and their enthusiasm for writing, illustrating and books in general. This is precisely what we need to achieve in order to develop our Gibraltarian Literature and for our young people to derive the benefits that books bring.”
