The Rock Retreat and Accord Literary are hosting workshops and running a young writers and illustrators competition and inviting Reading Force children and young people to take part!
Accra in Ghana is UNESCO World Book Capital 2023 and to celebrate that Accord Literary and The Rock Retreat are creating an exciting global writing project and competition that will launch in Gibraltar next month. Young people in Bermuda, Ghana, Gibraltar & MOD families from across the globe will be taking part in this three day festival of writing and creativity. SIGN UP by 20th February – email ellie.dobbs@icloud.com to get a zoom link.
Join us virtually at John Mackintosh Hall Gibraltar on the 23rd, 24th and 25th February 2023 Share your unique stories, sharpen your skills, build your confidence in a relaxed and supportive environment. Anyone aged 9 to 19+ can join this zoom workshop.
Get to meet and talk to an outstanding group of authors, illustrators, poets, songwriters to boost your skills and open up a world of storytelling. We will focus on the building blocks of successful stories including plot, creating characters, finding the perfect setting, using your unique voice.
The work that is created during the sessions will be eligible for submission to the Accord Literary Writing and Illustration Competition. Your entries will be judged by an international panel of authors and prizes will be awarded during The Accord Festival of Children’s Literature in Accra , Ghana May 2023.
Join an OUTSTANDING group of authors, publishers and creatives and grasp this opportunity to boost your writing and illustrating skills. We shall be looking at all the ways to tell a story from writing, through creating a graphic novel, telling a story in pictures, poetry and song writing….
Benjamin Zephaniah @officialbenjaminzephaniah Self proclaimed “Poet, writer, musician and troublemaker”. Born and raised in Birmingham, England. He cannot remember a time when he was not creating poetry but this had nothing to do with school. Benjamin is one of our most important living writers and we are delighted that he is going to be joining us.
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Frances Moloney @francesmoloneyauthor was born and raised in London, where she now lives having spent brief stints in Cornwall, where she studied English with Creative Writing at Falmouth, and Sweden. She has worked in the world of stories for over ten years and loves reading, running and yoga – though not all at the same time! The Mystery of the Missing Mum is her first novel.
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Gareth P Jones facebookGarethPJonesAuthor is an author of many very popular books for young readers including The Ninja Meerkats and The Thornthwaite Inheritance. Gareth loves talking about his writing and enjoys discussing where ideas come from. You might be surprised!
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Sarah Odedina @sarahodedina is an editor of books for young readers and has published books by JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman and many other firm favourites. Sarahs favourite bit of her job is working with helping writers getting their ideas on to page
Elizabeth-Irene Baitie @elizabeth_irene_baitie lives in Accra where she works during the day as a scientist and at night creates her wonderful stories about the lives of young people in Ghana “Writing is very much a part of who I am. To me, it is as natural as breathing, eating chocolate, exercising, and having long phone conversations with my sisters”
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Oksi Odedina @oksillary is a music industry award winner and will be sharing her experiences of the world of music storytelling with an invited songwriter.
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Jonathan Pizarro @js.pzro will be talking about his highly commended Commonwealth Prize Short Story which is set in his native Gibraltar.
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Sylvia Arthur @loatad_org and @africanwomenarehistory will be letting us in to her library in Accra, Ghana and sharing the experience of her project with National Geographic to create a people’s history of West Africa.
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Helle Norup @hsnorup is an award winning author from Denmark who now lives in Switzerland and loves to daydream. Her most recent novel is The Hungry Ghost.
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Gary Northfield @stupidmonster has been writing and drawing comics since 2002. He’s published many books including the hilarious Derek the Sheep. Gary’s work regularly features in magazines such as The Beano, National Geographic Kids and The Dandy.
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James Blagden @jimmyblags lives and works in Los Angeles. He’s an animator and filmmaker and when not creating his wonderful characters he enjoys skateboarding and eating garlic.
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Yesha Townsend @ameliapureheart_ is a Bermudian writer and poet. She is a mentor and coach for the Bermuda National Youth Poetry Slam Team. Watching Yesha perform her poetry is sure to ignite a passion for this art form in the audience.
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Eleanor Dobbs @eleanordobbs is an award winning illustrator. She has created over 50 books for children including The Hogwarts Crest for Harry Potter and The Further Tales of Peter Rabbit with Emma Thompson. Eleanor divides her time between Gibraltar and London. With Sarah Odedina, Eleanor runs @the_rockretreat.