Writers in Residence lead online creative writing sessions for people in Edinburgh and Musselburgh
We’re really excited about two new initiatives taking our Citizen work online. The Citizen Collective first met last week and a new online group for adults based in North Edinburgh and Musselburgh starts on Monday 9th November.
The Citizen Collective
Last week we launched The Citizen Collective, which is led by Leyla Josephine, our Schools Writer in Residence.
The Citizen Collective sessions will provide a space for young people to build their writing skills, find their voice, explore self-expression, learn about different creative writing tools and techniques, and receive feedback. The group will explore themes of citizenship and will build a new community of young writers from Edinburgh and Musselburgh.
We’re delighted to be working with students aged 16-18 from Craigroyston Community High School, Leith Academy, Liberton High School and Musselburgh Grammar to make The Citizen Collective a reality. All the members share a keen interest in creative writing in different genres, including spoken word, poetry, rap, fiction, non-fiction and journalism.
The Citizen Collective sessions will culminate in an online performance and reading, which will be an opportunity for the young people to share their work with an invited audience.
Keep an eye out here for more updates from The Citizen Collective over the coming weeks.
Free course starting on Monday 9th November
Following on from the success of our Citizen Writers’ Groups in North Edinburgh and Musselburgh, Eleanor Thom will be bringing people from both areas together in an online group, starting on Monday 9 November. The course will be a series of relaxed online workshops involving discussions, stories and creative writing, all exploring ideas of home, belonging and community in our local areas.
Sessions are taking place on Mondays at 11am-12 noon, with additional drop-in sessions arranged weekly. The group will start meeting on Monday 9 November, and the final session will take place on Monday 7 December.
The sessions are open to anyone based in Musselburgh and North Edinburgh. You don’t need have any previous writing experience, and the course is completely free to attend. Eleanor Thom is our Communities Writer in Residence who has a wealth of experience leading on Citizen projects with local people. If you’d like to see an example of the kind of work Eleanor’s Citizen groups have produced before, check out our Stories & Scran event from Edinburgh International Book Festival Online 2020.
For more information and to register, email Eleanor on citizen.nea@gmail.com
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Citizen is our long-term creative programme working in partnership with organisations across Edinburgh and Musselburgh, offering local people a platform to explore identity, connection and place. The project is part of Edinburgh International Book Festival On The Road, and is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and through the PLACE Programme (funded by the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council, and the Edinburgh Festivals, and supported and administered by Creative Scotland).
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