Young Authors Club

27/09/2026

How is it week 3 of term already!?
We have created characters and starred to plot our story … I can’t wait to share some of them with you 🐈‍⬛
📚 writing is fun 🤩

25/09/2026

🚨 BBC 500 Words opens for submissions on Tuesday 29th September at 8am! 🚨

The UK’s biggest children’s story-writing competition is back - inviting young storytellers to write the kind of story they would love to read. No pressure around spelling, grammar or punctuation - it’s all about creativity! Plus, there are loads of prizes to be won!

🕒 Entry deadline: Friday 6th November at 9pm

👉 Find out more: www.bbc.co.uk/500words

Remember, every story submitted is in with chance of winning 500 books for their school as well as a literacy wall art.

03/08/2026

Writing is for everyone.
Book early as we always fill up fast. Limited year 3 spaces available on Wednesdays.

Now booking for The Windmills Junior School and Handcross Brighton Prep from September …

23/07/2026

Now booking for The Windmills Junior School and Handcross Brighton Prep from September …

21/07/2026

Happy holidays everybody!
See you in September 🌈

30/06/2026

Give your child the gift of writing for pleasure 🙏

Key research findings from the new National Literacy Trust are out ⭐️

Our 2026 Annual Literacy Survey of 125,375 UK children and young people aged 5 to 18 revealed that:

⭐️ Just under 3 in 10 (28.7%) of those aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy writing in their free time (vs 26.6% in 2025).
⭐️ 1 in 9 (11.9%) said they write something daily in their free time (vs 10.4% in 2025).
Both writing enjoyment and daily writing habits are still significantly lower than they need to be, despite the overall upturn.

04/06/2026

A really inspiring list of poetry events which you might like to attend with your young poets (or without them!) 🖊️ ♥️

22/05/2026

Honoured to have the wonderful artist Philip Dunn pop into Ditchling Bookshop to choose the winner of this year’s treasury front cover competition. You’ll have to wait to find out who he chose though! 🤐

14/05/2026

Great opportunity for young readers

29/04/2026

I’m helping create ‘Fairy day’ in aid of your local hospice - tickets only available from Ditchling Bookshop 🧚‍♀️