our work

write up your street

Write Up Your Street

Write Up Your Street is a young writers' (aged 16 - 19) mentoring programme that is designed to give aspiring young writers the opportunity to develop their creative writing skills under the guidance of a professional published writer and see their own work printed on to posters and postcards.  These are displayed publicly on buses and on advertising billboards in prime sites across London. The project offers rare insights into the literary and publishing world by introducing participants to journalism, media and writing books. Clear objectives, such as, writing to deadlines, understanding the commissioning process, contracts and royalties, are set. Write Up Your Street starts out as an open writing competition for young people where students are invited to enter their own original writing in any one of the following five categories: short fiction, play writing, screen writing, reportage and poetry. Entries are then shortlisted by a panel of professional writers and the ten nominated students each 'win' a three-month mentorship with a professional published writer. Some very prestigious writers have been mentors on Write Up Your Street, including Frederick Forsyth, Sharman Macdonald, Gurinder Chadha, Brian Patten, Rachel Seiffert, Jefferson Hack, Susan Elderkin, Philip Ridley, Toby Litt, Tobias Hill, Todd Swift, Lin Coghlan, Jenny LeCoat, Anji Loman Field, Rob Young, Francesca Beard, Philip Wells, Adisa, Matt Thorne, Alex Clark, Mark Norfolk, Mike Ripley, Robin Hooper and Kristine Underdown (pictured). Write Up Your Street is distinctive because of the intensive nature of the mentorships and the investment that it makes in individual young writers. In addition, Eastside run a number of other writing workshops with authors and poets, publishing projects, reading groups and book clubs - to get involved or to find out more - please contact us.