Several Lighthouse Young Writers have been rewarded with success.
Many of them have been shortlisted in the BBC New Creatives scheme and could even see their work made for broadcast.
Another has won a national poetry competition that will see his work published in a new anthology.
Five of the current intake writers (aged 16+) have been invited to attend two free training days in Bristol to learn more about BBC New Creatives, the process of audio production and how to market themselves as creatives.
Perdie Bargh, Lighthouse Creative Engagement Officer, said: “This is really exciting news for Young Writers, a quarter of the current intake has been shortlisted, but it has given all of them a huge confidence boost.”
The BBC New Creatives scheme is jointly funded by BBC Arts Introducing and Arts Council England. It offers an exciting opportunity for emerging talent aged 16-30 to get work made for broadcast.
Shortly before Christmas the Young Writers met and pitched their ideas to Jeremy Routledge, founding director of Calling the Shots- the company that runs New Creatives for the South West region.
Five of these Young Writers (Evie Wright, Esme Hide, Hannah Gough, Helen Turnock and Rosie Parkin) have now been shortlisted. And, having visited the BBC in Bristol, will then receive script development training with Calling the Shots and ArtfulScribe, the writer development agency, before resubmitting their work for the next stage.
If their applications are successful in making it past the shortlist stage, each writer will be assigned a budget and their work will be recorded and played across all BBC platforms.
Lighthouse Young writers achieved further success as 12-year-old Dean Smith won the Let it Snow! national poetry competition to write a piece about winter. This winning poem will be published in an anthology.
Perdie added: “We’re so proud of Dean. Winning a national competition is a massive achievement and now he’ll see his work in print.”
Designed to foster creativity, self-expression and excitement about writing, Lighthouse Young Writers workshops are offered in association with ArtfulScribe as as part of the DO:write literature develoment project in Dorset.
To find out more about the workshops and what they entail, read our article here.