Absolutely over the moon to share with you the digital book of Never Such Innocence’s 2019/2020 competition winners.
Personally, I’ve had the best time working in schools (as well as providing the Push Play Poetry videos), with the young people there on protest poetry and speech writing (shout out to Blackburn, to Leyland, and to Sheffield) and I’ve loved every minute of it. Because I get to see, and hear, what people think about things. If we’re not careful, being a professional writer can become too much about our own work, worlds, and words – working with brilliant minds, and teachers, and TAs, is a real pleasure and gives you something you can’t get on your own: other perspectives and wisdom.
I was also asked to be on the panel to judge a couple of the categories. I’ve said it before, judging something is both the best thing and the worst. It’s brilliant when I get to read so much brilliant stuff (and from all over the world) but it’s horrid when I can only pick a couple. If I read your work – you were excellent. Please, please, keep writing.
The other thing that’s genuinely blown me away is the quality and breadth of the artwork in there. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it too.
Massive thanks to the amazing people who make Never Such Innocence work – they’re the best kind of people because they make it 100% about the young people they work with. And I love it when that happens.
Enjoy!