A charity founded by author Nick Hornby is seeking to get back in touch with writers it helped to find out how it shaped their lives.
Ministry of Stories, co-founded by Fever Pitch, High Fidelity and About a Boy author Nick Hornby in 2010, is reaching out to past participants, keen to hear about their experiences and the lasting impressions of their involvement.
Based in Hoxton Street, Hackney, the organisation has instigated innovative and creative projects for more than ten years through free writing workshops for all children.
It wishes to reconnect with those who ventured through its concealed entrance to explore the realm of writing to understand how the work continues to resonate with people.
The charity is encouraging writers to share experiences of participating in former projects such as The Children’s Republic, The Awfully Bad Guide to Monster Travel, or Grammarmations.
Young people can get in touch by either filling in a form or contacting the charity directly.
Oliver Fox, arts administrator at the charity, said: "Now that we're at a point where some of our formerly young writers will now be entering their late teens and early twenties, we're looking to catch up with them to find out how our work has helped shape them so far - whether they still write creatively, what their fondest Ministry memories are, what they are up to in life nowadays, and whether they feel like being involved in Ministry of Stories has helped them be more confident and ambitious in their lives."
Oliver said he was also keen for this to be the start of an alumni network, to bring together more former writers in as mentors and role models for the charity's current participants.
He added: "Aside from the fact that it's just generally lovely to reconnect with our former participants, we also feel like as a small charity, now is the right time for us to be able to look closely at the long-term impact and legacy of our programmes for the communities we serve."
Former writers can access the form at https://form.typeform.com/to/kq1rOC28
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here