Shout About! children’s writers

An impressive and inspiring website has been launched this month which is said, by author Beverley Birch, to “give children a sense of being part of a world that is taking them seriously.” The website, shoutaboutmagazine.com, is run by a group of award winning writers and illustrators. Their aim is to create an online creative writing magazine for children aged sixteen years and younger, who have a talent and a passion for storytelling. Birch stated that children “should be encouraged” to write, and by seeing your own work published online, could there be any better motivation?

The idea for the magazine was founded last November, when members of Children’s Writers and Illustrators in South London (CWISL) set up a three day festival at South Bank University. They worked with children from extremely poor boroughs such as Lambeth and Southwark. The volunteers at the festival announced that it was “a huge success, terrific fun” and “are eagerly planning the next in the series”. The response in which they gained from the event was so impressive that the idea of the online magazine became a definite must.

The website contains works from famous children authors such as Nicholas Allen, Paul Bryers and Beverley Birch amongst many others, as well as exciting competitions for the children to enter.

There has already been a great response to the site, seen from the “Your Shout” page which contains short stories, poems and art work from children all over the country. It is highly impressive to see the thoughts of these young individuals expressed through these works. Although many would say that they are extremely dissimilar to the likes of Shakespeare or Joyce, they are still enormously intriguing and powerful.

Although the members of CWISL initially planned to only publish three issues online per year, the excellent support from these members changed it to a monthly process: this will hopefully continue to inspire and support young writers across England, as well as being a stepping stone for potential writers in the future.