Readers to Writers is run every two years, in alternate years to Book Award.

Readers to Writers is a creative writing project for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin primary schools. Drawing on the unique skills, experience and insight of children’s authors, who deliver special writing workshops to each class taking part, the project focuses on helping teachers support children in the classroom with their creative writing skills.  By the end of the project, every pupil will have written their very own book!  Everyone is encouraged to enter their book into a Shropshire-wide creative writing competition.

Follow the link to read more about our most recent Readers to Writers project: Readers to Writers 2025

And to get in touch with the Bookfest team to find out how to get involved in Readers to Writers 2027, please click here.

Researchers from The University of Worcester spent 10 months working alongside primary schools in Shropshire as they took part in this project in 2023.  One of the key findings from this study was “levels of engagement with the writing process increased and pupils were more likely to choose to write for pleasure than prior to their participation in the project.”

The full report can be accessed here.

Bookfest was invited to join The Teacher Squad Podcast in March 2024 to showcase the Readers to Writers project and the research study by the University of Worcester.

Together with Suzanne Horton from the University of Worcester, Bookfest discusses the outcomes of the research study by the university into the impact of the Readers to Writers project and how it has left an ongoing positive legacy for all participants.

You can listen here – the piece starts at 12:20.

Readers to Writers 2025 Timeline:

September 2024:

Primary schools across Shropshire booked onto the project.

26 November 2024:

This was a one day conference (CPD) for teachers from schools who had booked onto the project.  The focus this year was on the connection between writing knowledge, authentic purpose and sense of audience. Children’s authors Josh Lacey, Eva Wong NavaandSam Sedgman led workshops on how to inspire and encourage children to develop their ideas for stories and support them in writing for pleasure. And Suzanne Horton presented the findings of the University of Worcester’s report into Bookfest’s Readers to Writers 2023 project.

December 2024:

Children’s authors Justin Davies, Sarah Ann Juckes, Tori Kosara, Iszi Lawrence, Eva Wong Nava, Helen Peters, Ros Roberts and Helen Rutter were each linked as author-mentors to one of the 41 classes taking part in the project.

Books by the author-mentors and teacher support materials were delivered into schools (a book for EVERY pupil), together with exciting details about their linked author and the creative writing workshop they would deliver in their classroom in January.

A copy of the Teacher Pack is available to download here. It includes full details about Readers to Writers 2025 and lots of ideas, recommendations and resources for how to make the most of the project.

January 2025:  

Readers to Writers 2025 began

Teachers and children began to prepare for their author workshops and start honing their creative writing skills using the Project Resource Centre information on our website.

27 – 31 January 2025:

Author Workshops

An exciting week when the authors criss-crossed Shropshire, visiting their linked schools to deliver bespoke creative writing workshops and launch children on their journeys to writing their very own books.

Spring 2025:

The Creative Writing Competition

Pupils were buzzing with inspiration following their creative writing workshops delivered by their author-mentors.  Throughout the Spring Term 2025, they set about writing their own stories, with the support of their teachers, author-mentors and the resources on our website.  They had as much freedom as possible to create their own stories, of any genre and to illustrate and design their books to look like something they might find in their local library or bookshop shelf.  At the end of the project, pupils entered their books in our Shropshire-wide creative writing competition.

Summer 2025: 

Publishing & Prizes

The Bookfest Reading Panel read EVERY PUPIL’s book! For each class that took part in the project, they awarded a prize for the book that wowed them the most, and there were also prizes for a pupil from each class who was highly commended by their teacher. The Reading Panel also selected the book that had the biggest impact on them for each year group (Reception to Year 6). Each of these was narrated by one of the author-mentors and published on our website. And a selection of other books that wowed the Reading Panel has also been published on our website as flipbooks.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 2025 PRIZEWINNERS…