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27 March 2026

Posted by Andreina Cordani

Junior and Young Writers Week 10: Showcase

It’s the end of term, and that means it’s showcase time! Sharing your work is one of the most intimidating experiences a writer can face, so it was amazing to see that everyone brought something to share. It says a lot about our writers’ growing confidence and the fact that they feel safe and supported in the group.

At first we checked in by asking everyone to describe their week as if it was an Easter egg. These ranged from the delicious (a full sized Cadbury’s crème egg full of fondant) to the revolting (one that tastes of pickled egg and Hershey bars) to the downright dangerous: a thermonuclear egg that explodes when you take a bite.

Then we upped the pace by exploring the world of MarioKart, creating new backstories for the characters, new tracks and new bosses – like the dreaded King Pickled Onion, or the Evil Blobfish.

After warming up our voices with a few exercises, the showcase began.

Hamish gave us a peek into a villain support chat-group, in which Grendel proudly shares his new eyelash extensions with his fellow monsters.

Evan told us all about Bob, the failed explorer who becomes a supermarket shelf-stacker, but his hopes for a quiet life are quickly dashed.

William shared a cautionary tale of switching blueberries for sloes.

Last week Elsie created the story of a girl who made monsters with her mind and was locked in an asylum – she improved on it and gave everyone the shivers.

In the Young Writers group things got strange, and things got dark…

Sonny’s horrifying tale of sentient, murderous candle-wax was praised for its creeping pace and his use of repetition to add a sense of unease.

Eddy’s letter from a cold-blooded killer explored another way to make the reader feel unnerved through clipped, polite language.

Catherine brought two pieces, one sensory piece which focused on the sounds of silence and a second, which beautifully combined comedy and horror, made us slightly nervous about ever going into a bathroom again.

Daisy imagined a letter from one of her favourite fictional characters Adena and Romeo – both are self-confessed fools for love but have no regrets: ‘I would rather suffer from loving too much, than loving nothing at all.’ This received a well-deserved round of applause.

Some writers were planning to work on new stories and poems during the Easter holidays, others were planning to take a break, but we’re sure they’ll be back with even more brilliant ideas at the start of the summer term.

- Andreina


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