The Melksham Oak Community School creative writing club has had an anthology of their stories published. Titled ‘Hope and Stars’, the anthology is printed in partnership with the Young Author Project and can be purchased on Amazon.
“‘Hope and Stars’ brings together a number of captivating short stories written by our talented students,” says the school. “Each writer chose their own theme, which makes the anthology an eclectic collection of stories about a variety of subjects, including ghosts, time travel, lost pets, murder, family feuds, and mental health.
“The titular story, written by Cara-Louise Scott, follows a young girl suffering from debilitating anxiety. However, she wins a competition to see her favourite band, an experience that helps her overcome the condition and realise she can be happy and live with hope.
“The creative writing club was started in 2018 by Mrs Soan, who wanted to give students who love writing a space to be creative and let their imaginations flourish.”
Mrs Soan said, “We do some fantastic English lessons and cover a range of topics, including creative writing, but there are always time pressures and assessment objectives. Starting the creative writing club gave those students who want to choose their own story topic or write for a whole hour, uninterrupted, the chance to do so.”
The school continued, “The partnership with the Young Author Project began with a message from the YAP to Mrs Soan. They sent teacher and student handbooks about the writing and publishing process and offered to not only incur all of the publication costs, but also arrange for the anthology to be sold via Amazon as a physical book or an eBook.
“Upon publication of Hope and Stars, Mrs Soan was delighted, saying, ‘All of the young authors in the book have worked incredibly hard and I am so proud of what they have achieved. This book is available to buy via Amazon and will soon be available to borrow from Melksham library too. I hope that everyone who reads it will recognise the talent shown and hopefully be inspired to write something themselves.’
“Everyone at Melksham Oak Community School is extremely proud of the talented writers who feature in the anthology. Their work is a testament to the fantastic extracurricular activities available to our students, as well as the passion, dedication, and hard work of Mrs Soan.”
