Imagining History Summer Programmes 2024 begin
On May 23rd the 9th Imagining History UK Summer programme kicks off, introducing young writers (11 – 19 yrs) to the creative writing potential of our historical world. Using inspirational material all the way from the most ancient examples of stone art and iconic spaces associated with the beginnings of civilisation, to the sea that surrounds our island and the ways in which a story can be converted into a quite different form, IHUK will spend the summer working with around 120 young writers nationwide to explore new ideas and skills in creative writing focused on Historical Fiction.
IHUK is the education and outreach programme of The Young Walter Scott Prize (YWSP), the UK’s only creative writing prize to connect young people with their heritage and historical environment.
The programme looks like this:
May 23 – National Museum of Scotland – The Lives of Things – whole day writer’s field trip to explore the story potential of historical objects and artefacts, with writers from Firrhill High School, led by writer Stephanie Haxton and IHUK director Alan Caig Wilson
June 11 – Cornish Journey #1 – in-school writing day at Sir James Smith’s School, Camelford, North Cornwall, led by writer Anna C Wilson.
June 17 – Sutton Hoo – field trip with writers from Farlingaye School, Woodbridge. Led by writer Elizabeth Ferretti and IHUK director Alan Caig Wilson, the writers reach back into the distant past to find their story ideas.
June 25 – Cornish Journey #2 – field trip with the writers from Sir James Smiths to Trerice Manor – exploring the story traces to be found in a historical site
July 17 – Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, Gwynedd – digging deep under the stones of a mysterious castle, led by writer and former YWSP winner, Demelza Mason and IHUK director Alan Caig Wilson
June 29 – IHUK online summer school begins – Weekly workshops for YWSP shortlisted writers from this year and last. Four themed explorations:
- The Lure and Lore of the Sea – A writer’s expedition into the watery lands of the world. Especially important for us living on an island, this will be an exploration of how the sea can infiltrate story-telling. You will research and write about the ways in which the sea has historically defined those who travel on it, and those who stand on shore. You will also be
- Building Word Worlds – adapting your story for Radio Drama. In radio drama, you build a direct link to a listener’s imagination using different channels of perception. In this project you will learn about adapting your shortlisted story into a form that could be produced for radio, or a drama podcast. You will enhance and expand your vision of the world of your story. You will learn how to instruct actors, sound designers and directors to build the best world for your story to live in.
- It All Starts With A Picture – exploring the writing of historical fiction using a painting, or an object, as a starting point. You start with something inanimate, and as a writer, you build a many-dimensional world, full of humanity and passion. With the support of the special, intricate skills of an art historian, you will learn to find your story in the complex world of the who, what, where, when and how of a picture. It is not just about describing what you see; it involves researching everything about the picture, its time, place and what is happening behind the surface.
- Using Maps as a Source – exploring the treasure that maps hold for a writer of Historical Fiction. Below the surface of a map, hiding in the signs and symbols, we find lives, the movement of people, names and the roots of identity. And we find many, many new questions to ask of your writer’s mind. During this project you will explore the concept of ‘map’ as a source for new and important stories. Maps are journeys – each step opens up completely new possibilities and sources of knowledge.
Sept 27 – Cornish Journey #3 – editing workshop and final spoken word performance at North Cornwall Book Festival 2024
Flightpaths of Historical Inspiration
Here is a fascinating infographic showing where entrants to the Young Walter Scott Prize sourced their inspiration. From the history of the hidden Christians in Japan, to a 1950s family dealing with racial integration, from political intrigues in Ancient Byzantium to the personal sorrow and despair of Suffragettes and Soldiers, young writers of historical fiction are fearless in their writing and connected in their ideas.
Someone quoted an opinion to me last year that The Young Walter Scott Prize and The Imagining History Programme is ‘niche’ – only about history. IT SO ISN’T. History is not ‘just’ history. Mining history for its significances is more important than ever right now. Historical Fiction is all about new thinking. Most Historical facts are invisible. Historical Fiction is the search for new possibilities.
They come from all over, and they are thinking hard!
Apart from being Creative Director of The Imagining History Programme UK I am also Director of The Young Walter Scott Prize. The two things are inextricably related, both in their foundation and in their inspiration. I am so excited to post this map, showing the geographical spread of entries to the Prize. This year the range and expertise of the writing was impressive and in many cases astonishing. Young writers of Historical Fiction are showing themselves to be perceptive, engaged, energetic and, for readers, inspirational in the way they look at the world they encounter.
There has never been a more important time to promote the reading and writing of Historical Fiction. Sir Walter Scott hoped that his novel Waverley, or ’tis sixty years since would prove useful to people in putting bad times to rest and looking forward to better times. Our times now are troubling but surely there is hope in the coming generations of young people who are learning to take the long view.