The Ministry of Stories is a non-profit organisation based in Hoxton, London dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
Located in Hoxton, a district in the London Borough of Hackney, England, The Ministry of Stories was founded in 2010 by the British author Nick Hornby and co-directors Lucy Macnab and Ben Payne. [1] The company provides mentoring and advice to young writers, relying on the work of volunteer writers, teachers and artists. The MoS aims to inspire young people to transform their lives through creative writing. The company works closely with schools, supporting teachers, but also provides one-to-one mentoring for young people to enjoy imaginative stories, improve language skills, increase abilities in communication, and develop social and educational confidence. [2]
As of late 2012, 5,000 young people have taken part in activities sponsored by the MoS. About 500 trained volunteers have contributed to the effort, as have writers including Joe Dunthorne, David Nicholls and Zadie Smith, as well as actors Colin Firth and Emma Thompson. [3]
The MoS is patterned after Dave Eggers' 826 Valencia, founded in 2002 in San Francisco, and Roddy Doyle's Fighting Words, founded in 2009 in Dublin. [4]
The MoS receives funding from the Arts Council England. [5]
The MoS is located behind its Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, a sweets and oddities shop selling Fang Floss, jars of Human Snot and cans marked Creeping Dread and Escalating Panic. [3] [6]
Nicholas Peter John Hornby is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch (1992) and novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Hornby was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. He has received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for An Education (2009), and Brooklyn (2015).
Roddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. Doyle's work is set primarily in Ireland, especially working-class Dublin, and is notable for its heavy use of dialogue written in slang and Irish English dialect. Doyle was awarded the Booker Prize in 1993 for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.
National Novel Writing Month, often shortened to NaNoWriMo, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes creative writing around the world. Its flagship program is an annual, international creative writing event in which participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript during the month of November. Well-known authors write "pep-talks" in order to motivate participants during the month. The website provides participants, called "Wrimos", with tips for writer's block, information on where local participants are meeting, and an online community of support. Focusing on the length of a work rather than the quality, writers are encouraged to finish their first draft quickly so it can be edited later at their discretion. The project started in July 1999 with 21 participants. In 2022, 413,295 people participated in the organization's programs.
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Events from the year 1991 in Ireland.
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Metro Éireann was an Irish multicultural tabloid newspaper. It was established in April 2000 by editor Chinedu Onyejelem and his colleague Abel Ugba, Nigerian-born journalists who had emigrated to Ireland. Based in Dublin, Metro Éireann focussed on issues affecting Ireland's immigrants.
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