Cuckoo Young Writers

New Writing North would like to establish a Cuckoo Young Songwriters Group in Newcastle. Led by professional songwriters, the group will be open to 12 – 19 year olds, will be free to attend and will meet every Saturday throughout the year. We are seeking to fund this in response to young people we work with who have requested it.

New Writing North currently runs a network of free weekly Cuckoo Young Writers groups in the north-east for 12-19 year olds. The groups are writer-led and provide a place to go on a year-round, weekly basis for young people who are interested in writing creatively and want to develop their work. It’s an opportunity to work with professional writers across writing forms and to meet like-minded young people. There are few opportunities to write creatively in schools, and young people very much appreciate this unique opportunity.

Through our work in Excelsior Academy as part of Young Writers’ City we have identified a need for a new Cuckoo Young Writers group in Newcastle to focus solely on songwriting.

Your support would allow us to set up and run this song writing group in Newcastle, following the success of our song writing group in Sunderland which has seen our young writers form their own bands and perform at festivals and venues including Summer Streets and Sage Gateshead. 

In research undertaken with participants in our Cuckoo Young Writers Groups 82% say it made them more confident, 88% say being part of Cuckoo Young Writers gave them opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise had and 73% say being part of Cuckoo Young Writers raised their aspirations.