March 2026 Newsletter
Happy World Book Day to you! We thought we'd celebrate some of the books that inspire our work at Little Green Pig with you today, as well as sharing news on the latest books that our young writers have created and published themselves. Across Sussex we're celebrating the signs of Spring finally emerging. As bees are back buzzing and buds are blooming, the imaginations of the young writers and mentors are busy bursting into technicolour too across our programme. The upcoming months are set to be really exciting ones so read on for news of what we're up to at Little Green Pig and Young Writers Collective!
We are delighted to have received a project grant this year from Arts Council England so that our creative work in Eastbourne and Worthing can continue in 2026, including Amplified for 13 to 18 year olds that is now open for applications. Scroll on to discover our latest stories and how you can get involved in supporting our next chapters too...
HEROES AND VILLIANS: COMICS WORKSHOP WITH LOCAL ARTIST AT WHITEHAWK CLUB
There was a special guest at Whitehawk After School Club last month to help inspire comic strips about 'heroes and villains'. Aaron Blecha (aka Monstersquid), who has published illustrations in many books, led children in a dynamic draw-along that equipped them with new tricks and tips for creating comic characters that they incorporated into their finished comics which will be displayed at Whitehawk Library.
HOT OFF THE PRESS! OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS BY YOUNG WRITERS
With World Book Day celebrations and the National Year of Reading well underway, we've been busy creating and publishing our very own books!
Our projects can lead to lots of different outcomes from performances to podcasts, but there's something particularly special about witnessing the moment that Little Green Pig young writers see their own words printed into books. Here are some of the latest publications hot off the Little Green Pig Press...
PEBBLE POETRY & GEMSTONE JOURNEYS
A new publication "Immortal Magic" from our Portslade-based club for 7 to 11 year olds
What are the origins of the gemstone gleaming in a ring? The crystals sparkling in a necklace? The cliffs and fossils along our coast?
Over six weeks, the children of Imagination Station have explored the symbolism, importance and history of the rich array of the earth’s minerals. From identifying lapis lazuli, to holding amethyst to the light, obsidian beneath a magnifying glass, the children’s creativity has soared in this collection of poems and stories. The young writers got to treasure their words in print, with magical illustrations by Finlay Heanue, and you can enjoy the book online here too.
TIME TRAVEL: YOUNG WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Our second anthology by writers aged 11 to 18
Time travelling adventures sparked by magical clocks and antique lockets, sci-fi intergalactic stories and personal memoir can be found in our latest anthology. The writing prompt of "time/time travel" was suggested and selected by the young writers and led to this exciting collection.
Know a Sussex young person interested in joining? The collective is free to sign up to here.
Thanks to support from Focus Foundation we have been able to print some physical copies of this anthology too. Take a time travelling trip by accessing the anthology online here.
BOOKS THAT HAVE INSPIRED US...
Ideas for what projects we invite our After School Club writers to take part in come from all sorts of different places, including often the children themselves. Sometimes project ideas start or develop from books - those our workshop leaders have loved themselves as children or contemporary books that spark ideas. For example this term...
The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan inspired Laura Wilkinson to develop the theme for our current shadow puppets project in Portslade.
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg helped explain letters and postcards to children during our postal exchange project in Worthing.
Joseph Coelho's Poetry Prompts has also been a source of inspiring ideas too across our clubs this term!
PUPPETS, PENPALS & POETRY: OUR LATEST CREATIVE PROJECTS
PUPPET POWER AND POETRY ABOUT OUR SELVES
Young writers at our Eastbourne, Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb clubs have all been exploring the theme of 'Amazing Me' this term - writing fantastic poetry focusing on their own unique likes, dislikes, skills, passions and knowledge. These workshops have included visits from guest poet Roy McFarlane.
Our Moulsecoomb and Worthing clubs have also been transforming discarded junk from our local Scrap Space into unique puppet characters to inspire script and dialogue writing! Working with guest artist Darren East, watch out for a puppet film to follow soon...
Eastbourne writers' current project explores all things theatre and began with a backstage tour of the beautiful and historic Hippodrome Theatre and will include sessions on script writing, developing characters and set design - we can't wait to see what they come up with!
POSTAL EXCHANGE FROM IRAQ TO IRELAND...
Our Worthing After School Club writers, at Laurels Primary School, began the year with a postcard and letter writing project inspired by an idea from Youth Board member Bara'a Mohamed. Children learned about how to write postcards and letters, received video messages and beautifully illustrated e-postcards from children in Iraq and sent e-postcards in return. They also sent a letter to six wonderful volunteers around the UK and Ireland and have been delighted to read replies answering all of their questions!
AMPLIFIED IS BACK! THIS TIME IT IS EASTBOURNE'S TURN...
Amplified is our Young Writers Collective flagship project and takes place in Eastbourne this time, starting this April. Applications are open now and any young people aged 13 - 18 based in Sussex are welcome to sign up to take part!
In partnership with AudioActive, this is an exciting free opportunity for young people to express themselves and share their own stories, saying whatever they want to say, however they want to say it. You can join us at The Birley Centre, Eastbourne on Saturday 16 May, 5pm for the final performance too. Project details and how to sign up here.
FUNDING UPDATES
We are delighted to have received a project grant this year from Arts Council England so that our creative work in Eastbourne and Worthing can continue in 2026. We are also excited to have received grants from some new and previous funders: The World of Books Foundation, Three Oaks Trust, JJ Charitable Foundation and Sussex Community Foundation.
We thank Caz O'Kane for her time as freelance Fundraising Consultant for us over the past few months. We've now welcomed back from maternity leave Hannah Keville in this role. Do get in touch with Hannah via info@littlegreenpig.org.uk if you'd like to discuss any support or fundraising with us.
A big thank you to our funders and supporters including our regular Fiver Club givers, Gemini Foundation, Arts Council England, Christopher Laing Foundation, Leathersellers Foundation, John Laing Charitable Trust and our Big Give pledgers, donors and Champion: AKO Foundation. We really couldn't do any of this without you! You can find out ways to support our work here.