October 2025 Newsletter
Autumn greetings from Little Green Pig! How has October half term crept up on us already? Time
can be a strange beast and it's a theme that our young writers are exploring this season. Since
starting back the new term, our clubs and projects have been jam packed with creativity and
imagination. It's about time we share with you what we have been up to lately, so grab a cup of tea
or apple juice and enjoy stories from across Sussex!
Scroll on to discover our latest stories and how you can get involved in supporting our next
chapters too...
YOUNG WRITERS COLLECTIVE: 11-18 YEAR OLD PROGRAMME NEWS
THE SUN: Young Writers Collective debut anthology now online!
Who doesn't need a dose of sun-filled fiction this time of year?
Hello! I’m Orla, one of the members on the Youth Board at Little Green Pig and a proud member of the Young Writers Collective. I’ve been given the amazing job of introducing the very first anthology for our newly launched Young Writers Collective digital platform with our very first theme - ‘The Sun’!
The incredible submissions are full of beautifully different interpretations that capture the many faces of the sun. In this exciting new anthology the writers have illustrated their own, personal interpretation, each drawing on an ancient theme and carefully crafting a new, unique understanding of the sun in their own distinctive voice. Our writers’ exploration took the form of poetry and stories, every single one rich in beautiful imagery and evoking powerful emotions. Their brilliant imaginations have woven together as an ode to this amazing generation of storytellers, showcasing their talent, ideas and incredible creativity.
Enjoy The Sun anthology here.
The winning theme for our next YWC anthology is....TIME/TIME TRAVEL!
Collective members voted and chose this theme for the upcoming edition. Whether it's telling tales that travel between times, forecasting the future, or sharing poetry that portrays the passage of time, we can't wait to see what Young Writers submit on this theme!
If you know of any 11 to 18 year olds interested in joining the Young Writers Collective and contributing their writing to be part of the next edition, they can find out more and submit via our website. Deadline for submissions is 11 December 2025.
Sign up to Young Writers Collective and submit writing for free here!
Zine Power Workshop at BFest this half term!
With artist Azaria Franco & Young Writers Collective
Tuesday 28 October 2025, 3-5pm @ Brighton Youth Centre
A free workshop for 13 to 19 year olds will take place as part of B.Fest.
For more information and to book a free place, follow this link.
CREATIVE SHOWCASE FROM OUR PRIMARY AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS
"I wish I could come to this club every day. It helps me with my words and I feel my best here,"
said one After School Club writer this month
Stories has been our central theme for this term, across all of our clubs and projects. We've gone "back to basics" and explored the questions at heart of all the work we do - what makes a fantastic story? From exploring point of view and creating tension in stories, to mystery stories, to dialogue and settings, we've learnt so much about how to dream up and craft amazing stories together.
Really wild writing at Worthing Club...
Writers aged 7 to 11 at The Laurels Primary School explored telling tales from the perspective of urban British wildlife characters. There have been wonderful pieces such as diary entries, stories and interviews with foxes, hedgehogs, owls and even the odd guinea pig for good measure!
Story mentor and artist Sian Cannell visited the club to lead a mask making workshop, using upcycled materials, to help them get into character. Families joined for a celebration of story sharing!
We're happy to have welcomed a new Workshop Assistant Ellie Capron, an experienced Story Mentor, to support Workshop Leader Rayna Haralambieva and the children this term.
We are looking for more volunteer mentors to support this club! Get in touch with us if you are interested?
NATURAL HISTORY STORIES FROM WHITEHAWK
Our After School Club in Whitehawk, Brighton have been taking inspiration from across the world of Natural History this term. Here are some extracts from their book of amazing stories, inspired by dinosaurs, birds, plants and more. There are tragic tales of hermit crab families, funny furry creature fables and factual writing about fossils too. Children handled objects such as shells, rocks and skeletons to inspire their ideas with workshop leader Natalie England and the mentor team.
Let's go fly a kite! Exploring point of view at Imagination Station
Workshop leader Laura Wilkinson had the brilliant idea of exploring narrative perspectives and point of view through the creation of an "all seeing eye"! With artist Darren East's help, the children of this Brighton club crafted a kite with a giant eye on it, complete with streamers bearing their words.
Across the term, the young writers have been exploring story telling from different perspectives and through different time periods, from Tudors to Aztec, writing diary entries and letters that will be developed further next term. Watch this space!
Shopping for stories to tell in Eastbourne -an encounter with a huge green parrot!
Did you know that on Eastbourne's Seaside Road parade of shops you can find such delights and wonders as shops with reptiles, model trains and an Afro-Carribean hair shop? Our Eastbourne After School Club writers took inspiration from visiting these unique independent shops local to Leaf Hall. The term was then spent imagining and inventing their own quirky shops selling everything from tuxedos for snails to magic pottery, to simply - everything!
In a workshop with Illustrator Dilraj Mann,the children designed their own shopfronts, and worked with leader Emma Joy Edwardsand mentors to write descriptions of shops and create dialogue between shopkeepers and their customers - what a fun term!
LITTLE GREEN PIG TEAM UPDATES
SUPPORT US WITH YOUR GREEN TOKENS AT WAITROSE! This amazing Community Matters scheme is back and you can currently find Little Green Pig as a charity to support in Waitrose Hove and Waitrose Western Road, Brighton! We're thrilled that we've been chosen as one of three charities that green tokens can be given to. The charity with the most tokens will get the highest donation of money to our causes, so please do pop your free green tokens in our box after you shop at either store?
Book launch fun and laughter...
Last month, our Director Nicky was delighted to be invited to the launch of All Together Now at the brilliant children's bookshop, The Book Nook, in Hove. All Together Now is a fun collection of poems for children by Michaela Morgan with illustrations by our amazing Little Green Pig Ambassador Nick Sharratt. Nick is a successful children's author himself of books such as Shark in the Park and has illustrated loads of books with his brilliant illustrations including titles by Jaqueline Wilson, Julia Donaldson and Michael Rosen.
Michaela performed some of her great poems and Nick did some brilliant live drawing, there were themed cakes and lots of laughter. Do check out the book - available from all good book shops!
This month we wished our fantastic fundraiser Hannah Keville well as she heads off on maternity leave. We're also thankful for all the excellent skills Sophie Martin, our Evaluation and Communications intern, brought to LGP over the summer. Good luck with the rest of your studies at University of Sussex, Sophie!
"Hello, I'm Caz O'Kane. I’m stepping in while Hannah is on maternity leave, keeping her great work going - raising as much funding as possible from trusts and foundations so that Little Green Pig can keep doing all the amazing things they do. Get in touch if you can help?
I've been a fundraising consultant for 20 years - with a special focus on small charities, helping them turn impact into compelling, evidence-backed proposals. I'm also a Story Mentor at the Imagination Station (LGP's Thursday Club). I love sharing stories with funders and bringing joy and creativity back to fundraising. My favourite word? Snuffle."
Our Big Give Christmas Campaign is coming soon! Save the date Tuesday 2nd December to Tuesday 9th December - watch out for news of how you can help us raise essential funds.
A big thank you to our funders and supporters including our regular Fiver Club givers, Gemini Foundation, Arts Council England, The Foyle Foundation and our Big Give pledgers, donors and Champion: Share Gift. We really couldn't do any of this without you! You can find out ways to support our work here.