Our online programs are interactive and easy to implement. Our educators enter your classroom via Zoom and work with you to create a fun but meaningful writing environment. We will take  students through a series of scaffolded activities that lead to a substantial piece of writing, and share ideas and resources that you can use to continue your students’ writing journey after the program ends.

We offer:

1. One-off workshops: a one-off blast of inspiration and writing fun. These programs offer exciting and immersive ways for students to engage with creative writing, exploring everything from fantastical scenarios to their own experiences
2. Short series. Students will participate in an hour-long workshop once a week for three weeks, and be supported step-by-step to craft a substantial piece of original writing, from poetry to prose.

Workshops are FREE for schools with an Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) under 1000.

LEARN MORE OR REQUEST A DIGITAL WORKSHOP

In consultation with partner schools, our storytellers and volunteers turn up every week, building relationships and trust with students, taking them through a fun and engaging writing process. At the end of the term the students have completed a piece of writing which is often the most significant piece of writing they’ve ever done. We celebrate their achievement by printing a beautifully-designed publication for the students to take home and show their loved ones.

We work with schools across different time-frames. Some schools take part in special one-off workshops and visit us in our fabulous writing centres in Redfern and Parramatta. At others we deliver a writing program across a term. We commit to working with our Residency Schools for at least a year, working across multiple grades, to create a culture of writing.

What’s better than a confident writer? A whole school of them! We see the power of this approach every day. The pride and delight kids have in discovering their ideas and voice is important and worth listening to.

Click here to see the workshops on offer.

Often run in collaboration with other arts organisations, these projects are a rare opportunity for students to take part in something big. All projects have big finishes – culminating in books, exhibitions, publications, films and events. We love them and most importantly, so do our students

We work with schools in many ways:

1. One-off workshops: bring a class to visit us for a two-hour blast of creative writing inspiration at our beautifully-designed creative writing centres in Redfern or Parramatta.
2. Term Programs: book us to come to your school. We can work with you to deliver a writing program once a week for a term, or multiple terms.
3. Residency Programs: once you’ve tried the above, apply to become a Story Factory Residency School. We’ll commit to working with your students for at least a year, working with multiple classes, to create a culture of writing throughout the school.

All programs, whether they run for two hours or a term, end with the publication of students’ writing in a handsomely bound book which they can take home to share with their family and community.

Enquire for a free writing workshop series via: info@storyfactory.org.au

Who hasn’t wished magic was real? This program invites participants to imagine the fantastical realms of magic; students will develop spells, incantations, potions, and more. Expect to write unusual incantatory verse, scaffolded text types such as poems and recipes, all exploring the magical and natural worlds. These workshops will have a particular focus on the phonological (sound-based) skills that underlie spelling, to build students’ confidence as independent writers.

This workshop gives students the opportunity to imagine and write a narrative exploring the dream first job…working at an Amusement Park! Each week students write a new chapter based on writing prompts which focus on different narrative or literacy skills. Activities will encourage students to explore elements such as cause and effect, descriptive language, using sensory language, and shifting perspective.

Welcome to the world of dinosaurs! Students will explore similarities and differences in the dinosaur kingdom, and the wants and needs of creatures. This program allows students to explore the importance of interpersonal relationships, use language to describe emotions and serves as an introduction to script writing, all in a dynamic dino-package.

This program will use a video game structure to engage students and scaffold their creation of a narrative. Beginning from the idea that students have become trapped in a video game world, students will create characters, the world of the video game and the challenges that enable their character to advance through the various levels of the game. Writing activities invite students to consider story structure and the use of textual concepts such as narrative, character and character creation, point of view and use of imagery in writing.

From a flower that resembles a brain to a three-metre-tall plant that smells of bin juice, sometimes nature is stranger than any fiction. In this workshop series, students will dive into the world of plants and explore a range of tools and techniques designed to help their writing come alive on the page. They will create plant-inspired characters and tell tales of how they came to be. Through writing a series of short texts, students will build valuable skills in narrative writing and have the opportunity to explore the wonderful world of nature.

We’ve been wondering how we’d survive if a robot invasion occurred. No really, we have! In this workshop students will consider the consequences of a robot invasion in their school and town. Students will create a collection of text pieces, including annotated maps, short narratives, and tips and guides about how to survive the invasion. This will enable students to think about the ways they might use a variety of different texts to communicate with their audiences.

What would it be like to be The Invisible Man on his first day of Year 7? How does Medusa order coffee without turning the barista to stone? In this workshop series students will reimagine and retell the stories of villains and heroes from fairy tales, mythologies and popular culture. Students will rewrite familiar stories from different perspectives and gain experience in creating such forms as dramatic monologues, letters and free verse.

Students consider the impact of climate change and imagine what their survival skills will be like come climate disaster. They will explore this through the lens of speculative fiction, a sub-genre of sci-fi that investigates alternative futures and realities. During these workshops students will learn about genre conventions, various ways to create first person narratives and the ways to balance dialogue and exposition in their writing.

In this fast-paced workshop, students will explore the world of protest poetry, exploring various examples both performances and written. Working individually and in small groups, students will develop ideas for their poems, explore language features, line breaks, and a variety of poetic forms.

Our after school writing workshops are a free space where young people can write, create and dream big.

All workshops are facilitated by our Story Factory Storytellers and are designed to support writing, development of ideas, and for young people to access support in creating a piece of writing from both professional writers and your fellow students. 

We’re running in-person and online workshops during term on Monday – Thursday for both primary school and high school students.

Check out the options and apply using the links below or email us at students@storyfactory.org.au

Sign up to our After-School Workshops

Send an enquiry

Year of the Novella; and Year of Poetry; are our open programs for High School aged young people who love to write and want to stretch themselves creatively. In weekly writing workshops in the course of a year, students commit to writing either a novella or a collection of poetry for professional publication at the end of the year.

2023 programs are full, but get in touch at students@storyfactory.org.au if you're interested in taking part in 2024.