Writing Our World

11 Aug 2025

A brain duster. A yeti writing kit. A plush budgie.

These were some of the artefacts brought along to a conference of Writing Our World, an international network of writing centres for young people. The three-day conference was hosted by Berattarministeriet (Ministry of Stories) in Stockholm, Sweden, in July, and each organisation was asked to bring along an artefact that spoke to their work. More than a dozen like-minded organisations attended from the United States, Austria, the United Kingdom, and more. Our Programs Lead, April Morley, and I were thrilled to represent Story Factory. 

During the conference, we visited Berattarministeriet’s Alien Supermarket, before making our way through the hidden door into their workshop space, to hear about the thousands of children who have been inspired to write there. 

All the organisations shared projects, ideas and challenges, and we came up with some exciting projects we might do together (watch this space). While each centre has the same mission – nurturing kids’ imaginations and supporting them to write – it was fascinating to see the different ways this is realised in different contexts. Each centre was originally inspired by Dave Eggers and Nineve Calegari setting up 826 Valencia in San Francisco in 2002, so it was terrific that Dave could join us also. April and I came away fizzing with ideas.

The budgie? Obviously, April and I brought that. It was a prop in a presentation we gave about our Gidgerrigaa program, in which students create characters who are budgies and learn some Language also. 

In case you’re wondering: a brain duster (it looks remarkably like a feather duster) is used to dust off the brains of kids arriving at Grimm & Co in Rotherham, England, so they can do their best writing. And the Yeti Writing Kit from Ministry of Stories in London contains everything you need to write to a yeti. 

Naturally, the yeti writes back.

Cath Keenan

Photography supplied by Berattarministeriet.