Corsham's StoryTown

20/06/2026

Young poets: new writing challenge alert! Write a poem inspired by the world of dreams for the chance to win poetry prizes and opportunities ☁️
Find prompts and enter by 16 August on Young Poets Network: bit.ly/DreamsYPN
Young Poets Network is The Poetry Society’s online platform for young poets up to the age of 25. Here you’ll find features about poets and poetry, challenges and competitions to inspire your own writing, new writing from young poets, and advice and guidance from the rising and established stars of the poetry scene. We also bring you the latest news and ideas from the writing world, and a list of competitions, magazines and writing groups which particularly welcome young writers. Find out more at ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

The Dreams Challenge on Young Poets Network Today, we’re asking you to draw inspiration from your subconscious and write poems that conjure the impossible and the surreal.  This challenge is for writers aged up to 25 based anywhere in the world. The deadline is 23:59 BST, Sunday 14 June 2026. En...

19/06/2026

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/bad-betty-summer-school-4836608?aff=odeimcmailchimp&utm_source=Creative+Future+Core+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=e5364c4c92-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_05_21_09_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af80015f4b-e5364c4c92-117362781&mc_cid=e5364c4c92&mc_eid=3f8f8ead73 Online poetry courses incoming. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

New for 2026, Bad Betty Summer School offers online poetry courses run by Bad Betty poets. Explore your poetic practice, develop drafts and generate new work over 6 weekly evening sessions.

19/06/2026

https://www.hayfestival.com/eccles-institute-hay-festival-writers-award The Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writer's Award grants up to £20,000 annually to two writers from the UK and Latin America for a yet-to-be-published book relating to the Americas. The prize also grants a residency of up to a year at the British Library and access to curatorial expertise within the Library's world-class Americas collection. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

An award granting £20,000 and year-long residency at the Library to two writers for a yet-to-be-published book relating to the Americas.

19/06/2026

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/15/virginia-woolf-cultural-zeitgeist-night-and-day-adaptation It is the opening weekend of this Virginia Woolf adaptation. Directed by Tina Gharavi, and starring Haley Bennett, Jake Whitehall, Lily Allen, Jennifer Saunders and Timothy Spall, it follows the story of Katharine Hibery, a self-taught astronomer doing everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage in 1910. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

With an adaptation of Night and Day hitting cinemas, the pioneering author’s work continues to inspire audiences

19/06/2026

writes

"If I was building a library for emotionally literate boys, I’d start here!
With stories that make space for the full range of what it means to feel, struggle, and grow.
These books don’t simplify boys into stereotypes or silence difficult emotions.
They show courage in grief, strength in vulnerability and identity shaped through experience.
From war and displacement to friendship, illness, and belonging, each story helps build the language boys need to understand themselves and others more clearly." Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

18/06/2026

Submissions are invited for the Bath Children's Novel Award 2026.
From humour to horror, they’re on the lookout for standout YA, children’s novels, chapter books, early readers and picture book texts.
The prize is open to emerging writers everywhere until 30th Nov, with literary agent Chloe Seager judging the £5,000 winner from a shortlist chosen by children and teens. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

18/06/2026

Young poets: new writing challenge alert! Write a poem inspired by the world of dreams for the chance to win poetry prizes and opportunities ☁️

Find prompts and enter by 16 August on Young Poets Network: bit.ly/DreamsYPN

Young Poets Network is The Poetry Society’s online platform for young poets up to the age of 25. Here you’ll find features about poets and poetry, challenges and competitions to inspire your own writing, new writing from young poets, and advice and guidance from the rising and established stars of the poetry scene. We also bring you the latest news and ideas from the writing world, and a list of competitions, magazines and writing groups which particularly welcome young writers. Find out more at ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk

17/06/2026

Congratulations are due for National Year of Reading ambassadors and long-time National Literacy Trust supporters, Julia Donaldson and Malorie Blackman, who have both been awarded Damehoods in the King's Birthday Honours 2026.

Dame Julia’s beloved stories have become the gateway to a life-changing love of books and reading for so many young children. Her upcoming picture book with Axel Scheffler, Gruffalo Granny, will feature in National Literacy Trust Early Words Matter campaign to equip more children from disadvantaged communities with the literacy, communication and language skills they need to thrive.

Dame Malorie’s groundbreaking books have influenced a generation of readers, breaking barriers and tackling issues of inequality. She has generously given her time to support National Literacy Trust initiatives including the Libraries for Primaries campaign. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

12/06/2026

https://r1.ddlnk.net/cr/AQif3RYQwa4BGMyaZzCw1hHri9cMl6wuWtVOemxBb5yR4yck2nopbQSXPQcbFjaz2g The FIFA World Cup is underway, as is an Unforgettable Summer of Sport. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

Clare BaldingTim HenmanGeorgia StanwayJoe WicksJodie Cunningham Maurice HamiltonEABskills Karel Prince, Adam Smith (Smithy)Alex Moneypenny / DiffKnock5IVE GUYS FCJason MohammadJohn MurrayEilidh Barbour

12/06/2026

https://mailchi.mp/womensprize.com/11thjune-winnersannouncement?e=9f337eaa24 Last night's awards crowned Lyse Doucet, for her Non-Fiction 'The Finest Hotel in Kabul, a richly crated recent history of modern Afghanistan and Virginia Evans for 'The Correspondent', an uplifting and moving novel that confronts the hubris of youth with the wisdom of older age. Corsham Library The Corsham Bookshop

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet has won the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, with Virginia Evans awarded the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction for The Correspondent.