Penguin Random House Ireland is partnering with Fighting Words to help thousands of young people discover and reach their creative potential regardless of their background.
The relationship builds on a wider long-term partnership between Penguin Random House UK and Ministry of Stories, a London-based charity founded on the same principles as Fighting Words and part of a global network of creative writing and mentoring centres.
Michael McLoughlin, managing director of Penguin Random House Ireland, said: “It’s clear that there are many children in Ireland who don’t feel confident enough to explore their creativity. Fighting Words has provided a welcoming environment where children can do just that in inner-city Dublin for a number of years under the expert guidance of Sean Love and Roddy Doyle. I’ve admired the work they do for children from afar for some time and we’re delighted that they have welcomed the support we’ve offered them as they grow across Ireland and bring creativity into children’s lives.”
As part of this three-year partnership, through the London and Ireland offices, Penguin Random House Ireland aims to work with Fighting Words and Ministry of Stories to help bridge the “creativity gap” for thousands of young people, encouraging them to tap into their creativity to improve their writing, build confidence, self-respect and motivation, and achieve better results in the classroom.
The creativity gap is caused by factors such as social mobility, ethnicity and geographic location which prevent individuals from having equal opportunities to fulfil their creative potential. It affects many of the local communities Fighting Words supports in Dublin and beyond, where they run creative writing workshops for schools and children aged eight to 18.
Penguin Random House Ireland will mobilise its employees and authors to volunteer their time and skills as well as raise funds for the charity.
Roddy Doyle, author and co-founder of Fighting Words, said: “I’m delighted that my publisher, Penguin Random House, is going to work with Fighting Words. It seems to make great, happy sense – people who publish books partnering with people who encourage children and young people to write them. Maybe we should change the name to Fighting Penguins!”
Fighting Words is a creative writing organisation established by Roddy Doyle and Sean Love in 2009. For thousands of children and young people throughout Ireland it is the most unique and impactful resource for encouraging and mentoring creative writing and related arts. And it's completely free of charge. Fighting Words has hosted more than 75,000 children and young adults since opening, and we hope to double that number by 2020. The first Fighting Words centre opened in Dublin: Fighting Words is also now operating in Belfast, Mayo and Wicklow, and it hopes to open further outlets next year.
