Write a Book in a Day at Ascham School

Write a Book in a Day at Ascham School Sydney school students take on unique creative writing competition.
The Kids’ Cancer Project team were thrilled to witness Ascham School in Sydney participating in Write a Book in a Day, a unique writing competition.
Write a Book in a Day is a national creative writing competition where a team of students write, edit and illustrate a book in eight to twelve hours. The completed books are given to hospitals around Australia to cheer up young patients receiving care.
 
“The girls love Write a Book in a Day, there’s a little bit of anxiousness before they receive their parameters but then it’s wonderful to see them work together to produce a book,” said  English teacher, Cassandra Dickinson.
 

“A lot of the time when the students are writing in class, they’re writing narratives and don’t often see the purpose or they don’t see how it’s relevant and now they have a chance to write for sick children in hospital.” 

Students are given their parameters shortly after the commencement of class and their enthusiasm was evident as their imaginations took hold. Excited conversations turned to collaborative ideas and plot suggestions were scrawled on whiteboards and butchers paper. Fourteen teams then set about writing and illustrating their books before the end of the school day.
 
“Write a Book in a Day really resonates with the values we have here at Ascham” said Principal Andrew Powell.
 

“One of the values we hold very highly is kindness. Being involved in any charitable organisation is what the girls really enjoy. Knowing the girls are writing a book, that those books will be published and children in hospital suffering from cancer will have a chance to read them is wonderful.”

Year nine student Catherine Ly added “It motivates us to write even better, more creative and imaginative stories for these children.”
 
The Kids’ Cancer Project now manages the event which was initiated in 2002 by the Katherine Susannah Pritchard Writers Centre in Western Australia.  The competition fees and sponsorship support research into childhood cancer through The Kids’ Cancer Project.

 
Learn more about Write a Book in a Day.
 
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