FREE Secondary Schools Event: Word Power
Wed 21 May 2025 | 1:30pm - 3:30pm
FREE Schools Event: Word Power
Year 9, 10 & 11 students are invited to an event inspired by The Litmus School Writing Project to come and consider this year’s theme, Word Power. What’s the most powerful word you know? What’s the most powerful set of words? Why are they so powerful? When you think about it, is there a single word in existence that isn’t powerful?
Speakers: Jason Reynolds, Ali Smith.
Jason will be discussing themes from his award-winning poetry novel Long Way Down in which William Holloman rides an elevator with a series of ghosts on his way to avenge his brother’s murder. He will also introduce his new book, Twenty-Four Seconds From Now.
If you represent a non-fee paying school and would like to apply for tickets please follow the link below.
With thanks to Trinity College and The Cambridge Union
Venue: Cambridge Union
Duration: 90 Minutes
In partnership with
Author Biography
Jason Reynolds is a multi-award-winning writer and poet. He has been a Number 1 New York Times Bestselling author many times and he was US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He has won almost every major award in the US and the UK, including the Indie Book Awards, the Yoto Carnegie Medal, the Kirkus Prize, the Edgar Award, the Walter Dean Myers Award and the NAACP Image Award. He is a Newbery, Printz and 5-time Coretta Scott King Honoree. He wrote Long Way Down, All American Boys, Oxygen Mask, the Run series, amongst others. His books have sold over 9 million copies worldwide.
Chair Biography
Ali Smith is the author of Spring, Winter, Autumn, Public library and other stories, How to be both, Shire, Artful, There but for the, The first person and other stories, Girl Meets Boy, The Accidental, The whole story and other stories, Hotel World, Other stories and other stories, Like and Free Love. Ali launched a creative writing project for Year 9 to Year 13 students at UK schools with Trinity College, Cambridge. As Senior Fellow Commoner in the Creative Arts at Trinity College, Ali Smith was inspired to establish The Litmus: Writing in Common, which she hopes will become ‘a writing collective like no other.’ Ali Smith is an Honorary Patron of Cambridge Literary Festival.
