Student book release celebrated with signing

Burton and South Derbyshire College (BSDC) Kickstart student, Tom Stubbs recently celebrated the arrival of his published book, written in collaboration with fellow students in a single week.

Back in February, a group of BSDC students put their creative writing skills to the test by taking part in a challenge that saw them writing and publishing a book in a single week. Tom has since represented his group for the official book signing. 

To begin the project, the students were handed a story brief. They shared ideas in a group, developing the characters and plotting the story, before starting the writing process. Almost 20,000 words later, spread over 19 chapters, they produced Hope, a delicately woven story exploring ethics and moral dilemmas, written under the pen name “T.M. Cooks”.

One of the writers, Kyle Ralph, who is studying Level 2 Public Services at BSDC said: “This week taught me a vital lesson: I learnt that life is similar to a book. You are going to hit points where you run out of ideas, but there are people around that can give you a different perspective. Each day is a new chapter and you hold the pen; you create your own story. The week helped me realise how important books are in today's society, how you can get hypnotised by words, and how that in some stories, you can relate. I am happy that I had the chance to take part in creating our story.”

White Water Writers enables groups of up to ten writers to write and publish their own novel within five days. Writers are given an idea for a story on a single side of A4. They take the idea, develop it, draft it, proof it, refine it and then publish it. 

White Water Writers was developed by academics at Royal Holloway, University of London and Keele University. The project develops writing and communication skills, teamwork and attention to detail, whilst raising attainment and achievement, as well as aspirations and self-esteem. The programme uses specially designed online collaborative writing tools to create the unique writing experience.

Baljinder Bains, Librarian Team Leader at Burton and South Derbyshire College commented: “It is wonderful to see how learners can improve their confidence with literacy, raise their aspirations and work together collaboratively to produce a book in such a short space of time.”

Richard Seymour from White Water Writers said: “I would like to thank the staff at Burton and South Derbyshire College for helping to organise this wonderful project and for supporting it so well. We would also like to thank Higher Horizons+ for funding it, and, of course, the writers themselves for their hard work, creativity and joy.”

Hope is now available to buy on Amazon. To find the book, go to amazon.co.uk and search “TM Cooks Hope”.