Our Youth Advisory Board, established in early 2021, is a collective of young creatives aged 16 to 25 who advocate and create opportunities for young people in Nottingham. They work with Nottingham City of Literature to spread a love for words and literature across the city through holding their own events, as well as supporting and giving feedback on our existing projects and future direction.
Members attend fun monthly meetings where they talk about things including:
- planning upcoming events or sharing ideas for future events
- developing a creative skill
- giving feedback on Nottingham City of Literature’s projects and strategic direction.
In return, Youth Board members can expect to receive:
- free books and event tickets
- skills development sessions
- paid experience in event planning and delivery
- advice on starting a career in the creative sector.
Meet the YAB members
Select a photo below to learn more about the YAB members. You can get inspired by their reading recommendations and check out some of their creative projects.
Current Projects:
Past events
The Youth Advisory Board organise lots of exciting, innovative events specifically designed for young people throughout the year. Take a look at some of their past events and keep an eye on our website and social media channels for future plans – we would love to see you there!
Opportunities
Being part of the Youth Board has given members access to some wonderful opportunities – check out the links below to find out more.
- Elle Jacobson has been commissioned to write two poems for projects with Exeter City of Literature: Illustrating the Wor(l)d (2024) and The Gaia Papers (2023).
- Annie Cross represented Nottingham in Slamovision 2023. To find out what Annie had to say about this opportunity, click here.
- Oli Nicol sat on the judging panel for the first ever GOBS Slam, which we supported as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival 2024. Oli wrote a blog piece about the experience.
- Mia Hagues represented Nottingham in one of our virtual roundtables for International Youth Day 2024 with young writers from Cities of Literature around the world, which you can find out about here. Mia has also set up the Right to Write poetry collective and open mic.
- Abigail Hutchison and Connor Brown founded the Speak Easy spoken word collective, which has gone from strength to strength with support from Writing East Midlands and Nottingham Playhouse.
Feedback from Youth Board members
“I have enjoyed attending meetings and participating in discussions about current and future projects”.
“One year on, I can gladly say I am so happy I applied and even more grateful to be a part of a wonderful team”.