WELCOME TO THE LITMUS!

The Litmus was launched at Trinity in 2020. It is an opportunity for year 9-11 students currently attending state school (or on a full scholarship to a fee-paying school) in the UK to submit a short piece of writing of under 500 words in poetry, prose or any other format (including artwork) based around a theme for publication.

This year will be the sixth, following on from five years’ brilliant response to the themes of ‘in common’ , ‘the green light’, ‘the writing on the wall‘, ‘over the border‘ and ‘hostile environment‘ which saw us receive hundreds of creative, original submissions from young people all over the UK, based on prompts announced by acclaimed author Ali Smith.

This Year’s Theme: Word Power

Are you a writer? Do you want to write? If YES: good. Continue reading this message.

Are you a student in year 9, 10 or 11 and interested in writing – fiction, or non-fiction, or poetry, or maybe graphic novel writing, or blog writing, or in writing and storytelling in any shape or form you want?

If NO, then this invite isn’t for you. Pass it on to someone who wants to write and would like to be published.

If YES: Good. Continue reading this message. What comes into your head when you hear or read or think about the phrase 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?

Sticks and stones may break our bones – but words are way more powerful than the old saying admits; they can hurt all right, and they can flirt, they can blurt, they can assert, divert, convert, they can spurt or be curt or over-exert, they can dig the dirt, they can lose their shirt and they can rhyme like nothing else in life. They’re equally good at truth and lies. They’re the most effective, most astonishing means of communication human beings have, and in them there’s the power to change everything.

They can – and they do – change the world.

What happens when words meet our imaginations? What happens when we’re in their power? What happens when they’re in our power?

Imagine all the unspoken words. Imagine hearing just one word in the dark. Imagine anything you want to imagine. What happens when you turn it into words?

The Litmus is a writing initiative for UK-wide school students. We’re looking for student writing or artwork of any and every sort, and this year we’re inviting submissions up to 500 words which consider the phrase word power in any way you like.

Make something of it. Send us what you write or make, we’ll publish it in our online magazine. We’ll also publish our favourite pieces in book form at the end of the school year. You’ll become part of a writing collective like no other, a collective that will act as a touchstone for readers interested in what your generation is doing, thinking and writing right now.

Write something for us about language and power. We’ll be proud to publish what you write.

Be part of The Litmus.