what we do

The Story Island team wants young Tasmanians to have the creative confidence and writing skills necessary to participate in a good life. That’s why we run free, dynamic storytelling workshops where we nurture the creativity and writing skills of young Tasmanians, and celebrate their diverse voices.

Our vision is for young people to harness the power of their imaginations so they can grow to be resilient and creative shapers of their own lives.

In Story Island workshops, young people are empowered to create their own stories, with the support of our Story Leader and our team of enthusiastic volunteer mentors. Our workshop model, delivered largely in schools, ensures that students get individualised support from our expert story leaders and volunteer tutors, which is when the storytelling magic really happens.

What happens in a Story Island workshop?
Story Island workshops are all about confidence, creativity and celebration. Each Story Island creative storytelling workshop is led by a Story Island staff member (our ‘Story Leader’) and supported by a team of volunteer mentors and guest artists, who work closely with students. We aim to have at least one volunteer tutor for every 2–3 students in a class. We typically work in schools with whole-class groups, either in the students’ regular classroom or a suitable breakout space. Each workshop session typically goes for around 90 minutes.

Class teachers remain with the class during workshops – we wouldn’t want them to miss out on the fun, and the buzz of seeing their students’ creativity blossom and grow. It’s also important that teachers remain with the class to maintain their duty of care.

While we offer some one-off workshops, most Story Island workshops are part of an eight-week program. We’ve designed these programs so that students can experience a long-term creative process, with time each week to develop a piece of creative storytelling along the workshop theme. Volunteer tutors typically work with the same students each week, developing supportive creative relationships with their students. The Story Leader and guest artists are also on hand to provide expert guidance.

At the end of each program we celebrate the students’ achievements by presenting their creative pieces (e.g. a story, a postcard, a poem) to them in published form. It’s always so rewarding to recognise students as published authors and artists!