Meet Story Factory

If you attended the Festival in the last few years then you've probably met Story Factory and their crew of literary pharmacists prescribing poetry to solve your ailments at Poetry Prescriptions. For 2025, they've got a new twist on the theme of language as a tool for healing, connection and love with The Giving Shop, your one-stop-shop for the perfect gift for a loved one in your life.

Before the Festival gets underway, we spoke to Story Factory about their year-round work bringing creative writing and storytelling to young people in Western Sydney.

What is the power of story?

Story has a transformative power. It is a connector of people, a facilitator of discussion and a way to bring joy. If young people are able to tell their own stories, it provides agency – the sense that they are able to take charge of their own narratives.

Story has the power to help young people find their place in the world and Story Factory’s programs focus on, above all else, building confidence, creativity and the writing skills to tell their stories in the ways they choose.

Tell us about Story Factory’s approach to nurturing creativity among young people.

All of Story Factory’s workshops aim to improve young people's literacy and help them find their voice. The way we do this is by establishing a space where young people feel safe and supported, where they have permission to be creative and where students are excited to write.

We then work on two main pathways in the workshops: we build students’ enjoyment of writing and storytelling and their skills in this area and we help them to generate a range of unique ideas and share them. These pathways then support them to make effective creative decisions, which leads to the students creating and sharing a piece of writing. This is often the best piece of writing they've ever done.

What advice would you give to young aspiring writers?

One piece of advice we always give is to read as widely as possible. Reading helps us with our own writing journeys in ways we can’t always see — but our writing always benefits from being open to new ideas, new ways of thinking and new writing formats. So read as much as you can!

Other advice we give is to start small, anywhere you like. You don’t have to have a fully-fledged novel planned out, you can start with a tiny idea and build from there.

What about those who think writing isn’t for them?

We firmly believe that anyone can write and that story can come from anything. We encourage people to try different forms of writing – whether that’s poetry or prose – to not necessarily start at the beginning of a story – jump right into the juicy bits and come back to the introduction when you’re ready – or find story in something completely unexpected – whether that’s art, music or dance – anything can inspire your writing. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

Where can audiences find Story Factory at this year’s Festival?

Story Factory will be set up in the main foyer space of Carriageworks, close to the main Gleebooks bookshop on Saturday and Sunday from 10am–4pm.

What inspired The Giving Shop?

We really wanted to tap into the idea that poetry is a gift. The Giving Shop is inspired by old-fashioned gift shops. We offer an opportunity for patrons to slow down, think about that special someone in their lives and receive a perfect poetic gift written by young people in Western Sydney to show them their love and appreciation.

Who are the shopkeepers?

The shopkeepers will be young people from Western Sydney who have written the poems available on the day and are currently enrolled in Story Factory programs. They are a diverse and insightful group of young people who will be thrilled to help festival-goers find the perfect poem for their loved ones.