Story Seeds: Island Storymakers
Story Seeds: Island Storymakers is a collaborative creative writing project in which primary school children in Dublin, Belfast and Pyla/Pile, Cyprus, co-created a book, one chapter at a time. The initiative was organised by Fighting Words, Fighting Words Northern Ireland and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) with support from from Dublin City Council.
In May 2026, the project began with a workshop hosted at the Fighting Words centre in Behan Square, Dublin with 4th class students from Paradise Place Educate Together National School students. These students set the story in motion by developing narrative ideas that formed the story’s foundation - sending Bob the Peach and Lob the Pear off of their adventures.
Next, in early June, the project progressed at a series of workshops in Cyprus, where students from Pyla Turkish Cypriot Primary School and Pyla Greek Cypriot Primary School developed their ideas and wrote the two subsequent chapters. Maria and Mustafa of the Cyprus U.N. Civic Office supported the Fighting Words team by assisting with mediating cultural sensitivities, and advocating for the recording of the workshops and interviews with adults involved. During the workshops, Irina ad Cim from Calliope Interpreters, who by providing translation services, helped bridge the language gap.
Finally, in late June, students at Donegall Road Primary School in Belfast concluded the story with a dynamic ending.
As the children developed the story, a distinctive cast of characters emerged: fruit heroes, including a peach, a pear, and a watermelon, who confronted an adversarial dumbbell. During each workshop, children were encouraged to reference their surroundings as they created. They set scenes at local landmarks and created a narrative about an adventure involving an array of modes of transportation. Thanks to illustrator Robin Fuller, each child’s idea was brought to life before their eyes, encouraging creativity among the children.
Additionally, throughout this project and across the four workshops, Conor Reid of The Podcast Studios recorded parts of the workshops and interviewed children and the organisers, skillfully capturing this fascinating creative process.
This October, the finished story will be published as an illustrated book, laid out in Greek, Turkish, and English by graphic designer Rosa Devine. The podcast episode detailing the book’s creation process will also be published at this time.
Finally, as this project comes to an end, children from both schools in Pyla, Cyprus, will gather at the U.N. Civic Offices for an online celebration with their Dublin and Belfast counterparts. A celebration befitting a project that encouraged intercultural dialogue and collaboration that was so warmly received by the children, teachers, and schools.
This project has been made possible with the partnership of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and Dublin City Council.
