Last Friday Robinson College was delighted to welcome 4 of the 5 shortlisted young female writers from the BBC Young Writers Award 2025 for their Cambridge Experience Day. Hosted by Dr Lizzi Rawlinson-Mills (Robinson Fellow in English and Education) the shortlistees enjoyed a fascinating tour of the University Library with Emily Dourish, deputy keeper of rare books and early manuscripts.  It was a huge honour to handle the first edition books and visit the historical printing room and fascinating Curious Cures exhibition.

After lunch, in the Robinson College Garden Room, Yvonne Battle-Felton from the Centre for Creative Writing at PACE (Institute for Professional and Continuing Education) ran the creative writing workshop. Thanks to undergraduates and doctoral students who welcomed the Young Writers and spoke to them and their families about their academic trajectories and life at Robinson.

The generous contribution of a donor has enabled Robinson College to be part of this enriching partnership between the University of Cambridge and the BBC on the National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award. The National Short Story Award is widely regarded as the most prestigious accolade for short stories nationally. Many readers will have enjoyed listening to the shortlisted stories, some by major writers and others by exciting new voices, broadcast on Radio 4 each September (and available on BBC Sounds). The Young Writers Award, meanwhile, showcases the astonishing work of writers aged 14-18, and reaches an enormous and diverse audience when they are broadcast on Radio 1. The BBC have been running the Awards in collaboration with the University since 2018, with contributions coming from the Faculties of English and Education, the Schools of Arts and Humanities and Humanities and the Social Sciences, the University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Institute of Continuing Education. For the 2024-26 iteration of this prestigious partnership, the group of Cambridge stakeholders has expanded to include two colleges – Robinson and Downing – in order to develop the ways in which the partnership impacts our students.  

One of the immediate benefits of this partnership to Robinson is the opportunity it affords the College to host visiting shortlisted young writers, who win a Cambridge Experience Day in September, just before the winners are announced, during which they meet current students, enjoy creative writing workshops at the Fitz or the UL, and learn from English and Education academics. This serves as an important outreach opportunity; many former shortlisted students comment that their experience day inspired or cemented their intention to apply to Cambridge.

The partnership also offers a place on a unique new training programme to one of the College's postgraduates. This three-year programme, developed in conjunction with the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership, provides a valuable insight into broadcasting, institutional partnering, administrative and legal aspects of arts management. Alongside some bespoke training opportunities connected to their doctoral research, the student will attend meetings of the Awards steering group, shadow the process of recording and producing a short story for radio, and will have the opportunity to act as a paid “sifter” to support the judges’ shortlisting activities. This truly sets Robinson and Downing apart as the only colleges offering specialised professional training of this kind, and we look forward to hearing about their experience from the selected student in due course.

The BBC National Short Story Award is being supported by the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculties of English and Education, Downing and Robinson College, University Library, Fitzwilliam Museum and the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Professional and Continuing Education.

The Awards Ceremony takes place tomorrow, Tuesday 30 September, at Broadcasting House: good luck to you all!
You can enjoy the Young Writers’ shortlist stories here  and the winners are announced during a live broadcast of Radio 4’s Front Row.

Photos by Scott Maloney/CHIL