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Spotlight on young writers

Two young Cumbrian writers whose careers were given a boost through a Cumbria County Council scheme are about to see their work performed on stage. Theatre by the Lake at Keswick has commissioned new theatre pieces from the pair, whose work was published in the county council's Fiction Firm anthology. 

Councillor Peter Jackson, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member with responsibility for culture, said:   

"The county council works to help people in Cumbria discover and develop their talents, so we are extremely pleased that the Fiction Firm project has played a part in progressing the careers of these two local writers. We wish them all success with the performances." 

Daddy's Girl by Claire Louise Hunt and Lullaby by Rebecca Jones were originally produced as part of the creative writing project that saw six talented young people from around the county working with novelist Jake Arnott to hone their fiction-writing techniques. The resulting six stories were published together in the Fiction Firm anthology last year.   

Over the last few months Claire Louise and Rebecca have been working with writer Nick Pemberton, Youth Theatre director Ian Douglas and actors from Cumberland Youth Theatre to create new works for the stage. Claire Louise has transformed her short story into a script, while Rebecca has created something entirely new. Both pieces will be performed at Theatre by the Lake from Thursday, February 20, to Saturday, February 22, at 7.45pm. Tickets are available from the box office on 017687 74411, priced £6 (discounts £3).   

The success of last year's Fiction Firm project and the partnership with Theatre by the Lake has led to a new project for 2002-03, Six Pack. Another six promising young writers from around Cumbria have been brought together, given the opportunity to work intensively with acclaimed novelist Toby Litt, and are now producing stories for an anthology. They will get the chance to work with a writer, director and actors from Theatre by the Lake later in the year.