Songwriting success at prestigious Never Such Innocence International Competition

Writers’ Guild were thrilled to celebrate more creative writing success this week, as Reirei K (LV) was awarded second prize in the prestigious Never Such Innocence International Competition.

Never Such Innocence (NSI) is a UK-based charity giving children and young people a voice on conflict through the creative arts. Through poetry, art and song, NSI’s annual writing competition, invites young people to express how conflict has shaped lives and communities across the globe. The aim of the competition is to send young voices across borders, building empathy and elevating youth voices – making young people agents of change in global peace-building.

This year, thousands of young artists, poets and songwriters from across the globe entered the contest, which challenged them to explore different perspectives on conflict. The theme was ‘Walking in someone else’s shoes’, taking them to see through the eyes of someone effected by conflict, past or present. There were entries from nearly 100 countries, from Ghana to Guyana, Taiwan to Tajikastan, Luxemburg to Latvia and Mongolia to Myanmar, and many more!

Reirei, a talented writer and song-writer, used the medium of song to reflect on war through extraordinary music and lyrics, inspired by the Blues genre and the movie ‘Sinners’ which is a direct address to ‘Mr Machine Gun’. Her work was recognised by the panel of judges and has been included in this special Digital Winners Book alongside winning work from all around the world.

Reirei, who is a keen member of Writers’ Guild, will be attending a special Zoom celebration for winners, and the rest of the club can’t wait to hear all about it.

Writers’ Guild which meets every Tuesday and is open to budding bestsellers and secret scribblers in all year groups. Run by Mrs Bruton, the club has a termly theme, writing challenges, a chance to chat about the joys and frustrations of writing with fellow wordsmiths ( – and the ever important creative candy to get the writerly juices flowing!).

There’s also news of local, national and international writing prize opportunities, with young St Mary’s writers recently entering competitions including the Orwell Youth Prize, the Daunt Books Young Writer’s Prize, the ISEB/ IAPS ‘Time To Write’, the Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, and many more.

Huge congratulations to Reirei, and good luck to all our talented young SMC authors. Keep scribbling!

Mrs Catherine Bruton, Teacher of English and Writers’ Guild Lead