In Belfast, writing a new story, a story of their very own, is an opportunity every young person should be given. The aim of Fighting Words Belfast does just that. In the words of Belfast novelist Glenn Patterson, a patron of Fighting Words Belfast, its aim is “to enable children and young people to be- come the authors of their own lives.” Fighting Words first opened in Dublin in 2009 with great impact. Sean Love and Author Roddy Doyle founded Fighting Words Dublin inspired by Pulitzer prize-winning author Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia cre- ative writing project in San Francisco. Over 50,000 children and young adults came for free creative writ- ing classes in Dublin and soon it became clear that an expansion to Belfast was in high demand from teachers and students in Northern Ireland. Today the program is active across Ireland with classes taking place in Dublin, Belfast, Mayo, Galway, Cork and Wicklow. Fighting Words Belfast was launched at Queen’s University during Young at Art’s Belfast Children’s Festival in March 2015. It originated as a project of Young at Art, one of Northern Ireland’s leading provid- ers of children’s arts experiences, with the active sup- port of the Rev. Bill Shaw of 174 Trust and Duncairn Centre in North Belfast and Rev. Margaret Ferguson and others at Skainos Square, an urban regeneration project with a focus on peacebuilding in East Belfast. A Flagship grant from The Ireland Funds was criti- cal in getting the project established, and subsequently The Ireland Funds has continued support for the initia- tive through the award of additional grants. The choice of location for the Fighting Words Belfast workshop base at Skainos Square is especially impor- tant, as is the ongoing relationship with the Duncairn Centre of Culture and Arts in North Belfast. The cross- community focus of both organizations is consistent with Fighting Words’ commitment to the develop- ment of strong community links in those parts of the city. The remit extends beyond the Belfast city limits and school groups are welcomed from as far away as Donegal. All young people from all communities are welcome and the mind-expanding empowerment of creative writing is now spreading across Northern Ireland. School groups and individuals come to these spaces every day for free, two-hour creative writing workshops facilitated by volunteer mentors. connect 2017 • 23