Story Factory

Story Factory We are a NFP using stories to change lives in under resourced communities in Western Sydney & NSW.

Story Factory is a place for kids to develop their love of telling stories. Our expert staff run a wide range of fun and engaging creative writing programs for young people aged 7-17, of all skill levels. Our workshops are designed to help build literacy, confidence and creative problem solving – essential skills to write their own futures. We work with young people from communities that are under-resourced or with less access to opportunity.

14/11/2025

👽📕Unbox our new book of poetry with us!📕👽

Imagine aliens have crashlanded in Popondetta Park or Rooty Hill Station or Whalan Reserve, and they have no knowledge of the best (or worst) locations for catching up with friends at the Westfield Foodcourt, or why a charm bracelet is more than a bracelet, or what it means to grow up here.

This is what young people aged 12-18 across the Blacktown LGA were tasked with during a series of creative writing workshops. The result? This beautiful book of poetry, titled ‘I Talk, It Echoes’, capturing their aspirations, concerns, and what their local community means to them.

The book was published as part of a new program titled It’s Our Turn, which is a collaboration between Story Factory and The Hive, Mt Druitt., and is funded by Multicultural NSW under the COMPACT program.

Are you a high school-aged student who loves to write? Do you want to become a published author before you've even finis...
12/11/2025

Are you a high school-aged student who loves to write? Do you want to become a published author before you've even finished school?

Applications are now open for Year of Poetry and Year of the Novella 2026! In these FREE, year-long programs we provide young writers with a community of peers, a support network of professionals, and the chance to publish your very own novella or poetry collection.

We’re here to help you build your skills and support you every step of the way. At the end of the program, you’ll be the author of a professionally published novella or collection of poetry, which will be celebrated at an official book launch!

✍️Interested to apply? Register your interest through the application form: https://www.storyfactory.org.au/year-of-the-novella-and-year-of-poetry/

👋 If you have any questions, please get in touch at [email protected]

We can’t wait to hear from you!

📣Join the Story Factory team as Administration Officer! 📣This vital role provides day-to-day administrative support to s...
10/11/2025

📣Join the Story Factory team as Administration Officer! 📣

This vital role provides day-to-day administrative support to senior staff and acts as the primary point of contact for our Redfern centre.

The role is based at our Redfern centre and is part-time, 22.8 hours per week (0.6FTE).

Deadline: 5pm on Monday 24th November 2025.

Find out more and apply! https://www.storyfactory.org.au/about/work-with-us/

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Looking for a fun and creative way to spend your Saturday afternoon? 🍹🖋Come along to Poetry Pairings - taste a selection...
07/11/2025

Looking for a fun and creative way to spend your Saturday afternoon? 🍹🖋

Come along to Poetry Pairings - taste a selection of (non-alcoholic) drinks and pair them with poetry penned by young local writers!

Visit us at our stall at University of Sydney's Community Festival today from 2pm-5pm. You will find us at the Interactive Alley in the Quadrangle.

The poems have been written by our amazingly talented 2025 Year of Poetry students. These poems are just a small taster of the students' poetry collections that we will publish and launch at University of Sydney in December!

We hope to see you later today!

What if a library wasn’t just a place to borrow books - but a living archive, a sacred space, a machine for bending time...
04/11/2025

What if a library wasn’t just a place to borrow books - but a living archive, a sacred space, a machine for bending time?

This is the concept behind Palimpsest - a collaboration between Story Factory and The State Library of New South Wales. We recently ran the pilot program, inviting students from under-resourced Western Sydney schools to view the State Library as a time machine. An archive of the past, a reflection of the present, and a canvas for future-making.

During interactive poetry workshops at the State Library, students were given access to foundational national documents - like the original Australian Constitution draft - and were empowered to remix, subvert, and reclaim those texts.

The first slide is prose poetry by Tina, Year 10. Tina wrote it in response to a photograph from the Library's newspaper archives of the first Aboriginal person to purchase a film ticket in Walgett, NSW in 1965.

Some of Australia’s best-loved authors and performers – Julia Baird, Benjamin Law, Zindzi Okenyo, Debra Oswald, Amy Thun...
22/10/2025

Some of Australia’s best-loved authors and performers – Julia Baird, Benjamin Law, Zindzi Okenyo, Debra Oswald, Amy Thunig-McGregor, Jennifer Wong - have joined Story Factory as inaugural Ambassadors, as featured in the latest issue of South Sydney Herald.

The Ambassadors will share their creativity and experience to empower young people from under-resourced communities, amplifying new voices and stories through our free writing programs.

As one of our former students Bindi says, “Story Factory didn’t just teach me how to write – they gave me permission to unravel and reimagine the shape of language itself.”

Read the full story: https://southsydneyherald.com.au/leading-creatives-launch-inaugural-ambassador-program-at-story-factory/

Who killed Edgar Allan Poe? Our students recently wrote and performed their very own gothic poetry-themed murder mystery...
10/10/2025

Who killed Edgar Allan Poe? Our students recently wrote and performed their very own gothic poetry-themed murder mystery night! It was based around the little-known fact that Edgar Allan Poe actually lived (and recently died!) in Parramatta 👻 📕

Set against a fantastically spooky backdrop, students welcomed members of the public into our Parramatta centre and challenged them to solve the mystery.

The students did a brilliant job playing a variety of roles: being the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, playing the guitar, giving a beautiful Acknowledgement of Country, and dropping hints to the audience at just the right time.

Scroll to the last slide to read a page from the murder mystery!

This event was proudly presented as part of .lit in partnership with .

Photography by Natasha Capstick.

We're taking bookings for our free Term 4 After-school programs! We have different workshops for primary and high school...
07/10/2025

We're taking bookings for our free Term 4 After-school programs!

We have different workshops for primary and high school students, as well as in-person and online options. Among older favourites, we’re introducing a new workshop called ‘scifaiku’ where students will transform haiku poems into science fiction versions!

Book your spot: https://www.storyfactory.org.au/after-school-programs/

During the school holidays, we're proudly looking back on our Term 3 Programs!One of these was an After-school program w...
02/10/2025

During the school holidays, we're proudly looking back on our Term 3 Programs!

One of these was an After-school program which we ran with a group of young writers at Mt Druitt Learning Ground. Over eight weeks, the students looked at a range of diverse superheroes and created their own!

In the final workshop, they received bound publications featuring their colourful superheroes and their origin stories. We had a wonderful time gathered together in a circle as they proudly shared their writing. They also designed and built a headquarters for their heroes using recycled materials!

Photography by Julie Collins.

Our poetry radio play - titled Dome, Sweet Dome - aired on FBi Radio All The Best yesterday! We asked Year 8 students wh...
29/09/2025

Our poetry radio play - titled Dome, Sweet Dome - aired on FBi Radio All The Best yesterday!

We asked Year 8 students what their lives and communities will look like in the next 50 years. The result? A poetry radio play about the end of the world that includes domes, zombies, and Kendrick Lamar.

Listen to it here: https://allthebestradio.com/shows/658-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/

We delivered this project in collaboration with The Smith Family.

Are you a primary school teacher looking for creative writing programs that will stand the test of time? Is your student...
23/09/2025

Are you a primary school teacher looking for creative writing programs that will stand the test of time? Is your students’ creativity fossilising right before your eyes?

We recently launched Megafauna Corner! A three-part series of free educational videos where our Storytellers Jerry, Marcus and Kirsty travel through time to discover Australia’s megafauna.

This creative writing resource inspires primary-aged students to write about their own imagined animals, helping teachers to save time lesson planning!

Find out more and download Megafauna Corner: https://ow.ly/fKyw50WZWLM

23/09/2025

Young people at Cobham Youth Justice Centre explored identity and emotion through a creative writing and expression workshop. 📝✨

Held in July and led by Russell Smith and Philip Wilcox from Story Factory, the session used sound, scent and visuals to spark conversations about emotions and identity.

The session encouraged self-expression and offered alternative ways for young people to reflect on their experiences and identities.

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176 Redfern Street
Sydney, NSW
2016

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm

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The Story Factory is a not-for-profit that runs fun, inspiring creative writing and storytelling workshops for marginalised young people aged 7 to 17. We work with schools and community groups all over Sydney and Western Sydney to reach children and teenagers most at risk of losing confidence in their writing abilities and switching off at school. In our workshops young people develop the skills and confidence to find their voice and shape the future.