Sara Wingate Gray is an experienced creative writing workshop leader, having worked with pupils in primary, middle and high school settings (Key Stages 1 through 4) as well as sixth form colleges and further education groups. She also teaches at undergraduate level, previously working as an Associate Tutor in the School of English & Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.

Workshops can range from 60 minutes through to longer projects which may take place over a number of weeks. Juxtaposing the analogue and the digital, pupils are encouraged to explore contemporary media and communication techniques alongside the traditional, within the framework of creative writing, publishing and new media. This approach provides the flexibility to enable pupils to work individually as well as encouraging group collaboration and teamwork.

Previous workshops have explored the themes and history of poetry (working in forms such as the haiku, sonnet, concrete poetry), DIY publishing, public speaking and performance, often incorporating new media technologies such as WIKIS, SMS and Desktop Publishing. Pupils gain skills not only in literacy, writing and communication – they also learn the importance of digital media and gain confidence and competence in working with software and applications in this sphere.

Previous workshops have included:

# Two day workshop for children (ages 7 - 16 years) on creative writing, concrete poetry, DIY publications and voice skills (Norwich Fringe Festival, Norfolk, UK, 2006)
# Three months creative writing & WIKI project with twenty school children (Key Stage 2) and senior citizens (Hethersett VC Middle School, Norfolk, UK, 2005)
# Half day literature & poetry workshop (The Queen Elizabeth School, Manchester, UK, 2004)
# Half day poetry & cooking workshop (City College Norwich, Norfolk, UK 2004)

Poetry Biscuits at City College NorwichPoster by Hethersett studentsPoetry readout for National Poetry Day 2005

She has often worked in collaboration with The Poetry Cubicle, which provides a unique resource base for poetry and literature materials.