MA Professional Writing student and alumni join laureates to bring national treasures to life

Friday, 17 February 2012

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Glenn Patterson and Michael Longley from Ulster 26 Treasures

Alumni and students from Falmouth's MA Professional Writing are among the writers involved in a high-profile exhibition and book project. The project, 26 Treasures gives voices to objects in major museums around the UK and is in the last stages of gaining crowd source funding for the publication of its book.

The 26 Treasures project was launched in 2010 by Falmouth graduate Rob Self-Pierson, together with author and UCF honorary fellow John Simmons. Twenty-six writers, including former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, were each assigned an object in the V&A collection and asked to respond to it in exactly 62 words.

Their pieces were displayed next to the objects in the V&A, and the project was such a success that it has since been rolled out to three more major national collections: the National Museum of Scotland, the Ulster Museum and the National Library of Wales.

Writers including the best-selling novelist Alexander McCall Smith, the award-winning poet Paul Muldoon and Gillian Clarke, the national poet of Wales, were let loose on objects as disparate as a mediaeval illuminated book, a beggar's badge and a 16th century Scottish guillotine.

And amongst this illustrious company were two more alumni of the MA Professional Writing, Joanna Thomas and Fiona Egglestone, as well as one student currently studying for his MA at Falmouth, Paul Murphy.

"26 Treasures has been extraordinary in bringing together writers from all over the UK to write about objects in four national museums - using only 62 words exactly", commented best selling author and Founder of 26 Treasures John Simmons, "I'm delighted that the project features a number of current and recent students of University College Falmouth - their contribution has been outstanding as they've rubbed shoulders with some of the giants of the literary world."

Paul Murphy said: "It was a real privilege to be invited to take part in such a prestigious national arts publication alongside such well-known writers. It was a turning point for me and inspired me finally to take a huge leap of faith and come to Cornwall to study to be a writer."

Now, writing from the 26 Treasures is to be collected in an anthology that promises to give fascinating insights into 21st century writers' perspectives on British cultural history. To publish it, the project's organisers are making use of Unbound, a radical new Web-based publishing platform that allows publication costs to be raised through subscriptions.

To find out more, lend your support to the project and secure a copy of the book in advance, please visit unbound.co.uk/books/26-treasures

Ends

For specialists & experts, photographs and further information please contact: Suzanne Bull, Marketing & PR Manager , School of Media & Performance at University College Falmouth,, Telephone: 01326 213762, or email: suzanne.bull@falmouth.ac.uk

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