Workshop: The Journey to Your First Children’s Book with Ellie Šedivá

This workshop is part of the exhibition programme, a special event for aspiring writers on Thursday, 18 September 2025. The session combines a guided exhibition tour with a creative writing workshop led by Slovak author and blogger Ellie Šedivá, also known as Túlavé dievča (Wandering Girl). Perfect for college and university students.

Ellie is one of the personalities featured in the exhibition, having lived in London for four years, an experience that has deeply influenced her writing. Her life journey reflects the themes of the exhibition, rooted in cultural heritage, shaped by travel, and enriched through storytelling. After studying Near Eastern archaeology and working in Syria and Turkey, she began sharing her stories and ideas mainly through blogging and children’s literature.

Her published works include Dievča v Londýne (Girl in London), a diary-style book inspired by her life in the UK capital; Samko a pocitkovia (Samko and the Feeling Fairies); the 2025 sequel Pocitkovia na cestách (Feelings on the Move); and her forthcoming Bertík a plávajúce kníhkupectvo (Bertie and the Floating Bookshop), coming out later this year.

The exhibition Portraits of Slovak and Czech Britain (17–22 September) celebrates the stories, culture, and creativity of Slovak and Czech communities in the UK. Through photography, it explores themes of migration, identity, and resilience - sharing powerful portraits and personal journeys.

Following a 30-minute guided tour of the exhibition, Ellie will lead an interactive writing session in which participants will:

• Learn a few tricks for developing compelling characters, settings, and plots.
• Discover ways to translate emotions and experiences into narratives.
• Explore the unique challenges and rewards of writing for younger audiences.
• Take part in guided writing exercises to begin their own children’s story.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have the beginnings of a story they can continue to develop, as well as practical techniques and inspiration from Ellie’s creative process.

Note from the author:

“Every children’s book is a little miracle. Not only because it has the power to touch a young reader’s life and maybe even change it, but because getting it into the world is an almost magical feat in itself. Writing the story, finding a publisher, working with an illustrator, deciding who the book is for, bringing it to market… each step can feel like climbing a mountain, especially for a first-time author.

I know this from experience: I’ve written three books, my fourth is coming out this year, and along the way I’ve made plenty of mistakes, learned from them, and kept going. Every writer, no matter their age, has moments of doubt: times when you might feel you’re not good enough, or that nothing you’re doing matters. I’ve done events where only my mum and grandmother showed up!

But here’s the truth: the biggest obstacle is yourself. You can see those moments as proof you should give up, or as challenges to grow from - and one day there will be a room full of people waiting to hear or read your story. This workshop is about giving you both the tools and the encouragement to keep going, to help you take one more step towards your book, and to remind you that you’re not alone on that journey.” – Ellie Šedivá

The workshop is by donation; pay what you can. Free entry is also welcome. :)