Current Students and Staff

The Student Wordsmith is celebrating its fifth birthday this month by hosting an array of activities – and you’re invited to join in!

The online writing platform, which publishes the work of new and established writers, was founded by Loughborough alumna Dr Sophie-Louise Hyde, who now works with the University’s School and College Liaison team.

Sophie, who has studied both English and Creative Writing, originally launched The Student Wordsmith as a way to share her own work but quickly realised the potential of the initiative as a channel for fellow emerging writers.

She joined Loughborough’s graduate commercialisation hub The Studio in 2012 and, with her newly-found business acumen, re-launched the website a year later.

Five years on, The Student Wordsmith has hundreds of followers and avid readers of the poetry, plays and prose it publishes each week.

The website has received numerous accolades including a Loughborough Enterprise Award and most recently it won the Sir Thomas White Loan Charity Award.

The Student Wordsmith has now published eight books including You is for University, which features more than 50 pieces of work about the university experience, The Growing Unease and The Purple Breakfast Review.

It is also to publish this year’s School of the Arts, English and Drama’s Overton Poetry Prize pamphlet, Uproot, in collaboration with Lamplight Press.

To celebrate the anniversary, writing-related activities – including competitions, calls for submissions, an author Q&A and a recap on all that's been achieved – will be taking place from 10-22 April.

For the first time ever, The Student Wordsmith will also be running a Development Day that focuses on a writer’s creative professional development.

It will take place on 22 April in Martin Hall, Loughborough University, and will feature networking, workshops and unique peer-to-peer sessions.

Commenting on the five year anniversary, Sophie said: “I’m really excited to be able to offer so many writing-related activities as part of our ‘Big 5^th Birthday’ celebrations in April. It’s amazing to think that it’s been five years – so much has happened in that time!

“Reaching this momentous occasion is going to give me the opportunity to consider, in detail, what we’ve achieved and to measure the platform’s success so that I can continue to grow the platform further.”

More information on the celebrations and how you can get involved can be found on the website.