To celebrate Inkheart taking to our stage, we have been asking school pupils across Wythenshawe to send us their short stories inspired by the magic of reading, as part of our World Duty Free Storywriting Competition…
The star story has been selected by none other than Inkheart author Cornelia Funke, and our winning writer Leigh-Ann Coley from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School will receive a glittering prize package including a season ticket to family films here at HOME, a story extract displayed in the window of our building and the chance to meet Cornelia in person to swap tips, writer to writer.
And now, get comfy, Leigh-Ann’s winning story is here…
Bye mum; bye dad
Trust me, I’m not mad.
Yes I’m sat here with a book in my hand,
But I’m miles away in a world-filled land.
I’ve found that each word is a breath
Which keeps me alive,
That I fall into a book head first with a dive.
Happily I leave my room behind,
Jumping and skipping and leaping and hopping;
For I am home again, with the dragons and fairies and wizards and words.
This is me. My world.
For a few hundred pages, and some hours to spare,
I am there, I swear it I am there
No more worries, no more cares,
Just me the letters and
‘The Dancing Bear’.
In my home, my hair grows golden and long
My eyes green and mean, my stature tall and slim
In my beautiful world, I am anything.
And everything.
What would I do without my words?
Without my world and its adventures?
Without the knowledge that the wind can howl?
That raindrops are really the tears of giants
Mourning their lost, human loves?
That our small green and blue habitat is but one world
Amongst seven billion others behind the eyes of all of us.
Eventually, stories end, magic fails and reality prevails.
Eventually, I am the girl in the darkest crevice
Hidden behind a weathered paperback,
Stuttering the same tired excuse as to why, exactly,
I spend all my time in the company of fantasy.
Because,
Reading takes me to a place where all is new,
Where I am young, old, a babe or even you.
Where I fall in love deeply,
Fight battles gallantly
And live passionately.
Reading takes me to a place where I am alive.
And Inkheart author Cornelia Funke kindly recorded the winning story with us too. Have a listen…
This competition has been possible thanks to the kind sponsorship of World Duty Free
Inkheart continues until Sat 9 Jan. Book tickets and find out more here.