Story Factory

The Story Factory is an Australian not-for-profit organisation designed to help indigenous and disadvantaged school-aged children (generally 7 to 17 years old) to develop their writing and storytelling skills.

The programs run by the Story Factory aim to help young people, particularly those from a disadvantaged or minority background, develop their confidence, creativity and skills in writing.

The Story Factory conducts programs at its two creative writing centres, as short and long term residencies at primary and secondary schools, and as one-off visits.

In 2010 the co-founders of the Story Factory, Catherine Keenan AM and Tim McGregor, heard Dave Eggers give a TED talk about 826 Valencia and they were inspired to set up something similar in Sydney.

[1][2] As a not-for-profit organisation that relies on volunteers and donations for support, it took approximately 18 months to get the first site of The Story Factory operational.

Students who participated in several workshops grew their creative writing skills often to a higher level than would be expected of their grade or stage.

[5][6][7] An evaluation of the in-schools residency programs run by the Story Factory found a "notable shift in writing confidence and enjoyment" in all five schools involved and this was particularly strong among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants.

[19] Keenan was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for "significant service to children as an advocate for improving literacy, and to the community of Redfern.

The Story Factory is accessed through the Martian Embassy, whose design was awarded the 2013 NSW Premiers prize by the Australian Institute of Architects.

As part of the program, established poets such as Jazz Money, Dan Hogan Luka Lesson, Eileen Chong, and Eunice Andrada have visited the students to talk about their work and experiences.

One of the novellas from the program's run in 2017, Coconut Children[32] by Vivian Pham, has been expanded and published by Penguin Random House.