Literature in the Lounge 2025 – Guest Blog

9th December 2025

Hi, I’m Rachael, an Arts and Cultural Management MA student at the University of Lincoln. In November 2025, some fellow students and I took part in Literature in the Lounge, and I’d love to share my experience.

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This year, Lincoln Book Festival’s Flash Fiction Competition invited aspiring writers of all ages to write a 50-word story around the theme ‘Heroes and Villains’. Across two days, we travelled around Lincolnshire to read some of these stories to care home residents and visitors as part of Literature in the Lounge, a programme that connects young people’s creativity with elders living in isolated, rural areas. To really get involved and stretch our creative muscles, we also wrote some flash fiction pieces to be included in the programme.

Our first stop was Boundary Street Hub, an adult day care centre in Lincoln. Here, one young adult in particular – Taliesin – received high praise for reading out his brilliant poems Message to the Universe and Waiting Game, which he had written during a summer workshop earlier in the year. We also read pieces written by other members of the centre, which went down a treat!

At The Wolds Care Centre in Louth, the stories were met with a lot of enthusiastic engagement; it was clear that the staff really cared about bringing life and activity into the centre from the energy that the group brought to the session. The ‘Friends and Family’ category ignited some lovely nostalgic conversations, while the ‘Underwater Creatures’ category got everyone laughing with some comedy.

Next, it was on to Tanglewood Care Home in Horncastle. We were warmly welcomed by Caroline, who thought it was great that we had come to read to the residents, as it gave them something new and exciting to get involved with. The flash fiction format was a hit, with many feeling that they were able to follow along without losing interest. One gentleman, hearing the ‘Nature’ stories, was reminded of a childhood racing pigeons with his father and helping to bring in the harvest on his farm.

The final stop was Wainfleet Care Home, where we held an additional workshop in the dementia unit. One listener recalled living a rebellious and nautical life in Southampton after hearing my story Maelstrom, which was fabulous to hear, and meant a lot as I grew up very nearby on the Isle of Wight and love the coast. It was, however, the two resident cats who stole the show!

All the readers agreed that taking part in Literature in the Lounge was a positive experience. Jane Crawshaw, who organised the programme, sums up its importance: “Children and teenagers taking part in the Flash Fiction competition gain confidence in their writing abilities, and these stories prompt such brilliant stories and memories from the residents’ lives during Literature in the Lounge. University students also gain experience in a field they might not have considered working in before.”

Fellow University student and accessibility advocate, Ben, also feels that the programme is a great way for those in rural areas with less access to arts to be included in the current creative scene.

Overall, Literature in the Lounge 2025 really celebrated the talent of budding young writers, while bringing something new, fresh, and interactive to those in more isolated, rural areas. The conversations and memories brought to the surface by intergenerational dialogue are truly invaluable, proving that literature is a powerful way to connect, regardless of age.

Thank you to the student readers and writers: Izzi Baker, Coralie Palmer, Ben Slater, Rachael Phillips, Katie Seller, and Jane Crawshaw (organiser and engagement producer). And a special thanks to: Boundary Street Hub, The Wolds Care Centre, Tanglewood Care Home, and Wainfleet Care Home.

If you would like to read the stories from the flash fiction competition, you can find them here.

Guest blog post written by Rachael Phillips.