Anthology of poems and stories written during lockdown raising money for Merseyside charities

An anthology of poetry and stories written during the first UK lockdown has been published by the University of Liverpool.

The book entitled 'A Spray of Hope' has pieces of work written by NHS Staff, other key workers and other members of the public.

All of the proceeds from the book will go to NHS charities in the Merseyside area.

The book was compiled by the University of Liverpool's Literature & Science Hub as part of their "Writing for Wellbeing" scheme, which the university wants to use to highlight the emotions and experiences of living through the pandemic.

The anthology includes links to creative-writing resources from the University of Liverpool’s English Department for use by educators and aspiring writers.

One of the poems was written by staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, who also recorded a video of them reciting the poem.

The "Writing for Wellbeing" programme was set up by Bernadette McBride, who is a PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool.

People across the UK signed up to the initiative and Bernadette loved the writing so much that she decided to compile the book.

'A Spray of Hope' can be bought here.