Our 1000 Words Heard competition winner! Off Course is written by Maria Burke and narrated by acting talent Katie Leung, who featured in the Harry Potter films as Ravenclaw student Cho Chang, and has also acted in Trainspotting 2, BBC's The Nest, Roadkill alongside Hugh Laurie, and many more.

Off Course is a short story, written in under 1000 words.

Birdwatchers descend on a house in Norfolk when a rare bird is spotted there. Shirley who lives there is not happy being besieged by twitchers. She looks back on her previous life in London and the early years of her relationship to Pete, and comes to a life-changing decision.

Off Course By Maria Burke

'In Gaza' is part of a series of poems written by students living in Gaza.  Written by Jomana Zaqout and read by Katie Leung, 'In Gaza' tells of a life lived on the limits of endurance and survival.

In Gaza By Jomana Zaqout Read By Katie Leung

Stolen Mind tells of a mysterious young woman, kidnapped by enemy forces 
and smuggled from her Ukrainian village to a makeshift prison on the 
Russian side.

There, in the middle of the forest, she is interrogated by eminent 
psychiatrist Dr Borosova. Because the young woman holds a secret that 
represents a grave threat to the Russian military, one which they will 
do anything to stop.


Вкрадений розум

Pictures in the mind of Gazan poet Jomana Zaqout, contrasting life before and after the war

Drawings of Imagination by Jomana Zaqout, read by Julia Sawalha

Another in our series of poems written by Gazan students, narrated by stars of stage and screen. The Final Door by Jomana Zaqout represents the undulant bouts of hope and futility of life in Gaza.

The Final Door by Jomana Zaqout

Written by Hala Al-Zinati in Gaza, narrated by Game of Thrones actor Carice van Houten, Holiday Without a Timeout tells of the power of motherhood during a time of war

Eid Without a Timeout by Hala Al-Zinati

Written by Palestinian writer Hala Al-Zinati, 'For Returnees' is part of our 'Gaza:Heard' series. Narrated by Katie Leung, it speaks of the hardship of returning to a home destroyed by occupation, and the hope of a future unknown, in which to flourish.

For Returnees by Hala Al-Zinati

In Gaza, where hunger, death, siege, and displacement from our homes prevail,
we refused humiliation and disgrace,
and so we chose nothing but to confront the enemy.
Our men and our resistance offered their souls to death as a gift,
so that the homeland may rise and remain proud.


Our Heartbeat is Rebellious (ENG)

في غزَّة حيث الجوع والموت والحصار والنزوح من بيوتنا رفضنا الذلة والمهانة فأبينا إلَّا أن نُواجه العِدا فكان رجالنا ومقاومتنا يُقدِّمون أرواحهم للموتِ هديَّة 
من أجلِ أن يسمو الوطن ويبقى شامخاً


نبْضُنا ثائر

A heart-rending reflection of the pain borne by those currently living through the genocide in Gaza. 

'Silent Bleeding' speaks of the sadness and devastation inflicted upon a population by the occupiers, of the feeling of futility, of screaming into a void and bleeding in silence.

This poem is written by Sama Shaheen, currently living in Gaza, and narrated by creative director, activist and storyteller, Alana Hadid.

Silent Bleeding by Sama Shaheen, narrated by Alana Hadid

An emotional and shattering tribute to the home in which the author grew up, to 
memories founded within once safe walls and to a future lost among the rubble. A poem about the true meaning of Home, a place that lives and breathes. A place to be mourned.

Written by Sama Shaheen and read by Indiya Varma


From the Rubble She Spoke by Sama Shaheen

Written by Palestinian writer Jana Rami Samih Safi and narrated by Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, The Purge, 300) 'The Exiled' is Gaza through the eyes of those who have lost their homes and the lives they knew. It is a tragic and heart-rending visitors' guide, a map of ruins that plots a course through desolate landscapes and the destruction of a civilisation. It is a light shone on the heart of those who carry all this within.

The Exiled by Jana Rami Samih Safi

'The Tent' is an insider's view into the very existence currently endured by the majority of Gaza's population.  It is a study of canvas and poles and all they represent, and all that has been violently taken from people who have lost bricks and mortar and the rigid foundations sunk into the ground which was so precious. It is an exposé of a life lived from one day to the next, where nothing is taken for granted.

The Tent by Lana Nedal (Narrated by Amy Jackson)

A poignant description of an insomniac, in which the poet's soul is revealed as a sanctuary of sorrow in the sanctuary of the night. The meanings of the poem revolve around the struggle of the restless mind and a heart burdened with memories until it is unable to bear them. In it, dawn turns from a source of hope to a lamp that reveals the pains of the soul, so that tears at the end are not mere crying, but an ink that records the biographies of the departed, and a creed that connects the poet to the ruins of their past.

Restless Thoughts, and the Labyrinths of Darkness by Najah Raed Mtoor

Recycling Lives By Dee Len

Laughin' At A Funeral By Ken MacKennick

Written and read by Jade Hamilton. '

When Velvet gets a phone call from her estranged brother, Jake, to say he's got their imaginary band a gig, she's immediately transported back to the rocky and peripatetic childhood they shared. Jake, who has complex learning and behavioural difficulties, longs to reconnect with the little sister he adores and swap the boredom of life in his 'upmarket' care home for the thrill of life on the road. With the help of a tough-talking carer called "Roadie" and Velvet's hunky boss, they're about to go on the tour of a lifetime.

The Entertainers Part 1 Chapter 2 by Jade Hamilton

The flames are dying. Sitting around their final campfire, four friends look to the future and to the past to try and make sense of the cascade of events that have shaped them and, ultimately, led them to their fate.

1 Minute 48 Seconds By Maddie Byrne

Fiona's baby arrives but Martha is still disappointed that she has decided to keep it and she refuses to give her blessing.

Vera re-visits the church and new living arrangements are considered.

BreaKing Boundaries Chapter 9 By Dee Len

Suppose you were given the chance to live an hour of your life over again, doing something you wished you had done. How would you feel? And how might it change your outlook on things? This is the story of one man’s experience.

Buying Time By Mary Bevan

These are strange times for Elizabeth. Plagued by a blocking beam in her mind she finds herself increasingly robbed of the power of speech - or else seized by the paroxysm of song. More worryingly, Elizabeth doesn't know what's triggered it. Certainly events took a turn for the bizarre after her encounter with the enchanting woman with moon white hair who spoke of a mystical experience with Johnny Cash's pants. Still, one channel of communication closes, another opens and Elizabeth finds herself compelled to convey her feelings - or something - through the medium of art. Before she knows it everything, her walls and ceiling included, are covered in elaborate charcoal drawings. What is going on in Elizabeth's brain and where will it end?

An intriguing, quirky and touching story that explores the issues of the senses and the often enigmatic power of expression.

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