Book of Belonging update

Adoption East Midlands’ creative writing project for aspiring young writers, ‘The Book of Belonging ’, was successfully launched at the Nottingham Poetry Festival on 14 June 2026. The event was compered by our brilliant resident author, Jay Sandhu, where the young poets proudly and powerfully perform their thoughtful reflections.

As part of the project, students across the region have benefited from poetry workshops led by Jay, learning about the power of spoken word and all the wonderful ways to belong in the world. Reuben Newell, Horsendale Primary School Teacher, shared:

“The poetry workshops have had a fantastic impact on our children. It was incredibly inspiring and made poetry engaging and exciting for everyone. The children thoroughly enjoyed the session, and many have come away with a completely different view of poetry, seeing it as something fun. Having the opportunity to become published authors has been a huge confidence boost and given the children a real sense of pride and achievement. The whole experience has been truly memorable, and I'm sure it will inspire many of them to continue writing long into the future."

Adopted young people also enjoyed the opportunity to workshop with Jay. Charlotte Merchant, Advanced Practitioner for our Adoption Support service, shared:

“We were delighted to welcome Jay to our poetry workshop at Adoption East Midlands. He was engaging, funny and quickly got the young people excited and involved. His workshop helped build their confidence to express themselves creatively and inspired them to start writing their own poetry. A highlight was seeing the group come together to rap Hamilton at the end of the session - the energy, enthusiasm and confidence on display was fantastic.”

The book will soon be available to buy at One More Chapter and other local bookshops, and will be accessible at local libraries. You can also find copies at Adoption East Midlands’ community events. All the proceeds from the book will be donated to the charity ‘Breaks for Families’, a charity providing funded breaks for adoptive families. We’re also excited for another launch party in October at the Derby Poetry Festival if you missed the first one!

Adoption East Midlands will have some additional copies available for reading and reflection at workshops within our Learning & Development Programme for prospective adopters. We are also preserving a special keepsake copy of ‘The Book of Belonging’ that’s been signed by the VIPs from the launch event – and might just be a collector’s item when our young poets are famous!