Leading writers donate work to crowdfunded charity book

Ben Okri, Carol Ann Duffy and Frank Cottrell Boyce are among the contributors to Alt-Write, an anthology of ‘creative reactions to uncertain times’

Ben Okri, Carol Ann Duffy and Frank Cottrell Boyce are among the contributors to Alt-Write, a new collection of writing from major authors intended to “debunk xenophobic myths and … help [readers] discover the natural human quality of empathy”.

Okri is contributing his poem Grenfell Tower, June 2017, written after the disaster, Cottrell Boyce has written a “fable about the lost”, The Burning Bush, and Duffy is donating her poem History to the anthology. Aimed at young adults, with all profits to go to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the anthology, subtitled “Creative reactions to uncertain times”, will feature work from 50 authors and illustrators who also include Benjamin Zephaniah, Piers Torday, Michael Rosen, Chris Riddell, Sarah McIntyre, Celia Rees, Philip Ardagh, Alex Wheatle and Jackie Kay.

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