Story making in brave spaces of wilful belonging: co-creating a novel with British-Pakistani girls in primary school

The Story Makers Press is a university-based publisher who focus on making and publishing hybrid stories with children who are under-represented in literature. This article explores the embodied drama processes used in the co-creation of our third book called ‘Zalfa Emir is Warrior' with eighteen 10–11-year-old girls from second generation Pakistani heritage. Utilising practitioner inquiry, the paper examines the ways in which the girls used Drama Worldbuilding as a form of counter storytelling and belonging. The project raises critical questions about the value of pedagogies which create ‘brave spaces’ to reflect the realities of our culturally diverse classrooms.