Stories Without Borders

What happens when your best mate Bob accidentally eats the hot dog king and sparks an all-out war between marshmallows and hot dogs? In this episode, our marshmallow narrator discovers that Bob's snack choice has dire consequences: the population has dropped by three marshmallows, hot dogs are attacking at the historic castle where they won over 100 years ago, and spears are flying through the air...

What happens when ear-screeching sirens break through a peaceful Tuesday night and a disease called MSI turns your world into a fight for survival? In this episode, Willow chronicles the collapse of civilization through a diary format that marks time in devastating increments: Day 1 (the outbreak), Day 2 (infected at her door), Week 1 (many people dead), Week 2 (meeting Velvet), Month 1 (hunting r...

What happens when you're reading a thriller in bed with your talking chicken companion and you hear an unusually loud, scary roar in the middle of the night? In this episode, Herminie and her sidekick Denise (a bossy chicken with little legs who poops when terrified and lays magical eggs that make you big, strong, and tall) sneak past the hallway guards to investigate. What they find is Cerboros,...

What happens when a perfect holiday morning in Hawaii gets interrupted by fingopoop, the most deadly fly in Hawaii? In this episode, Millie, Francesca, and their pet monkey Sully are enjoying a blissful walk across hot Hawaiian sand. Everything is perfect, the holiday of a dream, until Francesca hears a disturbing noise like a mosquito behind them. They turn around to see fingopoop buzzing towards...

What happens when your Norwegian Forest Cat's tail looks like an extra bristly toothbrush from Tesco's Aisle 19 and you think it's just a mouse? In this episode, our narrator wakes up on a cruise ship heading to the Maldives to find Myrtle, their four-foot-tall Norwegian Forest Cat, looking distressed. After breakfast at the VIP buffet (fresh tuna for Myrtle, pancakes for our narrator), they try t...

What happens when Ed Sheeran, Perry the platypus, and Larry the albino lion are stranded on the International Space Station after Dr Doofenshmirtz blows up their only rocket home? In this episode, chaos reigns on the ISS. Ed throws a bag of meat at Larry whilst Perry tries to keep everyone calm. They're running low on food, they're stuck in space, and Ed just wanted to go to the ISS 'for sun' beca...

What happens when the sky over Bradford turns red and something starts forming above the city, an eye that kills anyone it looks at? In this episode, our narrator notices something odd on what seems like any other day. The sky feels strange. During school, there's an eerie feeling of being watched. By the time they get home, the clouds have vanished, almost like they were running away from somethi...

What happens when your sister destroys your hammer and you're left powerless, knowing a beast is coming to destroy your home? In this episode, Thor, the God of Thunder, faces a crisis. His sister Hela destroyed his powerful hammer Mjölnir years before, and now he's weak, vulnerable, angry. Without his hammer, he can't get his revenge. Without his hammer, he'll be beaten. He needs to find it, or ev...

What happens when you press a magic watch and teleport to the future—only to lose the one thing that can bring you home? In this episode, Chanan and her friend Fatima wake up one early morning ready for adventure. Armed with magic watches that teleport them anywhere they want, they decide to investigate the future. What they find is unsettling: a world where everyone stands like robots, where tech...

What happens when you're standing in Shibuya watching crowds move happily through the noisy night, and you're the only one who feels stuck, lazy, dreaming of becoming stronger but not knowing how? In this episode, our 23-year-old narrator walks into a gym for the first time, ego soaring, and immediately attempts to bench press 50 kilograms with no warm-up. Predictably, the bar pins him down, choki...

What happens when Goku and Vegeta wake up at 7am, jump on the sofa, turn on the telly, and discover a new villain called Freezer is freezing everything in his way? In this episode, the awesome pair face their first quest in ages. After a long time discovering which city Freezer is attacking, they finally work it out: Freezerty. They teleport there, only to find an invisible wall protecting the cit...

What happens when you discover your father standing over your mother's body in the basement and you have to run for your life? In this episode, Isaac whispers 'F-father... why?' as he stares at his mother's deceased body surrounded by a pool of dark crimson blood. He dashes up the basement stairs with trembling hands, pulls out his phone, and dials 999. But he can hear slow footsteps coming up beh...

What happens when you wake up, head to school as usual, and realise your time-freezing necklace is missing? In this episode, 11-year-old Aliza discovers her necklace is gone. As she hurries home, something's wrong: no cars drive past, no people walk by, there's no noise at all. She feels alone until she sees her cat Casper, and there in his mouth is her necklace. She calls to him, but Casper runs...

What happens when you're a teenage girl living alone in a cosy wooden house in the forest of Yokushima, and the Ogre, a green demon, kills your best friend? In this episode, Annya signs up for the Iron Fist Tournament wearing a mask with a broken horn, hiding her true identity whilst training for revenge. Her best friend Lauren was killed by the Ogre. Her mother died in a car crash. Anger is alway...

What happens when you're the only person who can see an alien invasion happening in real-time? In this episode, Shyann wakes to a strange buzzing sound and discovers black drones swarming her tow, invisible to everyone except him. Armed with his sidekick Talon (a gigantic robotic owl he built in his garage), owl glasses (patent pending), and a determination to uncover the truth, Shyann  track...

  What happens when your day off gets interrupted by a humongous monster with one mission: to destroy humanity? In this episode, Musa wakes up at 6:30 AM ready to enjoy a well-deserved break, but the morning news has other plans. Within minutes, he's called his sidekick Mumsabill, jumped into hist beautiful car, and used his hydrokinesis powers to ride the waves to their secret hideout. What...

What happens when a forgotten clock tower holds more than dust and broken bells? In this episode, Aisha notices what everyone else ignores: shadows that move when the sun doesn't, whispers that aren't the wind, and silver threads that vanish in the light. When the tower door opens, just slightly, just enough, she and her sidekick Silk (a glossy black tarantula no bigger than her palm) climb the co...

  What happens when a carnival appears overnight and no one questions it, not teachers, not parents, not even police officers? In this episode, Kulsoom notices what everyone else ignores: the wind that came humming from the east carrying colours too bright and scents too sweet, the striped tents that shimmer like silk, the carousel that sings lullabies just slightly wrong. Armed with her side...

  What happens when an ordinary museum trip becomes an extraordinary adventure through time and space? In this episode, Akbar takes us on a thrilling journey from St. Michael's Museum through the Eastern realm, into the heart of ancient India, and to the majestic Taj Mahal itself. Armed only with his wit, his loyal tiger companionl and a mysterious riddle carved in stone, Akbar must race agai...

  What happens when the tree at the edge of Bramble Hill isn't just a tree, but something hungry? In this episode, Areeba walks past the tall, dark tree every day on her way to school. Her sidekick Puddle (a tiny green frog with golden toes and an odd talent for predicting rain) refuses to go near it. Then one Monday, the tree splits open to reveal a brass pocket watch ticking backwards, and...

  What if your school playground was hiding something far more dangerous than leftover Year 4 packed lunches? What if beneath the tire swing and sandpit, an ancient volcano was waiting to erupt, and only one 11-year-old prefect stood between chaos and catastrophe? Meet Safa F: excellent student, suspiciously high attendance record, lava-resistant, and possibly Earth's last hope. When seismic...

In the second installment of our StoryQuest series for Bradford and Beyond on BCB 106.6FM, we follow an epic tale of discovery, destiny, and ancient power, written and performed by 11-year-old Ahmed from Dixon’s Manningham Primary School. Ahmed’s story takes us from the comfort of a hotel to the heart of a forgotten castle, where a mysterious portal, a three-headed guardian dog, and a lost royal l...

In this special episode of StoryQuest Voices, we’re broadcast live from Centenary Square during Bradford Literature Week with BCB 106.6FM. Join us as we dive into the origins and magic of StoryQuest, a creative writing journey that’s empowering children across Bradford to become authors of their own adventures. Kate Markland from StoryQuest and teacher Tom Hirst from Dixon’s Manningham Primary sha...

In this fourth episode of the StoryQuest series for Bradford and Beyond on BCB 106.6FM, we step into the vivid imagination of 10-year-old Yusef from Dixon’s Manningham Primary School. His original tale, is a fantasy adventure filled with strategy, courage, and a wise, talking feline sidekick named Malteaser. When a demon-like monster threatens to destroy the sacred forest, it's up to Yusef and Mal...

In this thrilling mid-week episode of our StoryQuest series for Bradford and Beyond on BCB 106.6FM, we hear an extraordinary tale written and performed by Re, an 11-year-old student from Dixon’s Manningham Primary School. Titled "Jer and the Temporal Tiger", the story follows Jer, a curious boy who stumbles upon a mysterious glowing briefcase in an abandoned castle. One press of a red button launc...