One of 26’s most ambitious projects ever, 20:26, goes from strength to strength. If you’ve been away on a work trip to Mars, you might not know what I’m talking about. So take a look at our fast-growing Substack to enjoy lots of truly wonderful, meaningful, moving writing.
We’ve now published two months of responses to the 20:26 brief – to reflect on a life-shaping event from the last 26 years, 2000-2025. You have 20 words to bring the moment to life, and another 26 to share how it shaped you – the form is 20:26, with the colon acting as a brief pause. So far, our members have shared stories of difficult births, beautiful goodbyes, pride in children, new starts in distant countries, the discovery of a true passion, and much more. Each day, people message to say how they’re touched by reading and listening to the writing. We’ve only just started.
We aim to publish at least one 20:26 piece a day throughout the year. To do that, we’ve begun exciting collaborations with fellow writing organisations. You might know them, or be members there too. In March, we’ll invite members of Lapidus International, the writing for wellness organisation, to take part in the 20:26 Project. Next, we’ll open the invitation to our friends at London Writers’ Salon. We’re also speaking with the Australian Graphic Design Association, AGDA, who I’ve run writing workshops with. They have many skilled writers.
Both in numbers and feedback, the 20:26 Project is proving hugely popular. So far, pieces published on Substack alone have attracted over 15,000 views. Since day 1, when Martin Lee shared the moment he met his grandson Theo for the first time during Covid, subscribers have pretty much doubled. Plus we’ve received plenty of messages saying things like:
“A real daily blessing”
“Almost a philosophical adventure, these sparkling gems in our every day”
“I’m loving these brief drops into the lives of so many good friends and writers”
Thank you Martin, Jayne and John for your words – and to plenty more of you for your energy towards the project.
Thank you to John Simmons also for helping to get the 20:26 Project off the ground, to Michael Gough for his brilliant work as an editor, to Izzy Jarvis for her editing support and wizardry with audio (some writers are recording their pieces for us to post on Substack), and to our newest recruit Regina Beach for her enthusiasm, connections in the writing world, and editing skills.
If you haven’t signed up yet, email 2026projectinfo@gmail.com today. We’d love to share the brief with you and support you to write a piece you’re proud of. We’re confident you’ll learn a lot from reflecting on a life-shaping moment and finding the words to express your feelings.
As the year goes on, the project team will meet to discuss how else to get your writing out there. I’m sure you’ll agree these daily blessings deserve to reach as many readers as possible.
I hope you’ll come with us into March with plenty more sparkling gems to discover.
– Rob Self-Pierson