This case study of five trainee teachers studying for their PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) at a UK-based university explores the impact of belonging to a peer-led and peer-run writing group on these trainees' identities as teachers and writers. Whilst contributing to the body of research into teachers as writers, the specific emphasis of this study on trainee teachers also offers new insight into how membership of such a writing group gave the participants a sense of playful agency as they navigated the liminal space of the trainee teacher during the pre-service year.