The Jerwood Fellowships at New Writing North
The Jerwood Fellowships at New Writing North have been awarded to three early career published writers, currently living in the North of England. Each writer receives a bursary of £10,000 and a bespoke package of support, including mentoring, over the course of a year, beginning in 2026.
The fellowships were open to writers of fiction, poetry or narrative non-fiction who have had work professionally published. With a focus on artistic excellence, this opportunity aims to support writers at a pivotal point in their careers, as they develop new work towards publication. The three writers will be invited to participate in at least one event scheduled towards the completion of the programme in late 2026.
These Fellowships are generously supported by the Jerwood Foundation and managed by New Writing North.
Kym Deyn
Kym Deyn is a poet and writer of weird fiction who moonlights variously as a tarot reader, a librarian, and the editor of The Braag CIC, a micro-press based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Their pamphlets include Dionysia and Unfurl.
They have been widely published in anthologies and journals for their poetry and prose, including Butcher’s Dog, 14 Poems and Strange Horizons. They’ve been shortlisted for awards including The Bridport Prize and recently came third in the 2025 Oxford Poetry Prize. They are a member of the Writing Squad and were selected for the 2024 Hachette GYS scheme.
Their debut poetry collection Folkish is published by Nine Arches.
“This is a simply astonishing opportunity for me. I’m so grateful to New Writing North and the Jerwood Foundation. Not only will this fellowship allow me to work on my novel, it will allow me to do so without jeopordising my health, as someone with a chronic illness that effects every facet of my life.”
Katherine Horrex
Katherine Horrex’s first collection Growlery is published by Carcanet. It was shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize in 2021, and featured a poem called ‘Parliament, Fallen’, which was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes Best Poem category.
Her poems have featured in a variety of publications, such as The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, The Poetry Review, PN Review, Poetry London, The Manchester Review, The Morning Star and others.
They have also been anthologised in The Forward Prizes Anthology 2021, and The Emma Press anthology Some Cannot Be Caught.
“I’m delighted to have received this fellowship – it feels vindicating to say the least – and I am looking forward to working with Jerwood and New Writing North.“
J.A. Mensah
J.A. Mensah’s debut novel, Castles from Cobwebs, was nominated for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the NorthBound Book Award. Her short stories have been published by Comma Press, New Writing North, Dead Ink and Bloomsbury. Her plays have been produced by companies including Pilot Theatre and Live Theatre, among others.
She worked in arts and cultural management for a decade, was Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Centre for Applied Human Rights, and now teaches literature and creative writing at the University of York.
“I began writing this manuscript before covid, and both my life and the world have changed profoundly since then. The story I had planned to tell can’t be told in quite the same way anymore. But this award, with its structure, mentorship, deadlines(!), generous bursary, and—importantly—people who believe in my work, has given me renewed faith and energy in this project. I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity which should enable me to complete the book in the way it demands.“
