A Writing Chance
A Writing Chance aims to open access to the writing industries for new and aspiring writers from working-class and lower-income backgrounds and for those who face barriers due to intersecting challenges, including but not limited to ethnicity, disability, sexuality, gender identity, age and religious beliefs.
Join our movement for change
- We offer career-changing opportunities to participants on A Writing Chance
- We provide free resources, courses, industry insight and networking opportunities
- We influence policy to make change and are an advocate for access within the writing industries.
We are looking for 16 new fiction and non-fiction writers and journalists to be part of A Writing Chance 2024-25.
Find out more and apply by Monday 8 January 2024.
A Writing Chance was co-founded in 2021 by the actor and philanthropist Michael Sheen, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and New Writing North. A Writing Chance 2024-25 is produced in partnership with the Daily Mirror, Faber & Faber and Substack, with Audio Sponsorship from Audible. The programme aims to make lasting change in the writing industries and is supported by research from Northumbria University and Bath Spa University.
Why do we need this positive intervention?
All talented writers should be able to access opportunities to develop their work, regardless of their background. We all benefit from reading a wider range of voices in our national media and culture.
Yet, data shows us that, despite the efforts of many, the publishing and media industries continue to provide entry points that favour those from more privileged
backgrounds. Factors such as a reliance on informal networks and personal contacts; low starting salaries; and often a requirement to be based in London mean that barriers to success for those from working-class and other traditionally underrepresented backgrounds are disproportionate compared to other industries.
This is why we need cross-industry intervention.
Read more about who gets to write in our publishing and media industries
Margins to Mainstream podcast
Our 2021 cohort told their own stories on Michael Sheen’s BBC Sounds podcast, Margins to Mainstream.
Change-makers
We are making change and influencing policy thanks to the research attached to this programme. Professor Katy Shaw’s 4* research into the first year of A Writing Chance has revealed how some of these barriers impact on new and aspiring writers, and how the publishing and media industries can level the playing field.