About New Writing North
New Writing North leads the development of creative writing and reading in the North of England. We are based in Newcastle upon Tyne, where we have produced nationally significant work since 1996.
We are proud to be a charity and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
We believe that writing talent is everywhere, but that opportunities are not. We work hard to both identify talent and create fantastic career-changing opportunities for people from across society.
We develop programmes and activities that inspire people to engage with creative writing and reading, whether this is to develop their skills and professional ambitions or for pleasure and wellbeing.
We help excellent writing find local, regional, national, and international audiences.
Our programme includes:
- the management of major international literary prizes The David Cohen Prize for Literature and the Gordon Burn Prize
- open-access and targeted talent development programmes for writers, including the Northern Writers’ Awards;
- the production of the annual Durham Book Festival and regular literary events;
- our Writing and Publishing Skills Hub, which offers educational and development opportunities for writers and creatives
- an award-winning Young Writers programme that reaches young people in schools and communities
- community engagement projects including West End Writes and Newbiggin Hall Creates, that encourage reading and writing for pleasure and for wellbeing
- a new MA in Publishing with Northumbria University and Hachette UK
- commissioning, publishing, broadcasting and producing new writing across forms from poetry to podcasts
- international writing and translation projects.
Our team
Since 1996, we have steadily grown to a skilled and expert team of 20, led by founding Chief Executive Claire Malcolm.
Our team come from backgrounds in publishing, writer development, education, charity and community work, and communications. We also run a successful internship programme and are proud to have several staff members whose careers began here at New Writing North.
Our board of trustees is made up of leaders from the publishing, cultural, and creative industries, and business professionals whose networks cross many sectors, nationally and internationally.
Our partners
We work in partnership with national broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel 4, and Sky; major publishers including Hachette UK, Faber & Faber, Penguin Random House, and HarperCollins; local authorities; and educational institutes including primary and secondary schools and leading universities.
We have large-scale partnership projects with several universities in the North and are engaged with industry-led teaching and research that helps us to understand how our activities impact on the sector, industry, and individuals.