Pushing Boundaries: First Edition anthology open call out for young Northern writers
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Last year, New Writing North’s First Edition group launched Scraps, an anthology of writing by young people who are from the North, or who currently live in the North of England.
The first issue, written, edited and produced by young writers based in the North East who are part of the First Edition group, explored what the North means, as a geography, history, mythology and identity, and offered a taste of young Northern voices.
For Issue 2, we’re calling for young Northern writers to submit writing on the theme ‘Pushing Boundaries’. We welcome submissions from writers and creatives working across artforms to tell a story or put an idea across. You might be a poet, a prose writer, an artist working with words, writing fiction or non-fiction – all writing is welcome.
Written word is welcome, as that’s what we love, but if you’re telling us a story or presenting an idea in a creative way, we’d love to hear from you. We encourage you to think outside the box and push the boundaries of what writing is.
Successful applicants will have their work published in a printed anthology and will be invited to a launch event in Newcastle in early December 2025.
Who are First Edition?
First Edition are New Writing North’s writing group for 18-25 year olds, based in Newcastle Upon Tyne and facilitated by industry professionals. We meet weekly during term time to write, share ideas and give peer feedback. We also have regular masterclasses from guest writers. We offer a place to connect, develop skills across different forms of writing and gain industry insight. We welcome all experience levels, from newbies to hobbyist writers, or those starting out in a career.
The boring bit
- Applicants must be aged 18-30 at the time of submission
- Your work must be your own
- You must be originally from OR currently living in the North of England. You can view a map of the Arts Council’s area boundaries here.
- Your work must be able to be represented across no more than an A5 4-page spread
- Your work must be able to be represented in a printed anthology in some way, however we encourage you to get creative, so you could, for example, include a QR code to some online work, as well as represent it on the page. Click here for an example.
To submit, please fill in this short application form and upload your work.
Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Deadline: Monday 1 September 2025, 5pm
Successful applicants notified: Late October