Call for next generation of great Northern talent
NEW Writing North has launched its 25th annual Northern Writers’ Awards with a call to support its work with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the North East. The Northern Writers’ Awards create career opportunities, which have historically been concentrated in and around London, for writers in the North of England.
The awards are supported by Northumbria University, Arts Council England, and a range of partners including Channel 4 and Hachette Children’s Group. They aim both to discover new talent and support writers at all stages of their careers – from work-in-progress to making connections with publishers and agents, writing placements and retreats, and cash awards to help budding authors find time to write.
Through the awards, New Writing North has supported over 400 Northern writers, often unpublished, providing them with thousands of pounds worth of support and lifechanging chances.
In 2023, more than a dozen books by previous winners were published, including Black Fell by Mari Hannah (Orion), A Dark Inheritance by HF Askwith (Penguin) and Cuddy by Benjamin Myers (Bloomsbury).
Jay Patel was working as a secondary school teacher when she won the Channel 4 Writing for Television Award category of the Awards in 2016. She went on to be heavily involved in co-writing a trio of BAFTA-nominated episodes for Hollyoaks. She now works on Waterloo Road and has written for EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City.
Jay said: “No exaggeration to say that the Northern Writers’ Award changed everything for me. It gave me the second chance of life that I didn’t know I needed.”
However, New Writing North is keen to remind everyone who enjoys writing – whether that be poetry, short stories, podcast scripts, TV, film or theatre – that while literary prizes can be life-changing, the whole process starts with someone believing in a writer and nurturing their potential.
Over the last five years, New Writing North has worked with more than 10,000 children from disadvantaged and culturally diverse backgrounds across the North East. The charity’s range of free young writers’ programmes introduce young people to creative writing in all its forms, from song-writing and poetry to podcasting.
Robert Hall won the Matthew Hale Young Writers Award category in 2023, after discovering writing as a way to channel difficult emotions into a “coping mechanism” and artistic form that helped him to manage his mental health at a time when his future felt bleak.
“I find that the coping mechanism of physically getting down the emotions that I struggle to even comprehend, to begin to understand why I feel them... it’s best to just write them down.
“It seems to help with the confusion of it all – when things contradict, I can put it down on paper. I can put my feelings into something artistic that I can face. I’m not scared of it, because I’ve created it.”
New Writing North CEO Claire Malcolm said: “At New Writing North, we make it our mission to find, support, and champion the next generation of great Northern writing talent. We’re delighted to celebrate, along with our partners, our 25th Northern Writers’ Awards this year. Through them, we’ve supported hundreds of amazing writers and rebalanced the writing industry, which has been so weighted towards London for so long.
“We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not. That’s why our work with local children and young people in disadvantaged communities is so critical. To ensure our young people have the tools they need to express emotions, to feel empowered, and to shape their own future in our society. To know that they matter. That people believe in them.
“We hope that people, anyone who enjoys reading, TV and films, podcasts and audiobooks, wherever they’re based, will consider helping us to cover the costs of providing these programmes and activities – and provide new opportunities and life-changing chances.”
Richard Kelly, Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing and programme leader, MA Publishing at Northumbria University, said: “The huge success of the Northern Writers Awards speaks for itself. It has made a vital platform for the recognition of writing talent that was otherwise denied a proper outlet; and the evidence of how many outstanding writers have come forward through the awards is richly abundant.
“Northumbria University is proud and delighted to support this invaluable work: we celebrate with New Writing North 25 years of the awards and look forward to seeing many more northern writers of promise get the exposure and readers they deserve.”
New Writing North is marking the 25th awards by asking people to consider donating to its young people and communities work through a dedicated fundraising page, which can be found online at: www.justgiving.com/campaign/youngwriters