There’s a sweet upcoming opportunity for under-represented writers and illustrators in the city.
Penguin Random House, in partnership with Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature and Writing East Midlands, are set to come to Nottingham on Saturday 29 September to host a workshop. They will hand-pick forty writers and ten illustrators to go to the event, who will get the chance to have their work published.
The workshop – which is bleddy free, we should add – will offer advice and experience from established authors, illustrators, agents and experts, and attendees can receive one-to-one feedback with an editor or designer.
This comes as part of the ongoing WriteNow initiative, a programme within Penguin Random House that seeks to provide mentorship and guidance to under-represented and under-published voices and artists across the UK. This is the first time WriteNow has released a call for submissions from illustrators and designers, who are themselves an under-represented facet of the industry.
Sandeep Mahal, Director of the Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, has expressed a great deal of excitement about the program, saying “It’s vitally important to encourage and support writers from under-represented backgrounds.”
Applications are open to writers and illustrators from BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) or LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer) communities, writers and illustrators with a disability, or who come from a socio-economically marginalised background. The deadline is midnight on Monday 9 July for writers and Monday 23 July for illustrators.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
