Announcing Reinventing the Protagonist 2026 Cohort

Published Thu 5 Feb 2026 - By Literature Wales

We are delighted to announce the names of the eight writers who have been successful in their applications to join the Reinventing the Protagonist Programme 2026.

Building on the success of two years of running the course online from 2023-2025, the 2026 edition of Reinventing the Protagonist will see Deaf and/or Disabled and/or Neurodiverse writers attending an in-person retreat at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, and follow-up one-to-one tutorials led by the internationally renowned playwright and writer Kaite O’Reilly.

The programme is for Deaf and/or Disabled and/or Neurodivergent writers to expand their creative toolkit. It concentrates on how to be more inclusive and representative in the creation of characters, perspectives, narratives, and fictional worlds, and for those who haven’t yet explored their disabled identity to express their lived experience.

We received the highest number of applications for the programme yet and after careful consideration, the panel has selected eight writers who will benefit from the opportunity this year.

This year’s cohort includes Shazz Jamieson-Evans, Jamie Harper-Harrison, Ruth Fabby, Susanna Callaghan, Beth Rees, Lisa Derrick, Demelza Monk and Hiba Ahmad. Read more about them and their hopes for their time on this programme on the Reinventing the Protagonist page.

We look forward to welcoming and supporting our new cohort of writers, and to following their transformative journey.

Literature Wales is grateful to Disability Arts Cymru for their support and partnership to run this programme, and The Fenton Arts Trust and the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales for their generous financial support.