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Representing Wales: The third round of our flagship writer development programme is confirmed

Published Thu 14 Jul 2022 - By Literature Wales
Representing Wales: The third round of our flagship writer development programme is confirmed

Application Window to Open in August 2022

Literature Wales is pleased to announce that the third round of our professional development programme for writers, Representing Wales will be launching in August 2022.  

In its third year, the programme will welcome applications from Wales-based writers who come from an under-represented background and who are writing for children and young people.

Representing Wales is a development programme, which aims to help transform Wales’ literary culture into one that is truly reflective of its diverse voices, and to establish a pipeline of diverse Welsh talent that will be recognised in Wales, across the UK and beyond.

We will be supporting a cohort of 13 writers from under-represented backgrounds by offering the following:

  • a financial award of up to £3,500 to help writers take time out to write, attend training sessions and literary events and to support travel expenses
  • one-to-one mentoring
  • monthly workshops and talks
  • opportunities to network, make new contacts and build relationships with other writers
  • opportunities to meet experts in the literature and publishing industry in Wales and beyond
  • free writing retreats at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre

The programme will begin in March 2023 and run until the end of March 2024.

This year, the programme will focus on writing for children and young people to help address the lack of diversity found in children’s book authors and characters.

The books children read shape their view of themselves and of the world and the children and young people of Wales should be able to identify with the books they read and find role models in their favourite authors.

Research within both the CLPE’s Reflecting Realities and Book Trust Represents reports highlight a lack of ethnic representation both within the pages and amongst the creators of books for children. Although research is limited, we are aware that wider voices are also under-represented within children’s literature.  This next round of Representing Wales aims to develop writers from a range of under-represented backgrounds to help address this imbalance.

As part of the application process, we will be asking writers to submit a chapter of their fiction or creative non-fiction book, a selection of their poetry, or a sample of their graphic novel. Please refer to our FAQs to learn more about eligible genres.

In order to help eligible writers prepare their application, we will be hosting a series of free online creative writing sessions with established children’s writers in August 2022. There will also be drop-in sessions with members of the Literature Wales team as an opportunity to learn more about the programme and ask questions.

 

Representing Wales is a 12-month programme, funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales, developed to help improve representation within the literature sector in Wales. The first edition of the Representing Wales programme, launched in 2020, focused on writers of colour and the second programme focused on writers from low-income backgrounds. Click here to find out more.

Representing Wales has been designed in consultation with communities, writers, and consultants from Literature Wales’ extensive networks to address existing barriers within the sector. Over the coming years, Literature Wales will continue its focus on developing and platforming people who are under-represented and who have experienced historical and structural inequalities, racism, ableism, and discrimination.

 

Representing Wales