Writers urge Government to sign off on writing centre scheme
Professional writers have mustered in support of the campaign for a dedicated writing centre for the North, based at Newcastle’s imposing Bolbec Hall.
An impressive 82 of these often solitary creatures have wielded quill pens, pencils and any manner of digital gadgetry in a bid to loosen Government purse strings.
They include Skellig author David Almond, Booker Prize winner Pat Barker, Ann Cleeves, famous for her Vera and Shetland books and TV adaptations, and screenwriters Peter Straughan (Wolf Hall) and Mick Herron (Slow Horses).
The campaign, led by New Writing North, Northumbria University and publisher Hachette UK, was launched in the summer, championed by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness.
A bid for £5m towards the writing centre scheme has been lodged with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport with the outcome expected at the end of October.
If approved, say the coalition partners, the investment will unlock a further £5.5m from regional partners – enough to make the dream a reality.
The perceived new hub for the writing industries would bring the Bolbec Hall, an impressive building dating from 1907, back into use.
The location seems right – just along the road from the Central Station, a stone’s throw from the city centre and plumb next to the Lit & Phil, the largest independent library outside Newcastle.
No doubt the authors of the Lit & Phil’s thousands of books, many now denizens of the great writing hub in the sky, would also cheer or at least grunt approval of the scheme.
Among those living wordsmiths backing it are novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and academics. Not all now live in the region that produced the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Venerable Bede and much more… but they see its worth.
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The North East, for all its associations with coal, shipbuilding and heavy industry, has always been a region of writers too, inspired by its rich history and evocative landscapes but not always well served by the literary gatekeepers.
New Writing North, the new writing agency established in 1996, serves the whole of the North but has always been based in Newcastle from where it has striven to open doors for writers of whatever background.
The writers’ letter, published below with all the signatories, speaks for itself.
It’s not known if they argued over the grammar. But if the pen is mightier than the sword, let’s see what 82 of them can achieve!
A CREATIVE CALL TO ARMS: OPEN LETTER
We are supporting New Writing North’s call for Lisa Nandy and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to back a major new centre for the writing industries. After over a decade of funding cuts for the arts, now is the time to invest and New Writing North’s plan will bring transformation to the North.
Writing is an art that the UK excels in and it plays a major role in the Creative Industries – underpinning publishing, media, film, TV, audio, and spilling over into games, music, theatre, local news and innovations in VR and AI, alongside jobs in related industries such as communications.
For too long, the writing industries have been centred in London and the South East, creating an unbalanced eco-system, spread of jobs, and barriers to those in underserved and northern communities.
We want young people in the North to be able to grow up to be publishers, writers, and creatives and to not presume that they will need to leave the region to achieve their ambitions.
The UK’s publishing industry contributes £11 billion overall to the economy and the industry exports more books than any other country globally. International demand for UK publishing is set to grow by a further 20% in the next decade.
Bringing the writing industries to the North will have wide benefits for the writing talent here and will create creative, meaningful, and fulfilling jobs.
Literacy is proven to improve just about every aspect of life. People with poor literacy skills are significantly more likely to experience poverty, live in poor quality housing, be unemployed, become a perpetrator or victim of crime, have poor physical or mental health, and even lead shorter lives.
The Centre for Writing will support writing and reading initiatives in the community, as well as the professionals (writers and publishers) that create the content to be read.
Investment in the Centre for Writing and Publishing will revitalise the region, attract inward investment, and help train and develop a new generation of local talent, a mission backed by the North East Mayor Kim McGuinness.
We want young people in the North to be able to grow up to be publishers, writers, and creatives and to not presume that they will need to leave the region to achieve their ambitions.
I am putting my voice to the campaign for a new writing centre of national import.
This investment can transform people’s life chances, unearth talent, and ensure the North’s creative voice is heard on the national and world stage.
Establishing a new centre for the writing industries in the North East is a vital first step to make that happen.
Ann Cleeves OBE, Crimewriter and patron of the Reading for Wellbeing project, North Tyneside.
Pat Barker CBE FRSL, (Novelist), County Durham
David Almond OBE FRSL (Novelist), Tynemouth
Val McDermid, FRSL FRSE HonHFRIAS
Mick Herron FRSL, (Novelist), Oxford
Lee Hall (Screenwriter), London
Peter Straughan (Screenwriter), Hastings
David Peace (Novelist), Tokyo, Japan
Peter James. D.Litt. (Hon.) (Writer)
Terri White (Journalist & Author), Northwest England
Dr Jill Dawson, FRSL (Writer) Norfolk
Sara Collins, (Writer), London
Irenosen Okojie, MBE (novelist and Festival Director), London
Adele Parks MBE (Writer), Tees Valley
Andrew O’Hagan, FRSL, (Writer), London
Ross Raisin (Writer), York
Benjamin Myers, FRSL (Author and Screenwriter) Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.
Debbie Taylor (Editor of Mslexia), Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Tony Williams (Writer and Professor of Creative Writing), Northumberland
Amelia Loulli (Writer), Newcastle upon Tyne.
Degna Stone (Poet), Gateshead
Holly Turner (Novelist), Cramlington
Dr Susannah Ronnie (Writer), Northumberland
Ian McMillan, (Writer and broadcaster), Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Sarah Hall, FRSL (Novelist), Kendal, Cumbria
Paul Smith, (Musician, Maximo Park), Newcastle upon Tyne
Louise Doughty, (Novelist and Screenwriter), London
Ishy Din (Playwright and Screenwriter), Middlesbrough
Michael Chaplin (Playwright, Screenwriter, Author), Newcastle upon Tyne
Dr Adelle Stripe (Author) Calder Valley, West Yorkshire
Okechukwu Nzelu FRSL (Novelist) Manchester
Jayshree Patel, (Screenwriter), Greater Manchester
Dr Yvonne Reddick, FHEA
Harry Man (Author), Stockton on Tees
Kit Fan FRSL (Author and Poet), York
Karen Powell (Author), York
Patricia Grace King (Author) MFA, PhD, Durham
Carmen Marcus, FRSA, (Author and Playwright) Redcar
Lisette Auton (Author and playwright), Darlington
Carina Rodney (Playwright and Screenwriter), North Tyneside
Dr Lucie Brownlee (Author), County Durham
Chloe Daykin (Author), Northumberland
Cays Davies, FRSL, (Author), Scotland
Dr Louise Powell (Author and Playwright), Middlesbrough
Ian Fenton, Creative Producer and Educator, Tees Valley
Mari Hannah, (Author and Screenwriter), Northumberland
Neil Bushnell (Author), Tees Valley
Adam Farrer (Author), Manchester
Alan Johnson (Author and former MP), Hull
Anna Woodford (Poet), Newcastle upon Tyne
Doug Johnstone, (Writer) Edinburgh
Dr Anna Barker, (Poet), Durham
Richard T Kelly, (Writer), London
Dan Smith, (Writer), Newcastle upon Tyne
Dr Bob Beagrie, (Poet), Middlesbrough
Dr Jake Morris-Campbell, (Poet), Oswestry
Fadia Faqir, (Writer), Ushaw Moor, County Durham
Tawseef Khan, (Novelist), Manchester
Mark Nixon (Writer), Country Durham
Alison Carr (Writer), Newcastle upon Tyne
Dr Yvonne Battle-Felton (Novelist), Sheffield and Cambridge.
Katie Hale, (Novelist and Poet), Cumbria
Julie Ward (Writer), Board Member, Culture Action Europe, County Durham
Lucy Nichol (Novelist), Newcastle upon Tyne
Victoria Morley (Writer), Tyneside
Lisa Matthews, (Poet and Content Designer), North West
Rishi Dastidar, (Critic), London
Yvonne Reddick, (Writer), Manchester
Preti Taneja FRSL, Writer and Professor of World Literature and Creative Writing, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Vici Wreford-Sinnott (Playwright and Screenwriter), Tees Valley.
Margaret Wilkinson (Novelist), Newcastle upon Tyne
Claire Dupree Jeans, (Editor), Northumberland
Emma Layfield, (Children’s Books North Agency), Manchester
John Challis (Poet), North Shields
Linda France (Poet), Northumberland
Mymona Bibi (Writer), Newcastle upon Tyne
Dr Dan Jackson, (Writer) Northumberland
Dr Rachael Allen, (Poet and Editor), London
Sunila Galappatti (Writer and Editor), London
Emily Wiseman (Writer and Educator), Newcastle upon Tyne
Sophie Yeo, (Writer), Durham
Professor Kit de Waal (Author), West Midlands