New Writing North, the creative agency for the North of England, will launch a Writing and Publishing Skills Hub in autumn 2022. The £600,000 programme is funded by the North-of-Tyne Combined Authority and other local funders.
The launch is a major boost for the North East, where New Writing North is currently seeking to establish a new Centre for Writing. Taking place across Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland as well as offering substantial online opportunities, the Writing and Publishing Skills Hub will empower people across the region with a range of courses, activities and events to build skills and careers in the sector.
Over three years, New Writing North will create opportunities from school roadshows for pupils interested in pursuing a career in the creative and media industries, to networking and business skills training for practitioners and SMEs. The Writing and Publishing Skills Hub also builds on existing work and New Writing North’s current investment programmes.
New Writing North’s award-winning Young Writers programme will also be extended, including new Young Writers’ Groups and a vocational summer school for aspiring writers and publishers for which participants gain at Arts Award qualification.
In total the Writing and Publishing Skills Hub creates or enhances 16 areas of work and develops new pathways into the industry. The programme will be managed by a new team of three staff at New Writing North’s Newcastle office. These vacancies are now open for application.
Claire Malcolm, New Writing North’s chief executive, said: “This significant investment will support New Writing North to establish new areas of work for the long term. With our new MA in Publishing created with Hachette UK and Northumbria University launching this September this region is now leading the way in creating infrastructure for the development of creative people from a range of backgrounds. My desire has always been that a young person growing up in the North East could imagine a job as a writer or a publisher. Now they will have a clear pathway to pursuing that ambition.”
