New Writing North

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

This year's Durham Book Festival Big Read is The Hunting Party by the best-selling author Lucy Foley.

Lucy was at Durham Book Festival on Saturday and was very careful not to give any spoilers for this Agatha Christie-style house-party whodunnit....

The idea behind the Big Read is that we encourage people to read the same book then come together and discuss it, providing a special moment to connect to others through books.

We have 3,000 free copies available in libraries across Durham and Sunderland, and hospitals in Newcastle.

For those who want to come together and chat about it we have in-person events taking place in community spaces throughout County Durham this month; in Stanley, Houghton, Washington, Easington, Barnard Castle and three at the newly opened Culture House in Sunderland.

And for those who want to make it their Book Club read - then we have some suggested questions for your group.

To find out more on the events and a book club guide visit www.durham-book-festival/the-big-read

10/10/2026

We have a free online workshop for global majority writers next Wednesday!

Writer Hannah Lavery will be looking at how to build a writing community on 14 October 5-7pm.

Hannah is an award winning poet, playwright, director and wotkshop facilitator from Edinburgh. She is the former Makar (Poet Laureate) for the City of Edinburgh and co-host of feminist podcast QuineCast.

Book here >>
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/significant-ink-building-a-writing-community-with-hannah-lavery-tickets-2002942698529?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/10/2026

Our first Northern Writers’ Awards for 2027 are open for entries!

The Hachette Children’s Novel Awards are for unpublished writers of middle grade and children’s fiction, offering £3,000 and a mentoring programme with Hachette Children’s Group. Deadline 11 January.

The Great Northern Read Award, now in its second year, is for unpublished writers of gripping, page-turning fiction across all genres, offering £2,500 and a mentoring programme with Johnson & Alcock Literary Agency. Deadline 11 January.

And the Young Northern Writers’ Awards are for writers aged 11-18 writing in any form or genre. There are special awards available for young writers who show promise but have had limited opportunities to pursue their talent, and for those who are writing in English as an additional language. Deadline 15 March.

Find full details and enter: https://newwritingnorth.com/northern-writers-awards/awards/

And look out for more awards opening later this year!

02/10/2026

The Booker Prize 2026 winner is coming to Newcastle on Thursday 12 November, 6-7pm!

New Writing North and Tyneside Cinema are delighted to invite the newly crowned winner of the Booker Prize 2026 to an exclusive event in Newcastle for their first public appearance following their win (announced earlier that week on 9 November).

The 2026 shortlisted books are: The End of Everything by M. John Harrison; The Disappearers by Marlon James; Black Bag by Luke Kennard; May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry; The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout and John of John by Douglas Stuart.

The shortlist was been selected by the 2026 judging panel, chaired by celebrated classicist, writer and broadcaster Mary Beard. She is joined by award-winning poet, writer and educator Raymond Antrobus; musician, writer and broadcaster Jarvis Cocker; journalist, editor and critic Rebecca Liu; and Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist, poet and essayist Patricia Lockwood.

This event will be chaired by Sara Collins who was a Booker Prize judge in 2024. She is the author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, which won the Costa First Novel Award in 2019. She is also a literary critic, screenwriter, broadcaster and podcaster.

Copies of the winning book will be available for purchase from Forum Books at the event.

https://newwritingnorth.com/event/meet-the-2026-booker-prize-winner/

29/09/2026

Save the date! The Screenwriting Weekender is going on the road and heading to the Tees Valley for a special series of events focused on writing for cinema, called Script Talks. Get inspired, connect with other screenwriters and punch up your screenwriting skills from 24-26 February 2027 at ARC Stockton. Early Bird tickets will launch on 4 November, and regular tickets on 2 December.

In the meantime, we’re looking for horror scripts to receive live feedback from industry experts at the event. The selected writers will get free tickets and travel to Script Talks, have their work read at the Three Page Challenge events, and receive sessions with a professional script editor. Submit your horror script by 27 October: https://newwritingnorth.com/event/script-talks/

27/09/2026

Start Writing Horror this autumn! 👻

Novelist and Faber Academy tutor Matt Wesolowski is leading six weeks of horror writing workshops at Culture House Sunderland for writers of all levels. Whether you’re a seasoned scribe of all things spooky or just dipping your toes into the shadows, you’re welcome to come along and learn about building believable characters and atmosphere.

These 90-minute sessions take place on Friday afternoons from 23 October, and cost £35+booking fee for the full six week course, with limited free spaces available.

Find out more and book your place: https://newwritingnorth.com/event/start-writing-horror-creative-writing-workshops-at-culture-house-sunderland/

26/09/2026

Broaden your writing career by learning the skills to lead creative writing workshops 💫

Inkubator, our 6-month development programme for creative facilitation, is open for applications now. Participants will receive a £1,050 bursary and training and mentor sessions to learn how to use their artistic practice to work with young people and communities. They will also get to put their new knowledge into practice through an 8-week placement on one of our programmes.

It is open to writers and artists in the North East who are motivated by the impact creative engagement can have on the lives of young people and communities. We’re particularly interested in hearing from multilingual writers, theatre-makers, graphic novelists, games writers and writers of colours as we aim to widen our network of practitioners and develop a more diverse creative workforce in the region – however we will also consider applications from practitioners outside these areas.

Previous participants have gone on to join our freelance network and lead regular sessions on our programmes. This is a great opportunity to get hands on experience and add another string to the bow of your career as a writer or artist.

Find out more and apply by 21 October: https://newwritingnorth.com/event/inkubator/

25/09/2026

Well done to the three writers who have been selected to take part in our Significant Ink development programme for global majority writers in the North East!

They will each receive £1,000 to support their writing, tailored mentoring, peer support and development sessions with industry partners.

Iqra Asghar is a writer, storyteller, and sometimes a poet. Originally from North Manchester, she moved to the North East for university and has made it her home. She is currently working on her first novel.

Kemi Gates is a Spoken Word Artist whose creative journey began over a decade ago. Through personified storytelling, she explores themes of hope, faith, love and identity, with a desire to encourage and connect with others through words.

Shola Joy Todd was born in Leicester, but is now based in North Tyneside. Her adult fiction was longlisted at the Bridport Novel Award, and shortlisted at Penguin’s WriteNow competition. She also writes children’s fiction, and her work was shortlisted for the Faber FAB Prize in 2023.

Significant Ink is funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority and Arts Council England.

25/09/2026

Howay the Lads! Win a copy of this fascinating history of Newcastle United, and a pair of tickets to see Dan Jackson at Durham Book Festival on Sunday 11 October by following Durham Book Festival and telling us in the comments who you want to bring with you to the event.

Two winners will be drawn on Thursday 1 October.

Howay the Lads tells the story of North East England through the eyes of Newcastle United’d loyal supporters and players, beginning its journey in Victorian Tyneside and continuing to modern-day Newcastle and the club’s international fame.

“You begin thinking you’re writing the history of a football club and eventually realise you’re writing about families, communities, the city and the strange emotional attachment people develop to a place” said Dan Jackson, who is also the author of Sunday Times History Book of the Year, The Northumbrians.

He will be appearing at Gala Durham on Sunday 11 October at 11am to chat all about Howay the Lads - more details at the link in bio.