‘WriteNow allowed my voice to be heard’: Our writers talk about what the programme has changed for them

When we first came up with the idea behind WriteNow, back in 2016, we wanted to launch a programme to support our overall goal of making books and publishing more representative of the society in which we live. It was very important for us that this programme would truly move the dial – not just pay lip service to diversity – to find new writers who would become part of our family of authors and help us change the way we publish.

Almost four years later, we’re hugely excited by how much WriteNow has grown and how many brilliant writers we have discovered through the programme. Over this time we’ve hosted 450 writers at nine free workshops, from Newcastle to Bristol; bringing together writers from across the country to learn more about the publishing process and receive one on one feedback from our editors. 98% of writers attending our most recent workshops said that taking part had significantly increased their confidence as a writer.

In addition, 30 brilliant writers have taken part in our year-long programme, which has seen them paired with one of our editors with a specialism in their genre to develop their manuscript and get it ready for publication. So far, we’ve published eight books from WriteNow authors, with a further five due to be published in 2020; from children’s books to memoirs and literary fiction. One of our authors was even nominated for a Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in December last year. 

Four of the writers who have taken part in the programme so far gave us their thoughts on their experiences and what it had changed for them.

How the workshops shaped our writers’ confidence to get their voice heard

Charlene Allcott and Emmett de Monterey both reflect back on the very first stage in their WriteNow journey, and how the connections, advice and support they gained from attending the workshop changed their perception of what it is to be a writer.

Charlene Allcott was the very first writer to be published through WriteNow. Her first book, The Single Mum's Wish List, was published in August 2018, and her second book, More Than a Mum, was published this March. In a piece for the Huffington Post about what the programme had changed for her, she wrote:

‘For me, the workshop helped me realise that there are things you do when you think you have a right to be somewhere. When you think you have a right to be somewhere, you don't just ask questions, you offer your opinions because you understand that they're just as worthy as anyone else's.

'Our experiences are important and unique to our position, we shouldn't be afraid to share them. When you know you have a right to be somewhere, you build real connections. I have made many relationships throughout this process, but the most significant have been with fellow writers. 

'It's a truth that there's strength in numbers. And from all the people I have encountered since I pressed send on the first chapter of my novel, I have gained strength.'

Emmett de Monterey, a WriteNow alumnus working on a memoir about growing up gay and with a disability in London, also remembered the first stages in the process:

‘I applied for the first round of WriteNow in April 2018, never imagining I’d get selected. I still remember the excitement of getting the email, confirming I’d been put through to the London selection day. It’s no exaggeration to say that the event changed my life. I met some brilliant people; editors, other writers, and got a much better understanding of how publishing works. Perhaps most importantly, I left that day knowing that, whatever else happened, I could call myself a writer.

‘To be selected for final ten was extraordinary. WriteNow is unique in that it gives the mentees the invaluable experience of working with some of publishing’s most respected and creative editors. If you’re lucky enough to get selected, you really couldn’t ask for a better start to a writing career. It’s hard work, but one of the best things I’ve ever done.’

Becoming an author: Writers look back on getting published and how their careers - and lives - have been transformed

Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Geraldine Quigley, two of the authors who have been published so far through WriteNow, talked about how things had changed since becoming part of the programme and seeing their first book on sale in bookshops across the country.

Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s first book, How to be Extraordinary – a children’s picture book telling the tales of 15 extraordinary and inspiring people from history, was published by Penguin in August 2019. This year she has a further two books coming out: Never Show a T-rex a Book!, published in April, and How to Change the World, in May.

'I grew up thinking people like me didn’t belong in books or on the bookshelves. The WriteNow programme was the invitation I needed to believe that voices like mine matter. Having an editor and mentor champion me has made such a difference. I've grown so much as a writer and it's given me a confidence I never thought I'd have. That confidence is everything. Amazingly, today, thanks to WriteNow, I feel at home here in publishing and I'm excited about what the future holds.'

Geraldine Quigley’s first novel, Music, Love, Drugs, War, was published at the beginning of 2019. She said:

‘What to say about WriteNow? It's a writing family. And, although I was published last year and am officially a Penguin author, I still feel part of that WriteNow family. The network of friends gained as part of the scheme has sustained me over the past years.

'My husband once said that I am what WriteNow is all about: a middle-aged, working-class woman in a regional area, writing with no prospect of being published but with something to say. WriteNow allowed my voice to be heard.

'Each time I feel down-heartened or lose confidence in my own abilities, which is quite often, I remind myself that I was selected from 2000 writers as one of only 12 in that first WriteNow cohort, the class of 2016. It’s enough to get me back on track, putting words on a page again.

'The opportunities I have been given, such as sharing a stage with Markus Zusak at the London Palladium, and meeting other writers and realising that we are all the same, working to achieve the near impossible - a novel - is invaluable.

'I owe them everything and will always support them for that reason.’