New Writing North was set up in 1996 to bring some clarity to the new writing ecology of the Northern Arts region, writes Claire Malcolm.
The agency aims to work with both established and aspiring writers across all genres of writing from play, screen and radio writing to poetry, prose and new media. We have responsibility for developing new writers across these genres via mentoring, career development awards and specific writers? groups. We also work with established writers to develop projects and commissions which will allow them to live and work in the region and to contribute to the regional writing scene.
Most of our work is achieved via the origination of new partnerships ? with theatre companies, media producers, educational bodies, local authorities and private funders. Partnership means that our small company can work on a much broader and ambitious scale and take a wide view of the kind of projects we can work on. The benefit to writers is then that the opportunities they have to develop their work immediately become much wider.
For example, in 1999 we commissioned a new poem from poet Sean O?Brien to be read at an event on regional devolution at the Durham Literature Festival. Max Roberts, the director of Live Theatre (with whom we work a lot to develop new playwrights),was present at this event and went on to commission a verse play from Sean, based on the poem. The resulting play ?Laughter when we?re dead? was very successful and ran at Live Theatre for two weeks the following summer. The play is about to be recorded for Radio 3 and a TV version of the script has just been nominated for the Dennis Potter Writing for Television Award.
In 1999 we set up a writers group for up and coming writers called Significant Ink. The group was for writers who were interested in script-based work for theatre, radio and film. We committed time and funds to developing the work of these ten writers over one year. Through meetings, residential writing weekends and one-to-one script support the group achieved remarkable results. Group members went on to gain theatre and TV commissions, and since the project ended they have continued to meet to develop joint writing projects and support each other.
Claire Malcolm is Director of New Writing North. t: 0191 232 9991, e: claire.malcolm@virgin.net.
New Writing North can advise on the development of new writing strategies.