ADAM SHARP and SHARMIN ISLAM have been appointed to the staff team at New Writing North.
They were selected after a search for writers who could bring fresh perspectives to the organisation and help to inform its development during a period of growth.
Sharp, a novelist, non-fiction writer and former music journalist, has been appointed Creative Associate, a part-time role lasting two years.
Having recently completed a creative writing PhD, he will work on a new book combining memoir and journalism to explore the mental and physical impacts of being born to a heroin-addicted mother.
“Being appointed a Creative Associate with New Writing North is genuinely life-changing for me,” he said, adding that it would allow him to spend two years working on the book as well as running therapeutic writing workshops with local communities.
“This is something that is very important to me because writing has had such a positive impact on my own mental health,” he said.
Islam, a recent graduate from Northumbria University in International Relations and Politics, has been appointed a Creative Associate Intern.
She previously undertook an editorial internship at Picador and has written for several magazines. She will hold the position for three months before beginning an MA in South Asian Politics at Oxford University.
“I feel as though the encouragement to pursue a career in the arts sector is minimal for Bengali women particularly, especially when most opportunities are concentrated in the South,” she said.
“Bengali culture is imbued with poetry and creativity so I’m really looking forward to developing projects with New Writing North and potentially changing the future for so many racialised working class people.”