Initiative aims to tackle ‘class crisis’ in UK writing

A new initiative created to support working class writers has been launched by New Writing North.

The Bee consists of a website, literary magazine and podcast, alongside an outreach programme aimed at helping the professional development of writers from working class backgrounds.

The platform, which will cover both fiction and non-fiction writers, has been created to fight the increasing marginalisation of working class writers and working class people in publishing.

The Bee’s website, and literary magazine of the same name, will feature writing on contemporary life and culture by working class writers from the UK and abroad. Its podcast, titled The Working Class Library, will explore the history of working class writing and feature a guest writer each month.

Claire Malcolm, CEO of New Writing North, the writing development charity producing The Bee, said that just 10% of authors and writers are from working class backgrounds, while 47% are from the most privileged social starting points. 

She added 44% of newspaper columnists attended independent school, compared with 7% of the overall population.

“We see very few working-class voice and stories visible in mainstream publishing. Representation matters,” Malcolm added. “Real change often happens from outside of the mainstream, and we hope to build a new community of writers and readers around The Bee to support real change, and to highlight the talent that is out there.”