Spread the Word is creating Lewisham as the UK’s first Borough of Literature, as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge – the country’s biggest match-funding campaign. This groundbreaking campaign will celebrate diverse voices, connect communities through storytelling and transform how literature is accessed across London’s second most diverse borough.
During donation week in December, you’ll be able to donate directly and see your contribution matched. That’s one donation, and double the impact!
Why does Lewisham need a Borough of Literature campaign?
Lewisham has a rich literary history and is home to one of the largest concentrations of literature organisations in London. But, we also face challenges like low literacy rates, low cultural participation and a lack of representation for many of our communities.
Situation
- 31% of Lewisham’s children leave primary school unable to write at national levels
- There’s a north-south borough divide in cultural activities, and many people face barriers to taking part. Without active initiatives literature remains out of reach for many communities
- The rich mix of Lewisham’s 75 nationalities is rarely reflected in publishing or storytelling
- Our research found publishers worry books by writers of colour “won’t appeal” to audiences so diverse stories go untold.
Solution
Our Borough of Literature will transform Lewisham into a place where everyone’s story matters. We’ll run storytelling events, community writing groups, and career support for local writers. Working with residents, arts organisations, schools and libraries, we’ll open the door to partnerships and projects that celebrate Lewisham’s literary heritage and create new opportunities. Responding to what local people want: accessible events, writer support, and connections across diverse neighbourhoods.
class="post-78086 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Scribner at Simon & Schuster wins Gab Torr’s debut novel– Caleb Azumah Nelson, Award-winning author, Lewisham resident
Gab Torr, a 2021 London Writers Awardee, has been signed by Scribner at Simon & Schuster after a three way auction for Hard Place.
A sharp, contemporary debut about survival and selling out, Hard Place asks ‘what happens when our political ideals clash with our messy lived realities’. The book will be published in June 2026.
Read more about Hard Place and pre-order here.
Image: Freya Ward-Lowery.
Published: Thursday 31 October 2025.
class="post-78080 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Joe Eurell wins 2025 Crime Writers’ Association Award
Following his commendation on Case Closed — a 2023 programme run by Spread the Word in partnership with the C&W literary agency — Joe Eurell has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Crime Writers’ Association Emerging Author Dagger.
The award, which recognises outstanding work by an unpublished writer, was presented to Joe for his novel Ashland, a crime novel about the first female Chief of Police of a small town in Arizona. Judges praised the work for its strong sense of place and layered characters.
Joe is currently being co-represented by Curtis Brown and the C&W literary agency.
Read more about the Awards here.
Published: Thursday 31 October 2025.
class="post-78047 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Iqbal Hussain is the UK winner of The World of Interiors x Montblanc Writing Competition
Iqbal Hussain, from the pilot London Writers Awards programme in 2018, has won The World of Interiors x Montblanc Writing Competition for his story ‘When the Streets Feel Silent.’
The piece received wonderful praise from the judges, commending its sense of time passing and its ‘moving’ quality.
The piece is included in the November issue of ‘The World of Interiors.’
You can read the full essay here.
class="post-77971 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Quercus reveals London Writers Awards Alumna Emma Lowther’s debut book cover
Emma Lowther took part in the London Writers Awards in 2021. Now, the cover for her debut novel Fellow Creatures, set to be published in May 2026 by Quercus, has been revealed.
Set in an elite drama school, Fellow Creatures is a dark academia exploration of friendship and ambition set within the hallowed walls of a prestigious drama school. Based on the author’s own experiences growing up at university, Emma trained in performance at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Agent Rachel Neely said that she has a “voice that captured me from the very first page. I have always loved campus novels but I adore how Emma has brought something fresh to that space with an unusual setting and a brilliantly unsettling protagonist.”
Image: Fellow Creatures book cover by Emma Lowther.
Published: Thursday 31 October.
class="post-78041 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Olivia Tuck wins Winchester Poetry Prize 2025
We are delighted to share the news that Olivia Tuck has placed first in the Winchester Poetry Prize 2025 for her poem ‘Child with a Lighthouse.’
Olivia Tuck (Winchester Poetry Prize 2025 winner) says:
“Winning the Winchester Prize has transformed my confidence as a writer. It’s given me such validation and motivated me to get back to my keyboard. More than this, however, I’m immensely proud to have won first prize among so many utterly extraordinary poems written by poets I deeply respect and admire, and to have been given this amazing part in such a special festival: vibrant, warm, and inclusive. What an honour.”
In early 2025, Olivis submitted her poem ‘according to the many who loved her’ to the Disabled Poets Prize and was awarded third prize for the Best Single Poem. The Disabled Poets Prize looks to find the best work created by UK-based deaf and disabled poets.
You can read more about her prize success on the Winchester Poetry Festival website.