London Writers Award alumna Natasha Brown has been named among the finalists for this year’s Orwell Prize.
Natasha’s latest novel, Universality, is described as a “a fabulous fable about the politics of storytelling” by the Guardian, that “examines what it means to be truthful – and who really benefits when facts come to light.”
Natasha’s debut novel Assembly, developed during her time on the London Writers Award programme, was Foyles Fiction Book of the Year, shortlisted for several awards, and translated into 17 languages. She was a 2023 Granta Best of Young British Novelist and a 2021 Observer Best Debut Novelist.
The Orwell Prize is awarded for writing that meets the spirit of George Orwell’s own ambition “to make political writing into an art.” This year’s finalists are:
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
- heart be at peace by Donal Ryan,
- Parallel Lines by Edward St Aubyn,
- Precipice by Robert Harris,
- The Accidental Immigrants by Joe McMillan,
- The Harrow by Noah Eaton,
- There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak,
- and Universality by Natasha Brown
The winners of the 2025 Orwell Prize will be revealed on the 25 June 2025.
Huge congratulations Natasha!
class="post-74946 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities"Volunteers needed to help tell our story
This year, Spread the Word turns 30! We’re looking for two volunteers who can help us tell the story of the organisation during the last 30 years.
We have an extensive archive which includes lots paper records from our earlier years. We need your help to go through the artefacts and documents we have, to identify interesting stories and create a digital record of the many incredible writers, artists and partners we have collaborated with over the years. This work will support a donations campaign that we will run later in the year to raise funds to support the future of the organisation.
If you are interested in literature, writing and reading, enjoy digging into archive material, searching for exciting stories and looking for links between the past and present, this role is for you.
Volunteer Archivist
Commitment: one day per week during July and early August (from the week commencing 30 June to the week commencing 11 August).
As the archive is in our office at the Albany, this work needs to be done during office hours, from Monday – Wednesday, 10am to 6pm. In the application form we ask you which days and times of day are best, so we can create a project schedule that fits with your existing responsibilities.
An allowance for travel and lunch will be provided.
If you are interested in helping Spread the Word tell our story, please complete the application form and the Equal Opportunities form linked at the end. The deadline to express interest in the role is midday on Monday 16 June 2025. We will be in touch by Thursday 19 June and will organise relaxed conversations with a shortlist of volunteers to check there’s a good fit for the role.
Apply now to be one of our archive volunteers
If you have access needs and would like us to make any reasonable adjustments to the application process, please get in touch via [email protected].
Thank you!
Image: A Night in Sign at Deptford Literature Festival 2025, captured by Kashif Haque.
class="post-74938 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Thank you to Youth First Legacy Fund
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Youth First Legacy Fund and the Youth First trustees for supporting Spread the Word.
Youth First provided youth services to the borough of Lewisham. These services have now been brought into the council as the Lewisham Youth Service.
As Youth First wound down their operations, they offered grants to organisations delivering work in line with their purpose and mission: to guide young people to develop their ambition and achieve their potential whatever their background or circumstances; to be attractive and inclusive for all; and to focus on those in society who are most vulnerable, discriminated against and under-privileged.
We’re delighted to have received funds from, and the confidence of Youth First to continue their legacy of impactful youth work in Lewisham. This is not the first time we’ve collaborated with Youth First. In August 2020 we teamed up to deliver creative care packages to young people across the borough who were struggling with their mental health and feeling isolated, restless and anxious due to the pandemic. The programme was launched by our Young People’s Laureate for London at the time, Theresa Lola. In 2022 and 2023 we collaborated again for Deptford Literature Festival. Youth First young people, with the support of Young People’s Poet Laureate Cecilia Knapp, filmmaker Mmoloki Chrystie and artist Kobi Essah Ayensuo, created short films which premiered at the festival.
The money we receive from the Youth First Legacy Fund will be directed towards creative programmes for young people as part of our Lewisham, Borough of Literature campaign. Stay tuned to find out more!
Photo: Young Writers Collective at Deptford Literature Festival 2025, captured by Maddmann Photography.
class="post-74820 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"London Writers Awards Alumni shortlisted for Jhalak Prize
Ashani Lewis is a novelist and short-story writer based in London. Ashani was a winner of the London Writers Awards 2021, in the literary fiction category. Her writing has won the Tower Poetry Prize and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Competition, as well as being featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Joyland.
Ashani’s second novel, Everest, has been shortlisted for the Jhalak Prose Prize 2025. The winners will be announced on 4 June.
Congratulations Ashani!
The Jhalak Prize awards seek to celebrate books by writers of colour in the UK and Ireland. Find out more about the prize and other shortlisted and longlisted authors on the Jhalak Prize website.
class="post-74783 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities"Tender opportunity – new brand and website for Spread the Word
This year, Spread the Word turns 30! It’s a big moment for the organisation and we’re taking the opportunity to finally treat ourselves to a new website (something that is long overdue) and a bit of a freshen-up.
We will continue to be London’s writer development centre, nothing is changing in terms of our values, vision or mission. We will continue to be a small, friendly organisation delivering big impact locally, in our home borough of Lewisham and on a national scale. But with a brand and website that can help us reach new audiences, participants, donors and supporters, enabling us not just to dream big, but to grow in ambition and impact.
We’ve written a brief for this project in two parts and are happy to recieve responses to one or both parts.
The budgets are:
- Rebrand: £10,000
- Website development: £20,000
Both fees are inclusive of VAT.
If you are interested in receiving the brief, please get in touch with [email protected].
The final deadline to send us a proposal responding to the brief is midday on Friday 30 May 2025.
Published 2 May 2025.
Photo: Kashif Haque
class="post-74732 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities"Call for Participants: Free Poetry and Gardening Workshops Celebrating Windrush Stories
Are you aged 50+ and of Caribbean heritage? Do you have stories about food, gardening, migration, or family traditions that you’d love to share?
As part of the Mouth Mek Fi Nyam Windrush Project—itself part of the Lewisham, Borough of Literature Campaign—we’re inviting Caribbean adults to join a series of creative gardening and poetry workshops exploring how culture, memory, and identity are preserved through cooking and gardening.
Book your place for the oral history event, gardening and poetry workshops, using this form.
Oral History Event
The oral history event will take place at Catford Library 22 June, from 2 -4pm. Come along to speak with award-winning writers Leone Ross and Joan Anim-Addo. Leone and Joan will listen to you and each write a short story inspired by your stories. The session will be paired with free Caribbean food.
Gardening Workshops
Led by Coco Collective, the gardening workshops will take place at their Ital Garden at the black gate next to 71 Firhill Road, SE6 3SE, from 1-3pm on:
- Wednesday 2 July
- Wednesday 6 August
No previous gardening experience is needed.
The Ital Garden is a Black-led community garden growing Afro heritage foods.
Poetry Workshops
The poetry workshops will be led by award winning Caribbean poets Courtney Conrad and Keith Jarrett, who will support you in shaping your personal experiences into poems that will be published in an anthology.
Keith Jarrett is a London-based poet, fiction writer, and educator known for his work on identity, race, and sexuality. He is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion and International Slam Champion (2014). Jarrett’s poetry has been published in his debut pamphlet I Speak Home (2015) and his full-length collection Selah (2017). He is also a playwright and performer, with his play Safest Spot in Town being featured on BBC Four.
Courtney Conrad is a Jamaican poet. Her debut pamphlet I Am Evidence is published by Bloodaxe Books. She is a winner of the Eric Gregory Award, Michael Marks Award, Bridport Prize Young Writers Award and Mslexia Women’s Pamphlet Prize. She is currently a Cave Canem fellow and an alumna of The London Library Emerging Writers Programme, Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, Barbican Young Poets, Obsidian Foundation Fellow, Out-Spoken Press Emerging Poets Development Scheme and Roundhouse Poetry Collective.
Poetry workshops will take place on the following dates at the Albany in Deptford, from 1-2pm:
- Thursday 3 July
- Wednesday 9 July
- Thursday 10 July
- Wednesday 16 July
- Thursday 17 July
- Wednesday 23 July
- Thursday 24 July
- Wednesday 30 July
- Tuesday 5 August
No previous writing experience is needed—just your voice, memories, and curiosity. All sessions are paired with free Caribbean food.
How to Book
Places are limited, so book soon!
Ideally we are looking for participants to take part in all or as many of the sessions as they can. It’s not a problem if you miss a session or two, but ideally you’ll come to the majority.
Book your place for the oral history event, gardening and poetry workshops, using this form.
If you have any questions, get in touch with Courtney: [email protected]
Outcomes from the project
Stories and poems from the Mouth Mek Fi Nyam Windrush Project will be published in an anthology. This will available in both digital and printed formats, and distributed to local libraries and community centres. Participants will receive free copies.
Photo credits:
On the left, Keith Jarrett by Adrian Pope.
On the right, Courtney Conrad by Kashif Haque.