This workshop for London-based writers will cover how to approach the application process for Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) fund.

This workshop will:

• Give you an insight into the purpose of the fund
• Help you think through your project
• Take you through key stages of the application process and application form
• Look at what makes a strong application
• Provide opportunities for you to ask questions about your own proposal

Led by Ruth Harrison, director of Spread the Word, it will talk you through the different questions in the DYCP form to help you think about how you can respond to them. They’ll give examples of what sort of projects have previously been funded and how Spread the Word has supported writers to achieve funding.

Arts Council England’s DYCP Fund is for individual artists to apply for lottery funding to develop a new piece of creative work and/or a new way of working. You can apply for up to £12,000 towards, for example: mentoring, time to create new work, research, training or professional development costs. Whatever it is you want to do, the project you have in mind must be a clear development opportunity.

Please note the next round of DYCP funding opens for applications on 23 October 2025 and closes for applications on 20 November 2025, with decisions announced 19 February 2026.

What you will need for the workshop:

• A clear idea of what your proposed project is, what you want to achieve and how you are going to go about it
• To be able to show how your project is a real development opportunity for your creative practice and/or professional profile, networks and partnerships
• To have read through the Arts Council’s DYCP guidance
• To have read the successful applicant case studies on the Arts Council’s website

Please read through all the Arts Council’s DYCP guidance beforehand, so that you are reasonably sure that what you have in mind is suitable for DYCP funding. If what you want to do involves engaging audiences or participants, then you should likely apply for a National Lottery Project Grant (NLPG) instead. We have a separate workshop for that fund, on Monday 29 September.

It is open to writers of any literary form inc. playwriting and graphic novels. Please note, this session is specifically tailored to writers in London, and it is not open to artists working in other media (e.g fine arts etc) or writers living outside London. Sessions will run again in 2026. 

Access 

This session will take place on Zoom with auto-captioning and BSL interpretation- upon request. You are welcome to attend with your camera off, and the workshop will be a relaxed space.   Please note that the workshop will not be recorded. Workshop notes will be circulated to attendees. 

If you require BSL interpretation, and/or have other access needs please email [email protected] so we can accommodate you.  

Booking Your Place   

This workshop is FREE.  

Due to the limited number of places available, please only sign up if the session is applicable to you.  We anticipate that demand will be high for this workshop, so please book with a commitment to attend.