This autumn we’ll be running a free online workshop on applying for Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice Fund for London-based writers on Monday 6 October, 7pm-8.30pm with Ruth Harrison.
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
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 are running a NLPG funding workshop on 29 September 2025.
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.
To be considered for DYCP you will also need to show at least one year’s track record as a writer outside of a formal educational setting. This could include being published or produced (e.g.: by small independent publisher or producer or mainstream publisher/producer), published in magazines, shortlisted for writing competitions or expression of interest from an agent, editor or producer, or working professionally on the poetry circuit).
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 on 19 February 2026.
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. Book now here.
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.
About Ruth
Ruth Harrison joined Spread the Word as director in 2015. Her working life has been in the field of the arts and particularly in literature. She has been Director of Apples and Snakes, a literature development officer and programme manager at The Reading Agency. She is passionate about not only widening people’s engagement with writers and writing but also in developing writing talent. Widening participation and engagement alongside developing and building awareness of new voices has been core to her work.
At Spread the Word, Ruth is responsible for leading the company artistically and strategically and working with our highly skilled and dedicated team to make a difference to and for writers and their audiences in London.
Published 14 July 2025