There are few support opportunities available for new and emerging writers to invest time in producing work – to try something out, to experiment and to take a risk. Our PLATFORM development scheme responds to this need.
PLATFORM invites new and emerging writers to be innovative, to push themselves and their work and provides them with the space, seed funding and peer support to develop their creative ideas through from original conception to showcasing their work in progress.
PLATFORM is for writers from all genres including, but not limited to, short story writing, page and spoken word poetry, fiction, non-fiction, life writing, playwrights and script writers.
The writers are matched with a mentor for three mentoring sessions over three months and receive a micro-bursary of £500 to help develop their idea. They also receive a free place at a Writer Development Lab and the opportunity to present their developed piece of work at the PLATFORM Showcase.
The PLATFORM emerging writers are: Ed Cottrell, Vanessa Stephen, Belinda Zhawi, Anna James, Ollie Charles, Han Smith and Jessica Oghenegweke.
The PLATFORM mentors are Spread the Word’s Associate Writers: Simon Mole, Ruby Cowling, Sabo Kpade, Nick Field, Jarred McGinnis, Laila Sumpton and Jasmine Ann Cooray.
PLATFORM has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation.