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Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards

THE WELLCOME COLLECTION NON-FICTION AWARDS IS A WRITER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR NON-FICTION WRITING ON HEALTH AND BEING HUMAN.

Applications will open on Tuesday 1 October and close at 5pm on Monday 11 November.

Free BSL interpreted online information seminar on applying to the Awards on Tuesday 8 October, 7pm. Click here to sign up.

Following a successful pilot programme in 2022 that supported 6 writers over a six-month programme with four writers agented and three book deals, the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards aims to find and support writers from underrepresented groups, who have a big idea for a non-fiction book for general readers, that engages with the themes of health and being human. The Awards will support 6 writers in 2025.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE WELLCOME COLLECTION NON-FICTION AWARDS

Applications to the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards are open from midday on Tuesday 1 October to 5pm on Monday 11 November.

The Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards Application Pack gives details on eligibility, bursaries, access, FAQs and terms and conditions.

Please click here to download the Application Pack in text pdf format. You can also view it here:

Please click here to download the inclusive read version of the Application Pack.

Please click here to view the Application Pack in BSL.Here is an overview of the programme in BSL:

To help you prepare you application we have created a drafting document with the questions we ask and additional information. Please click here to download the drafting document.

There are 2 options on how to apply for the programme:

  1. Online Application Form via Submittable (text only)
  2. Online Application Form for Audio or Video Submissions via Submittable

Here are the Submittable links:

Text form: https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/307297/wellcome-collection-non-fiction-awards

Audio/Video form: https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/307300/wellcome-collection-non-fiction-awards-audio-or-video-submission

Late entries will not be considered. After you apply for the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards, you will receive an automatic email confirming receipt of your application. Your application will be read anonymously by a team of first readers who will make recommendations to the judges and the Spread the Word and Wellcome Collection publishing teams.

A shortlist of applicants will be invited to an interview either in person in London or online with the Spread the Word and Wellcome Collection publishing teams on the following date:

Wednesday 5 February 2025

Spread the Word will contact everyone who submits an application by 24 January 2025.

WHO ARE THE AWARDS FOR? 

The Awards aims to increase the diversity of writers actively writing a non-fiction book that touches on health and being human. Applications will be open to writers who are:

  • Disabled and/or*
  • People of the Global Majority**
  • Unpublished or have not published or self-published a non-fiction book(s)
  • Unagented
  • Aged 18+
  • Full-time resident in the UK

* We use the Social Model of disability, which says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. We understand disability to include those who are D/deaf, neurodivergent, and those with mental health and chronic health conditions.

**“Global Majority” refers to people who are Black, Asian, Indigenous, dual-heritage, and/or have been previously referred to as “ethnic minorities”. We use “people of the global majority” since this represent over 80% of the world’s population.

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE PROGRAMME?  

The programme will start in March 2024 and end in November 2024 with the following programme of activity and support:

  • A £2,000 bursary
  • Insight and Industry days
  • Mentoring by a published author
  • Mentoring by a non-fiction editor
  • An induction to Wellcome Collection, its library and resources
  • 1:1 sessions with Wellcome Collection’s team, including the publishing team, library research specialists and Stories editorial team
  • 1:1 sessions with the Spread the Word team
  • The chance to be published by Wellcome Collection
  • 5 masterclasses on writing non-fiction
  • 7 Critical feedback group sessions led by an author
  • Meeting with an agent
  • Travel and Access fund as required

ABOUT WELLCOME COLLECTION

Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library. We believe everyone’s experience of health matters. Through our collections, exhibitions and events, in books and online, we explore the past, present and future of health.

You can find us near Euston station in London and at wellcomecollection.org. Our exhibitions and events are always free. You can use our library and view items from our collections free of charge too – you may just need to book in advance.

Wellcome Collection opened in 2007. We care for many thousands of items relating to health, medicine and human experience, including rare books, artworks, films and videos, personal archives, and objects. We’re part of Wellcome, a charitable foundation supporting science to help build a healthier future for everyone.

www.wellcomecollection.org/

At Wellcome Collection we are committed to embedding Access, Diversity and Inclusion into every aspect of our work, and reduce barriers for D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and people of the Global Majority. To read more about Wellcome’s inclusion strategy, visit https://wellcome.org/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/strategy

Judges

Angela Saini


Daisy Lafarge


Alumni

Aimee Cliff


Dylan Brethour


James Zatka-Haas


Mashal Iftikhar


Masud Husain


Rageshri Dhairyawan