Young Liverpool writers offered free workshops with high-profile mentors

Young people across Liverpool who have been disproportionately affected by unemployment during the pandemic are being given the opportunity to be mentored for free by a group of high-profile writers.

The scheme is being run by successful local charity, Writing on the Wall, and emerging writers aged 18-25 are being asked to participate.

The writers will work in small groups for 16 weeks to develop their writing skills, gain practical experiences and create new work.

The mentors

Mentors include award-winning poet Joelle Taylor who has featured on Blue Peter and the One Show, fiction author Yvonne Battle Felton, whose novel Remembered was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019.

Joining them will be journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker, Bidisha, who has written for The Guardian and The Observer and appeared on the BBC, ITV, Sky News and CNN.

Playwright Naomi Sumner Chan, founder of Brush Stroke Order theatre company and Chris Fittock, artistic director of Theatre in the Rough and a producer of audio dramas, documentaries and podcasts also join the line-up.

Joelle Taylor said: “I’m looking forward to working with a new cohort of emerging artists, helping them to travel deeper into their practice, uncover artistic possibilities, make connections with one another, and to write themselves into their own lives.”

How to apply

The course includes 12 weeks of small group online workshops with the participants chosen mentor. There will also be five online masterclasses for the entire group and additional mentor support to create new work.

To apply you must be unemployed, (not in full time education) between 18-25 years old, eligible to live and work in the UK and be currently living in the Liverpool City Region, (excluding Halton). You will need access to the internet.

Fill in the online application form by Tuesday 31 August.

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