Throughout the North of England there is a vast landscape of amazing LGBTQ+ writers who are emerging and showcasing their work. There is also a longstanding list of more established queer writers who are from the North of England. Many of these writers will have began developing their work in LGTBQ+ friendly spaces to grow their writing. If this is you, whatever stage you’re at with your writing, there might be the perfect space for you to begin that journey. Here’s a small list of places you might want to think about connecting with if you’re an LGBTQ+ writers based in the North of England.
New Writing North is a long standing regional writing development agency. Their aim is to help develop writing talent from the North of England, they also have a huge focus on giving these opportunities to underrepresented writers. They offer development programs as well as awards for emerging talent. Head to their website and see what they have on at the moment, or learn more about their awards.
Based in Manchester, Commonword help develop emerging LGBTQ+ writers by offering workshops. They also provide a variety of new opportunities. Learn more through their website
The Writing Squad hope to inspire the next generation of writers who are 16-21 and based in the North of England, and they are doing this through workshops, support and investment. Check out who is part of The Writing Squad here.
Merseyside LGBTQ+ Book and Writing Meet up
This is a safe space for queer writers to meet and discuss their work and each session is tailored to a specific writing prompt to challenge your writing. Their next meet up will be on the 10th of April.
Performing or reading your work
One of the best ways you can practice your writing and learn how to make it better is to perform it to an audience. It can be daunting at first but the support can be amazing. If you want to find somewhere to read your work in the North of England, there are some amazing spaces for LGBTQ+ writers.
In Manchester you can read your work at places like Queer Family Tea or Verbose.
In Leeds there is a regular open mic at Left Bank with Leeds Poetry Festival.
If you’re further North in Newcastle, Newcastle Literary Salon host regular nights at Bar Loco.
Out on the Page is catalyst for change and part of this is being able to connect and develop writers. We run regular workshops to help your writing grow online and throughout the UK, if you’re interested head to our Develop page to learn more.