class="post-68394 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-blogs category-network-knowledge tag-121-feedback tag-commercial-fiction tag-critique tag-development tag-diversity tag-free-reads tag-london tag-narrative-non-fiction tag-news tag-poetry tag-winner tag-writing"My Experience of a Full Free Read by Emma Lindsey
My journey to Midnight began over coffee in Farringdon in 2002. I was recounting the story of my Mississippi grandmother’s funeral, to the editor of ObserverMagazine, showing some of the photos I’d taken, when he said, “You should write about this.”
I wrote about my grandma the matriarch’s life, as a defiant black woman who broke the mold in the segregated Deep South, by owning not one, but two houses at a time when most blacks rented and playing her part in the grassroots Civil Rights movement. I included the story of how my parents, from wildly different backgrounds, met and fell in love.
The piece, Mississippi Yearning, did well. Strangers stopped me in the street to say how much they’d enjoyed it. I was invited onto BBC Radio 4’s Home Truths to talk about it with the late John Peel, was offered representation by an agent, who pitched the idea of a memoir without success. I was told a memoir would be a tough sell because I wasn’t a celebrity.
My agent suggested the idea might work better as fiction, so I enrolled at City Lit for a term of Fiction workshops.
In a weekly group of peers, unhampered by the need to ‘stick to the facts’, my story began to sprawl across generations, locations and even gave rise to new characters, with distinct voices and desires. Anxiously, I shared my concern that the story seemed much bigger than I had the skills to write. I remember our tutor’s response : a wry laugh but no comment.
I managed to complete the first draft of the novel. My agent pitched that, but without success.
After dusting off my disappointment, I took more classes, redrafted the novel, then realised I needed more historical and topographical detail, so applied for, and to my astonishment, was awarded, an Arts Council grant.
That funded three unforgettable months in Mississippi, where I drove miles of local highways and dirt roads, explored forgotten towns – pored over library and local newspaper archives, got caught in a tornado, picked cotton and spoke to anyone who would talk to me, about their Southern ways of life.
After returning to London, amid mountains of notes, and a backdrop of audio interviews, I wrote a new draft of Midnight, then tried to find a publisher. Lots of (positive) rejections my agent enthused, and then (understandably) dropped me and told me to keep at it.
Meanwhile, some special people in my life died, I switched jobs, gave birth to my wonderful son and subsequently discovered that being a nine-to-five, working, single mother, is not an easy fit with the writing life. Struggling to parent and find reliable childcare, I lost sight of my publishing dream. I stopped mentioning Midnight – hell, even to me it seemed delusional – and those closest stopped asking.
And yet… Midnight would not leave me alone. It whispered and nudged me to find ways – any way- to write. In the car, while my baby son napped beside me in his car-seat, on the side-lines at his swimming lessons; then later, when he was out on play dates, and eventually, despite the odds, opportunity found a way to reach me.
Just one example: I stumbled on an old acquaintance, Esther Poyer, who’d become a writing coach. She gave me free, weekly calls –what I needed at that point – in return for a testimonial and encouraged me to apply for a Spread the Word bursary. A turning point.
I received a partial read-through from Anna South, who gave me sterling advice, and crucially, believed in Midnight and my ability as a writer at a time when I doubted. As a resut I didn’t give up hope, even when I had no time to write.
Then in 2020, after recovering from long Covid, and attending online writing sessions hosted by TLC, I realised how much I needed a writing community. In real life. I applied to and was accepted onto the MA in Creative Writing: the Novel, at Brunel University, London.
From Bernardine Evaristo and Benjamin Zephaniah – to name a few luminaries – I learned the elements of fiction and was forced to write new material, which was oxygen to my creativity.
In my final year, I went to LBF23 and saw close-up, that publishing is a business and what I was up against. I saw too, that Midnight is commercial, timely and that I needed a whole manuscript read-through to get it market-ready.
I applied to Spread the Word – but didn’t bank on that, since competition is so fierce- and was stunned therefore, as well as thrilled and grateful, to find I had won.
Now, thanks to Aliya Gulamani’s incisive and savvy feedback, I have a roadmap of edits and an end of August finish line in sight. Wish me luck with the publication leg!
class="post-67803 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities category-professional-development tag-free-reads tag-low-income tag-writing-opportunities"Free Reads 2024-25 open for London writers
We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Free Reads is now open for applications!
Spread the Word is proud to be an official partner for The Literary Consultancy Free Reads scheme, supporting applications from London writers. In the last 14 years, we’ve supported 75 writers with receiving professional editorial feedback via Free Reads.
Emma Lindsey tells us about her experience of getting a full Free Read last year, which you can read here. You can also read about Shahema Tafader’s experience of applying for and receiving a full Free Read here.
Free Reads is managed by The Literary Consultancy (TLC) and funded by Arts Council England. It offers writers on low incomes the opportunity to receive professional, editorial feedback on their writing, alongside other support on their writing journeys. The scheme is open to writers of fiction, non-fiction, short stories, poetry, children’s fiction including picture books, playscripts and screenplays. Free Reads particularly welcomes applications from writers belonging to groups currently under-represented in publishing including disabled writers, writers of colour*, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
What can you apply for?
Here is what you can apply for in this year’s scheme:
Manuscript Assessment
For writers who have a complete or partially complete manuscript they would like professional editorial feedback on. Writers can apply for the chance to have a full or partial read of your manuscript and given feedback by a TLC reader via an assessment report.
Submission Package Report
For writers who have a completed manuscript and have had editorial support, and are looking to polish their submission package before sending it out into the world. Writers can apply for the chance to be matched with a TLC Industry Editor who will read their first 8,000 words, synopsis, and ‘Dear Agent’ letter, providing them with a written report and mark-up or commentary on the submission material.
Editor One-to-Ones
For trouble-shooting and generating ideas, writers can apply for the chance to have a one-hour session with a TLC Editor. One-to-ones are also popular with writers who have had an editorial service and need post-feedback support, or motivation to get through writer’s block. The writer has one hour with their editor plus one hour of prep time where your editor reads up to 2,500 words (or the equivalent in poetry/script/treatment)
To apply for these additional services, you will go through the standard application process – there is more information on this in the ‘how to apply’ section below. If selected, you’ll need to have your additional documents – for example, your ‘Dear Agent’ letter – ready by the end of January.
Spread the Word’s Free Reads is open from 12pm (midday) on Tuesday 23 July until Tuesday 8 October, 10am.
Who is eligible for a Free Read via Spread the Word?
To apply for a Free Read via Spread the Word, you must live in Londonand be on a low income, meeting one of the following criteria:
– You are in receipt of Job Seeker’s Allowance, Disability Benefit, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Universal Credit or Child Benefits
– You earn up to or less than the London Living Wage of £11.95 per hour or a £23,000 annual salary
– You are a full-time student
– You are aged 60 or over**
If you identify as being on low-income but do not meet one of the criteria listed above, then please get in touch as we are able to evaluate applicants’ eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
– The first 1,000 words of your writing if it is prose fiction or non-fiction, or up to 20 pages if your writing is poetry or script writing
– A complete synopsis of the written work submitted. The synopsis must clearly show your story’s outline and should not exceed 1,000 words. We highly recommend that you check out our Pocket Guide to Writing a Synopsis before sending yours in: https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/a-pocket-guide-to-writing-a-synopsis/
– Documentation that shows you meet the criteria to apply for a Free Read. This may be in the form of a benefit letter, payslip, HMRC self-assessment paperwork/tax statement, confirmation of your student status or a pension. Please check out our FAQs for more information on this.
– A completed TLC Free Reads Scheme form (available to download here as a PDF and here as a Word document). For those wishing to apply for a submissions package report or an editor one-to-one, please complete this form and where we ask you to write a brief statement in support of your application, please state which of the new offers you are applying for, why this would be beneficial for you and your writing, and why the time is right for you to access this opportunity.
The window for submitting: Tuesday 23 July – Tuesday 8 October 2024.
We have an FAQs page for any enquiries on applying for a Free Read, but if yours is not listed there, please get in touch with Noah Jacob: [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
We look forward to receiving your submission.
………….
*Writers of colour: Black, Asian, and Global Majority ethnicities
**You must have an annual income of £23,000 or less, including pensions and other forms of income.
class="post-66947 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Announcing the New Developing Tutors for 2024/25
Following an open call which received 41 applications, we are delighted to announce the 7 selected writers for the Developing Tutors programme. The programme supports writers looking to run their first creative writing workshop with a paid teaching opportunity and enhanced support and feedback throughout the process. Spread the Word will be running the workshops from June 2024 to February 2025. The selected tutors, their workshops and date they will run are:
Susan Allott
Zooming In and Zooming Out: using ‘narrative distance’ to add depth and variety to your prose.
Tuesday 25 June 2024, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Leah Cowan
Words of Resistance: Storytelling and Writing Non-Fiction to Imagine and Transform.
Tuesday 24 September 2024, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Emily James
Oranges are not only a Fruit: using food to heighten sense of character in your writing.
Wednesday 30 October 2024, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Thymian Gadd
Movement, Music, and Memory
Wednesday 20 November 2024, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Rashed Aqrabawi
Limbo: A Workshop between Poetry and Prose
Saturday 7 December 2024, 11am-1pm IN PERSON
Oli Isaac
Out There: Surreal-ing the Real
Tuesday 28 January 2025, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Rachel Fung
How to Build a House – On Writing the Home
Tuesday 25 February 2025, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Bobby Nayyar, Programme Manager at Spread the Word, said: ‘We had an amazing response to the callout, which made picking the final seven a challenge and a privilege. In our selections we have a mix of talented writers both published and unpublished with a range of exciting ideas for fiction, non-fiction and poetry. I look forward to working with each of them and attending their workshops.’
Visit our Workshops and Events page to sign up for the first workshop run by Susan Allott. We will be posting the other workshops later in June.
Published: 29 May 2024
class="post-66851 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities"Take part in our Borough of Literature Survey!
Spread the Word has a big, bold vision to see Lewisham declared as the UK’s first Borough of Literature and we want you to get involved!
If you’re a Lewisham-based writer or storyteller, join us in shaping the literary landscape of Lewisham by taking part in our short survey. We’re committed to championing our local creatives, fostering diversity and inclusion in literature, and cultivating a dynamic literary scene. Your input is crucial in guiding us toward initiatives that cater to your aspirations, ultimately enhancing support for Lewisham’s local creative community.
Complete our survey by Sunday 30 June to ensure your voice is heard!
Please do feel free to share the survey with other Lewisham-based writers and storytellers you may know.
If you’d like to learn more about the Borough of Literature campaign and our mission, visit: boroughofliterature.org.uk
Published: 22 May 2024
class="post-65504 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opportunities"The Basics Course is open for booking!
Spread the Word is thrilled to launch The Basics Course, a brand-new series of free online workshops for writers who have just started or are planning to write a full-length fiction novel.
The Basics is a course designed for early-stage writers looking to make their first steps to write a novel. Spread over five weeks, the course will be run by four award-winning debut novelists and an experienced editor. Each session will run on Zoom and will standalone so you don’t need to sign up to each one to take part. They will also be recorded so you can catch up.
This course will take you through the basics of putting together a full-length fiction novel, from developing your ideas, to editing your draft – there’s something for every writer looking to make a start on their novel.
If you have any questions relating to access or access requests, please contact the team on [email protected] and we will work to meet your access needs.
Published: 9 April 2024
class="post-64955 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"Read the 2024 Nature Nurtures Anthology & Watch the Nature Nurtures Short Films
Watch the Nature Nurtures Short Films created by young people who took part on the project:
Nature Nurtures is a two-year project led by London Wildlife Trust in partnership with us at Spread the Word, Black Girls Hike CIC and London Youth. Since summer 2022, the project has offered lots of free creative and conservation opportunities for young people aged 16 – 25 in London, led by leading & award-winning writers and artists.
As part of the project, young people worked with filmmaker Mmloki Chrystie to create short film poems across different natural spaces and reserves in London, featuring some of their writing. Young people were also invited to contribute writing, photography and other creative expressions inspired by their experiences in nature and the wildlife of London to the 2024 Nature Nurtures anthology.
Closing this chapter of the Nature Nurtures project, the film poems and anthology celebrate the voices of creative young people in London and shines a dazzling light on their perspectives on the natural world. We hope you enjoy them.
Nature Nurtures is supported by funds awarded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, via the Volunteering Futures Fund distributed by Arts Council England.
Developing Characters with Pam Williams 
Developing an Idea with Cecile Pin 
Plot and Structure with Han Smith 
Voice with Santanu Bhattacharya 
Self-Editing with Ana Fletcher 