We’re seeking London-based writers, poets, artists, arts and community organisations to apply to be part of the 2025 Deptford Literature Festival programme.
Deptford Literature Festival celebrates the diversity and creativity of Deptford and Lewisham through words, stories and performance. We are looking for three to five events to add to the Deptford Literature Festival Programme, created by writers, poets, artists, and arts/community organisations based in London, with a preference towards those based in Deptford and the borough of Lewisham, and/or delivering activity with clear connections to the area.
Each chosen event or activity will have access to up to £750 to make their event happen.
These activities could include: writing workshops, readings, community engagement, performances, talks, walks, participatory sessions, cross-arts activity, local heritage activity, or any literature-related activity that you think will connect with our audiences.
The only stipulations for your activity are that:
- it takes place on Saturday 29 March 2025 as part of the Deptford Literature Festival, and
- is literature based.
We have a strong preference toward artists and organisations based in Deptford and Lewisham, and/or for activity with a clear connection to the area.
The festival will be able to offer:
- Space at Deptford Lounge to host commissioned activity, if needed,
- Marketing and communications support through Spread the Word’s marketing channels, mailing list and a festival flyer, and
- BSL interpreters for your event.
Previous Festival programmes
If you haven’t attended Deptford Literature Festival before, you might like to take a look at programmes from previous festivals to give you a flavour of what the festival is all about.
How to apply
To apply, please follow the link below to submit a proposal of no more than 2 sides of A4, OR an audio or video file of no longer than 8 minutes. The proposal should include:
- Brief information about you/ your organisation,
- Links to examples of your previous work,
- An outline of your idea and how you plan to deliver it,
- A brief budget outlining your costs/ fees,
- Planned location/ venue for your activity and whether this is confirmed (see note below),
- Any technical considerations,
- Description of how your activity meets the remit of the festival, and
- Audience(s) you think will engage with your activity.
Please note we can offer space at Deptford Lounge to host commissioned activity. Alternatively, your activity can take place at other locations in Deptford. Please state in your proposal the planned location. If you are not planning on using Deptford Lounge, please let us know whether you have approached the venue(s) to confirm if they’d be willing to participate, and ensure that you factor any venue hire costs into your budget.
To submit your proposal, visit spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit
You need to create an account on Submittable in order to submit your application. This is free to do.
The deadline for applications is 10am on Friday 29 November 2024.
Applicants will learn whether their application has been successful by Friday 6 December.
Commissions will be decided by a panel of the festival producers. The festival producers reserve the right to amend the terms of the open call depending on funds available and other operational considerations. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact [email protected]