You are viewing your 1 free article this month.
Sign in to make the most of your access to expert book trade coverage.
Escalator New Writing Fellowships for unpublished fiction writers celebrates 20th year
The National Centre for Writing (NCW) has launched a call to find writers in the East of England who are seeking to "develop their craft and find routes into the publishing industry".
The Escalator New Writing Fellowships programme has supported over 160 unpublished, early-career writers of fiction over 20 years. A cohort will be selected for an eight-month period of professional mentoring and support designed to launch their writing careers.
Recent fellows include George Harrison, whose debut novel Season was published by Eye Books this year, Joanna Miller, author of The Eights (Fig Tree) and Rob Perry, author of Dog (Europa Editions).
"Celebrating its 20th year, we are delighted to open for applications to our flagship talent development programme," said Holly Ainley, head of programmes and creative engagement. "Escalator is a regional scheme with a national impact, raising the profile of incredible writers whose talent and voices are ready to be heard.
"Escalator’s shape and success rests on listening and responding to what writers have told us they need: the result is a scheme that creates the conditions and provides the tools to equip writers for the professional reality of a career as an author."
Applicants must live more than half of the time in the East of England – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk – and be unagented and unpublished.
Continues…
Read More
The programme particularly welcomes voices that have traditionally found themselves underrepresented on bookshelves, including writers who are Black, Asian or from another ethnically diverse background, as well as writers who identify as LGBTQI+, working class, disabled or neurodivergent. Writers who have caring responsibilities or are in receipt of a state pension, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Disability Benefits, Income Support, Universal Credit or Working Tax Credits, or facing other economic barriers, are also encouraged to apply.
This year’s writer-mentors are Michael Donkor, Yvvette Edwards, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo and Kate Worsley.
"Every year I find myself looking forward to the Escalator selection process: I get a real kick out of seeing what a range of talent is out there," Worsley said. "When I’m choosing who I’d like to work with, I feel a bit like a kid let loose in a sweetie shop. Mentoring emerging writers is always exciting and rewarding work, and I feel especially privileged to get to work with writers local to me in the East of England.
"I never forget that I was once an Escalator mentee myself, and so I know inside out what a huge difference the programme can make to mentees’ confidence and careers."
The deadline for applying to Escalator is 10:00 BST on Tuesday 16th September 2025. The selected writers will need to be available to take part in the scheme between late November 2025 and July 2026. Full entry requirements and terms and conditions can be found online.
The scheme is supported by Arts Council England, Amazon Literary Partnership, the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, Garrick Charitable Trust, Golsoncott Foundation, the Laura Kinsella Foundation, the Reeves Award and donors of NCW’s Escalator fundraising campaign.
