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The Rathbones Folio Prize is releasing its first anthology, featuring work produced by the alumni of its mentorship programme.
The collection, The Day is Fresh, will feature 14 graduates from the programme and will be edited by Ralf Webb with an introduction by A L Kennedy. The scheme first started in 2017 and pairs students who have taken part in First Story’s Young Writers Programme with writers from the Folio Academy for a year of one-to-one creative writing mentoring.
Webb said: “It is in the pairing of members of the Folio Academy and talented First Story students where this programme finds its greatest strength. When established and emergent writers and artists are paired together, magical things will happen, and both parties will learn from each other.”
Kennedy added: “If you’re puzzled about where literature or reading fit in a civilised country, or a life with meaning — it’s in places like this you learn the truth of their centrality. And we need to hear the hard-pressed voices, at least as much as they need to be heard.”
Antonia Byatt, c.e.o. of First Story, said: “The Day is Fresh shows off the incredible talent of these First Story young writers. We are very grateful to Rathbones Folio and their writer mentors for providing this special opportunity. This anthology should be recommended reading for anyone who is interested in the voices of the next generation.”
Andrew Kidd, chair and co-founder of the Rathbones Folio Prize, commented: “From the moment the prize was founded, the hope was that the academy of over 300 writers underpinning it could be engaged to do more than just administer the prize itself. The Rathbones Folio Mentorships are the best possible realisation of that hope: an inspiring initiative that, through the generosity of its mentors and the determination of its mentees, connects the outstanding writers of today with the outstanding writers of tomorrow.”