Talking future change: Sathnam Sanghera, Dreda Say Mitchell and John Athanasiou.
Spread the Word and Words of Colour Productions presents Writing the Future
Saturday 12 September 2015
10.30am-5pm @ Waterstones Piccadilly
Tickets: from £10 – £15 (concessions available) – TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE MORNING SESSION, SO BOOK NOW!
The experience of BAME writers in attracting a literary agent, getting their work published and being widely promoted isn’t a widely positive one. As highlighted by the recent Spread the Word commissioned report ‘Writing the Future’, publishers’ attitude towards diversity is putting them at risk of becoming “culturally irrelevant”.
This is why Spread the Word, in association with Words of Colour Productions, is hosting a day for BAME writers to meet, plan and be inspired, and to identify practical ways to rewrite their future through sharing experiences and good practice.
Mary Mount, from Penguin Random House, will be part of the panel debate on diversity in publishing.
The two-part event will feature a panel discussion with award-winning author and Sathnam Sanghera (The Boy with the Topknot, Marriage Material), publisher Mary Mount (Penguin Random House), John Athanasiou, director of people at HarperCollins, and report authors Danuta Kean and Mel Larsen. Award-winning crime novelist and broadcaster Dreda Say Mitchell (Geezer Girls, Vendetta) will be interviewed about her career, how to write successful crime fiction and translating your ideas for TV by Joy Francis, executive director, Words of Colour.
The day will provide opportunities for debate, discussion and networking followed by workshops to support constructive ways forward for your own writing career.
Programme
Morning programme
Rewriting the Future – debate, discussion and networking
10.30 Interview and debate with Writing the Future’s authors Danuta Kean and Mel Larsen, author Sathnam Sanghera and publisher Mary Mount from Penguin Random House. Chaired by Joy Francis, executive director, Words of Colour Productions
12.00 Interview by Joy Francis with award-winning crime fiction author Dreda Say Mitchell, who will discuss her writing career.
13.00 Informal networking over lunch in Waterstones Café. Take part in filmed vox pops and chat to creative writing industry professionals. (Please note lunch is not included in the ticket price.)
Tickets
FULL DAY AND AFTERNOON TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT. MORNING TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE
Afternoon programme
Your Big Vision and Finding an Agent workshops
Danuta Kean, Mel Larsen and the cover of Writing the Future.
No matter what the external challenges, how you think and act are factors you have control over. In this pair of workshops, Mel Larsen and Danuta Kean will help you plan your next creative steps and pitch to an agent.
14.00 – 15.30 Write a Big Vision for Yourself
Mel Larsen leads a workshop in which you can fully focus on your creative goals, whether you want to knuckle down and finally get that book written or you want to pursue an even bigger ambition. You will identify your personal barriers to success, create an inspiring Vision, design an Action Plan and leave with materials to help you keep going.
15.45 – 17.00 Find Your Agent
Find out what it takes to get your novel noticed by an agent. Danuta Kean gives you the benefit of her industry expertise to lead you through the steps of researching your agent, the potential market for your book and writing a submission letter that really sings.
To attend the whole day activities please book your ticket here – £15 (full) £12 (concessions) £10.50 (Friends)
Tickets
To book tickets for the morning only go here
Context
This spring, Spread the Word published Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers, Publishers in the UK Marketplace, which explored the publishing industry’s poor commitment to diversity and how it was at risk of becoming culturally irrelevant. Words of Colour Productions was on the report’s steering committee.
Writing the Future showed that BAME workforce diversity in publishing has decreased in the past 10 years, and that unconscious bias continues to hinder BAME professionals and fiction writers – alongside narrow views of what themes and material BAME writers are expected to address in their fiction. On the positive side, some publishers are addressing diversity, plus there is support for BAME writers from an array of creative writing agencies and networks.