Emerging Writers Programme

Participation on the Programme is funded and includes:

• A year’s free full membership of the Library, including access to the beautiful spaces, million-volume collection, generous borrowing allowance, extensive digital resources and discounts for public events.
• Monthly evening meetings including peer support sessions and writing development masterclasses taught by established writers and industry professionals.
• Publication in the cohort anthology.
• Alumni events and networking.
• Support from the Programme Team.
• A community of writers within the cohort and the wider Library.
• Other opportunities as they come along.

The Programme is open to: 

• Anyone over 18 years of age (there is no upper age limit), who is committed to pursuing a career in writing, wants to develop their practice and has not previously had long-form work published or professionally produced. 
• Applicants should be working, or planning to work, on a specific project, with the aim of publication or production, and have a clear idea of how they might use the Library’s resources to achieve that aim. 
• Participants should be based in the UK.
• Participants are expected to fully participate in all elements of the Programme and immerse themselves in the writing community it offers. 
• Participants will be selected on the quality of their work, strength of their project idea and their interest in both the Programme and the Library to develop their work.

Applications for the 2027-28 Programme will open in January 2027. 

Check back here for full application details, criteria, guidelines and forms in January. We cannot provide details of what the application will require before then. 

It is free to apply to the Programme.