New Writing North

New Writing North and Northumbria University have worked in partnership since 2012. This well-established and nationally recognised partnership has delivered a wide range of activity, research, creativity and public value.

The annual Northern Writers’ Awards have been at the heart of the partnership since its inception, sponsored and hosted by the University. In the summer of 2023 we celebrated the conclusion of year 1 of our ground-breaking MA Publishing, which is co-delivered with NWN and global publishers, Hachette.

We are pursuing exciting plans to establish a new Centre for Writing in Newcastle. These plans offer a unique opportunity to significantly progress how the arts, industry and academia can work together to create value and change. The project is built on existing understandings and the joint priorities of the partners. It is informed by thinking around how both organisations can creatively and economically benefit, whilst delivering a project that creates value for the region on both social and economic terms.

The overarching priorities of the partnership include: establishing co-production partnerships as a trait of delivering and developing new teaching, research and impact activities, strategic collaborations to create a new eco-system for writing and publishing, and building the capacity and potential of both partners and the capability of and opportunities for students, staff, the sector, and the city in new creative skill sets.

The new partnership agreement commenced in 2023 and builds on over a decade of proven partnership working and delivery across four key strategic areas: teaching and learning, research and impact, knowledge exchange and public engagement, and place-based working.

NWN academic lead: Richard Kelly, Associate Professor