The Writing Platform has partnered with Arts Council England to run an advice session about funding for digital writers.

The event is taking place on Wednesday 8th April, 6.30pm – 8.30pm at
Arts Council’s London offices 21 Bloomsbury street, London, WC1B 3HF

Places are free but limited to 20. To book your place email Charlotte Aston on charlotte[dot]aston[at]artscouncil[dot]org[dot]uk

Have you pressed pause on an ambitious multimedia writing project while you work out what comes next? Are you a writer experimenting with digital technology and need some time to really delve in? Are you exploring the intersection of story, narrative, technology and design? Did you know that you could apply to Arts Council England for financial support?

As a Relationship Manager in the literature team, I advise individual writers at all stages of their careers to develop funding proposals for Grants for the arts, our open funding programme.

I’ve heard all the excuses. The application form is too long. The questions are too confusing. The likelihood of success is too small. In response I say the funding process is incredibly competitive so you will have to spend time developing a strong application and there is a chance your bid will be rejected. On the other hand, Grants for the arts exists to help artists and arts organisations of all kinds realise their ideas. So why not your idea? Why not you?

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. Achieving great art for everyone is our 10-year strategic plan, which contains priorities for supporting artistic talent at all stages of an individual’s career.

Writers can apply for a range of literary projects, including artistic collaborations, forays with digital technology, mentoring, research and development, storytelling and time to write. We focus primarily on funding activities relating to original fiction and poetry. We also consider activities with creative approaches to literary non-fiction.

Over the years, writers have asked for funding to enable them to complete poetry collections, pamphlets, stories and novels. Many have been published and printed, some have been projected and performed, a few have existed fleetingly or only ever online. We’ve funded spoken word artists to develop brand new multimedia shows, poets to undertake residencies within digital worlds and authors to deliver innovative writing and technology projects in schools, libraries and galleries.

We want readers in England to enjoy the multiplicity of voices that reflect the society we live in. So we want to support a diverse range of writers and genres of literature including children’s authors and illustrators, editors, graphic novelists, new media writers, novelists, poets, producers and translators to develop their skills, explore ideas, showcase their talents and reach new audiences. From our research, we know that writers experimenting with new forms of writing that make use of digital platforms need support to understand the possibilities in this dynamic area. We particularly welcome applications from these kinds of writers.

What else can we tell you? Grants for the arts funds projects, rather than ongoing activity. You’ll need to frame your idea into a well-argued project proposal, with a distinct time frame and outcome. It is a rolling programme with budgets spread across the year, so when you apply should not affect your chances of success.

Your track record will be taken into consideration when we decide whether to support your activity, so writers who have delivered successful writing projects or who have been traditionally published are often in a better position to demonstrate artistic quality. We fund organisations like Arvon, The Literary Consultancy, the Poetry School, The Writing Platform and regional literature development agencies to offer a range of services for writers early on in their careers.

One question you should ask yourself is whether now is the right time. It is important that you demonstrate how the activity will lead to significant artistic or professional development. You need to show that the funding will support you at a crucial point in your writing life.

Public engagement is another important consideration, even for time to write and research grants. Applications can be rejected if it is not clear how the work will be available to readers or audiences. You should think about ways in which the project will reach members of the public during the funded period and also beyond the life of the grant. This might be through publication, live events or an online showcase. Be clear on this, and as specific as possible.

Grants for the arts aims to be light touch, which means that you are assessed on what you’ve submitted in your application alone. Make sure you have provided enough information, as you won’t be chased for clarification!

Ready? Your next step is to browse the Grants for the arts pages of Arts Council England’s website, which includes an information sheet about literature projects.

If you need further inspiration, you can read about Martin Jackson’s work, Resident in Maps, which was supported by Grants for the arts; and you can watch spoken word performer, Polarbear, talk about how Grants for the arts has enabled him to develop his work in this video:

If your project has an international element then you might like to consider the Artists’ international development programme which offers opportunities individual artists, writers and producers to build links with creators and cultural organisations in another country.

And if you’re interested in technology in the arts you can keep up to date with trends and opportunities over on  The Space, a website for artists and audiences to create and explore new digital arts projects, set up by Arts Council England and the BBC.

The Writing Platform has partnered with Arts Council England to run an advice session about funding for digital writers.

The event is taking place on Wednesday 8th April, 6.30pm – 8.30pm at
Arts Council’s London offices 21 Bloomsbury street, London, WC1B 3HF

Places are free but limited to 20. To book your place email Charlotte Aston on charlotte[dot]aston[at]artscouncil[dot]org[dot]uk

The Writing Platform launches 2015 Bursary Programme, in association with Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Writer Naomi Alderman and Google’s Tom Uglow join selection panel.

There are two bursaries available for writers and technologists to embark on exciting collaborations.

Application forms and eligibility criteria are available here. The deadline for applications is 5pm GMT on Thursday 4th December 2015.

The Writing Platform Bursary, which supports experimentation, collaboration and learning between writers and technologists, announces its 2015 Programme delivered in association with Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

The Writing Platform will be making two bursaries of £4000 available. Each bursary will be awarded to a team made up of one writer and one technologist to work together on a writing project over a period of three months.

The programme is open to individual writers and individual technologists, who will be paired by the selection panel according to shared areas of interest, and to ready-made teams of writers and technologists.

A selection panel made up of Tom Uglow, Director Google Creative Labs; Naomi Alderman, writer and professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University and Joanna Ellis, Partner at The Literary Platform, co-founders of The Writing Platform, will award the bursaries.

Tom Uglow, Creative Director of Google Creative Lab says:

“My paperback may have been usurped by my phone (just like everything else) but, in my idle moments I’m still reading avidly, against the lure of streams and news. It is wonderful to be involved in supporting a new generation of writers experimenting and exploring the novel forms that these devices promise. Bursaries like The Writing Platform are amazing in allowing writers to openly challenge our preconceptions and show us nascent forms of literature’s next incarnation.”

Naomi Alderman, Writer and Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University says:

 “The digital revolution is even more profound and significant than the print revolution of Gutenberg which kick-started the Reformation. We have no idea where the next 200 years will take us in terms of what writing and creativity can produce, become, and mean. What we know is that experimentation is vital, and giving creative people the opportunity to explore their boldest ideas is the best way to find out what works, and what doesn’t! I’ll be looking for ideas I haven’t seen before – ways of using technology that really push the bounds of the possible. And I’m excited to see what we find!”

Joanna Ellis, co-founder of The Writing Platform and Partner at The Literary Platform, says today,

 “The Writing Platform is dedicated to supporting writers in the digital age and we are delighted to be able to provide this opportunity to writers and technologists to collaborate, experiment and learn with each other and make work they would not be able to make on their own. We were thrilled with the projects created by our 2013 recipients and I can’t wait to see what emerges this time round”

For more information please contact Joanna Ellis: joanna [at] theliteraryplatform [dot] com

NOTES TO EDITORS

• About The Writing Platform

The Writing Platform is a website and programme of live events dedicated supporting writers in their creative practice and career choices.

The website is a free online resource for writers who are looking for information and inspiration about writing in a digital age. It also serves as a platform for writers to reflect and share insight about their own practice and experiences.

The Writing Platform launched in spring 2013. It is run by The Literary Platform and Kate Pullinger in association with  Bath Spa University and Queensland University of Technology

The Writing Platform Bursary Programme 2015 is funded by Bath Spa University and the National Lottery, and supported by Arts Council England (Grants for the Arts).

• About Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University (BSU) is a leading university for creativity, culture, enterprise and education. Based in the world heritage city of Bath, it hosts one of the UK’s leading centres for teaching creative writing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The Creative Writing Department, within the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries, recently appointed 10 new teaching and research professors — all highly acclaimed in their creative fields — to join a distinguished team of practitioner researchers. Two of these appointments, Kate Pullinger and Naomi Alderman, reflect the vital role and priority BSU has given to questions of writing and digital technology, as well as the digital future of the writing industry more generally.

•  Judges Biographies

Tom Uglow, Director at Google Creative Lab, has worked at Google for nearly 8 years, starting Google’s Creative Lab in Europe and, since 2012, building a Creative Lab in Sydney, Australia. His team work on experimental projects that help connect people and that use Google, Android and YouTube’s products in creative ways.

Previous projects include Hangouts in History, Dream40 with the RSC, buildwithchrome.com, Web Lab, Live in a Day, and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Most of his projects are collaborations with charities, agencies and cultural organisations around the world that help artists and creators explore new forms of creative practice using digital tools.

Tom speaks on innovation around the world; tweets, posts and blogs on digital creativity; he is a trustee of D&AD and AWARD and has judged, presented, and enthused on TV, online, and in print. He is a Sunday-coder, a traditional creative, and a fuzzy strategist. Occasionally he knits.

Naomi Alderman, Writer and Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University

Naomi Alderman is a novelist, broadcaster and games designer. She’s won numerous awards for her literary fiction which includes Disobedience and The Liars’ Gospel. She broadcasts regularly on BBC radio, and has a regular monthly column in the Observer. She is the co-creator and lead writer of the best-selling smartphone fitness game Zombies, Run! In 2012 she was selected by Granta as one of their once-a-decade list of Best of Young British Novelists, and in 2013 she was picked for the Rolex Arts Initiative as the mentee of Margaret Atwood.

Joanna Ellis is Partner at The Literary Platform, a consultancy that specialises in the publishing sector and which is also the founder of two programmes for writers: The Writing Platform and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Before joining The Literary Platform Joanna worked in publishing for 14 years, most recently as the marketing director at Faber & Faber.

Download the press release.

The Space together with tumblr have today announced an open call for artists. They are looking for for original, groundbreaking ideas to commission for audiences to experience on mobiles and tablets.

The call is open to any artist over 18 from anywhere in the world. Winning artists will receive substantial commissioning funding, their work published on The Space online platform, plus training & mentoring to help develop their skills and career.

Artists can apply on the website . The deadline is 5pm (GMT) Friday 14 November 2014.

The Space is a website for artists and audiences to create and explore exciting new digital art. They commission projects from artists working across a range of art forms and creative and digital industries, technology and coding, art and culture. Find out more and explore here.