Representing Wales 2024-25 Mentors Announced
Representing Wales is a flagship writer development programme delivered by Literature Wales and funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales and The Foyle Foundation. Developed to improve representation within the sector, the programme aims to help transform the country’s literary culture into one that is truly reflective of Wales’ diverse communities and to establish a pipeline of diverse Welsh talent recognised across the UK and beyond.
The current round of the programme, which began in April 2024, has a particular focus on writing for an adult audience.
Each writer on the Representing Wales programme is paired with a Mentor chosen by themselves in consultation with Literature Wales. Over the course of the programme, the mentors are on-hand to offer editorial support and bespoke career guidance as the writers work towards achieving their individual creative and professional aims.
The Mentors
This year’s cohort will be mentored by some of the most exciting and successful writers in Wales’ literary culture and beyond: Stephanie Butland, Deborah Kay Davies, Damian Walford Davies, Rachel Dawson, Dilar Dirik, Eliot Duncan, Inua Ellams, Dr Jenni Fagan, Glyn Maxwell, Grug Muse, Llwyd Owen, Mike Parker, Lleucu Roberts, Jacob Ross, and Joelle Taylor.
They span a range of genres, professional trajectories, and locations. Some concentrate on writing for adult audiences, while others also write for children and young people, and a few are renowned performance poets. Collectively their works have been published worldwide and featured awards include: Wales Book of the Year Award; Tir na n-Og Award; The Literature Medal, Daniel Owen Memorial Award, T.S. Eliot Prize, Geoffrey Faber Prize, Wainwright Prize, Betty Trask Prize, Women’s Prize for Fiction, and the Polari Book Prize, among others.
Their experience, success and creativity will have direct impact on the writers’ development and in turn, the wider literary sector.
Mike Parker, one of the programme mentors said:
“I am very excited to see what Simon’s writing project turns into, and delighted to be part of the process of making it happen. “
In the following video, the 2023-24 cohort, who were developing new works for a children and young adult audience, tell us about their experience of the Representing Wales programme:
You can visit the Representing Wales page to find out more about the programme’s current cohort of writers and their aims, read more about each mentor, and find out more about the programme, which is currently open for applications for 2025-2026.