This opportunity is for Wales-based writers over the age of 18 who are Deaf and/or Disabled and/or Neurodivergent according to the *social model of disability. 

*The Social Model of Disability holds that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. 

We welcome an application from you if you are a highly committed emerging writer looking to expand your writing toolkit, or a more experienced writer looking to reinvent your protagonists. The course is relevant for writers of all genres, including poetry, prose, non-fiction and scriptwriting. 

The course will be delivered in English. However we welcome writers who primarily write in Welsh to join, as the skills and craft you will learn on the course will apply to creative writing in all languages. For Deaf writers, we will ask you to share your access requirements with us, and ensure that BSL interpretation will be provided, or a live captioning service – depending on your preference. 

Please feel free to reach out to us to discuss any issue that makes applying for this opportunity difficult.  

You can contact us on email (post@literaturewales.org) or call us for a chat: 01766 522 811 (Tŷ Newydd Office) or 02920 472266 (Cardiff Office). Alternatively, you can also contact Disability Arts Cymru for an informal chat: post@dacymru.com 

Staff members from Literature Wales and Disability Arts Cymru will be on hand to answer any questions you may have during two informal digital sessions, which will be held on Wednesday 24 July between 1.00pm-2.00pm, and Tuesday 6 August between 1.00pm-2.00pm.  

We are looking for highly committed emerging and mid-career writers with great potential. You don’t necessarily need extensive writing experience, only good ideas and a positive and determined attitude. Like any other craft, writing can be challenging and requires a lot of effort and attention. This course will help you develop the toolkit you need to start and continue your journey as a writer. Literature Wales and Disability Arts Cymru will be there throughout to offer support. 

However, if you are already an experienced writer, for example you may have published your own pamphlet or a book, you might still find that there are barriers which prevent you from reaching your full potential, or you might want to experiment with a different literary form or language. Everyone will have a different definition of what experience means, and where they believe themselves to be on their journey as a writer.  

Applications will be assessed by a panel of staff representing Literature Wales and Disability Arts Cymru and the tutor,  Kaite O’Reilly. We will inform all applicants of the outcome by 19 September 2024. We will select up to 10 successful writers for the course. 

Our decision will be based on the quality and potential of your work, on the originality of your application, and on your understanding of the purpose of the course and how it could impact your professional development as a writer. To ensure a diverse cohort of writers, we might also take into consideration geographical location, disclosed protected characteristics, languages, and whether you have received similar opportunities in the past.  

Successful applicants will be invited to send us an Access Rider, to help inform us of the support you will need to able to fully partake in the course. We can provide a template if helpful, and staff from Literature Wales and Disability Arts Cymru will be on hand to help.  

We will ask all successful applicants to fully commit to taking part in the whole course. 

As we are expecting a high number of applications, we may not be able to provide detailed feedback on each one. However, where possible we will provide a short, personalised line of feedback, and advise on other opportunities Literature Wales and partners may have available. 

We are aware that correspondence regarding unsuccessful applications can have a negative impact on your health and well-being. We give our pledge to respect and value each individual application, giving it due consideration and attention. 

A small team of Literature Wales staff members will have access to your submitted creative work. In line with our talent-scouting and signposting strategy, we may get in touch in the future with personalised opportunities, based on your work and your expertise. To enable Literature Wales to comply with data protection law (GDPR), please complete the relevant section at the end of the application form to let us know if you don’t want to be contacted by Literature Wales about offers in the future. 

The course will be delivered on the video platform service, Zoom. You can join Zoom for free, or you can join as a guest. You will need a device with a microphone and a webcam (mobile phone, laptop, or computer), and a stable connection to the internet to take part. 

You will also need to set aside the time to fully partake in the course. The approximate delivery of the course will take a total amount of 14 hours, over six different sessions. You will also need to consider the time you’ll need to apply the learning points you gain during the course to your writing and developing your writing projects in your own time.  

No.

Yes! Our Course Content page should give you more information on what to expect from each individual workshop. To allow the writers to get as much development possible from the course, Kaite will set short tasks and will encourage you to work on your individual piece in between sessions. The aim of this course is to offer intense writer development opportunity to a group of writers, and for it to be successful, it will require some dedication and determination.  

In partnership with Disability Arts Cymru, we will facilitate a soft aftercare programme to encourage the development of the writers after the course ends. We will also encourage the cohort to continue to meet online after the course, to discuss progress, barriers, good practice, and to share work in progress.  

Literature Wales and Disability Arts Cymru will share further writer development opportunities and publishing opportunities with all course participants long-term.