New Writing North was established in 1996 by a group of writers and advocates who worked with Arts Council England (then Northern Arts) to created a ‘DIY’ agency for writers. The idea was to create a body that would help writers to thrive in the North East in the fields of creative writing and theatre. Many writers helped with the development of the agency, including Graeme Rigby and Kitty Fitzgerald. Since 1996 the organisation has grown both in stature and in reputation but to this day remains a small-scale organisation, working flexibly to achieve plans for creative work that change and develop year on year.

New Writing North was the first regional agency for writing development and since 1996 our model has been used to create agencies across the country. We have been identified as both a leader in our field and also as an organisation that spearheads new developments in the fields of writer development and promotion.

Over the years we have worked in partnership with organisations locally, nationally and internationally and with many broadcasters, publishers and producers and a great deal of our work grows from creative collaboration with others.

You can browse a range of our current and past achievements in the Projects section of this site.

Over the years we have produced a number of award-winning annual reports that give an overview of our management and activity. They have all being designed by our favourite design collaborators, Sumo.