Emerging Writer’s Residency 2026

We are very excited to announce our second emerging writers in residence programme. The opportunity is held in partnership with Nottingham Women’s Centre and the Feminist Archive. It is a paid, week-long residency between 23rd and 27th February 2026 and is available for two emerging writers. 

The focus of this residency is to explore the Feminist Archive and produce a creative written response. We are extremely grateful for Nottingham Women’s Centre and the Feminist Archive team for collaborating with us on an opportunity for our emerging writers community.

Please refer to the opportunity document and FAQs at the bottom of this page which clarifies the criteria for applications. 

Residency aims

Our aim is to provide emerging writers with experiences and skills that will be useful for them in pursuing a professional writing career. 

  1. Experience of completing a writing residency application
  2. Gaining confidence in accessing a historical collection and working in an archival setting 
  3. Responding to a brief and producing a piece of creative writing  
  4. Receiving feedback on creative work from a peer and responding appropriately
  5. Describing their creative process and articulating their learning
  6. Performing in front of an audience

We have taken on board feedback and learning from our first residency to improve the experience for our next emerging writers. This includes: 

  • Expanding the scope of the residency to any aged emerging writer 
  • Increasing payment for writers during the residency
  • Exploring ways to make the residency application and venue more accessible

If you would like to get a flavour of the previous residency, explore the Bromley House residency page here.  You can also gain a bit more insight into the experience of taking part by reading the blog of young writer Flynn, and the blog of writing mentor Leanne.

Meet the Writers

Aarya Handa

Aarya Handa is an emerging writer and creative who uses prose to examine the friction of the human condition. A final-year BA Hons Philosophy student at University of Nottingham, she enjoys intellectually stimulating texts. Beyond the page, Aarya is a literacy advocate, dedicated volunteer, and enjoys music at antisocial volumes.

 

Meg Turner

Meg Turner left journalism to pursue an MA in Creative Writing, returning to the kind of storytelling that first drew her to the page. She writes both poetry and creative non-fiction, exploring memory, womanhood, and the quiet complexities of everyday life. The Women’s Centre holds a special place in her heart, continuing to shape and inspire her writing.

 

Meet the Mentors

Leanne Moden

Leanne Moden

The young writers mentor is Leanne Moden, who will help them to explore the collection, develop their creative writing and respond to the brief. 
Leanne Moden is a poet, theatre-maker, and freelance educator, based in Nottingham.

Leanne has performed poetry at events all across the UK and Europe, and her second collection was published in 2020. Leanne works as a writer in residence with First Story, supporting secondary school pupils to publish their creative writing. She also runs the Writing East Midlands young people’s writing workshops in Nottingham and Mansfield, and supports the Writing East Midlands Youth Board. Leanne is fuelled by fruit tea, Jaffa Cakes, and unrelenting whimsy. 

Kate MacAlister

Kate MacAlister

Kate MacAlister

Kate is a volunteer at the Feminist Archive in the Women’s Library and will be the archive guide for the residency. 

Kate MacAlister is a poet, award winning film maker and feminist activist. She has studied Creative Writing (M.A.) at the Manchester Writing School under the tutelage of Carol Ann Duffy and Kim Moore and graduated with distinction.

Kate is currently pursuing a Creative Writing PhD at the University of Nottingham working on a collection of poetry focusing on the female body as antipatriarchal resistance, inspired by the activist poet Diane Di Prima. 

Application form – NWC Residency (1)

Nottingham Women’s Centre Writer in Residence Commission (1)

Download the opportunity outline
Download
Complete an expression of interest
Apply now

FAQs

What is the Feminist Archive?

The Feminist Archive builds on the Women Centre’s extensive Nottingham Women’s Library by helping to develop and preserve the Centre’s collection of rare feminist literature from the 1970s and 1980s. It is house in the Women’s Library in the NWC.

There are: 30 boxes of publications, 32 archive boxes, 25 different women contributing archive material, 30 oral history interviews and 10.82 GB of digital materials. Archive volunteer Kate MacAlister will help the writers navigate the collection (see above).

For more information visit: https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscripts/2023/11/22/introducing-the-feminist-archive-east-midlands/

Who can apply?

This opportunity is available to people who are:

– Women and trans Women*
– An emerging writer*
– 18 +*
– Live, earn or learn in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

* Further information in individual FAQs

What is a writing mentor

The young writers mentor is Leanne Moden, who will help the writers to explore the collection, develop their creative writing and respond to the brief. 
Leanne Moden is a poet, theatre-maker, and freelance educator, based in Nottingham. See above to read her blog about the first writers residency she mentored.  

What is the Nottingham Women’s Centre?

The Nottingham Women’s Centre exists to help all self-identifying women in Nottinghamshire reach their full potential, have their voices heard, and overcome barriers to create a better future for themselves and their children.

The offer emotional wellbeing support, events and courses, a library and co-ordinate campaigns and activism. They have been operating since 1971, and is one fo the oldest Women’s Centres in the country.

Why is this opportunity open only to women and trans women?

The archive that the residency is exploring is housed in the building of the Nottingham Women’s Centre, which is a Women’s only space.

NWC have a trans inclusive policy detailed below:
In line with the Equality Act 2010 and our commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice, we are a trans-inclusive women’s organisation. We’ve had an official policy in place since 1998, but trans women had been positively accessing the Centre long before that.For further information please see NWC policy. https://www.nottinghamwomenscentre.com/about-us/trans-inclusion-at-nwc/

What is an emerging writer?

An emerging writer is somebody who has a passion for writing who has not had any of their work published. We strongly encourage anyone who thinks that they could gain from the experience of the residency to apply.

How will you select the writers?

We will form a panel with representatives from each partner organisation and the two mentors, Leanne and Kate. We will review the creative work and the written responses to get a mix of: talent, aspiration and willingness to learn from the opportunity. We will only shortlist applicants who match the criteria outlined (see ‘who can apply’ above).

We will select two writers, with at least one under the age of 25 to support our goals of providing opportunities for 14-25 year olds. We will only select writers who are able to commit to the length of the residency, but can discuss flexibility if there are existing commitments or caring responsibilities that need to be accommodated.

We will provide feedback on request for unsuccessful applications.

Why is there change to the age range compared to previous writer residency?

In consultation with our partners, we have set an age of 18 + due to the mature content of some of the archive material.

We also received feedback that older writers (aged 25 and over) would also like an opportunity to experience to a writers residency. We have therefore updated our guidance to reflect this programme as an opportunity for emerging writers (see above).