News from Writing West Midlands

Room 204 opens for applications for 2016 West Midlands Writers! Apply to be part of this year’s Room 204. Give your prose, poetry, script or screenplay the boost you need. Room 204 is the year-long writing and career development programme run by Writing West Midlands. Now in its fifth year, Room 204 recruits between 10 and 15 writers a year, writing in all genres from poetry and prose to radio and TV scripts. This is your chance to gain over £1,000 worth of writing and career support. Being part of the Room 204 cohort can make a real difference to a writer, as Martin Sketchley, a novelist who is a current Room 204 participant, describes: “My participation in Room 204 has proven invaluable in making new contacts and getting my career back on track. The one-to-one sessions have been particularly important, with progress made and doors opened following the advice of Writing West Midlands’ staff. I’d recommend the programme to any writer who feels they may need guidance and support regarding the next step.” Being accepted onto the Room 204 programme is just the beginning of long and fruitful relationship with Writing West Midlands. Career development includes invaluable access to mentoring from more established writers, themed workshops on issues such as pitching and tax for writers, introductions to relevant industry insiders, and free attendance to the annual National Writing Conference (formerly Writers’ Toolkit), which this year takes place at the University of Birmingham on 16 July. Previous Room 204-ers have benefitted from introductions to agents, publishers, radio producers and project-development support. They have also gone on to appear at the annual Birmingham Literature Festival, which takes place in October every year and which is also a Writing West Midlands project. Room 204 is open to  prose writers, children’s writers, authors of creative non-fiction, poets and scriptwriters, supporting writers of all ages and levels of experience. Submissions open today (Monday 1 February), and the deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 26 February 2016. You can find all the submission information here. There are also contact details on that page if you have any questions or need any further help. The 2016/17 cohort of Room 204 will be announced in early April 2016. Good luck! The Writing West Midlands team

Writing West Midlands Unit 204, The Custard Factory Gibb Street Birmingham, West Midlands B9 4AA Telephone: 0121 246 2770 | Email: info@writingwestmidlands.org | Website: www.writingwestmidlands.org