Last night, AM Heath Literary Agents and TLC celebrated the publication of the first Free Reads Anthology at a launch party held at London’s Free Word. The anthology has been sponsored by AM Heath as part of the agency’s centenary celebrations. Twenty writers were selected from 118 submissions received by TLC for inclusion in the anthology, with chosen entries including a YA crime following the drowning of a man on a Yorkshire council estate, a literary reimagining of Boko Haram abductions set in a fictional African country, poetic reflections on climate change, and a middle grade adventure about magic and loss. The anthology was guest edited by acclaimed Grenadian novelist Jacob Ross and features cover artwork by Hong Dam, a Vietnamese visual artist. A list of the 20 selected writers, alongside a Highly Commended list, can be found here.
The TLC Free Reads scheme, run since 2001, is an Arts Council England funded initiative that supports low-income and otherwise marginalised writers by offering free access to TLC’s professional feedback service, manuscript assessment. In 2015, TLC was granted a small uplift in funding to develop the scheme further, widening access, introducing new bursaried mentoring placements, and launching the Quality Writing for All Campaign which includes travel and access bursaries, as well as a series of offers geared towards writers and aspiring editors facing barriers. The scheme and campaign are run in partnership with twelve literature development organisations across England including Arvon, New Writing North and Spread the Word, and five partners working specifically with BAME and disabled writers (Shape Arts, SABLE Lit Mag, Creative Future, Wasafiri, and Exiled Writers).
Notable alumni of TLC’s Free Reads scheme include Winnie M Li (Dark Chapter), Sarah Butler (10 Things I Learnt About Love), and recently Not the Booker-shortlisted Liam Brown (Skin).
Read more about the TLC Free Reads scheme here.
One Response