TLC is delighted to announce that, for the ninth year in a row, we are partnering with novelist and writing tutor Michael Langan to offer five unpublished UK-based LGBTQ+ writers free professional feedback on the first 15,000 words of their fiction or creative non-fiction manuscripts.
Applications are open through Pride month (June 2025). All applicants will be invited to a reading and Q&A with Michael and will also be invited to attend a virtual masterclass with the novelist Michael Donkor. The five finalists will also each be entitled to a free one-hour coaching session with TLC Director Aki Schilz.
This is the ninth year the scheme is running, with several of our alumni now represented by major literary agencies and securing publishing deals. The scheme has so far supported 50 finalists and hundreds of applicants from the UK’s LGBTQ+ writing community.
Three of the opening extract assessments will be funded through the TLC Free Reads scheme (supported by Arts Council England), with two donated by Michael himself. We are extremely grateful to Michael for making this scheme possible and look forward to supporting another cohort of talented writers through our open applications. The scheme is completely free to enter. Applications from low-income LGBTQ+ writers will be prioritised and we particularly encourage applications from global majority writers, and disabled writers.
About TLC Free Reads
TLC provides bursaried manuscript assessment and mentoring via the TLC Free Reads scheme to talented low-income and otherwise marginalised or under-represented writers. The TLC Free Reads scheme was established with a small pilot fund in 2001, and is now funded by Arts Council England. It is run in partnership with 22 regional literature partners across the entire country, including Arvon, Spread the Word, the National Centre for Writing, and New Writing North.
How to Apply
Applications for TLC’s 2025 LGBTQ+ Free Reads are open now, and will close at 9am BST on Tuesday 1st July 2025. Please email with the subject header ‘Michael Langan LGBTQ+ Free Read’, attaching as Word documents:
- A one-page synopsis
- The first 2,000 words of your manuscript
- A short covering letter describing why you are applying (please mention financial eligibility if applicable)
About Michael Langan
Michael Langan has worked as an editor, writer, and teacher for over twenty years, currently facilitating writing workshops and courses at various locations in Lisbon, where he lives. He was Programme Leader of Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich from 2002 – 2012, where he specialised in short story writing and the novel. He has a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University in contemporary creative writing and a background in performance poetry and public speaking. His debut novel, Shadow is a Colour as Light Is, was published by Lume Books in September 2019 and he is currently working on his second. His short stories and poetry have been anthologised and published in magazines, journals and online. As Arts Editor of the online LGBT culture journal Polari he wrote about visual arts, film and literature and, in 2016, was a Contributing Editor to the Paris-based Seymour magazine, writing a series of essays about creative process. Michael has a particular interest in contemporary literary fiction as well as historical fiction. Michael lives with his husband, an artist.
Michael says:
I’m excited once again to be partnering with TLC for this year’s LGBTQ+ Free Reads Scheme. During the past year, we’ve seen how fragile some of the equal rights we have fought for can become, how quick and easy it is to go backwards. Recently, ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, founded in 1978) published it’s annual rainbow map of Europe. It ranks countries based on a wide range of factors ‘reflecting the legal and policy situation for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex people in Europe.’ In 2025, he United Kingdom has fallen to its lowest ranking ever – 22nd out of 49 countries, down from 3rd place just 5 years ago. The map and country index can be seen here: https://rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org/
The U.K. has not only failed to keep up with the pace of change elsewhere, the recent Supreme Court ruling concerning ‘biological sex’, and the discriminatory and bigoted rhetoric targeting members of the transgender and non-binary communities that has permeated politics and media cultures, have undoubtedly dragged the country down the table. The daily lives of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming members of our community have been negatively impacted, and has compounded a culture of fear that troubles and distresses us all.
I’m old enough to remember the anti-gay hysteria of the 1980s and 1990s, generated by a hostile media and political establishment in reaction to the AIDS crisis, culminating in the passing into law of Section 28. The trauma of that time continues to haunt me and many others, and what’s happening now feels very reminiscent of those dark days. For all we have gained, if we’re not all equal in our community then we’re not equal at all. The best way I know to support the LGBTQ+ community is to help emerging writers tell their own stories – to enable them speak for themselves rather than be spoken about. I hope that this opportunity can once again encourage queer writers, queer stories, queer lives, into the spotlight.
About Michael Donkor
Michael Donkor studied English at Wadham College, Oxford and then undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. The Observer named him as one of 2018’s best debut authors for his first novel Hold (4th Estate) and in 2019, he was longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel Grow Where They Fall was published by Penguin in 2024. He has judged the Betty Trask Prize and regularly reviews for the Guardian and the i paper.
Michael will be leading a mini masterclass on Character, which will be available for all applicants to the scheme.
Eligibility
Applications are welcome from any writers from the LGBTQ+ community. We are only able to accept work submitted by writers who are ordinarily resident in the UK for this initiative. Work submitted should be for adult or YA fiction or non-fiction – unfortunately we are not able to accept children’s fiction, middle grade fiction, or poetry for this particular opportunity. Submitted extracts must be from the opening of the manuscript and only previously unpublished work is accepted. The full manuscript does not have to be complete at the time of submission, but you must have 15,000 words ready should you be selected. Writers selected will be informed within two weeks of the deadline. Please do not submit work currently on submission to literary agents or publishers. Please note that Michael reads widely, but his preferences are for literary and commercial fiction of all kinds, and historical fiction.
Applications from low-income writers will be prioritised. Applications from Global Majority writers and disabled writers from the LGBTQ+ community are particularly encouraged. There is no need to provide proof of low income for this particular initiative. If you need assistance with your application or have any questions, please let us know. You can email us in confidence at
Interested in supporting this scheme?
In previous years, generous donations have meant we have been able to increase the reach of this scheme. If you would like to sponsor an additional place, or talk to us about partnership and collaboration (in particular for 2026 when we celebrate 10 years of the LGBTQ+ Free Reads), please get in touch with us by email at
