TLC is delighted to announce that for the tenth year in a row, we are partnering with novelist and writing tutor Michael Langan to offer unpublished UK-based LGBTQ+ writers professional editorial support. Five winners will be selected and will receive a professional manuscript assessment report on the first 15,000 words of their fiction or creative non-fiction manuscripts, worth £350.
LGBTQ+ writers simply want to be able to live in a state of dignity and respect, to create whatever it is they want without fear of judgment and condemnation. There’s still a way to go, but I feel progress has definitely been made
Michael Langan, Patron
The TLC LGBTQ+ Free Reads scheme has so far supported 50 LGBTQ+ writers. Notable (selected) TLC LGBTQ+ Free Reads alumni include:
- Henry Fry whose debut First Time for Everything was published by Orion
- Eamon Somers whose debut Dolly Consididine’s Hotel was published by Unbound
- Erik Pardos Olsen who went on to secure representation from DHH Literary Agency
- Abu Leila who went on to win the Bridport First Novel award and is now represented by AM Heath Literary Agency
- Elspeth Wilson who went on to co-found the Happiness Project based around creativity and disability, and whose debut novel These Mortal Bodies is published by Simon & Schuster
- Oakley Flanagan whose debut pamphlet was published by OutSpoken Press and whose work has gone on to win several awards
- Miranda Horn whose debut manuscript The Second Adolescence was long-listed for the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Manuscript Prize
How to Apply
Applications for TLC’s 2026 LGBTQ+ Free Reads are open now, and will close at 9am BST on Tuesday 30th June 2026. 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)
All applicants will be invited to a reading and Q&A with Michael, and we are currently working on a very special showcase event, about which more will be revealed soon. 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. The scheme is 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 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:
“2026 is the 10th anniversary of TLC’s LGBTQ+ Free Reads Scheme, which means that TLC and myself (as well as some generous sponsors, to whom we are very grateful) have been able to offer support, encouragement, and practical advice to more than 50 emerging LGBTQ+ writers. It’s a truly wonderful privilege to have been a part of that.
I’ve seen definite trends emerge over the decade. As in the wider literary culture, the increasing popularity of new, hybrid genres such as Romantasy and New Adult fiction is evident. More than that, I’ve sensed a growing confidence in LGBTQ+ writers as we increasingly take up some of the space from which we’ve been historically excluded. LGBTQ+ writers simply want to be able to live in a state of dignity and respect, to create whatever it is they want without fear of judgment and condemnation. There’s still a way to go, but I feel progress has definitely been made.
At the same time, there has been a troubling and upsetting backwards turn in the rhetoric of mainstream culture and media around the lives and rights of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming members of our community. Sadly, LGBTQ+ people are yet again being used to score points in phony ‘culture wars.’ While younger readers in particular are engaging with, and enjoying, fictional stories in many forms that express the joys and struggles that we face, there has been a backlash to this. LGBTQ+ books are being removed from school libraries and curricula, often as a result of parental pressure usually whipped up by right-wing commenters and far-right content. I know that the negativity and bigotry aimed at us is not the majority view, it’s just that the most extreme voices are often the loudest.
I’ve been a teacher of creative writing for more years than I care to remember, and I know that it can take quite some time before the seeds you plant in an emerging writer’s mind germinate and come into bloom. At the same time, it’s possible to be a catalyst that creates the fuel for a writer to finish a work in progress and try to get it published. The success stories that the Scheme has been a part of are a testament to that. At the heart of the LGBTQ+ Free Reads Scheme remains our desire to encourage, nurture, and assist, LGBTQ+ writers with their work. To help you tell your stories, to write the books you dream of writing. Once again, I’m really looking forward to reading your work!”
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
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 21 regional literature partners across the entire country, including Arvon, London Writers Centre, the National Centre for Writing, and New Writing North.
Interested in supporting this scheme?
The TLC LGBTQ+ Free Reads Scheme has previously been additionally supported by Damian Barr’s Literary Salon, Out on the Page, RunWrite, Abi Fellows, Bluemoose Books,Laura Pearson, Michael Donkor, Writers’ HQ and Hamza Jahanzeb, all of whom have added to the scheme through sponsored slots, one to one career development, marketing consultancy for winners, and events and offers for our applicants from webinars and masterclasses to resources. If you would like to sponsor an additional place, or talk to us about partnership and collaboration, please get in touch with us by email at .
