Acknowledgements

The London Library Emerging Writers Programme would not have been possible without a huge amount of support. We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who granted us the funds to carry out this Programme: Alain Aubry, AM Heath Literary Agency, Lucy Bailie, Nick Campsie, Juliet Carey, Nicholas Coleridge CBE, O J Colman Charitable Trust, Sir Howard Davies & Lady Prue Keely Davies, Sir Mallory Factor, Adam and Victoria Freudenheim, David Gilmour and Polly Samson, The Golden Bottle Trust, Daisy Goodwin, Lynda Gratton, James Harding, Sir Max Hastings, Robert Macleod, Nikki Meinertzhagen, The Julio and Maria Marta Núñez Memorial Fund, Sebastien Paraskevas, Lady Rogers, Jenni Russell, Professor Sir Simon Schama, Victor Sebestyen, Dr William Stern, Virago Books, Marcus Wilford and a number of anonymous donors. A huge thank you to the judges, who brought fun, rigour, inclusivity and real understanding of the Programme’s ethos to the process of whittling more than 800 applications all the way down to 40: Isabelle Dupuy (chair), Bidisha, Eleanor Greene, Daniel Hahn, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Amy Rosenthal, Anna Whitwham and Victoria Hobbs and her colleagues at AM Heath. Thank you to everybody who generously shared their expertise with the cohort during the writing development masterclasses and workshops, which took place over the course of the year: Abi Daré, Edward Docx, Travis Elborough, Jane Feaver, Kirstie Macdonald, John O’Farrell, Scott Pack, Nii Parkes, Amy Rosenthal, Sarah Savitt, Gemma Seltzer, Euan Thorneycroft and, from The London Library, Matthew Brooke and Amanda Stebbings.

Thank you to all the staff of The London Library, who worked so hard to make this Programme a success, in particular: the Fundraising Team, who first developed the idea and have worked tirelessly to raise the money to keep it going from strength to strength; the Member Services Team, who made the cohort feel at home in the Library and posted them piles of books during lockdown; the Membership Team, for endless admin and logistics; the Communications Team and Mark Hutchinson Management PR Agency, who spread the word far and wide; the Building and Facilities Management Team who enabled the cohort to finally come together in person in the Library; and Director of The London Library, Philip Marshall. Finally, thank you to the forty extraordinary writers who brought themselves fully to the Programme to make it a magical, virtual year, the 2020/2021 London Library Emerging Writers cohort: Gaar Adams, Ayad Andrews, Krystle Zara Appiah, Beatrice Armstrong, Helen Bain, Naina Bajekal, Marta Bausells, Natalie Linh Bolderston, Zakia Carpenter-Hall, Flora Carr, Sarah Clegg, Chez Cotton, Benjamin Cusden, Beth Emery, Charlotte Forfieh, Russell Franklin, Marina Gerner, Carole Hailey, Lucian Huxley Smith, Daniel Marc Janes, Aaron Kilercioglu, Lanikai Krishnadasan Torrens, Lily Levinson, Sarah Marsh, Freya Mavor, Shakira Moise, Nancy Netherwood, Charlotte Newman, Yosola Olorunshola, Anna Parker, Hannah Partos, Kate Perry, Theresa Pine, Amy Powell Yeates, Natalie Rule, Lisa Smith, Ana Soria, Natalie Whittaker, Matt Wixey and Nathan Lucky Wood.

Claire Berliner is Head of Programmes at The London Library, which includes managing the Emerging Writers Programme. She previously worked for Arvon, the national creative writing charity, as Centre Director of Totleigh Barton, where she worked with thousands of established and emerging writers over many years. She has worked as a literature programmer in various organisations and festivals and as a freelance writer and editor.

An anthology of writing from the second cohort of The London Library Emerging Writers Programme. From fiction to poetry to non-fiction, stage to screen to radio, this is a feast of words and creativity from an exciting array of bright new talent.

£8

All proceeds go towards The London Library Emerging Writers Programme