Literature Wales has announced the names of fourteen people appointed as mentors for their Representing Wales 2022–23 programme.
Representing Wales is a flagship programme delivered by Literature Wales and funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales. Developed to improve representation within the sector, the programme aims to help transform the country’s literary culture into one that is truly reflective of Wales’ diverse communities and to establish a pipeline of diverse Welsh talent that will be recognised across the UK and beyond.
Building on the success of last year’s programme during which Literature Wales worked with twelve writers of colour, this year’s Representing Wales programme focuses on supporting writers from low-income backgrounds.
Over the course of the programme, the writers will benefit from editorial support and bespoke career guidance as they work towards achieving their individual aims. Mentors will be on-hand to help refine current creative projects to a publishable standard and will offer direction on navigating the industry, signpost professional opportunities and help widen networks.
Selected in consultation with the Representing Wales writers, the mentors are some of the most exciting and successful names in Wales’ literary culture. Spanning a range of genres, professional trajectories and locations, their experience, success and creativity will have direct impact on the writers’ development and in turn, the wider literary sector.
The fourteen mentors for Representing Wales 2022–23 are Tom Bullough, Rhian Edwards, Niall Griffiths, Philip Gross, Kerry Hudson, Cynan Jones, Patrice Lawrence, Sophie Mackintosh, Rufus Mufasa, Jacob Ross, Peter Scalpello, Katherine Stansfield, Rachel Trezise and Eloise Williams.
Mentor Jacob Ross said: “I greatly admire Literature Wales’ commitment to discovering and developing the literary talents of its under-represented writers… I’m looking forward to a mutually fulfilling experience.”
Literature Wales will follow the development of each mentorship closely and will stay in regular contact with both the mentors and writers over the course of the year.
Find out more about the programme’s cohort of writers and their aims here. For further information on each mentor, visit their biographies on the Representing Wales page.
