Facilitate is an innovative national training programme for writers with an emerging facilitation practice. Its aim is to support writers and performers who wish to work as writing facilitators with young people (aged 25 years or younger) in education and community settings.

Over the course of six months, the programme will establish a peer-supporting cohort of diverse writing-facilitator talent who, with some mentoring, would be able to start delivering workshops in these contexts.

This is a pilot project funded by the Garrick Charitable Trust and Facilitate founding partners: First Story, New Writing North, Apples and Snakes and the Royal Literary Fund. Places are limited and application is by invitation only.

What’s included?

A series of six units, of up to two hours each, delivered online by writer-facilitators and literature organisation staff. You will cover:

1. Introduction to freelance working
2. Partnership working in education and community settings
3. Planning and delivering a workshop
4. Delivering workshops to groups
5. Getting the most from mentoring/shadowing
6. Specialist session – this session will aim to address a specific interest/need of the cohort

Sessions will be delivered online by professional writers with significant experience of writing facilitation with young people and/or expertise in the specific subject area of the unit(s) they deliver.

Participants attending will be paid a bursary of £75 per session. Please note, sessions will take place monthly from October 2024 – March 2025, exact dates TBC.

Who is it for?

Aspiring early to mid-career writer-practitioners who are interested in, but have little to no experience of, working with young people in education and community settings.

We are particularly looking to support the continuous professional development of those who are currently under-represented in the workforce.

Apply:

Invited applicants are asked to complete the short application form below and submit an anonymous Diversity and Inclusion Monitoring form. We will endeavour to confirm participant places and session dates by 1 October 2024.

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