The London Library celebrated its Emerging Writers Programme on Thursday 25 November with a party for those who have taken part in the popular initiative which began in 2019 and which has seen 118 early career writers welcomed into London Library membership.
As part of the celebration, The London Library launched a free-to-download anthology of writing by the second group to take part in the Emerging Writers Programme. From the Silence of the Stacks, New Voices Rise Volume II is available to download from The London Library’s website and as an eBook on Kindle (costing £2). A limited print run of a physical edition will also be available in the coming weeks at £8.
From the Silence of the Stacks, New Voices Rise Volume II is edited by Claire Berliner, Head of Programmes at The London Library and features writing from the group of 40 Emerging Writers who took part in the programme from 2020-21. The writers live across the UK, span a range of ages, backgrounds, cultures and nationalities and include poets, non-fiction writers, screenwriters and playwrights, novelists and short story writers, and some who write across multiple genres.
At the celebration, some of the 2020-21 Emerging Writers, Charlotte Forfieh, Marta Bausells, Freya Mavor and Daniel Marc Janes read from their anthology pieces. The party was also attended by those who have judged the initiative and other industry professionals including Isabelle Dupuy, Sara Wheeler, Valerie Brandes and Lisa Evans.
Philip Marshall, The London Library’s Director comments:
“The Emerging Writers Programme is specifically designed to provide support, expertise and resources to talented writers embarking on their journey towards a writing career. We are therefore very proud to be publishing this anthology of exceptional work from the second Programme cohort who, even through a difficult year, have shown great commitment and creativity and enriched the Library’s community.”
The celebration comes at the end of The London Library’s 180th year and in her introduction to the Anthology, Claire Berliner comments: “This year, The London Library celebrated its 180th birthday. It was founded all those years ago to offer writers, readers and scholars exactly what they needed to create and learn: books and other reading material; space and time; and a community of peers, all engaged in the same literary endeavour. In 180 years, those needs have not changed, but meeting them, particularly for those at the beginning of their writing lives, can be difficult. Thus, The London Library Emerging Writers Programme, which exists to open our unique offer widely and inclusively to a new generation of writing talent.”
Many of the 118 writers who have already taken part in the programme have benefited from increased awareness for their writing from the publishing industry by securing agents, commissions and publishing deals.
