Mentoring and development for early-career fiction writers in the East of England
Escalator New Writing Fellowships is the National Centre for Writing’s annual programme that celebrates East Anglian writers whose voices are underrepresented on UK bookshelves. We offer unpublished fiction writers in the region the chance to develop their work through an inspiring programme of professional mentoring, as well as creating opportunities for networking and industry skills sessions, to equip writers for the professional reality of a career as an author.
The region is made up of a diverse society of people, and supporting writers who are under-represented on UK bookshelves has become a core objective of the programme.
Escalator has been running since 2004 and to date has supported more than 150 writers, many of whom have gone on to sign with agents, publish and win awards and critical recognition for their novels and short stories.
What do Escalator Fellows receive?
- Eight months of mentoring; five one-to-one exchanges between writer and mentor, to review work, discuss challenges and set goals
- A year’s membership to the Society of Authors
- Group networking and support sessions from the NCW team and fellow Escalator writers
- Subsidised places on NCW workshops, courses and masterclasses
- Industry insights session exploring the practical and emotional aspects of publishing
- An opportunity to showcase work to agents, publishers and industry professionals
- A film and other materials to help showcase and promote writing in future
- Paid travel expenses for the in-person Welcome Day and showcase events
Escalator Fellows 2024/25
We are delighted to introduce the ten writers selected for Escalator 2024/25.
Who can apply?
The Escalator New Writers Fellowships are open to writers of fiction at the beginning of their careers, who are unpublished and do not have an agent. You must be based in the East of England (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk) to participate.
We particularly welcome applications from writers who identify as LGBTQI+ and/or whose ethnicity is under-represented on UK bookshelves.
Applications for Escalator 2026/27 will open in summer 2026.
Meet the mentors
Meet the established writers who will be guiding our 2025/26 Escalator Fellows through eight months of mentoring.
Find out more
Donate to Escalator
100% of your donation goes to Escalator, nurturing tomorrow’s writers, today.
You can also purchase a literary screen print, handmade in Norwich. All proceeds support Escalator.
The Escalator New Writing Fellowships do essential work to support writers both practically and creatively at a critical point in their writing lives.
Supporters of the Escalator New Writing Fellowships
Escalator is generously supported by Arts Council England, the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, Amazon Literary Partnership, Garrick Charitable Trust, Golsconcott Foundation, the Laura Kinsella Foundation, the Reeves Award, and donors of NCW’s Escalator fundraising campaign.
The Laura Kinsella Fellowship and Reeves Award Fellowship
Two fellowships are supported by the Laura Kinsella Foundation, and two are supported by The Reeves Award. These fellowships are awarded to applicants based on an excerpt of their prose that demonstrates exceptional promise and ambition in their writing.
The Reeves Award specifically aims to support the development of Afro-Caribbean and Black British voices in UK publishing.
Applicants do not apply directly for these fellowships; instead, they are selected by a panel from each award’s shortlist.
Escalator is kindly supported by:
Our success stories
There are hundreds of talented and diverse new voices within our region — Escalator provides them with the opportunity to develop their craft and a platform to showcase their brilliance to agents and publishers.
Kate Worsley
‘Escalator helped me hugely, in that I began to think of myself as someone who could have something as audacious and swanky as a ‘writing career’. It provided me with the sort of validation, support and community that is very hard to find elsewhere.’
Anni Domingo
‘My first novel, Breaking the Maafa Chain was published by Jacaranda Publishers in 2021 and I am now working on my second novel Ominira, a sequel, which I started working on whilst I was part of Escalator.’
Richard Lambert
‘Probably the most important thing for me was the other people on Escalator. We have gone on meeting since Escalator finished, and for me, this has been brilliant – the writing life is for me a shared enterprise in some sense.’
Through the workshops, networking, mentoring and opportunities to share my writing, I have grown into someone who feels so much more confident. I have felt part of a community of wonderfully creative people. And I feel happy, finally, to call myself a writer.
Not from the region?
Regional Literature Development Agencies across England are offering exciting opportunities for writers in their region:
Having the forum and opportunity to talk to someone about my writing and writing intentions was invaluable. I felt I could draw on the insight and experience of my mentor whilst maintaining ownership of my writing; to build on self belief and strengthen my own judgement.
