A Writing Chance: Reflections on the class ceiling
Eleven new writers on the barriers that divide Britain today – and how to break them
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A Writing Chance
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A Writing Chance
The spectre of Grenfell haunts my family’s area
Growing up in inner-city London, I know that the fire was a manifestation of decades of systemic contempt for the…
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I’m proud to be from Bradford – but it has cost me
I have a love-hate relationship with being northern.
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My dreams were deemed “unrealistic”. But your background shouldn’t determine your future
We all have aspirations. We must to reject the idea that certain opportunities are only for certain kinds of people.
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We don’t need “a way out” – we need ways in
I wrote in the silence, filled my children’s world with stories. But that was never “real writing” because people like me…
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In 1990s Scotland, our teachers taught us nothing we could relate to
Can you make a 16-year-old, fresh off a weekend of cheap stimulants and Dutch techno, sit down on Monday morning…
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A tale of two sisters and the eleven-plus
It was results day and the news was starting to sink in. I had passed my eleven-plus. My sister had…
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I don’t want to tick the box that says “Other. Please explain”
The government wants me to squeeze myself into a category, so it knows where I belong.
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My therapist couldn’t see how class shapes lives
I didn’t need to be analysed – I needed to be fed.
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Lessons from the wrong end of a fox hunt
One of the UK’s largest remaining predators, with a reputation for cruelty and cunning: the Linlithgow and Stirlingshire Hunt’s two…
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In Cumbria, gay men are outnumbered by sheep
But in the homophobic 1980s, this was no joke.
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I’m not asking if I can take a seat at the table. I am demanding you move
When I was just a snot-nosed kid, I failed my eleven-plus. And so, my life changed.
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How I reclaimed my school nickname from the bullies
In junior school they called me Nancy Clancy because I was a girly boy with a lisp. Fast forward 40…
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My childhood in chips and lamb tagine
Senses like taste powerfully evoke memories that help us understand ourselves. For those of us on cultural margins, food can…
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Every child deserves magic. So why are children of colour so under-represented in sci-fi and fantasy?
If publishers fail to see the potential for all children to be magical heroes, then those who are excluded will…
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The joy of swearing
When was the last time you really swore? It could be good for you.
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Unspoken conversations with my grandma in Tesco
Trying to talk to my grandmother in the supermarket was the first time I regretted being unable to speak Gujarati.
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Picking up litter
The mess on my council estate winds me up. I can feel my eyes rolling, the tutting bursting on my…
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The things you remember
At what point does mishearing turn into a false memory? Do we hear and recall what we want to?
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Seeking love and swiping right in Scotland
Thanks to the limitations of my traditional Glaswegian bed recess, I’m looking for a partner strictly 5’ 9” or under.…
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