Creative Opportunities
Through our UNESCO Cities of Literature Network, we’re able to offer writers, poets, graphic novelists, authors, & other creatives in Devon meaningful creative opportunities locally, nationally, and internationally.
If you are going to apply for any of these activities, please do contact us first to discuss your application so that we can support you as much as possible!
Writers’ Mailing list
We share these opportunities with our Writer’s Mailing List before they’re published to the website. We’ll also let you know about any other commissions and opportunities that we can’t share here.
Exeter Cathedral 'Book of Riddles Community Choir'
Join Exeter Cathedral’s weekly songwriting choir for the chance to co-write songs inspired by the Exeter Book – the oldest book of English literature in the world!
As part of the choir, you will be writing songs for The Book of Riddles, a new musical that tells the story of the creation of the 10th century Exeter Book and explores the meaning of art and community in a time of crisis. Led by Jack Dean & Company, the choir will meet weekly at Exeter Cathedral to write and rehearse the songs in the lead up to a work-in-progress performance to share the work you have created.
The Book of Riddles Community Choir is open to people aged 18+. There will be no auditions and all singing abilities welcome to this fun and inclusive choir.
Open call for artists to work on Changing Stories: Connecting and Collecting with Exeter’s Communities
RAMM are looking to commission a Devon or Cornwall-based artist to run a series of 7 workshops with a selection of community groups. Groups will include older people, young people, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and families.
The work produced through the project is intended to bring new readings and stories to the museum, created by people with a diverse range of abilities, backgrounds and experiences. Through the workshops the artist will guide participants through making a creative outcome (e.g textile piece/pieces) and also collect stories from participants about places that are important in their lives, for example natural or man-made environments, geological elements, or landmarks. The artist will use objects from the museum as inspiration for the workshops.
We are looking to commission an experienced socially engaged practitioner for this project who will work directly with groups and will build on the relationships that RAMM has begun to develop with local community organisations.
The work produced by the participants will reflect the theme stories of place, which ties in with the aims of RAMM’s National Lottery Heritage Fund-funded project Changing Stories: Connecting and Collecting with Exeter’s communities. This project positions RAMM as a place-shaper, using its collection to ground people in their locality and history.
Fee/Budget
Freelance Fee: £5000 (inclusive of travel expenses)
7 workshop sessions at RAMM May-Nov 2025
Materials budget – we have additional budget (approx. £80 per session) to cover materials for the workshops
Start: May 2025
Finish: Nov 2025
Location: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter
How to apply
Put together a maximum two-page expression of interest including an artist statement explaining why you are interested in this opportunity. This should include a demonstrable track record of delivering creative activities with the public
Compile a portfolio of previous work with relevant links – include handles to social media pages. Please ensure your portfolio is shared as a PDF document and is no more than 5MB in size
Complete the anonymous diversity monitoring form
Submit your expression of interest and portfolio by email to eleanor.coleman@exeter.gov.uk no later than 5pm 22nd April 2025
Interviews will take place online on Mon 28th and Tue 29th April with Ellie Coleman (Engagement Officer) and Lara Goodband (Contemporary Art Curator & Programmer).
We welcome applicants with lived experience of disability and people from groups that are currently under-represented in the arts sector. For further information or support with access requirements for your application, please contact eleanor.coleman@exeter.gov.uk
AIR Literature Västra Götaland announces residency scholarships
Are you a professional writer or translator? Do you need a dedicated space to work? Are you looking for a peaceful environment and inspiration in Gothenberg UNESCO City of Literature?
The residency scholarship includes one month of free accommodation and access to a workspace. The scholarship amount is 20,000 SEK. In residency scholarships where the host is a library or a free cultural actor, an author fee of 8,500 SEK is also included for a public event arranged during the residency in collaboration with the host (institution).
All residency scholarships take place in November 2025.
The scholarship recipient books and pays for their own travel to and from the residency. After the residency, both the scholarship recipient and the host must submit a short report on the residency.
Application
Applicants must be authors or translators and must be published. Those working in various genres (poetry, prose, drama, graphic literature) are welcome to apply. We accept applications from all over the world, but particularly welcome applications from:
Authors and translators active within UNESCO's network for creative cities, literature area
Authors and translators active within Sweden's national minorities and minority languages
Contact
airlitteratur@vgregion.se
The application window for the 2025 Creative Nonfiction Grant is open. Applications are due by April 23, 2025.
Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant
Click here to view the online application form. Application guidelines are below.
The 2025 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant of $40,000 will be awarded to as many as ten writers in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership. It is intended for multiyear book projects requiring large amounts of deep and focused research, thinking, and writing at a crucial point mid-process, after significant work has been accomplished but when an extra infusion of support can make a difference in the ultimate shape and quality of the work.
Whiting welcomes applications for works of history, cultural or political reportage, biography, memoir, science, philosophy, criticism, graphic nonfiction, and personal essays, among other categories. Again, the work should be intended for a general, not academic, adult reader. Self-help titles, historical fiction, textbooks, books primarily for a scholarly audience, and books for young readers are not eligible. Examples of the wide range of previous grantees can be found here.
Projects must be under contract with a publisher in Canada, the UK, or the US by April 23 to be eligible. Contracts with self-publishing companies are not eligible.
If you have any questions about the eligibility of your project or the application process, please contact us at nonfiction@whiting.org.
Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers
Gaia (an imprint of the Octopus Publishing Group), Class Nature and The Working Class Writers Festival are on the hunt for a new voice in nature writing.
The winning writer will receive 3 one-hour mentoring sessions with a Gaia commissioner and 1 one-hour mentoring session with a publishing agent, a commissioned piece in a nature-related outlet, two online Arvon masterclasses and one online Arvon writing day, plus a book bundle from Octopus Publishing Group.
To enter, submit your work by Midnight on 25 April 2025.
To qualify, the author must be a UK resident who is not currently represented by an agent. The author must self-identify as working class and not have been published commercially in any form.
The work submitted must not have been previously published digitally or in book form. Your work must be 100% original and 1,000 words or less. Fiction, non-fiction and poetry will all be accepted. Those shortlisted will be notified by 9 June 2025. The shortlist will be announced by 15 June 2025.
Challacombe Chronicled Community Call Out
Be part of a co-creative project connecting with nature and the vibrant history and ecology of Challacombe Farm, Dartmoor through dance, poetry and film. If you are aged 18+ and would like to take part in workshops and be part of making filmed poetry and dance in the landscape we would love to hear from you!
Take part as a writer, dancer, or both. Challacombe Chronicled is a unique project designed to celebrate local expression and you will be able to shape your experience within the project to suit your needs, energy and interests.
The project is free to take part in and is suitable for anyone interested in writing or dance or both. It is unique process, which is suitable for beginners or more experienced dancers or writers. To be in the films, you must be available for filming on Dartmoor during the day over the weekend 24th-25th May 2025. You can choose which workshop date(s) you can take part in - and we would be delighted if you can take part in multiple workshops!
To register please fill in this form before Friday 25th April, 6pm. Knowing who to expect really helps us to prepare but should you see this call out too late for our deadlines, it will still be possible for you to take part (just submit your form or email Clare and await confirmation).
Creative Futures Writers’ Award 2025
We’re excited to announce our 2025 Writers’ Award Competition is officially open for entries!
The Creative Future Writers’ Award is the only free to enter national competition for all underrepresented writers: those who face barriers due to mental health challenges, physical or learning disability, neurodiversity, survivors, and those from LGBTQIA+, working class and/or Black, Asian and global majority backgrounds.
The theme for this year’s award’s is ‘Wild’. The theme is a creative prompt, not a requirement, we’re looking for quality writing first and foremost. The competition is open for poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction.
This year we’ve expanded to fifteen winners (5 winners in each category) who will share:
be published in our anthology and eBook
read at our showcase, part of the London Literature Festival 2025
ongoing development support from Creative Future
Our judges are journalist, broadcaster and editor Kieran Yates, author Irenosen Okojie, and poet Nancy Campbell, alongside a panel of publishing industry experts.
You have until Sunday 18 May 2025, 11.59pm to submit your poetry (up to 50 lines), fiction or creative non-fiction pieces (up to 2000 words).
Announcing Campfire – Exeter’s New Quarterly Literary Salon
Location: The Refuge, beneath The Mermaid Cocktail Bar, Gandy Street, Exeter
When: Wednesday 21st May 2025 at 7pm
Exeter’s newest quarterly literary salon, a welcoming space for writers and storytellers of all backgrounds and styles. Set in the intimate surroundings of The Refuge, located beneath The Mermaid cocktail bar on Gandy Street, Campfire offers a cozy environment where creativity can flourish and stories can come to life.
Each edition of Campfire centers around a prompt phrase, inspiring submissions of fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry, or plays. The prompt can be taken literally or more of a jumping off point, it's all up to you. Writers are encouraged to submit works that can be read aloud within 10 minutes, allowing for a dynamic evening of storytelling and shared ideas.
At Campfire, we gather to listen, reflect, and engage in the timeless tradition of storytelling, celebrating the power of words to connect us all. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or someone finding your creative voice, this is your chance to contribute and be heard.
Submission Guidelines: Work must be inspired by the quarterly prompt phrase, with fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry, or plays up to 10 minutes long when read aloud. Please email wmarkbest@gmail.com in advance if you are planning to come along and read so we can gauge the timings.
May Prompt Phrase - “Don’t worry, I’m not staying…”
Come share your story at Campfire—where the flicker of words and ideas will light up the room. For submissions or more information, contact us at wmarkbest@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @campfireexeter
Step into the circle, share your voice, and let your words kindle the conversation.
Ronald Duncan Archive Stipend
Ronald Duncan (1914-1982), pictured above in his writing hut on the cliffs of Welcombe, North Devon, was a productive West Country author, journalist, playwright, poet, and scriptwriter. He may be best known as the librettist for Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (1946) and for his poem The Horse, which is read annually at the Horse of the Year show. Duncan’s writing hut also features on Exeter City of Literature’s Literary Map.
His career encompassed experiments with several writing forms including his epic poem Man (The Complete Cantos, 1980), and a one act play in Stereophonic Sound O-B-A-F-G. Duncan left the legacy of a fascinating archive of literary and personal papers, the Ronald Duncan Collection, which was donated to Special Collections in 2016.
Find out more about Ronald Duncan in their online exhibition
University of Exeter Special Collections is thrilled to launch the annual Ronald Duncan Stipends for Southwest Writing. These Stipends are funded by a donation from the Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation to continue his legacy of experimental and cross-disciplinary writing.
Each year, three talented writers will have the chance to explore our incredible archives to inspire new creative works. We’re looking for innovative minds eager to engage with our collections in fresh and exciting ways, producing original writing and sharing their journey with the public.
While the University of Exeter Special Collections (Exeter & Penryn campuses) will be the core focus, we welcome projects that connect with other heritage organisations, weaving rich narratives across multiple collections.
Each year one of these stipends may be offered in partnership with another organisation and take a specific focus. For 2025 we are partnering with Exeter City of Literature to offer one of the stipends to a writer from another UNESCO City of Literature. You can find more about this particular stipend here.
What’s in it for you?
£2,000 stipend to support your time and expenses
Up to £500 for outreach and engagement activities
Specialist guidance from our expert Special Collections team
Access to a vibrant network of university partners & professionals
If you’re passionate about archives, storytelling, and bringing history to life through writing, this is your chance! Your next great story starts here...
The Coleridge Poetry Prize
The Coleridge Poetry Prize is open for entries!
Submit a poem (up to 40 lines) on any topic for a chance to win £50 and publication in our Exmoor Review journal.
This year, the competition will be judged by Tom Cain, Emeritus Professor and published poet and critic.
Happy Writing!
Closing Date: Monday 30th June 2025
Entry: info@exmoorsociety.com
Could you be Exeter’s first Young City Laureate?
The search is on to find Exeter’s first ever Young City Laureate. Literature Works are looking for an aspiring young writer aged between 14 and 19 years who is ambitious to develop as a writer and performer, voicing the stories of the young people of Exeter.
The role of Exeter Young City Laureate is important. The chosen young writer will be commissioned and paid to create work to celebrate special events or occasions in the city and will be invited to perform in libraries, schools and at festivals.
Submissions are open now and close at midday on Wednesday 16th July 2025.
Who can apply?
The Young City Laureate is open to any young person aged 14-19 who lives, works or studies in Exeter. You will be a writer of either prose (fiction, creative non-fiction) or poetry.
