The two year programme will run from April 2020. To be eligible you must be aged between 16 and 21 and live, work or study in the North of England. They welcome writers of any formats – from poetry and prose, through film, stage and radio scripts, to games and graphic novels.

The Squad will provide you with

• one to one support on whatever you are writing
• workshops led by professional writers
• opportunities to work on projects
• a supportive community of writers and artists
• professional development advice and suppor

Criteria

• The north of England is everywhere from Cheshire, South Yorkshire, North and North East Lincolnshire up to the Scottish border in Cumbria and Northumberland. In the past we have also accepted writers from Derbyshire and Staffordshire, people just over the border who feel more connected with the North than the Midlands.
• They will expect you to attend Squad Days four times a year in either Manchester, Newcastle, or Leeds/Sheffield. There will be other workshops on offer involving previous Squad members which you will be welcome to join. You will also have four 1-1 sessions a year with a member of our Core Team.
• The programme is free, all you will have to pay for is travel, though they do have a fund to help with train fares if you need it. The enabling fund not only helps people get to workshops but also support any needs they might have, whether that is expenses for carers, equipment or support.
• Squad Days are workshops lasting 11.00-17.00 on Saturdays. In the first year these are led by the writers on the Core Team and will take place in the region in which you are based. In the second year, the days are led by guest writers –  the workshops could take place in any northern region.
•  They hold at least one two-day workshop a year, open to current and past Squad members. Their focus comes from the particular needs of the Squad and have included weekends spent making short films, making flash online projects, exploring self portraiture with a poet and a photographer, and writing on strange objects at John Rylands Library; as well as open and ‘unblocking’ weekends without agendas.
• Squad Days will be held in city centre venues, like the Anthony Burgess Centre in Manchester, or Yorkshire Dance in Leeds, sometimes they meet in hotel meeting rooms or university seminar rooms.

Deadline
midnight Sunday 29th March 2020.

http://www.writingsquad.com/join-the-squad/