“Not everything in the forest is lovely and not all nature writing is to the taste of every reader. But more voices need to be heard from ethnic-minority writers and from a wider range of identities and backgrounds.” – Robert Macfarlane, the New Statesman
Spread the Word, in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust, are running This Is Our Place; a nature writing project celebrating London’s wildlife, nature and the diverse communities of the city through words. This Is Our Place exists to reimagine how we live in London and reflect on our individual and collective relationship to nature and place. They want to see nature writing being created and read by a multiplicity of people, reflective of the backgrounds of the citizens of our great city.
Nature writing (poetry, nonfiction or fiction about the natural environment) is a powerful way of connecting people to the natural environment via creative self-reflection, mindfulness, and imagination. It opens up the conversation and supports the exploration key themes such as climate emergency, healing and spirituality.
There is currently a bias towards publishing white, middle-class nature writers. London, as one of the world’s most vibrant and green capital cities (47% green), is the perfect setting to address this imbalance of voices, engage local communities with nature writing and connect people to their local green spaces.
There is a fee of £2,400 for this work. This fee is inclusive of VAT, preparation and travel costs. They believe this is around seven days work in total.
Each writer is asked to deliver:
- Two nature writing workshops of 2 hours in length for up to 20 adult participants in June in one of these locations on the specified dates and times.
- Writing a new piece of no more than 1500 words for inclusion in the project anthology inspired by spending time in your London Wildlife Trust residency location
- Co-hosting and reading at the project celebration event anthology launch in October at Camley Street Natural Park – Kings Cross on Sunday 11 October 2- 4pm.
Criteria
- Extensive experience of leading writing workshops with different communities;
- A publishing track record (you may or may not have published a full-length work, but they would like you to have been published in a variety of journals / magazines / anthologies);
- Able to produce creative work to deadlines;
- A good working knowledge of contemporary nature writing, including nature writing by writers from underrepresented backgrounds;
- A demonstrable personal and artistic interest in nature;
- Passionate about opening up space and access to new and diverse voices in nature writing and shares the values and philosophy of This is Our Place.
Deadline
Wednesday 18 March, 10am
Informal interviews (in person or on Skype) will be held on: Thursday 26 March 2020