Thirty Years Later, Spread the Word Can Finally Call Itself the London Writers Centre
- Shayeri Bhattacharyya
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
The 30th year of the London Writers Centre, previously known as Spread the Word, stands witness to its glorific continuation of advocating for intersectional voices in publishing. The renaming contributes to its ideology of making room for underrepresented writers who are left out of mainstream spaces, by organising festivals, partnerships and the hosting of other programmes in London. The Booker Prize winning author and founder Bernardine Evaristo takes pride in how Spread the Word has finally acquired the right to call itself the London Writers Centre after thirty long years. The acquisition of this deserving right marks the 30th anniversary of the institution.
It was 1995 when Bernardine Evaristo and Ruth Borthwick felt the need to conceptualise a space for representing and taking forward the creative careers of marginalised writers. What followed was a bi-annual program schedule of events and workshops in which the writers took part as tutors to give shape to their visionary. In the mid-90s, London Writers Centre (as Spread the Word) programmed The Poetry Seminar, where the writers gathered to discuss the issues they were collectively facing, which eventually led to the Free Verse Report that showed how under 1% of the contemporary books in the UK were by people of colour. Following this, the project The Complete Works was created, where thirty poets, including Inua Ellams, Roger Robinson and Malika Booker, were mentored to develop their works for publication.
The 21st century has also been a witness to several achievements of the Centre. Between 2016 and 2021, (erstwhile) Spread the Word has run the Young People’s Laureate for London, and since 2018, it has run the London Writers Award as a direct response to its Writing the Future report. It is because of the London Writers Award that 51 awardees are now agented with sixty-three scheduled or published books. Moreover, the award is also currently the most successful development in the UK vis-a-vis writers from marginalised communities in publishing. Needless to say, the Centre has received national and international recognition for its groundbreaking research. The project Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing has been published as the first in-depth academic study in the UK on diversity in trade fiction and the publishing industry while Access to Literature with CRIPtic Arts has focused on deaf and disabled people.
In 2026, London Writers Centre will host the 5th Deptford Literature Festival with the theme of environmental justice, the 6th London Writers Award, and the Welcome Collection Non-fiction Awards. It is also partnering with Eve White Literary Agency for There is Only Narrative: Non-fiction Demystified which will include both competition and masterclasses. Moreover, the Lewisham Youth Club Project will be funded by the Youth First Legacy Fund, and will comprise of creative events for the younger generation as part of the Lewisham Borough of Literature campaign. The Centre will also design new training modules and other resources as a part of its Access to Literature Action Research by collaborating with deaf and disabled facilitators and organisations. Young Writers Collective and CRIPtic x London Writers Centre Salon are some of the other programmes to look forward to at the Centre.
The London Writers Centre aspires to create a vibrant space for writers to learn and collaborate and, thus, illustrate the diversity of London’s literary life. The Centre will also continue its campaign to establish Lewisham, London as the UK's first Borough of Literature, both for and with everyone from the different age groups of the UK’s wide population. Ruth Harrison, the current Director of the Centre said, “We need to ensure that intersectional voices continue to be heard and supported to tell and publish their stories…Under our new name, we are still working towards the same vision: a world in which literature is accessible to everyone.” The Chair of London Writers Centre, Aimée Felone has said how the brand new evolution of Spread the Word is “an incredible cementing” of the work being done and the spaces the Centre wants to expand in.
The 30th Anniversary has been marked with a newly commissioned work from the Somali-British writer Momtaza Mehri, who has spoken about the profound impact that the Centre has had in her journey as a writer, and how it has made her writing life a less lonely one. The new website and brand launch of the London Writers Centre takes place on 10 December. It is also taking part in the Big Gift Christmas Challenge to raise funds towards its Lewisham as Borough of Literature campaign. London Writers Centre is a platform that prominently upholds intersectionality by highlighting Black, Asian and Global Majority people, the LGBTQIA+ population, d/Deaf and Disabled, working class people, as well as those on low incomes. Through its representation of literature produced from the margins of UK society, the Centre remains significantly committed to its goal of equitable access to literature across all forms of social orientations.
The London Writers Centre website is now live and can be accessed here.
