Applications for the 2026/27 Programme are now closed!
We will inform all applicants of the outcome of their submission by 31 May 2026.
The London Library Emerging Writers Programme, now moving into its eighth year, is a unique opportunity which offers writers, in all genres and disciplines, one year’s free membership of The London Library and includes writing development masterclasses, networking opportunities, peer support, access to and guidance in using all the Library’s resources and publication in the cohort anthology. With its rich cultural heritage, extensive open access book collection, dedicated writing spaces and its diverse community of established writers, the benefits of Library membership are invaluable.
For 185 years The London Library has played a central role in inspiring writers and researchers, helping them explore and develop their work. From Charles Dickens to Sarah Waters, Charles Darwin to Simon Schama, Virginia Woolf to Kazuo lshiguro, Bram Stoker to Jessie Burton, TS Eliot to Raymond Antrobus, writers have found it to be an unrivalled resource. Previous members of The London Library Emerging Writers Programme have gone on to find agents and publishers, have had work produced for stage, screen and radio and won major literary prizes. See below for more information on previous cohorts and click here to discover their publishing and production success.
The London Library Emerging Writers Programme is open to anyone over 18 years of age (there is no upper age limit), who is committed to pursuing a career in writing, wants to develop their practice and has not previously had long-form work published or professionally produced. Applicants should be working, or planning to work, on a specific project, with the aim of publication or production, and have a clear idea of how they might use the Library’s resources to achieve that aim. They should be based in the UK, willing to fully participate in all elements of the Programme and immerse themselves in the writing community it offers. There is no application fee and participation on the Programme is funded.
Applicants will be selected anonymously by a panel of judges including: non-fiction writer Lamorna Ash (Dark Salt Clear, Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever); novelist and LLEWP alum Abi Daré (The Girl With the Louding Voice, And So I Roar); literary agent Elise Dillsworth; playwright, radio dramatist and children’s author Christopher William Hill (Song of the Western Man, Killing Maestros, Osbert the Avenger); poet and poetry editor Sarah Howe (Loop of Jade,Foretokens); and screenwriter and director Sam Leifer (Plebs,Call My Agent). Meet the judges here.
The Programme will launch on 1 July 2026 and run until 30 June 2027. Sessions take place on weekday evenings (from 6.30-9pm) usually on the third Tuesday of the month and alternate between peer support meetings and masterclasses, all of which are designed to work across all forms of writing. The Programme will take place at the Library and some travel/access bursaries will be available.
If you have any questions regarding the Programme or your recent application, please contact the Programme Team, on emergingwriters@londonlibrary.co.uk.
Programme Funding
The Emerging Writers Programme is only possible thanks to the support and partnership of donors and funders, including The Charlotte Aitken Trust, Hawthornden Foundation, Bloomsbury Publishing, Amazon Literary Partnership and The International Friends of The London Library. If you are interested in supporting the Emerging Writers Programme please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or donate online.
Two bursary funds are available to support members of the cohort who may face financial, health, or any other barriers that would prevent them fully accessing the Programme. The Emerging Writers Programme Access Bursary helps support those participants most in need and the Virago Participation Bursary has been generously funded by Virago Press to support global majority women and global majority writers from under-represented genders.
VIEW THE 2024/25 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
VIEW THE 2023/24 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
VIEW THE 2022/23 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
VIEW THE 2021/22 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
VIEW THE 2020/21 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
VIEW THE 2019/20 COHORT and ANTHOLOGY
