Poets of Colour Incubator 2023-2024

The Poets of Colour Incubator is a practical and energised response to the reality that racial and cultural equity in the arts, poetry and publishing is a target that has yet to be fully realised. This is despite numerous independent reports since 2004 highlighting the lack of diversity and inclusion for writers of colour in Britain. * 

Limited access to mentoring, a systemic lack of understanding of the challenges facing poets of colour who are disabled, have lived experience of mental illness, are LGBTQ+, have experience of forced migration, and may face additional barriers based on social class and geography, are common themes. Poets of colour are also less likely to apply for development opportunities, awards or prizes.

In 2020, The State of Poetry and Poetry Criticism in the UK and Ireland 2009–2019 study noted that the British poetry world is “failing to meet even the most basic measurements of inclusivity” and called out the ‘systemic exclusion’ of poets and critics of colour from UK and Irish poetry magazines. Research also shows a short-termism approach to diversity and inclusion with little focus on poetry.

Which is why the Incubator aims to build on the achievements and learning of key organisations and programmes led by and with poets of colour over many decades, such as Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, The Complete Works, Obsidian and Middle Way Mentoring, among others. These programmes have enabled poets of colour to develop their practice within a supportive environment in acknowledgement of past and existing racial inequity. 

*In Full Colour, 2004; Free Verse, 2005; Writing the Future, 2015; CLPE Reflecting Realities, 2018-2022; BookTrust Represents, 2019-2020; Rethinking Diversity in Publishing, 2020; BookTrust Represents, 2022; The Bookseller x BAE The Black Issue Launch Story, 2022. (This is not an exhaustive  list.)

1. The Poets of Colour Incubator is for talented and emerging artists from Black, Asian, Arab and Mixed Heritage backgrounds, of all ages from 18 upwards, who are resident in the North of England *.
2. The term ‘emerging’ refers to early career poets with a minimum of two years committed poetry practice.
3. If you have previously had a collection of poetry published, been commissioned or produced a full one hour live show, you are not eligible to apply.
4. If you have self published work, then you are eligible to apply.
5. If you are in full or part time education you are not eligible to apply.
6. The Incubator is open to all poetry forms, including spoken word, interdisciplinary poets, and those who work with new media or have visual or participatory practices.
7. This programme encourages applications from those who wouldn’t normally consider applying for development opportunities, awards or prizes.

*North of England is defined as the areas covered by Arts Council England North region as the North West, Yorkshire and the North East of England.

The Poets of Colour Incubator will enable poets to:

• Develop, test and perform dynamic new work to the public.
• Have space to create and explore new ideas, disciplines, forms and practice.
• Develop a personalised model of creative entrepreneurship and creative wellbeing for their holistic development.
• Access a creative and experienced support system, including mentors and critical friends.

You are encouraged to apply if:

• You are an emerging poet of colour resident in the North of England. 
• Poetry is at the core of your practice. 
• You are willing to collaborate and connect with your fellow poets and want to be part of, and contribute to a community of practice. 
• You will benefit from reflection and development time, a financial bursary and  mentoring support and a co-production approach to develop your creative and artistic practice. 
• You wouldn’t normally consider applying for a programme like this. 

Selection process:

The Incubator welcomes written applications for online submission. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview. 

If you need any reasonable adjustments to be made for you to complete the application and/or to attend an interview in person or online, please email PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk. 

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application, but we regret we will be unable to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications. 

Applications will be assessed on: 

• The potential of the Incubator to impact creatively and positively on your practice/career. 

• How the programme will benefit and amplify your idea, practice, performance and creative development. 

• The quality of your poetry and creative practice. 

• Your commitment to being part of a community of practice. 

• The strength of the case that you make for your own idea and how you will explore it.  

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 25th July 2023 at 5pm. 

Interviews will take place the week commencing Monday 7th August 2023. 

Successful candidates will be notified by Tuesday 15th August 2023. 

Please note:

• The Incubator will end in early September 2024.
• We will inform all applicants of the outcome of their application, but we regret we will be unable to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications.

If you have any questions not covered in the guidance for application above, please email Roma Havers on PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk.

Application process: Key dates

Application information sessions

We will be hosting two online Incubator information sessions on Zoom, dates:

Thursday 29th June 12pm and  Monday10th July 5pm.

Travel expenses

If the cost of travel to interview will be a prohibitive barrier to attending, please get in touch and we will arrange to accommodate travel costs.

Access

If you have any access requirements or need any reasonable adjustments to be made to apply, or attend an interview, please email PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk.

The Poets of Colour Incubator is a 12-month programme offering mentoring, change agency opportunities and creative development to three talented and emerging poets of colour, of all ages from 18 upwards, based in the North of England at a crucial stage of their practice and will give an additional five shortlisted poets career signposting and professional guidance. The Incubator is a collaboration between Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University and Words of Colour, with support from a number of partners including Contact, HOME, Manchester UNESCO City of Literature and New Writing North. The programme is funded by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme, Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester City of Literature.

Manchester Poetry Library  opened in 2021 and is the North West’s first public poetry library  - open to all. Based at Manchester Metropolitan University, we host a collection of over 12,000 books and recordings profiling 20th and 21st century poets, a growing children’s collection, and a languages collection co-curated with bilingual and multilingual poets. Alongside the library and collection, Manchester Poetry Library is developing a year round learning programme for readers and writers, especially those who experience barriers to access, as well as a free events, workshops and an exhibition programme. The Poetry Library is changing and developing all the time in terms of the collection and its programme - tell us what change you want to see. 

Words of Colour, The Immersive Change Agency, creates alternative pathways and sustainable opportunities for writers, creatives, entrepreneurs and communities of colour to thrive - and for unheard stories to be told. Launched in 2006, it originates, curates, produces, collaborates and leads on projects that straddle literature, creative industries, academia, research, digital entrepreneurship and creative wellbeing to generate meaningful change. Words of Colour’s production arm produces films, podcasts, photography, graphic design and cultural events, and champions digital engagement. Among its awards is the NESTA/Observer ‘New Radicals’ Award 2018 for the Synergi Collaborative Centre, a national initiative it co-founded.

Contact is a multi-arts venue that invests in the next generation, so everyone can hear what the future has to say. Our creative activities are diverse, inspiring and in tune with today, from creating productions to appointing staff and collaborators we encourage 13-30 year olds to turn the seed of an idea into something spectacular.

HOME is an expansive arts space with galleries, cinemas & stages hosting an array of live performances. We work with international and UK artists to produce entertaining, extraordinary experiences, creating an exciting mix of thought-provoking film, art, drama, dance, and festivals, with a strong focus on new commissions, and talent development. HOME’s ambition is to push the boundaries of form and technology, to experiment, have fun, take risks and share great new art with the widest possible audience.

New Writing North is the writing development agency for the North of England.  We are based in Newcastle upon Tyne from where we have produced nationally significant work since 1996. One of our key goals is to identify and develop talented writers especially those from under-represented backgrounds, we do this in a number of ways, including through our Northern Writers Awards, running roadshows and grassroots writer development programmes, mentoring and training programmes, facilitating networks and by working in partnership with publishers, broadcasters and other commissioners.

Manchester UNESCO City of Literature  Manchester was successful in its bid to join UNESCO’s worldwide Creative Cities network as a City of Literature in 2017. Joining 41 other Cities of Literature, a consortium including Manchester City Council, the Universities, Manchester Literature Festival plus a range of the city’s writers, publishers and literary organisations has formed to enable this to happen. Manchester City of Literature is a charity that manages the UNESCO designation on behalf of over thirty partner organisations. Our vision is to create an innovative, distinctive, equitable, globally connected city of reading and writing. We want Manchester to be a city where diverse voices are celebrated, creative talent and industries are nurtured and where literary activity changes lives. 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 we will invest over £440 million of public money from Government and an estimated £93 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.  

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19. 

GENERAL

• The Poets of Colour Incubator (the “Incubator”) is a collaboration between Manchester Metropolitan University (“Manchester Met”) and Words of Colour (“WoC”).
• In order to be eligible to apply, you must:
  • Be a UK resident, residing in the North of England, defined as the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber;
  • Be at least 18 years of age;
  • Be of Black, Asian, Arab or Mixed Heritage background; and
  • Have not:
    • Had a full poetry collection published by an independent or mainstream publisher, or
    • Been commissioned to perform a full length show (one hour or more) in a live venue or digitally.
• The deadline for applications is 5pm (BST time) on Tuesday 25th July 2023. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.
• In order to be considered, applicants must submit:
  • An online application form;
  • Three examples of existing poetic work;
  • A CV outlining artistic practice and/or any relevant experience to date;
  • A monitoring form which will be anonymised on the point of receival by an administrator who is the only person with access the email inbox. 
• Applications must be completed via the Incubator website page. If due to a disability or extenuating circumstance you need to submit your application as a hard copy, please email PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk as soon as possible ahead of the deadline.
• This project will run inline with Manchester Met’s data protection obligations while they remain in force including the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and any other laws and regulations relating to the processing of personal data and privacy in the United Kingdom,
• The application process will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
• Manchester Met reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions and the associated project where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond Manchester Met’s control. Any changes to the criteria or application process will be posted on the Manchester Poetry Library website.

SHORTLISTING AND SELECTION

• A selection panel of award-winning poets and literary and culture specialists from Words of Colour, Manchester Poetry Library and Manchester Met will longlist and shortlist applications.
• The selection criteria is as follows:
  • How the programme will benefit and amplify your idea, practice, performance and professional development;
  • The quality of your poetry and creative practice;
  • Your commitment to being part of a community of practice; and
  • The strength of the case that you make for your own idea and how you will explore it.
• All shortlisted applicants must be available for interview week commencing Monday 7th August 2023.
• Successful applicants will be notified by Tuesday 15 August 2023.
• All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application, but we regret we will be unable to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications. All decisions are final and at the sole discretion of the panel.

SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS

Successful applicants will receive:

• A £6000 creative action bursary
• Access to professional mentoring from poet Roger Robinson
• Access to 5 mentoring masterclasses on:
  • How to develop a Creative Wellbeing Audit
  • Creative Entrepreneurship and Having a Sustainable Career
  • Poetry, Resilience and Change Agency
  • Interrogating your Craft and Performance
  • Digital Inclusion for Live Events
• Receive mentoring on creative wellbeing and creative entrepreneurship from Words of Colour
• Successful applicants will also be expected to:
  • Test, develop and perform their poetry through artistic co-production
  • Work with the public on idea development through incubator drop-ins and scratch performances
  • Co-develop a live, end of programme showcase

CONTACT

Our Information page provides answers to most questions. If you have further queries, please email the Poets of Colour Incubator team at PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk.

PRIVACY NOTICE FOR THE POETS OF COLOUR INCUBATOR 2023

This Privacy Notice explains who we are, how and why we collect and use personal information about you, what personal data is collected and held about you for the Poets of Colour Incubator 2023, our purposes and lawful bases for processing, who we share your personal data with, relevant retention periods, and how you can exercise your privacy rights.

Please do read this notice to understand our practices and if you have any questions please contact us using the contact details provided below.

The University is registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We manage personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the University’s Data Protection Policy.

Your application submission data will be shared with our partner organisation Words of Colour (WoC). It will be identifiable, as the Words of Colour team are part of the selection process for shortlisting applicants.

Your Equality and Diversity Data will only be shared anonymously. Your data will not be shared internationally or with any third party processor.

If you choose to submit your work for the Poets of Colour Incubator, we collect and process certain data about you. This includes:

• Your first and last name
• Your age range
• Country and postcode
• Email Address
• Telephone number

Our lawful basis for processing the above details is ‘legitimate interests’.

If you are shortlisted your data will be shared with an internal team of judges and Data Controller:‘Words of Colour’.

If you are unsuccessful in being shortlisted, your ‘email address’ will be retained for a mailing list, so you can be sent further opportunities but from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you are successful in being shortlisted, your data will be retained for a mailing list and so you can be invited to workshops and opportunities, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you are successful in being chosen as one of the poets, your data will be retained for a mailing list, and shared with the Incubator mentors so that they can tailor their mentoring to you.

Any relevant data you share with us about your progress will be shared with Words Of Colour as part of the evaluation report to Arts Council England.

If you no longer want your email address to be held, please contact the project team at PoCIncubator@mmu.ac.uk or our data protection officer at dataprotection@mmu.ac.uk.

Your personal data will only be retained for as long as it is necessary in accordance with the University’s Retention and Disposal Schedule. Specifically, we will retain your personal data for a period of 5 years, for a mailing list.

For further information about your data rights please visit our website or contact our data protection officer at dataprotection@mmu.ac.uk.

Please note, that these rights apply in certain circumstances, for example according to the lawful basis utilised by the University. The right of access to personal information held about you exists in order to be aware of, and verify, the lawfulness of the processing. Please use the contact information below to exercise these rights.

For questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice, or our use of your personal information, please contact the Poets of Colour Incubator team at pocincubator@mmu.ac.uk in the first instance.

Our Data Protection Officer can also be contacted using dataprotection@mmu.ac.uk, by calling 0161 247 3884 or in writing to: Data Protection Officer, Legal Services, All Saints Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as the supervisory authority in respect of the processing of your personal data. We would encourage you to expend our internal complaints procedure through our initial contact and the University Data Protection Officer, prior to contacting the ICO.

Please contact: casework@ico.org.uk or telephone: 0303 123 1113. For any further contact information please see: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.