Introducing My Working Class Anthology 2021/22
In October 2021, I made a pledge to mentor one working class writer each month for a year. We would work together one-to-one for a month after which, they would join my private Facebook group of other writers, and slowly I would build a community that could support itself.
I also committed that each month I would meet with them all for a Zoom and I would bring along with me a professional from the publishing world, be that an author, an agent, or an editor. I wanted to make – what often seems – a closed industry accessible to people who wouldn’t ordinarily have chance to speak to these professionals. I am so grateful to those who gave up their time to come and speak with my mentees – you are all thanked individually inside the anthology by the mentees themselves.
And so, it gives me great pride to share with you an anthology of their work that they have produced. It has been compiled, designed and edited by two mentees, Nicola and Alex, and features the work of seven out of the fourteen people that I worked with over the last year who are all seeking representation.
Below you will find the link to download their anthology. If you are a writer and you are reading this, you will know just how much this means to my mentees, so please support them by sharing their anthology widely – the best way to support them is simply by sending the link to your agent which will take approximately one minute of your time. If you are an agent or editor, please take the time to read their words, their biographies and the synopses of their work in progress. If you are a reader, simply enjoy…
Here is what I wrote for the introduction of the anthology:
One thing struck me when reading through the works in this anthology – the number of these writers whose words concern home and family.
People of working class backgrounds can sometimes feel that our home life, our family life, isn’t much to write home about. In fact, some of us even write different stories simply to escape it. My stepdad was usually drunk on a Friday when I came home from school. I’d walk into my street on the council estate where I lived and I’d hear eighties’ music blasting out of the open kitchen windows: Eddy Grant; UB40; The Police.
I’d say goodbye to my school friend and feel shame that it was that house – of all the houses – I needed to go into. Why not one of those posh ones on the other side of the lake? The ones with the garages attached and the shiny cars parked in front of them?
My mum wasn’t a writer – she worked for a double glazing firm – but she rewrote our history, she bought our council house, she moved us off the council estate we had loved for sixteen years, we ‘bettered’ ourselves yet by doing so we lost the community that shaped my childhood.
Three decades later, I’m proud of my working class background, and the fact that many of the writers you will read here have chosen to write about home, returning home, family, old stories, and even old wounds, makes me think that they are proud too.
And so we should be.
Perhaps we realise now that we don’t have to rewrite our stories, we don’t have to edit them into something a little more socially acceptable, we simply need to tell them.
So much good art comes out of those little estates. Back in the eighties, working class heroes inspired a disaffected youth with their art, their words, their music. We grew up thinking we could do anything, be anyone. What will young people be inspired by today? A few angry tweets?
I have felt honoured to work with these working class writers, their determination, work ethic and passion is borne out of similar humble beginnings to the ones I have described. Please enjoy their work, champion them as I hope I have done, and if you are a published writer, consider supporting others who might not ordinarily gain entrance into, what seems like, the closed publishing world – just one person if you’re pushed for time. Demystify it for them, share the secrets, introduce them to the people you know – it will be one of the most rewarding things you ever do.
It has been for me.
Congratulations class of 2021/22!
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