International Literature Showcase: Writers Who Will Shape Our Future

Good writing knows no borders: Owen Sheers introduces his selection of ten compelling writers based in the UK today


The International Literature Showcase is a partnership between the National Centre for Writing and British Council. It aims to showcase amazing writers based in the UK to programmers, publishers and teachers of literature in English around the world. To do so, we have invited six leading writers to each curate a showcase of themed writing coming out of the UK today.

Following the launches of lists in 2019 and early 2020 from Val McDermid, Elif Shafak and Jackie Kay, author, poet and playwright and Professor in Creativity at Swansea University Owen Sheers selects ten writers who are asking questions about environmental destruction, structural inequality and the role of a writer at times of transition 

The list was revealed on Saturday 23 May during a special edition of the National Centre for Writing’s podcast The Writing Life. The show featured Owen Sheers in conversation with the award-winning journalist Chitra Ramaswamy. The two discussed Owen’s selected writers in relation to our current times and reflected on the role writers can play in shaping a more just future - ensuring we don’t go back to business as usual. Environmental destruction, marginalised voices and structural inequality emerge as themes throughout the selected writers’ work.

 

Read Owen’s piece in the Guardian 


Listen to the podcast with Owen and Chitra Ramaswamy

The list:

  • Raymond Antrobus 
  • Laura Bates
  • Alys Conran 
  • Garrett Carr
  • Nikita Lalwani 
  • Hannah Lavery
  • Elizabeth Jane-Burnett 
  • Martin MacInnes 
  • Clare Pollard 
  • Adam Weymouth 

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