Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies

Arvon is delighted to announce the 12 writers selected for the inaugural Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies, a self-guided talent development programme for emerging writers supported by Jerwood Foundation. The programme received 1,667 applications — an extraordinary response that reflects the depth of ambition and talent among emerging writers in the UK, and the appetite for sustained support to bring writers projects to life. Following a careful selection process, the 12 writers were chosen from across the UK. 

The selected writers work across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and playwriting. Over the course of an 18-month programme — running from spring 2026 to summer 2027 — each writer will shape their own residency, selecting from a mix of Arvon’s residential and online courses to best support their creative process. Alongside this, they will receive quarterly one-to-one tutorials with a dedicated mentor, join online Arvon Masterclasses, and take part in industry advice sessions. The programme will culminate in an online showcase for literary agents, publishers, and other industry professionals. 

‘We were thrilled to receive such a positive and enthusiastic response to the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies 2026–7. We received an unprecedented 1,667 applications across the four genres: poetry, playwriting, fiction, and non-fiction. The quality of writing and project ideas were incredibly high, and our selection team had many difficult decisions to make during the process. The 12 successful writers are very talented, and all have exciting projects which they are ready to develop. We can’t wait to see what they achieve over the next 18 months.’

Rosie Scott, Director of Engagement, Arvon 

The 12 writers were chosen across four disciplines. In poetry, mentored by Leo Boix, the selected writers are Shakeema Edwards, Nida Sajid, and Niroshini Somasundaram. In fiction, mentored by Michael Donkor, the selected writers are Grey Marlow, Alison Powell, and Ronin Sansara. In non-fiction, mentored by Chitra Ramaswamy, the selected writers are Lavendhri Arumugam, Anna Hindocha, and declan wiffen. In playwriting, mentored by Amy Rosenthal, the selected writers are Sabrina Ali, Rae Bell, and Katie Marie Moore. 

The Selected Writers 

Poetry 

Mentor: Leo Boix 

Shakeema Edwards 

Shakeema Edwards is an Antiguan American and author of the pamphlet Recipe for Leaving (Green Bottle Press, 2025). She is now working on poems that explore theology, sexuality, Caribbean identity, and conservationism by probing the wildlives of marine animals. 

Nida Sajid 

Nida Sajid’s first book, COOP: A Novelette, was published by Hajar Press in 2025. Her poems have appeared in Covert, StepAway, Pamenar Magazine and elsewhere. She is currently working on her debut poetry collection exploring neurodivergence and the making of meaning. 

Niroshini Somasundaram 

 Niroshini Somasundaram is a writer, poet and Ledbury Poetry Critic based in London. Her poetry pamphlet Darling Girl was published by Bad Betty Press in 2021. She is working on her first full-length poetry collection, drawing on family history, colonial legacies, and questions of land and place. 

Fiction 

Mentor: Michael Donkor 

Grey Marlow 

Grey Marlow is the co-founder of The Grey Area bookshop. Their manuscript Peach Pit was shortlisted for The Tempest Prize and considered for publication by Cipher Press. Their current project Mycelium is written in first-person plural, via mushrooms communicating about grief.  

Alison Powell 

Alison Powell is an award-winning prose fiction writer and a recovering English teacher. Her writing has been published in various flash fiction anthologies and literary magazines. She is working on a novel set in South Wales that deals with cultural identity and grief. 

Ronin Sansara 

Ronin Sansara is a writer working across fiction, stage, and screen, crafting intimate, character-driven storytelling that explores identity, belonging, and the unseen forces that shape us. A recipient of multiple writing scholarships and awards, he is currently developing a slate of original work. 

Creative Non-fiction 

Mentor: Chitra Ramaswamy 

Lavendhri Arumugam 

Lavendhri Arumugam is a writer and artist. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and has been working on her first book, Secret Flights, since 2018. A recipient of the London Writers Award in 2021, she lives in North London with her husband, some books, and a few hardy plants.  

Anna Hindocha 

Anna Hindocha is a photographer from South London. During a nine-month period in her mid-forties she was diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar, and quit drinking. Her memoir examines the overlapping circles of neurodivergence, mental illness, and substance use. 

declan wiffen 

declan wiffen is a writer living in Kent. His project tells the story of a Seed Merchant who lived in Faversham during the 1950s–60s and explores queer rural history, archival mysteries, and the emotional underbelly of research. 

Playwriting 

Mentor: Amy Rosenthal 

Sabrina Ali 

Sabrina Ali is a South West London-based writer and actor creating authentic, representative stories. Her work includes Dugsi Dayz (Edinburgh Fringe 2023 award-winner, later at New Diorama and Royal Court, now in development with BBC Studios). WAALLI is a psychological horror rooted in folklore, where silenced girls unravel a weaponised legend shaped by institutional trauma. 

Rae Bell 

Rae Bell is a writer and producer from Warrington. She founded Close To Home Productions in 2022, where she wrote and toured her debut play Identities. During the residency, Rae will be developing her new piece The Bookies.  

Katie Marie Moore 

Katie Marie Moore is a playwright, actor and director from County Armagh in the North of Ireland. She is currently writing her first full length play, The Three Green Fields (and the Fourth One at the Backdoor). Thematically, her work investigates Irish identity, exploring levels of Irishness in modern Ireland and raising the critical question of who gets to call themselves Irish? 

Quotes 

‘I’m absolutely thrilled with the selection — what a fantastic cohort of poets. The range of voices, themes, concerns, and poetic approaches is incredibly rich, and I couldn’t be happier to be working with these three wonderful writers. I’m very grateful to be part of the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies, and genuinely excited about what we’ll build together.’ 

Leo Boix, Poetry Mentor, Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies 

‘I’m so happy and grateful for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to developing my project and learning from everyone involved — from the Arvon tutors and my mentor, to the wider cohort of writers across all of the disciplines. Having the time and support to develop as a writer, with an organisation like Arvon, is a real gift.’  

Sabrina Ali, Playwright, Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies 

About the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies 

Made possible thanks to a £40,000 grant from Jerwood Foundation, the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies supports 12 UK-based emerging writers to complete a work of fiction, non‑fiction, poetry, or play across 18 months. 

The programme provides each writer with: 

• Two residential writing courses and one online week or month-long course 

• Six one-to-one tutorials with an experienced mentor 

• Access to ten Arvon masterclasses and a resource of over 400 writing tips and exercises 

• Industry advice sessions and peer networking across disciplines 

• An online showcase to present completed work to agents, publishers, and producers 

About the Mentors 

Leo Boix (Poetry) 

Leo Boix is a bilingual Latinx poet from Argentina, based in the UK. His second collection, Southernmost: Sonnets (Chatto & Windus), was shortlisted for the 2025 Forward Prizes. His debut, Ballad of a Happy Immigrant (2021), was a Poetry Book Society Wild Card and a Guardian top five poetry book. Boix edited and translated Hemisferio Cuir (2025), a groundbreaking anthology of queer Latin American poets. A Complete Works fellow, he co-directs Un Nuevo Sol and sits on the Poetry Translation Centre and Magma boards. He writes for The Morning Star and has received multiple awards including the Keats-Shelley, Bart Wolfe Poetry Award, and PEN prizes. 

Michael Donkor (Fiction) 

Michael Donkor studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, and undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, London. The Observer named him as one of 2018’s best debut authors for his first novel Hold (4th Estate). In 2019, he was longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel, Grow Where They Fall, was published by Penguin in 2024. He has judged the Betty Trask Prize and the BBC’s National Short Story Award and regularly reviews for the Guardian. 

Chitra Ramaswamy (Non-fiction) 

Chitra Ramaswamy is an author and journalist. Her latest book, Homelands: The History of a Friendship (Canongate), won the Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year and was included in the Guardian’s top memoirs and biographies of 2022. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy (Saraband), won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize. She writes for the Guardian, is the restaurant critic for The Times Scotland, broadcasts for BBC Radio, and is currently working on her next book. 

Amy Rosenthal (Playwriting) 

Amy Rosenthal is an acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed internationally. Her stage plays include The Party Girls, On The Rocks (nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Henna Night, and Sitting Pretty. Amy has written and adapted plays for BBC Radio Four and has a screenplay in development with Atlas Films. She is currently under commission to the Manhattan Theatre Club.