The Word Factory Announcement: Apprentice Award 2021/22

It is a tremendous honour to welcome two talented writers to the Word Factory family — the winners of the 2020/21 Word Factory Apprentice Award.

Deborah Yewande Bankole
Amy Steward

Please say hello to our new Apprentices Deborah Yewande Bankole and Amy Steward and to specially commended writer Gillian Watson.

We are proud that the award, offering a place in the Word Factory community and nine-month mentorship, has created a national template for developing writing talent since 2014 with the support of Arts Council England, and our partners this year New Writing North and the Society of Authors.

Enormous thanks to all our supporters, apprentices and judges — and this year in particular to mentors Toby Litt and Catherine Menon, and to judges Leone Ross, Paul McVeigh, Cathy Galvin and Will Mackie.

What we write transforms not only ourselves but the world around us. That’s a big commitment and we are looking forward to working with the recipients of the award and their fellow alumnae as we prepare for our tenth anniversary in 2022.

–Cathy Galvin. Director and founder, The Word Factory

Read more about the award on our website here!