Call for pitches: Writing For Wellbeing 2025 – Accessibility

Guidance for contributors who want to pitch to Writing For Wellbeing 2025

Background

Writing For Wellbeing 2024 (WFW24) was run as part of a Wakefield Council initiative called Our Year.  It was a complete success, and somewhat exceeded our expectations.  One of the objectives of Writing For Wellbeing 2025 will be to make the best use of the lessons learnt from WFW24, and bring about a longer, even richer set of events, with a bigger audience.

WFW25 will include both in-person events, and online events.  Contributors should feel free to pitch for both in-person and online, but those pitching to run an online event will probably be expected to demonstrate previous experience of leading online events.

It was a condition of the funding from Wakefield Council that WFW24 was not allowed to charge any payment from the audience.  It remains to be seen whether culture grants from Wakefield Council will still be available in 2025.  The amount awarded in 2024 was £1,205.  Economic conditions permitting, we intend to apply for more than that in 2025.

If, for whatever reason, no funding from Wakefield Council were available, we would consider applying to Arts Council England (ACE).  ACE only funds an event to the maximum extent of 90 per cent.  In the last resort, we might decide to use Black Horse Poets (BHP) funds, with every pound of BHP money enabling us to apply for 9 pounds from ACE.

When you pitch to us, we are looking for two main things: (1) How your contribution is going to attract an audience, and engage with that audience, and (2) How your contribution is likely to unlock funding. 

We are not saying that we will only consider pitches from contributors who have a proven record of gaining funding.  We are saying that, if you have such a record, please let us hear about it, wherever relevant. 

The concept of Writing For Wellbeing 2025

‘Writing For Wellbeing’ is to be interpreted in the widest sense.  If your event is conducive to improved mental or physical health, then so much the better.  But we are artists, and we understand that, often, in order to see the dawn, human beings have to endure a long, dark night.

In 2025, we want to extend Writing For Wellbeing in the direction of Accessibility.  That is mainly to do with where, and how, the events are delivered, but if you can show how your pitch relates to this, please do so. 

You can pitch to do more than one event, but we would much prefer to see one, concise, coherent pitch, than multiple, vague and unworkable pitches. 

What we are looking for: 1. Artistic content

Your pitch needs to cover one of the following:

1. A writing workshop.  WFW2024 only included poetry.  WFW2025 will include poetry, short fiction, life-writing, and short form drama.  Please state whether in-person, or online.
2. A performance.  Again, state whether in-person, or online.
3. A mixture of workshop and performance.  Kate Fox did this in WFW2024, and it worked very well. 
4. Something that we have not thought of.  Pitches in this category need to be crystal clear about what you want to do, why, and for whose benefit.

It should be obvious what kind of content and style we are looking for:

• Things which are original, and engaging to a Wakefield audience.  In other words:
• Anything which shows that writing and performing can be well-crafted and artistic, without resembling anything that we were taught at school.
• Anything which members of the audience can learn a technique from, that they can practice in their own time.
• Anything which might encourage people to attend monthly meetings of Black Horse Poets, and Wakefield Word.

What we are looking for: 2. The funding exercise

You need to include an exact statement of your fees, with a reasonable degree of itemisation.  Hence:

• A description of the event, including format and, where relevant, subject matter, expressed as concisely as possible.
• Duration, and any requirements about the venue, if an in-person event.
• Whether in-person, or online.
• Appearance fee.
• Travelling expenses.  If you need to catch three buses to get from Skelmersdale to Wakefield, we don’t need to know the numbers of the buses.  We just need to know the total amount of travelling expenses. 
• If you live outside commuting distance from Wakefield, accommodation expenses.  Only budget hotels will be considered.
• Any other costs or material requirements, such as pens, paper, or flip-charts.

As already said, if you have anything relevant to contribute about how your pitch might unlock funding, then let us know.  Don’t just give us a history of your previous funding.  Show how you think it is relevant to WFW25. 

Rules for the pitch, itself

1. One A4 page, submitted as an email attachment in MS Word or RTF format to w.thirskgaskill@btinternet.com
2. Word limit: 300. You may include links to YouTube or Dropbox, and these do not have to be included in the 300 word limit, but do not include any embedded documents or graphics in the attached document.
3. The deadline for pitches is 30 September 2024. 

We may or may not organise a Zoom event, in which candidate contributors will be able to perform a piece, giving an example of the material in their pitch.