By Eden Sach and Makenna Ali
Featured images and photography: Iona Leaf/Comma Press

Author Claire Daverley set the tone for this year’s National Creative Writing Industry Day (NCWID) on Saturday, with a keynote exploring resilience, creativity and the passion that drives writers to keep going. The eleventh edition of the event took place at Manchester Metropolitan University and is the largest gathering of its kind in the North.

Hosted by Comma Press and the Manchester Writing School, it brought together emerging authors and industry professionals for a full programme of workshops, panel conversations and one-to-one pitching sessions with editors and agents.

Daverley, author of Talking at Night (2023), which was shortlisted for Book of the Year at The British Book Awards in 2024, reflected on her own journey to publication and emphasised that a writer’s strongest anchor should be their original love of writing, which carries them through the trials and tribulations of their career.

She said: “I want you to remember that first inkling of love. That first spark you felt around this whole thing. That’s the most important thing to come back to as a writer. The fun, the urge, the joy.”

Daverley also stressed the importance of persistence and the inevitability of rejection: “Remember that every rejection you get is a step towards that final success and acceptance. Writing is 80% grit and 20% talent. As long as you have the grit and the desire, you are a writer – there is no difference between a published and non-published writer.”

The ‘Working With an Agent: From Submission to Publication’ panel featured Anna Davis, MD of Curtis Brown Creative, Natalie Jerome, founder of Originate Literacy Agency, and award-winning author Tom Benn.

Speaking on the role of a literary agent and the importance of their working relationship with authors, Jerome said: “The act of telling stories is a very intimate role, and it is an exchange of ideas which is a very precious art form. The role of a literary agent covers many roles, like being a cheerleader and support system for a writer navigating the publishing industry. Navigating the business side of that is the role of a literary agent.”

A second panel focused on the importance of building your own literary community and featured Emma Claire Sweeney, co-director of Ruppin Agency, writer Cara Thompson and Alex Noble, co-runner of Page of Wands.

Speaking on her experience growing up in the Midlands, Thompson said: “A lot of the work in Nottingham is community-led as it is more like a village than a city. Writing is a community practice, emerging from the people, the stories, the environments that we find ourselves in. I wouldn’t be where I am without the collectives in Nottingham.”

Noble added: “Having a community helps to hold you accountable to get writing done. It’s amazing to see how much more can happen when you are supported by a community. The talking that happens around the writing and the relationships that occur because of it are incredibly important.”

Attendees were invited to attend one of four inspiring workshops, including ‘How to Write a Synopsis’ with Joe Sedgwick and ‘Writing Intimacy and Relationships’ with Rozie Kelly. They were also given the unique opportunity of two one-to-one meetings with an agent or editor in order to pitch their work and receive feedback from industry professionals.

Speaking to aAh! after the panel, literary agent Natalie Jerome spoke of the value of these one-to-one meetings: “I think face-to-face in-person understanding can be really important in this process. Through doing the pitching process like this, you learn a lot more about how the publishing industry actually works rather than, say, sending out fifteen query letters. The human side can get lost a bit.”

Sarah Cleave, lecturer at Manchester Met in Publishing and Creative Writing, said: “Manchester is home to an extraordinary breadth of writing talent, and at the Writing School we’re proud to host events that help creative practitioners to connect with industry as well as with each other. Events like this one open doors, spark genuine connections and celebrate the vibrant creative lives being built in the North.”

Event organiser at Comma Press, Isabella Barber, said: “Comma Press is incredibly proud to host the National Creative Writing Industry Day in partnership with Manchester Writing School. Not only is it the biggest event of its kind in the North, but it is a rare opportunity for writers to get advice from industry professionals in all areas of their work – whether that’s help with pitching technique from agents, learning about the lifestyle of a professional writer, or actively improving skills through creative writing workshops. For us, it’s part of our mission to encourage regional diversity in publishing and offer creative opportunities outside of London and the South East.”

Ra Page, CEO and founder of Comma Press, talked about the importance of events like NCWID for writers. He said: “These events humanise and demystify the process of engaging with the industry and finding out what the industry wants. It allows writers to build new networks and communities amongst like-minded peers.”

He added: “Publishing is almost entirely London-based and yet there are cities of literature like Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh which have literary output but are quite disconnected through economic factors. Events like this are really important to connect the literary talent of a region with people in the industry who make the decisions.”

Attendee Norah Lovelock, 28-year-old graduate English student at Sheffield Hallam, spoke of her motivations for attending: “I am here today to try to speak to agents and scope out the current writing industry, as, unless you are already in it or can afford postgraduate studies, it can be quite inaccessible at times. Having a day like today is really great as it means that I can access the industry in a non-traditional way.”

Ali Al-Jamri, 34-year-old writer and teacher, discussed his main takeaway from the event: “The reminder that we are working through being a writer in our own ways, because it is often a very lonely process, and just being in a room with other writers again is really invigorating.”

Claudia Gunter, 22-year-old current Manchester Met student added: “The opportunity to volunteer was fantastic, it opened my eyes as an MA Publishing student to not only an integral part of the publishing process but the passion, care and kindness fuelled by the people behind that process.”

For more information about the Manchester Writing School, visit the Manchester Writing School website. For more from Comma Press, visit commapress.co.uk.