Who We Are

New Writing South is a non-profit organisation for writers living and working in South-East England. We exist to support and encourage new, emerging and established writers from diverse communities.

We offer a programme of courses, masterclasses and mentoring to help writers develop skills and careers. Our wide-ranging participation activities spark new conversations, nurture new writing and engage new audiences.

We cultivate and champion radical thinking. We strive to inspire both writers and readers to take risks and find joy in writing and literature.

Marlborough Productions is a catalyst for queer culture and community. We are a leading UK producer of queer-led, intersectional performance, parties, heritage and radical community gatherings

Led by Creative Director Tarik Elmoutawakil and Executive Director David Sheppeard, Marlborough Productions is a pioneering organisation that advances equality and social justice through producing intersectional queer culture. 

Over the past ten years, Marlborough Productions has been recognised nationally & internationally for commissioning innovative new work from extraordinary artists, reclaiming spaces to create and share culture and developing communities.

Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts is an interdisciplinary arts hub connecting University of Sussex with wider regional, national and international arts communities. The centre presents a seasonal programme of performance, dance, live art, film, music, discussion & debate and digital practices.

Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts is guided by the values championed by Sir Richard Attenborough (former chancellor of University of Sussex) in his life and work: human rights, social justice, creative education and access to the arts for all. Michael Attenborough CBE is the patron of Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts.

The Centre for the Study of Sexual Dissidence is a hub for research on sexuality and queer studies. We work with staff and students within the University of Sussex and we reach out externally to the local community in Brighton and Hove and an international network of artists, scholars and campaigners.

The School of Media, Arts and Humanities brings together a wide range of disciplines including English, History, Art History, Philosophy, Media, Film, Music, Drama, Journalism and Language Studies.

Thank you to The Coast is Queer advisory board member, Dr Samuel Solomon, Senior Lecturer in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Sussex and co-director of the Centre for the Study of Sexual Dissidence. Sam is the author of Special Subcommittee (Commune Editions, 2017) and Lyric Pedagogy and Marxist Feminism: Social Reproduction and the Institutions of Poetry (Bloomsbury, 2019), and is co-translator from the Yiddish of The Acrobat: Selected Poems of Celia Dropkin (Tebot Bach, 2014).  He is currently at work on a literary labour history of queer typesetting and a second book of poems.

The School of Humanities and Social Science has a thriving research culture that informs courses at all levels, offering students an inter-disciplinary and applied approach to learning that seeks to examine the world that human beings have created for themselves. They create an academically rewarding, encouraging and enlivening environment and have excellent links with the local community.

The Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics (CAPPE) works across the globe to understand the major issues of the day. What challenges do climate, decoloniality , LGBTQI+, care and many others present to philosophy, politics and ethics?

CAPPE intervenes in the public arena extending beyond conventional academic boundaries, hosting public events that link a transnational public to the cutting edge debates of the day.

Thank you to The Coast is Queer advisory board member, Dr Vedrana Velickovic, Principal Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Brighton where she teaches modules on Queer Writing, Black British, Postcolonial and European Literatures. Vedrana is the author of  Eastern Europeans in Contemporary Literatures and Cultures: Imagining New Europe (Palgrave 2019) and several articles on Black British and post Yugoslav women’s writers, BrexLit and post communism. She is a Trustee of New Writing South and co-founder (with Dr Vy Rajapillai) of the DeCol Collective. As part of the Coast is Queer festival, she has co-curated/chaired events on teaching Queer writing, Queer writers from the post-Yugoslav region, and is passionate about bringing ethnically diverse and Black queer writers from/based in Europe to the festival (Pajtim Statovci 2022; Max Lobe 2023).

Creative Future is a national arts organisation and charity based in Brighton. They specialise in supporting creative people and artists facing barriers to opportunity.  They work with people who feel they lack opportunities due to mental health, disability, identity, or other social circumstances. Soofiya Noor is this year’s artist in residence at The Coast is Queer Festival. They came through Creative Future’s REPRESENTED project – a storytelling project for people from the trans, non-binary and intersex community in East Sussex. Read more about the project here.

Alexa Rusakoff (she/they) is currently a student at the University of Brighton studying English Literature. They have a passion for queer comics and graphic literature, LGBT+ education and comic creation. Their favourite queer book is ‘The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For’ by Alison Bechdel.

Sandy Swain (she/her) is studying creative writing at University of Brighton. Her interests are poetry, theatre, and RSE education. Her favourite queer book (and book in general) is Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee.

Izelle Kulunk (she/they) is studying English literature at the University of Brighton and has a deep passion for queer literature. They have been writing poetry based on their life as a queer person growing up in a heteronormative world and has published three books as a result. As of late, she has written a queer novel that is in the process of publication as well. Her favourite piece of queer literature is Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney due to the way the author highlights the difficulties of being in a queer relationship without making it her main topic of discussion.

Melissa Telles (she/her) is a dedicated graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Sussex. With a passion for both writing and painting, she enjoys immersing herself in the creative process. When she’s not engaged in her academic pursuits, Melissa finds solace in rewatching her favourite Netflix shows. Her current literary fascination centres around “Yaraana” by Hoshang Merchant, an insightful queer book that resonates deeply with her.

Alessandra Duse (she/her) is a Creative Writing graduate from the University of Brighton. When she’s not selling books, writing poetry, or planning events, she loves reading on the beach with a takeaway pizza and going to the cinema. She can never pick a favourite, but a queer book she recently loved is Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman.

Simon Hauwaerts (any pronouns) was born and raised in Belgium, but now studies Sexual Dissidence at the University of Sussex. He enjoys crocheting, writing poetry, running, and saying hello to random cats on the street. Their favourite queer book is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, for the way it brings the concrete and ethereal together so smoothly and painfully.

Benedict Welch (he/him) is a doctoral student at the University of Sussex, where he researches literature, film and choreography during the HIV/AIDS Crisis. His research is funded by the Consortium of the Humanities and Arts South-east England (CHASE). He is also a writer of fiction. His favourite queer writers include Dennis Cooper and Virginia Woolf.

Sarah Barclay Boira (they/them) is an MA student in Sexual Dissidence at Sussex. They have a broad interest in Queer and Crip theory as they relate to the study of pedagogy, work and political organising. Their favourite queer book is Testo Junkie by Paul B. Preciado.