UCP Creative Writing Students To Publish Anthology Of Local Writing Titled ‘True Voices’

Final year Creative Writing students at University Centre Peterborough (UCP) are embarking on a ground-breaking project which will see them create and publish a high-quality anthology of writing from local authors across Peterborough.

Peterborough City Council will be funding the printing costs of the Peterborough Writes project. The book, being edited by final year University Centre Peterborough Creative Writing undergraduates and published by 2022 graduate, Kayleigh Cutforth, and Mono Press, will be published in June 2024.

This ground-breaking project will see students create and publish a high-quality anthology of writing from across Peterborough, seeking voices from every corner of the city, particularly those voices which are currently unheard or unrepresented. Peterborough consistently fights against a less than favourable reputation of being a deprived city with little culture or aesthetic merit. UCP students want to show that not only is Peterborough a city working hard to break free from this reputation but also provide a platform for the vibrant arts and literary scene waiting to be seen and heard.

Students will be approaching schools, prison, homeless shelters and many other organisations, intentionally reaching those who might not usually respond to a call for writing submissions, believing that they will discover some powerful and distinct local voices. It is hoped that the publication will be released for mainstream distribution in April.

English Literature Course Leader, Dr Andrew McDonnell, said, “I am so grateful to Peterborough City Council for being a stakeholder in this project. Their community growth and regeneration funding will give a voice to those who are not usually heard and be a testament to the creativity and lived experience of local citizens”.

Writing submissions of all genres up to 5000 words are invited and must be based on the theme of Peterborough. The deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on the 30th March 2024.