New Writing North makes three key appointments

A writing development agency for the North of England has appointed three new trustees following a successful year of adaptation and growth.

New Writing North is a 13-strong team of staff producing nationally significant work in reading and writing development, including the Northern Writers’ Awards, Durham Book Festival, the Gordon Burn Prize and New Writing North Young Writers.

It is based in Newcastle where it was first founded in 1996.

Joining the board of trustees are writer Yvonne Battle-Felton, brand, creative and communications strategist Naana Orleans-Amissah, and actor, producer and writer Kim Tserkezie.

The appointment come as New Writing North progresses plans for a centre for writing and publishing in Newcastle.

Chair of the board David Roche said: “These wonderful new trustee appointments to the New Writing North board are part of the ongoing powering up of the organisation to enhance our capability and to broaden our representation and skills for the future.”

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an American writer living in the UK. Her novel Remembered was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2019) and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2020). She is a 2019 British Library Eccles Centre visiting fellow, and lecturer in Creative Writing and Creative Industries at Sheffield Hallam University.

She said: “I’m a trustee for New Writing North because I want to be a part of helping them continue to reach their goals of developing new voices, supporting writers of any stage, and shattering barriers.”

Born in Germany and educated in Japan and the United Kingdom, Naana Orleans-Amissah’s professional career spans two decades as a brand, communications and creative strategist, working with companies and brands as diverse as glue, JWT, Karmarama, Dove, Hilton, O2, the Army, Jaguar, and Crabtree & Evelyn.

She said: “The chance to join New Writing North, and its ambition to truly represent the imaginative expressions of writers in the North, was irresistible.”

Kim Tserkezie has worked in broadcast media for twenty-five years, with a career spanning comedy, drama and documentary. She has worked many roles within the industry and now manages her own production company, Scattered Pictures, based in Newcastle. In 2019, she was named as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK (Shaw Trust Power 100). Kim is a full member of BAFTA and a board member of the Royal Television Society North East and the Borders. She is a member of BFI’s Disability Advisory Group.

She said: “As someone born and bred in the North East and passionate about showcasing my home region and its talent, I could not be more proud to have the opportunity to support the amazing New Writing North and its ever evolving brilliant services and commitment to Northern writers.”