Gribble to leave National Centre for Writing after 17 years

Chris Gribble is leaving his position as c.e.o. of the National Centre for Writing (NCW) after 17 years. 

He will step down in September before taking up the post of c.e.o. of The Forum Trust in Norwich on 2nd October.  

Gribble joined the organisation under its original name of New Writing Partnership in 2006. NCW said: “Beginning as a small, regional start-up of three staff, he has steered the team through an extraordinary period of evolution, which saw them develop into Writers’ Centre Norwich, the literature development agency for the East of England, and then National Centre for Writing: a national and international hub of creativity that supports early-career writers and literary translators and explores the social and artistic power of creative writing for individuals, communities and places.”

Recruitment for his replacement will commence over the coming weeks.  

Gribble said: “Leading the growth and development of NCW over recent years has been a huge privilege and enormous fun. The NCW team and our partners have always ensured that the challenges we’ve faced have been ultimately surmountable and I feel very lucky to have worked in such an amazing city, region and sector.

“I have always been passionate about the ways in which words and stories can change lives, and this role has given me unparalleled opportunities to explore this passion in projects that have stretched from intimate partnerships with local communities in Norwich to global partnerships with British Council and Arts Council England. I am looking forward to taking this commitment into my next exciting role and seeing the next chapter of National Centre for Writing as it develops.” 

Gribble and his team led the bid for Norwich to become England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, only the sixth in the world at that time and now one of UNESCO’s 42 Cities of Literature worldwide. He also led the £2.2m capital development of NCW’s physical home at Dragon Hall in 2018, which saw patrons Nobel laureate J M Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, Rose Tremain, Ali Smith, Professor Kei Miller, Elif Shafak, Jon McGregor, John Boyne, Anthony Horowitz and Sarah Perry – all attendees of NCW events and visitors to Norwich over the years – pledge their support for NCW’s work. 

Alan Waters, chair of the NCW Board and leader of Norwich City Council said: “Chris has done a magnificent job of putting stories, literature and writing at the heart of Norwich’s cultural identity and putting Norwich on the map globally as a centre of literary exchange and excellence. We are pleased he will be remaining in the city and are excited to welcome his successor to NCW later in the year to carry on telling NCW’s story.” 

Sarah Crown, director of Literature for Arts Council England, added: “NCW is a critical part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio of arts organisations and Chris has done a brilliant job of leading his team and the wider stakeholders and partners over recent years.”