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New Writing North makes board of trustee changes
New Writing North has announced a major shake-up of its board, with a new chair, vice-chair and three new trustees.
The new chair of the charity’s board is Newcastle lawyer, Neil Warwick, who is replacing the former c.e.o of Borders and Books etc. David Roche. The new vice-chair is editorial director for Reach’s North East, Humber and Yorkshire titles, Helen Dalby, who replaces independent consultant, Dr Caroline Murphy.
Claire Malcolm, c.e.o of New Writing North, said: “We are hugely grateful for the invaluable work of David and Caroline who both reached the end of their terms on our board this September; they’ve played formative roles in developing our work and in building New Writing North’s strengths and resilience. They have been exceptional trustees.”
She added: “Neil and Helen join us at what promises to be an exciting next phase for our organisation. Neil’s skills are invaluable in our ambition to create a new centre for writing helping us negotiate the partnerships and relationships this requires and profiling our mission within the city.
“Helen understands the importance of great writing and the power that the written word has to transform people and places. It has been fantastic to work with her and her team at the Journal on our North East Now project through which we have commissioned 12 new essays about the North East as devolution happens. Building our partnerships with local news and media is very positive.”
New Writing North leads the development of creative writing and reading in the North of England. Based in Newcastle, the Arts Council Portfolio Organisation has developed new writing talent since 1996. This summer, it announced plans to create a new centre for the writing industries of national import, based in Newcastle.
Neil Warwick said: “I knew of the work of New Writing North as Claire and I served as trustees together at The Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The creativity and success of our writers is undeniably impressive and has reached international acclaim. However, equally impressive are the outreach programmes we run in some of the most under-privileged schools in the country and this aspect of our work is of particular interest to me.”
The new trustees include Ted Hodgkinson, head of literature and spoken word at the Southbank Centre, Liv Bird, currently studying for a literary PhD at Teesside University and Maria Antoniou, an economic development specialist for Northumberland County Council.
They join ongoing trustees: architect Ian Crow, brand guru Matt Forster, psychotherapist and trainer Caroline Greenwood Dower, former communications director of Hachette UK Clare Harington, group communications director of Pan MacMillan Sara Lloyd, poet and editor Degna Stone, tech-founder and entrepreneur Hector Vidal and treasurer Gary Wright, chief operating officer of the Great North Run.
