Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers’ Programme
Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme
Supporting the next generation of life-writers.
About the Programme
The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme (GMUWP) at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing supports talented emerging writers whose voices remain underrepresented in literary culture.
Building on OCLW's longstanding role in supporting writers and researchers in the field of life-writing, the programme offers scholarships, mentoring, professional development, and public events for writers from communities historically excluded from life-writing, publishing, and academia. Through sustained creative and professional support, we help writers develop their work, establish themselves as authors and practitioners, and contribute to the future of life-writing globally.
We understand life-writing in its broadest sense, encompassing memoir, biography, autobiography, fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, oral history, performance, digital media, and hybrid forms.
Why the Programme Matters
Many emerging writers face barriers to publication and professional development that extend beyond talent alone. Financial pressures, caring responsibilities, migration, displacement, limited access to professional networks, and structural inequalities continue to shape who is able to build a sustainable writing career.
The programme provides the time, mentorship, professional opportunities, and creative community that enable writers to develop ambitious work and establish lasting careers.
The Scholarship Programme
The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme offers a two-year scholarship for emerging, unagented writers from Global Majority and historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Scholars receive sustained support through weekly writing workshops, one-to-one mentoring, masterclasses, peer support, professional development, and opportunities to engage with literary agents and publishers. The programme is designed to help writers develop ambitious work, build confidence, and prepare for publication.
Weekly writing workshops are led by Professor Tonya Hegamin, an author, academic, and writing coach with extensive experience supporting disabled, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented writers. Scholars also receive mentoring from leading writers and practitioners throughout the programme.
Public Events
Alongside the scholarship programme, GMUWP hosts a year-round programme of free public lectures, seminars, masterclasses, and conversations exploring life-writing in all its forms. These events are open to everyone and bring together writers, scholars, publishers, and readers from around the world.
The public programme also reflects our commitment to broadening leadership within the field. We create paid opportunities for established Global Majority and underrepresented life-writers to contribute as speakers, tutors, mentors, and workshop leaders, ensuring that their expertise and perspectives shape conversations about life-writing and support the next generation of writers.
Previous Events Include:
- Khaled Alesmael, Masterclass: ‘Rooted in Words: Writing in Your Mother Tongue While in Exile’
- Writing Queer Lives, from Biography to Anthology: Peter Parker in Conversation with Dr Eleri Anona Watson
- Isle McElroy, Masterclass: 'Stealing, Borrowing, and Letting Go: Using Real Life in Fiction'
- Professor Kit de Waal in Conversation with Professor Elleke Boehmer
- Dan Glass, '"This is My Culture": A Masterclass on Life-Writing as Activism'
- Professor Tonya Hegamin, Writing Workshop: ‘Writing the Taboo’
- Saeed Taji Farouky, 'How Can We Creatively Document Life in a Time of Genocide?'
- Professor Ava Chin, 'The Elastic Heart: Writing an Epic Family Memoir'
- Professor Santanu Das, ‘The Maritime Closet: Queer Lives Before the Mast’
Register for all our events here.
Our Impact
The response to the programme has demonstrated both the extraordinary talent of underrepresented writers and the urgent need for sustained support.
In its inaugural scholarship year:
- more than 150 applications were received from writers across six continents;
- our inaugural cohort included writers from Zimbabwe, Pakistan/United Kingdom, India, Australia, Iran/United Kingdom, Tanzania, Lesotho, Spain, and Ukraine.
Already, scholars have:
- secured literary representation;
- been awarded PhD funding;
- progressed into a second year of manuscript development;
- developed ambitious new work across memoir, fiction, poetry, and hybrid life-writing.
These achievements demonstrate what becomes possible when talented writers are given sustained support, professional guidance, and the opportunity to develop their work within a creative community.
Looking Ahead
The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme is only just beginning.
With sustained philanthropic support, we hope to expand the programme through:
- international partnerships;
- expanded publication opportunities;
- writing retreats;
- a Writer-in-Residence programme;
- a GMUWP Academy for writers under eighteen.
Our ambition is to establish GMUWP as a leading international centre for supporting and developing the next generation of life-writers.
