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This month's newsletter from the editor.
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Dorothea Smartt is the new co-Director of Inscribe, the Peepal Tree Press project that provides creative & professional development to Black and Asian writers in Yorkshire.
Inscribe, which was set up four years ago with funding from Arts Council Yorkshire, has until now been managed by Kadija George, but expansion within the company and Kadija’s move to the USA, brings new developments and new staff members on board.
Dorothea, herself a Peepal Tree author, is a poet, live artist and workshop facilitator. She is also the poetry editor of SABLE Litmag. She has a background in managing, developing, and implementing workshops, courses, and events for writers. A former part-time lecturer at Birkbeck College & University of Leeds, she has also worked at Centerprise in Hackney, as Literature Co-ordinator. More recently she was tutor and on-site co-ordinator of SABLE Writer’s residential in The Gambia and Cultureword’s Calabash writer’s residential in Jamaica. She also works extensively in schools, and has done so for organisations such as English PEN and Apples and Snakes.
Dorothea says of her new appointment,
"I am very proud & excited to be working with Peepal Tree Press. I hope I can build on the work of Inscribe, and share the skills & experience I bring in the best way for all."
In the coming months, Inscribe will be developing a new programme for selected young writers (18-25), focusing on advancing these writers skills in fiction, poetry & non-fiction. The programme of weekly meetings and occasional masterclasses will also cover professional development areas such as confidence-building, self-assessment skills, publishing, making funding applications, and literature based employment.
Jeremy Poynting, founder and managing editor of Peepal Tree Press, said of his growing publishing house,
“When we knew that Kadija George was moving to the USA, we wondered how we’d ever fill the gap. Her contribution to the development of Black and Asian writing in the Yorkshire region, helping to making major changes at Peepal Tree Press and being a valued colleague who became a friend has been immense. But not only will Kadija remain part of the Inscribe team, managing the development of the Inscribe imprint, she’ll also stay as part of the Peepal Tree team, working on raising our profile in the USA from her new Philadelphia base. But not only do we get this, we get Dorothea Smartt as well! We have been lucky that Kadija and Dorothea have been able to manage an extensive hand-over, and we are excited that Dorothea will bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the new directions that Inscribe is taking. We have known Dorothea for years and couldn’t have wished for a better solution to Kadija’s departure.”
Contact Dorothea Smartt
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