Cohort Revealed for the Fifth Genesis Emerging Writers Programme
12 September 2025
The Jewish Literary Foundation has announced the new cohort for the Genesis Emerging Writers Programme, which returns for its fifth anniversary in 2025/26. Helping launch the careers of 50 authors to date, the celebrated programme supports writers across fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
The annual Genesis Emerging Writers Programme returns for the fifth consecutive year in 2025/26 with one of its strongest cohorts to date. Presenting new voices across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, this year’s cohort reflects the diversity and breadth of work that the programme has championed since its inception in 2021.
Open to emerging writers in the UK over 18 years of age, the programme has so far supported the careers of 50 authors, with a track record of almost 50 per cent of writers securing publishing deals following the programme.
The initiative is run in partnership with the Genesis Foundation, which has enabled opportunities for thousands of young artists and writers across the UK. The Programme prides itself on its inclusivity, breadth, and range of support. Welcoming applications from writers with three years’ experience of being published or less, it provides a platform for those who are either working, or planning to work, on a specific project with the aim of publication.
As Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation John Studzinski says,
“The fifth cohort of emerging writers explores topics that are compelling in their relevance, diversity, and depth. The mentor-mentee relationship remains essential to an artist’s development, and the Jewish Literary Foundation has carefully selected outstanding mentors to support and guide these talented writers.
This programme reflects our mission over the past 25 years: to foster and nurture creative and emerging talent. We hope it serves as a meaningful stepping stone in the careers of these promising writers.”
Under the expert guidance of a stellar line-up of mentors, including the Wingate-Prize winning non-fiction author Thomas Harding, Booker-Prize longlisted Ben Markovits, Times Book of the Month novelist Kate Worsley, and Seamus Heaney Poetry Prize shortlisted Stav Poleg, the new cohort will develop their work over an 11-month period. Beginning with a weekend retreat supported by Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, the cohort of ten writers will benefit from bursaries of up to £1,500, peer support, industry exposure, and specialist seminars, before appearing at the 75th anniversary of Jewish Book Week next March.
Joining the group of ten writers are fiction authors Christina Care, Irene Morlino, Arran Davage, and Lia Martin. Working on non-fiction are Stav Meishar, Lottie Whalen, and Laura Godfrey-Isaacs, while in the field of poetry are Chloe Yale Pinto, Gemma Barnett and Catherine Norris.
The work being developed as part of the programme is as diverse as the pool of emerging writers, with topics ranging from Jewish circus families and the embodied history of women’s lives to a Gothic re-imagining of the rise of Puritanism in 16th Century England, mental health and addiction, and the contrast between the hardships of contemporary Italians and their predecessors during the Resistance.
As Director of the Genesis Emerging Writers’ Programme Sarah Fairbairn says,
“This year’s projects are as varied as they are inspiring; illustrating personal experiences, exploring historical events and interrogating the world we live in now. These writers and their incredible mentors represent the huge breadth of developing talent that must be supported so that we can continue to enjoy the rich cultural landscape that the Jewish Literary Foundation celebrates through all its activities. We are so grateful for our long-standing partnership with the Genesis Foundation which makes this project possible.”
Find out more about the programme
The Genesis Emerging Writers
