Significant Ink: Newcastle, Short Stories with Shazia Altaf

About this event:

Location: The John Marley Centre, Muscott Grove, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE15 6TT

Time: 17.30 - 19.30

Date: Wednesday 15th July 2026

Refund policy: Free event

A bit about the workshop:

Significant Ink: Newcastle brings you a free writing workshop with Shazia Altaf at the John Marley Centre. You could have some experience writing short stories or you could be brand new! Places are open to people who are 18+ and are part of the global majority. If you like the sound of this workshop, you might also be interested in the free life writing, writing for young people, and ‘idea to page’ workshops as part of Significant Ink: Newcastle.

Significant Ink: Newcastle is also open for applications from emerging global majority writers from 10th June – 16th July. Three winners will be selected to receive a bursary of £1,000, mentoring, peer-to-peer support and development opportunities with partners. More details here. Due to funding from the North East Combined Authority, this part of the programme is only available to people who live within the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland), and who are not enrolled in full-time education or another government programme when the programme begins.

About the Workshop Facilitator: Shazia Altaf

Shazia Altaf is a writer living in North Yorkshire. She is the winner of a Creative Future Writer's Award, and her debut novel was shortlisted in the Primadonna Novel Award in 2021. Both awards aim to showcase talented writers in the UK from under-represented backgrounds. Her short stories have appeared in Bricklane New Writers and Creative Future anthologies in 2023 and 2025. Shazia has been appointed Creative Future’s Writer in Residence for 2025. Her debut, Blue Sheep, and current work in progress, Unruly Bodies, have been awarded Arts Council England Grants. Blue Sheep is inspired by her childhood raised in Yorkshire in the 1980’s and is her first novel.

----

Access: The room and facilities we will be using at the John Marley Centre are fully accessible. You can find John Marley’s access information on p17 of the Newcastle/ Gateshead Accessibility guide.

The workshop is free but you do need to book a place.

You don’t need to live in a particular local authority to attend the workshop. You do need to live in County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside or Sunderland to apply to be one of the three selected writers, and must not be enrolled in full-time education or another government programme when the programme begins.

Please see Award Eligibility, Conditions of Entry and Significant Ink: Newcastle FAQs. If you have checked the FAQs and have further questions, please contact emilylow@newwritingnorth.com.