Penguin’s WriteNow returns to nurture south asian talent in children’s publishing

Highlights

• Penguin marks the 10th year of its WriteNow programme.
• This year’s focus: South asian and under-represented children’s writers.
• Applications open until 7 January 2026.

A platform for south asian writers

Penguin’s acclaimed WriteNow initiative has returned for its tenth year, with a renewed focus on discovering south asian and other under-represented writers in children’s literature. The publishing giant hopes to encourage more authors from these communities to bring diverse stories into the mainstream.

Launched in 2016, the award-winning programme aims to find and nurture new voices from backgrounds under-represented on UK bookshelves. This year, the scheme will work exclusively with aspiring children’s authors developing picture books, chapter books and middle-grade fiction for readers aged 0–12.

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Penguin’s WriteNow returns to nurture South Asian talent in children’s publishing Penguin

Mentorship and editorial support

Applicants will be invited to an online workshop designed to demystify the children’s publishing industry, featuring editors, agents and authors from Penguin’s Ladybird and Puffin imprints. Shortlisted writers will receive one-on-one editorial feedback, with selected participants joining a year-long mentorship to refine their manuscripts for publication.

Francesca Dow, managing director at Penguin Random House Children’s, said: “We believe every child deserves to see themselves reflected in the stories they read. Over the last ten years, we have published a wonderful variety of brilliant new voices through the WriteNow programme, among them Manjeet Mann, Nazneen Ahmed Pathak and Rashmi Sirdeshpande. We look forward to reading WriteNow submissions when they close in January"

Success stories

WriteNow has helped launch 32 authors since its inception, including Manjeet Mann, whose The Crossing went on to win the Costa and Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Awards. Fellow alumni Nazneen Ahmed Pathak described the programme as “life-changing”, noting how the initiative offered validation and visibility to new writers.

To date, 22 authors discovered through WriteNow have been published by Penguin Random House UK, while others have gone on to secure deals with different publishers.

Writers interested in applying can find more information and submit their work at www.penguin.co.uk/writenow.