We’re pleased to announce our Writers In Residence for 2026.
This annual programme selects emerging underrepresented authors who are past winners of the Creative Future Writers’ Award. It aims to engage new audiences, new writers and local people in non-traditional spaces and in new ways.
Since 2023, we have brought the residency to the writer, allowing them to explore their creative interests in their hometowns, communities and unique places. They also have full rein to decide the theme of their residency, what they will explore and how. Each writer has dedicated time to write, residencies in unusual/non-traditional spaces to interact with people and gain inspiration, and lead writing workshops for local people. They will also write a reflective blog and a new piece for the Writers’ Award anthology inspired by their residency.
Our 2026 Writers In Residence are:
Jess Murrain
Jess Murrain is a queer, interdisciplinary creative of British-Caribbean heritage, working in live art, theatre, film and poetry. She is also the co-founder/Artistic Director of Art Wife, an experimental live art company, whose latest project, NEUROQUEER, was commissioned by Bradford 2025 City of Culture. She is the winner of the Ledbury Poetry Prize, Out-Spoken Prize in Poetry and Film, and a Creative Future Writers’ Award. Her poetry and essays have appeared in bath magg, Callaloo, Magma and The Poetry Review. She is an alumnus of Southbank New Poets Collective, and her poetry pamphlet One Woman-Horse Show is published with Bad Betty Press.
Jess’ residency is in partnership and hosted by Bethlem Gallery. Established in 1997, the gallery provides a professional space for high-quality artwork and fosters a supportive artist-focused environment. Bethlem Gallery’s vision is an equitable society where art and mental health are a valued part of every day, and works with artists to lead change in health and society.
Thanks to additional support from Bethlem Gallery, Jess will co-curate the exhibition The Places We Know with Bethlem artist, writer, and educator Halimah Zakiuddin. The Places We Know brings together two of Bethlem Gallery’s core elements—its recently launched permanent art collection, and the artistic community that calls the gallery home. The exhibition’s themes, reflected in the title, centre around affinity – a sense of familiarity or kinship. Ideas around people and the places they inhabit informed the selection of works.
The usual gallery ‘voice’ in interpreting the exhibition will be critically interrupted through Jess’ responses, who will act as the exhibition poet. Jess will also be running writing workshops in response to the exhibition, both open to all as well as closed sessions with Bethlem’s regular writing group of people with experience of the mental health system.
Jess will be assisted by a young underrepresented artist who will benefit from shadowing Jess and gaining valuable experience. Creative Future will cover their expenses and they will receive additional support from Creative Mentor Network’s Break The Wall.
Jess will also be facilitating online workshops in the spring, as well as serving as the poetry shortlist judge for the 2026 Writers’ Award. More about Jess here.
Jay Farley
Jay Farley is a non-binary, neurodivergent, working class, established filmmaker, digital artist and more recently a poet. Jay won a 2022 Creative Future Writers’ Award and has been published in the Queer Icons and Hot Poets anthologies, Sparks, and illustrated in Woop Woop magazine. Their debut book of poetry A [Cupboard] Full of Tomboys was created under the mentorship of T.S. Elliot Award winner Joelle Taylor and published by Broken Sleep Books. They also perform their poetry, with quirky props and sometimes with music and musicians.
Jay will be in residence at Open Eye Gallery, an independent, not-for-profit photography gallery based in Liverpool. One of the UK’s leading photography spaces, it is the only gallery dedicated to photography and related media in the North West of England. A registered charity, Open Eye Gallery believes photography is for everyone and can be meaningful, informing our present and inspiring positive futures. Open Eye Gallery works with people to explore photography’s unique ability to connect, to tell stories, to inquire, to reflect on humanity’s past and present, and to celebrate its diversity and creativity.
Jay’s residency will investigate neuroqueer identity and both champion and celebrate it at a time of increasing homophobia and discrimination. They will facilitate workshops with local neuroqueer people to create a heroic crown of sonnets. This will culminate in a collaborative zine, and the participants (if they wish) performing it in a film generously produced with the support of First Take. The short film will be exhibited in Open Eye’s Digital Window from April to June, and uploaded to Open Eye, First Take and Creative Future’s YouTube channels, as well as entered into poetry film festivals. Jay will also engage with Open Eye Gallery visitors in the spring/summer.
We’re excited to see how these residencies unfold. To find out more about previous Writers In Residence, please see here.
