New Writing North has undergone a significant board reshuffle, welcoming a new Chair, Vice Chair and three new trustees as the charity embarks on an "exciting next phase" to create a new centre for the writing industries of national import.
The Newcastle-based National Portfolio Organisation has named NEIL WARWICK as Chair and HELEN DALBY Vice Chair.
Warwick is a lawyer and Partner at Knights. He iss National Portfolio Chair for International Trade and Regulation for the Federation of Small Businesses, and Chair of Service Network (NE) Limited. He succeeds DAVID ROCHE, the former CEO of Borders and Books etc.
Dalby is Editorial Director for Reach's North East, Humber and Yorkshire titles. She succeeds independent consultant CAROLINE MURPHY. Dalby has held various posts at Reach since 2007 and was previously Senior Editor at Cobweb Information Ltd.
New trustees include TED HODGKINSON, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, LIV BIRD, currently studying for a PhD at Teesside University and MARIA ANTONIOU, an economic development specialist for Northumberland County Council.
CLAIRE MALCOLM, Chief Executive of New Writing North, said: “Neil and Helen join us at what promises to be an exciting next phase for our organisation. Neil’s skills are invaluable in our ambition to create a new centre for writing, helping us negotiate the partnerships and relationships this requires and profiling our mission within the city.
“Helen understands the importance of great writing and the power that the written word has to transform people and places. It has been fantastic to work with her and her team at The Journal on our North East Now project... Building our partnerships with local news and media is very positive.”
Warwick added, “I knew of the work of New Writing North as Claire and I served as trustees together at The Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The creativity and success of our writers is undeniably impressive and has reached international acclaim. However, equally impressive are the outreach programmes we run in some of the most under-privileged schools in the country and this aspect of our work is of particular interest to me.”