Write On! 23, sponsored by the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, is out today. You can see it digitally, or get your physical copy from libraries and other outlets up and down the country.

This issue explores the power of creativity to communicate ‘Difference.’ The theme reminds us that, although we like feeling the same as other people (i.e. shared habits, characteristics, ideas and values), with the many challenges facing us today, we need to be able to readjust our perspectives around how we see ourselves and others.

Our lead interview illustrates this perfectly. Inaugural British-Library-In-The-Community poet, the multi-award-winning Jenny Mitchell, speaks to Eithne Cullen about who we are, how we heal and why poetry is at the heart of both – making difficult conversations possible by giving people a voice. We might not always agree, but if we lay out our truths for others to see in a way they can connect to, we’re far more likely to find common ground, even in the most unlikely of places.

Says Jenny: “Poetry isn’t just about beautiful phrases. It’s about sharing our emotions, our humanity and our history. I facilitate workshops on poetry and freedom because I think part of what happens with class is that we get locked into a certain mindset where we’re in opposition to the people we should be in solidarity with.”

Write On! 24, out on 16 April, is themed ‘Misunderstandings’ and we feature global bestseller John Marrs as our lead interview. It’s sponsored by Hay Festival. This theme will also inform content for the digital Write On! Extra (accessible through this website) and Write On! Audio. (This podcast can be accessed on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Just type pen to print into your browser. Alternatively, find us via our Spotify Podcast hosting site.

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Launched in April 2019, Pen to Print’s Write On! continues to reach new readers as Barking & Dagenham’s Arts Council England Library NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) magazine. United by a desire to come together beyond boundaries of geography, culture and expectations, Write On! is created by and for writers. Write On! is available digitally and through Barking and Dagenham libraries and other libraries and centres in different parts of London, Devon, Manchester, Birmingham, Kent, Newcastle, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Sunderland and Essex. University distribution points include Christchurch, Sunderland and Goldsmiths. Increasingly, we are sharing the printed magazine with writers from across the UK who are asking for copies for their writing groups and local bookstores.

Pen to Print is part of Barking and Dagenham Libraries, which means the ethos of the organisation is founded on promoting an inclusive community spirit. Due to the reach of our publications, which includes Write On! Audio and Write On! Extra in the digital sphere, we connect beyond Barking & Dagenham to create wider ripple effects. We are therefore delighted that this has encouraged 265,000+ users from 198 countries to respond to the ideals of engagement transparency, connection and inclusion.

A Call To Action:

1. 1. For up-to-date editorial information, including how to submit to the Write On! suite of publications, including audio, see:  Editor’s Introduction.
   2. Partnerships: Write On! has already facilitated partnerships and co-operation with Dialogue, The Hay Festival, All Stories, Bloomsbury, Penguin, the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, Write Back UK, the Curtis Brown Agency, The Margate Bookie, The University Of Sunderland, Christ Church University Canterbury, the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA), the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast, The Turner Contemporary, Libraries Unlimited (Devon), Dudley Libraries, The London Library and Becontree Broadcasting Station, with many others currently being explored. If you would like to discuss ideas, please do get in touch at: pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk
   3. To advertise online or in the next issue, please see Write On! Together magazine, with demographics, testimonials and lots of information.