New Writing

Manatomy, the debut collection of poetry by UEA alumnus James McDermott, has been longlisted for this year’s Polari First Book Prize, which celebrates LGBTQ+ books by writers born or based in the UK and Ireland. It was published by Burning Eye Books earlier this year. James (pictured) graduated from UEA with a BA in Scriptwriting & Performance in 2015 and with an MA in Scriptwriting in 2016. He has trained on The Royal Court Writers Group, Soho Theatre’s Writers Lab and Hampstead Theatre’s Inspire: The Next Playwright Programme. His plays include Fast Food (Lyric Hammersmith) which starred Jude Law, Street Life (Norwich Theatre Royal), Rubber Ring (Pleasance Islington; UK Tour), and Time & Tide, which was written as his MA dissertation and ran at the Park Theatre London. It was nominated for an Off-West End Theatre Award for Best New Play. James has also performed his poetry at venues across the country and was shortlisted for Outspoken London’s Poetry Prize 2020 in the Performance category. Senseless, a new work combining live theatre with virtual reality technology, was commissioned as part of UEA’s Future & Form project and created in collaboration with Guildhall Live Events. It was launched online as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival this May. James teaches Creative Writing at Norwich Theatre Royal and in schools and theatres across the country.