Award-winning author launches University of Sunderland scholarship to find next generation of writers

Best selling author and former University of Sunderland student Glenda Young has joined forces with the city’s university to launch a new scholarship scheme to help discover the next generation of literary talent.

This September (2023) will see the launch of the The Glenda Young Prize for Creative Writing. The scholarship will include £2,000 of financial support as well as expert support from Glenda on how to break into the world of publishing.

Glenda is the author of eight historical sagas set in Ryhope, the first of which, Belle of the Back Streets, was published in 2018, and the most recent, The Sixpenny Orphan, published in paperback this year (2023). She is also the author of three ‘cosy crime’ thrillers set in Scarborough, which were shortlisted at the Dead Good Readers Awards, alongside Val McDermid and Richard Osman, at the 2022 Harrogate Crime Festival.

After studying a journalism degree at the city’s University, Glenda also began writing books as a freelance author for ITV's Coronation Street.

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She said: "It was while I was writing these books that I realised I wanted to create my own fiction, with my own strong women. I started writing short fiction for Women’s Magazine, which led to the world's longest-running women's magazine, The People’s Friend, asking me to write their first ever soap opera, Riverside.

“It's still running. I love writing it and it’s now an audio drama featuring ex-soap stars.”

Glenda now wants to “give something back” to the University which she credits with helping her to forge a successful career as an author.

She said: “If I hadn’t studied for my degree at Sunderland I wouldn’t be where I am now and I really do want to give something back. 

“While the money might not be enough to change someone’s life, it might just help someone and inspire them to say, ‘yes, university might be for me’.

"I hope it makes the difference for someone who wants to follow their dreams.”

The critically acclaimed author will also be offering advice with contacts and support which, she says is “just as important as money when getting your work published”. 

She added: “I left school when I was 15 and if someone had said to me that I could do something I love for a living, that would have made an enormous difference. 

“I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl, and I hope that if there’s someone out there that I can help with that same passion and that desire to express themselves through words, then it’s all worth it.

“If I can help someone get published or find an agent I will.”

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The scholarship for applicants can be found on the university’s website. It is only open to students from Sunderland who, like Glenda, are the first in their immediate family to go to university,