Sophie Evans
Photo 1, from left to right: Debbie James, Charlie Hall, Jo Billingham.
In February, the MA Creative Writing & Publishing cohort at Bournemouth University was joined by members of the Outsiders Project, a local creative writing collective that focuses on uplifting the underrepresented voices of those that have been sidelined from society. The students have been tasked with a group project – producing an anthology of writing created during the Project’s ongoing writing workshops.
The Outsiders Project was born in 2018, when founder Nell Leyshon became frustrated with the lack of real-world stories in theatre and wanted to create a community to give marginalised people the opportunity to have their voices heard. The Outsiders Project’s first show, The Vodka Hunters, was commissioned for the 2018 Bournemouth Emerging Arts Festival, and was a huge success. After that, they began to run creative writing workshops on a weekly basis, allowing people from marginalised communities to attend with the view to develop their writing skills. They also produced more shows in the following years (Secret Voices, Tattoo) as well as two existing anthologies (The Lock-In, Tattoo).
When it came to defining what it means to have a marginalised voice, director and producer Jo Billingham said: “When the project first started, we worked largely with people that had been in prison, or through the addiction process and in recovery, or people with long-term mental health conditions; often we found most had a combination of all three. But as the Project has evolved and grown, [the idea of] what a marginalised person is has also grown. We work with refugees, we work with people from the LGBTQ+ community, we work with people that turn up and say, ‘this is me – am I an Outsider?’ and we go, ‘yeah, you are actually, come on in!’”
Jo emphasised that it’s not up to her to decide who is and who isn’t an Outsider, but highlighted that the space they hold is sacred for those who simply do not have a platform elsewhere. “This is for people who don’t know where to turn, who don’t know where to start, who don’t belong anywhere else,” she said, “and they find their people with us. They find their home with us.”
Photo 2: Charlie Hall (right) tells the students about his experience with the Outsiders Project.
Workshop assistant Debbie James, whose journey with the Outsiders Project started with her participation in the workshops, echoed this sentiment. “[When] I came to the Outsiders, I was very new in recovery, and it was almost like a spiritual experience. I felt like I’d come home. When I joined, I couldn’t read anything I’d done – I didn’t even write, I just sat there and listened – […] and then before I knew it, I was performing. Now I’m leading workshops, I’m writing a play. It has completely changed my life.”
Charlie Hall, who is also a workshop assistant, outlined the importance of the work that the Outsiders Project does for marginalised groups. “In certain circles I was told I couldn’t say certain things. As society I think, sometimes, we’re giving these invisible muzzles, aren’t we? And as Outsiders it’s like we’ve taken the muzzles off, and we can say what we want.”
After an explanation about the Outsiders Project and quick Q&A session, each of the representatives read a creative piece to give the students an idea of the kind of content they’ll be working with. For many of the students, it will be their first time undergoing the process of publishing an anthology, from copyediting to cover design and everything in between. The hope for the group project is that students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills needed by writers, editors, and other professionals in the publishing industry by engaging in real publishing projects.
The final anthology will be completed and published later this year – giving real-world publishing experience to the students, as well as a platform to sidelined voices that might otherwise go unheard.