Imagine this:  only at eighteen – the last year of sixth form and first year of University –  you realise that there are individuals like you who do great things. They're People that have overcame significant barriers – like you. It has taken you 18 years to realise that there's successful people who happen to not fit the norm you've been told you have to your whole life. And, the best part is they show you that you can be successful and overcome your barriers.  Maybe you can be successful too - whatever that looks like. 

Fast forward a few years: at twenty-one, you finish your undergraduate degree in English and produce a dissertation on disability  in 21st Century young adult literature, which teaches you there is a long way to go for quality representation.

Now at 22 you've have your heart broken once, and moved across the country to train as a teacher. You pass your teacher training course and have a drive for socially conscious storytelling, only you've just put a name on what you've been doing since the first year of your degree.  

From the need to create much-needed conversation, to the discovery of their disabilities, sexuality, ADHD and Autism I understand what it means to have to figure yourself out and tell stories which have identity at their heart.  The Writers Den has become a deeply personal mission – especially post-teacher training . Stemming from my PGCE in Further Education, I have developed a deeper understanding of systems of oppression and how individuals have increased barriers to success. As a founder from an intersectional background, as the story shows, I know first hand  the additional barriers standing in the way of the success of a minority writer. The main three: Rejection. Inaccessibility. Perceived incapability.   Despite these challenges, I have a first-class degree from Solent University, a PGCE from the University of Derby, and will continue to study through an MA in English Studies at the University of Nottingham. 

Otherwise known asE. J. Kingdom I am apublished novelist (The Burning Throne, 2024) and currently writing a poetry collection (for release in  May 2026).  

Like so many others It is painfully apparent to me that those who come from circumstances which are not widely celebrated or championed, have increased chances of being denied a platform at multiple places in the journey. This status of being discarded and written off by traditional gatekeepers decreases their chances of success in the conventional industry.

However, they are human first and foremost, have innovative stories to tell, and deserve an opportunity and a platform that they don't have to fight tooth-and-nail for.  They, are human first and foremost, and this  entitles them the same rights  to become critically engaged and culturally conscious writers. If anything, they are more primed and perceptive due to the aforementioned circumstances. However,  sometimes starting is the hardest part. To know where to start, stand, face rejection, and keep on going. 

As a result, The Writers Den champions bold, brutal, societally-conscious stories which ask questions that beg to be asked and grappled with.  

On this page, you will find three elements that the team and I are proud of:

• A press to provide voices to these underrepresented individuals because they deserve the same chance as other writers and bring a valuable perspective to the industry

• A Podcast effort to give a platform to promote budding intersectional writers and publishing professions. The point is to have a conversation, because they are human before labels

• An educational mission to equip disadvantaged, intersectional writers with the skills of critical inquiry, engagement, and craft to tell brutal stories which respond to society as we see it.