In August, Melbourne City of Literature put out an Open Call for 10 paid virtual residencies in their city. After a very competitive selection process, of the 10 writers selected, one of them was an applicant from Manchester, Louis Glazzard!

Louis is a queer writer, originally from Yorkshire, who’s been based in Manchester for a while and has definitely developed their writing and performance within the community here. Louis started his open mic night journey in Manchester at events such as Queer Family Tea and Verbose.

“Having the gumption to get up and stage and bare your most difficult experiences and emotions instantly changes your work… [Open Mic Nights] offer space to reflect on your work and learn about what makes people have that ‘Wow’ moment when they’re hearing your words for the first time.”

While still writing poetry, Louis is currently writing a speculative novel and always carries his notebook around so there’s a way to jot down ideas as they come, or to write poetry ideas when he’s travelling. This is a part of Louis’s life that’s developed from time working in customer services where he’d write poetry ideas on receipts as that’s what was available.

From here though, Louis has been published by Untitled: Voices, Queerlings, Polari Press and more. Publications lead to further recognition when in 2021, Louis received an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant for a series of workshops with organisations including the NHS and LGBT Foundation.

“Manchester was the place that allowed me to dream and make those dreams a reality.”

Melbourne is the only UNESCO City of Literature in Australia, and was the second designated City of Literature in the world in 2008. 2022 is the second Virtual Writers in Residence program Melbourne City of Literature have run. This year, ten writers will be connected with a specific organisation to create residency outcomes. Each organisation is very different and looking for different things be it writing, workshop or another form of connection. Alongside this, Louis will have the opportunities to spend time meeting the other writers (from Iowa City, Jakarta, Reykjavík, Dublin, Heidelberg , Norwich and Odessa), Residency Organisations, and connecting with Melbourne as a City of Literature.

“This feels like a big creative writing moment and I can’t wait to get started.”