Outreach Programme

The company is committed to an ambitious outreach, training and development programme, working with a wide range of partners including Screen Manchester, Salford University, BBC Bitesize, BBC Education, and Sharpfutures. Cathy Crabb and Joseph Morris have also recently worked with Men’s Survivors Manchester and Reform Radio delivering short form audio dramas. These outreach projects aim to ensure more open access to the creative industries, and encourage new voices to emerge. The company is always open to new collaborations and partnerships.

Working with Our Outreach Partners

First Rung

The anthology First Rung marks an important component in building innovative outreach projects for Rope Ladder Fiction. The publication of this book with Flapjack Press, marks the culmination of a yearlong outreach programme, in which facilitators Cathy Crabb and Joseph Morris worked with a range of individuals to encourage their writing, resulting in their work being published in this anthology.

The book new writing by Serena Lukes, Marcus Garland, Libby Hall, Tracy Scott, Dr Sumaira K. Naseem, Christopher Egan, Erykah Blackburn, Louise Croombs, Josh Dixon, Ada Eravarma, Jessica Fay and Umara Khan, plus three short stories from Noah Conway, Amelia Davies and Krishna Jenson, specially chosen by screenwriter Kat Rose-Martin.

First Rung is available to buy from all good bookshops, or direct from Flapjack.

BBC Bitesize

Rope Ladder Fiction and the Waterloo Road cast and crew have contributed to the BBC Bitesize Schools Tour; this enables pupils to have first hand experience of how to navigate and build a career in the screen industry.

We Are Survivors 
Manchester

In Autumn 2023 service users at We Are Survivors Manchester joined forces with Reform Radio and Rope Ladder Fiction to gain guidance and support in creative writing. This programme of work led by Cathy Crabb and Joseph Morris resulted in four short audio dramas being recorded with Reform Radio by actor Neil Bell.

BBC Young Reporter 

Over the past two years Rope Ladder Fiction have partnered with BBC Young Reporter to deliver a series of workshops to schools and youth groups; encouraging and enabling storytelling and screenwriting. This enables young people to have access to screen professionals and discussion about careers in the screen sector.

Manchester Schools Outreach

Rope Ladder Fiction have worked with a number of local partners, such as Sharp Futures, to deliver a series of creative workshops to schools and colleges in the Greater Manchester area.