On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, The Bee, a new literary platform launched with Michael Sheen’s support, champions working-class writers through a magazine, podcast, and outreach, tackling the class crisis in UK publishing.
The Bee
The UK’s literary and publishing industries are facing a deepening class crisis, with working-class writers and professionals increasingly sidelined. In response, a bold new initiative, The Bee, launched on May Day, May 5, 2025, to champion working-class voices and create opportunities for writers from less privileged backgrounds.
Supported by actor and philanthropist Michael Sheen and backed by Faber, the esteemed British publishing house representing authors like Sally Rooney, Simon Armitage, and Kazuo Ishiguro, The Bee is a multifaceted platform designed to reshape the literary landscape. Edited by Richard Benson, former editor of the iconic 80s and 90s magazine The Face, The Bee combines a literary magazine, website, podcast, and outreach programs to foster talent and challenge systemic inequalities.
Addressing the Class Crisis in Publishing
The Bee emerges at a critical juncture for the UK’s creative industries, where class disparities have become starkly evident. In 2014, 43% of publishing professionals came from middle-class backgrounds, while only 12% were of working-class origin, according to the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey. By 2019, the middle-class share had surged to 60%, reflecting a growing exclusion of working-class individuals. Further, just 10% of authors and writers hail from working-class backgrounds, while 47% come from the most privileged social groups. The disparity extends to journalism, with 44% of newspaper columnists having attended independent schools, despite only 7% of the UK population receiving such an education, as reported by the Sutton Trust in 2019.
These statistics highlight a troubling trend: talent may be classless, but opportunity is tightly bound by social background. Barriers to entry—such as financial constraints, lack of networks, and limited access to elite education—have intensified, making it harder for working-class writers to break into the industry. The Bee seeks to dismantle these barriers by providing a platform for authentic working-class stories, which often capture the pulse of contemporary society more vividly than mainstream narratives.
A Multifaceted Platform for Change
The Bee operates across several channels to maximize its impact. Its literary magazine publishes both fiction and non-fiction by new and established working-class writers from the UK and beyond, offering a space for stories that reflect diverse lived experiences. The accompanying website serves as a hub for contemporary writing on life and culture, fostering a digital community of readers and writers.
Additionally, The Bee’s podcast, The Working-Class Library, explores the rich history of working-class writing and aims to curate an alternative canon of literary classics. Each month, guest writers such as David Nicholls, Louise Doughty, and David Peace discuss a book’s merit for inclusion in this virtual library, sparking conversations about the cultural significance of working-class literature.
A cornerstone of The Bee’s mission is its large-scale outreach program, which actively seeks out and supports aspiring writers from working-class backgrounds. Through professional development opportunities, including mentorship and publication pathways, the program aims to nurture talent and build sustainable careers in writing. This holistic approach ensures that The Bee is not just a publishing platform but a movement to transform the industry from the ground up.
Building on the Legacy of A Writing Chance
The Bee was born out of A Writing Chance, a UK-wide program launched in 2021 to open doors for working-class and lower-income writers, as well as those facing intersecting barriers related to ethnicity, disability, sexuality, gender identity, age, or religious beliefs. Co-founded by Michael Sheen, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Northumbria University, and produced by New Writing North, A Writing Chance has already yielded remarkable success. For example, alum Tom Newlands published his critically acclaimed novel Only Here, Only Now in 2024, demonstrating the program’s ability to propel new voices into the mainstream.
A Writing Chance itself built on earlier efforts by New Writing North, such as the 2018 Common People initiative, which provided professional development for emerging working-class writers. Over the years, these programs have supported 28 aspiring writers through mentoring and publication opportunities, with backing from partners like Faber, the Daily Mirror, Substack, Audible, and Arts Council England. The Bee represents a natural evolution of this work, scaling up efforts to address the persistent class crisis in publishing.
The Vision of Richard Benson and Claire Malcolm
At the helm of The Bee is Richard Benson, whose own journey reflects the challenges and potential of working-class writers. Raised on a small farm in Yorkshire, Benson began his career as a reporter for the Beverley Guardian before editing The Face in the 1990s. His memoirs, The Farm (2005) and The Valley (2016), earned critical acclaim, with the latter winning the James Tait Black Prize for biography and the Portico Prize. Benson’s understanding of class is nuanced, encompassing not just income or occupation but also family, upbringing, education, and lived experience. He argues that a mature, multifaceted discussion about class is essential in 2025, as background continues to shape life chances and career prospects.
Claire Malcolm, CEO of New Writing North, echoes this urgency. Despite the success of initiatives like A Writing Chance, she notes that systemic inequality in the creative industries is worsening. Representation of working-class voices in mainstream publishing remains scarce, and the debate about class, while lively, has yet to yield meaningful change. Malcolm sees The Bee as a radical response—an attempt to create a new reality where working-class writers and readers can thrive. By building a community around authentic storytelling, The Bee aims to drive change from outside the traditional publishing establishment.
Meeting a Clear Demand for Representation
The Bee is not only a moral imperative but also a response to market demand. A survey conducted by The Bee found that 63% of working-class readers value seeing people from their backgrounds represented in literature—and not just represented, but portrayed accurately. This appetite for authentic stories underscores the need for more working-class professionals in publishing, particularly in decision-making roles that shape what gets published and promoted.
Benson emphasizes that working-class stories often resonate widely because they articulate universal truths about struggle, resilience, and hope. From gritty memoirs to socially incisive fiction, these narratives frequently capture what’s really happening in the world. By investing in working-class writers, The Bee seeks to enrich the literary canon and meet the expectations of readers hungry for diverse perspectives.
New Writing North: A Catalyst for Talent
The Bee is produced by New Writing North, a writing development charity with a long history of nurturing talent across the North of England. Through flagship programs like the Northern Writers’ Awards, the Gordon Burn Prize, and Durham Book Festival, the organization has championed writers of all ages and backgrounds. Its award-winning youth programs and plans for a new writing and publishing center in Newcastle upon Tyne further demonstrate its commitment to expanding access to creative opportunities.
New Writing North’s ethos—that writing talent is universal, but opportunities are not—underpins The Bee’s mission. By identifying and supporting underrepresented voices, the charity aims to create life-changing chances for individuals and transform the cultural landscape. The Bee is a testament to this vision, offering a platform where working-class writers can flourish and their stories can reach a global audience.
A Call for Systemic Change
The Bee is more than a magazine or a podcast; it’s a call to action for the publishing industry to confront its class biases. While individual success stories like Tom Newlands are inspiring, they are not enough to reverse decades of entrenched inequality. The platform’s emphasis on professional development, representation, and community-building aims to create a sustainable pipeline of working-class talent that can reshape the industry from within.
By fostering authentic representation and amplifying marginalized voices, The Bee hopes to spark a broader cultural shift. Its work aligns with a growing recognition that diversity in storytelling benefits everyone—readers, writers, and publishers alike. As the platform gains traction, it has the potential to redefine what it means to be a writer in the UK, proving that class should never be a barrier to creativity.
Looking Ahead
With its ambitious scope and deep-rooted commitment to change, The Bee is poised to make a lasting impact on the UK’s literary scene. By combining high-quality publishing with grassroots outreach, it offers a model for how to address systemic inequities in the creative industries. As it builds a new community of writers and readers, The Bee stands as a beacon of hope for working-class storytellers, ensuring their voices are not just heard but celebrated. In a world where background still shapes opportunity, The Bee is a vital step toward a more inclusive and equitable future for publishing.
Find The Bee now:
https://www.facebook.com/beelitmag
https://www.instagram.com/beelitmag
https://bsky.app/profile/beelitmag.bsky.social
Richard Benson – Little Toller Books
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