NUCoL ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR

Hannah Trevarthen is named the new Director of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature.

 She joins from English PEN, one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations, where she has worked as their Events and Partnerships Manager since 2015, leading their year round programme of high-profile events and prizes. 

"I’m honoured to be joining the Nottingham City of Literature team and to lead the organisation's next chapter.  I have long been an admirer of NUCoL and its commitment to nurturing talent, championing Nottingham’s rich and dynamic cultural sector and heritage, and celebrating the transformative power of words. As someone who grew up in the East Midlands, this appointment is extra special to me and I greatly look forward to working with partners across the City and the UK along with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to build on and strengthen NUCoL’s mission."

Between 2019 and 2021, Hannah led Common Currency, English PEN’s centenary celebration, a multi-partner project funded by Arts Council England working with literature and cultural organisations nationally and internationally.  Highlights included commissioning a new digital piece from Ai Weiwei which was projected on the Southbank Centre. Previous to this, she spent four years as Assistant Programmer at Edinburgh International Book Festival. Hannah holds an MA in Cultural Policy and Management from Sheffield Hallam University, and is an associate trustee for Sheffield Museums. She brings with her strong experience of working internationally, building local and national partnerships, creative programming and championing new talent.  

In taking up the role, she will be steering the organisation into our application to become an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) later this year. She will also be responsible for the strategy of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature on a local, national and international level, with a commitment to develop and strengthen our mission in Building Better Futures With Words.

NUCOL Chair Patrick Limb said:  To welcome Hannah as our new Director is a moment of real excitement for Nottingham, as a UNESCO City of Literature.  Hannah's appointment is a marker both of her ambition and ours, standing as NUCoL does on the threshold of applying to become a National Portfolio holder supported by Arts Council England. She brings a great commitment to innovation and inclusion, having worked in international, national and local contexts at renowned organisations, latterly English PEN and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Board, the team and our core partners – each of whom participated in a competitive recruitment process – very much look forward to supporting Hannah in her work, confident that her dynamism will best enable us to turn present challenges into future opportunities. She will be a great asset not only in fulfilling our mission of building better futures with words but also to our City.

Welcome to Nottingham Hannah.