Professor Katy Shaw

Professor

School: Design Arts and Creative Industries

Katy Shaw is Director of the UKRI/AHRC Creative Communities programme and Professor of writing and publishing. Her research interests include devolution and culture, diversity and inclusion in the creative industries (the subject of her 2022 TED talk) and cultural policy making. She is the author of the APPG Inquiry report ‘The Case for Culture’ that set out policy recommendations, many of which have since been adopted by UK government, on how to rebuild rebalance and recover cultural production post-covid. She sat as a commissioner on the LGA Culture Commission and the Gordon Brown Union Commission. Her policy consultancy focuses on the role of culture-led R&D, innovation and the role of HEIs and further education in cultural partnership working. As Professor and journalist she is the author of five monographs, four edited collections as well as journal articles and essays on contemporary British literature and is the author of the British Council ‘Write Now: Teaching 21^st-century Literature Globally’ report. She regularly writes for the New Statesman. She can be found on Twitter @profkatyshaw

Campus Address

103 Lipman Building

Email Katy

@profkatyshaw

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

UK Devolution, Culture & Innovation

Cultural Economics

Writing and Publishing Industries

Contemporary British Literature

Co-Creation

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
A Torrent of Filth or An Island of Strangers? Tony Harrison’s ‘v.’ 40 Years On, Shaw, K. 12 Aug 2025, The Routledge Companion to Dangerous Books , London, Routledge
A Writing Chance: adjusting the lens on social class and diversity in the UK publishing industry , Shaw, K. 2 Sep 2025, In: Creative Industries Journal
Blazing A Trail: Culture and Devolution in England, Shaw, K. 1 May 2024, In: IPPR Progressive Review
Common People: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in UK Publishing, Shaw, K. 29 Nov 2024, The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature, Routledge
Common People: Breaking the Class Ceiling in UK Publishing, Shaw, K. 5 Dec 2024, The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature, Abingdon, Taylor & Francis
Culture Bridge 2030: Towards A Culture Strategy for Newcastle, Shaw, K. Jan 2024
Labour is yet to win over the North, Shaw, K. 8 May 2024
Liberate the Regions, Shaw, K. 19 Jun 2024
The Icing on the Cake? Culture, Devolution and the North East, Kippin, H., Shaw, K. Mar 2024
The Power of Partnership: Northumbria University x New Writing North, Shaw, K., Malcolm, C. 26 Apr 2024

Current and Recent Projects

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AHRC Creative Communities: Extension 2025-27, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Arts & Humanities Research Council, 01/05/25 - 30/04/27, £916,836.00
Culture Connect: Open Access Data Observatory for Devolved Culture Informatics, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Arts & Humanities Research Council, 01/04/24 - 31/03/25, £290,000.00
Scaling Pan-UKRI Approaches to Public Engagement, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), UK Research and Innovation, 01/04/24 - 31/03/25, £120,362.00
Haunting Issues-Children, Spectrality and Culture, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Arts & Humanities Research Council, 01/04/23 - 30/09/24, £4,083.00
Creative Communities programme, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Arts & Humanities Research Council, 01/05/22 - 30/04/27, £1,614,505.00
Regional Powerhouse: levelling up writing from the UK regions, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Authors Licensing and Copyright Society, 01/02/21 - 30/12/21, £3,000.00
Writing the Sleep Crisis: 24/7 Capitalism and Neoliberal Subjectivity, De Cristofaro, D. (Principal Investigator), Shaw, K. (Co Investigator), Wellcome Trust, 01/09/20 - 31/08/23, £189,035.00
Well Read: Using Narrative Methodologies to Innovate Co-Productive Loneliness Research, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), Durham University, 01/02/20 - 30/04/21, £933.00
Research into the teaching of contemporary British Literature in overseas universities, Shaw, K. (Principal Investigator), British Council, 01/12/19 - 31/12/20, £3,500.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: UKRI Creative Communities Podcast Series 1 2024
Membership of board: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (External organisation) 2024
Membership of board: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (External organisation) 2024
Membership of board: British Council (External organisation) 2023
Other: AHRC RESEARCH NETWORK AWARD 2023
Membership of board: British Academy (External organisation) 2023
Membership of board: British Council (External organisation) 2023
Membership of board: British Film Institute (External organisation) 2023
Membership of board: Wellcome Trust (External organisation) 2023
Oral presentation: The Value of Diversity in the UK Creative Industries 2022