Interview with Rachel Knightley, founder of the Sponsored Write for Macmillan Cancer Support
Having just written all about my terrible time-keeping and set out an aim to write a regular post every couple of weeks, here I am coming to you a mere week later. This is something a bit different, however, because I’m bringing you an interview with Rachel Knightley, founder of the annual Sponsored Write for Macmillan Cancer Support (and incidentally, my oldest friend).
Some of you who follow me on other types of social media may have seen me talking about the Sponsored Write or reposting interviews with others taking part – about them and their reasons for doing so. The Green Ink Sponsored Write brings together published authors and developing writers to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Writers are sponsored for their time (one day to write, then one day to edit, before the anthology of resulting work is collated and sent out exclusively to the sponsors).
In this interview I talk to Rachel about herself, her work, and her reasons for starting this brilliant initiative – plus how writers and would-be sponsors can get involved. I hope you enjoy it.
1) Hi, Rachel. Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a fiction and non-fiction author, with a background in theatre. I’m also a freelance writer and presenter of features for magazine and film companies, and a business and personal coach. I’m also a visiting lecturer at Roehampton University, where I studied for my BA alongside the friend I created Green Ink Sponsored Write in memory of in 2007. My new short story cycle, Twisted Branches, launches next month – just in time for Halloween! It’s a dark domestic noir on familial love, poisoned loyalty and how we, knowingly and unknowingly, mess up and light up each other's lives.
2) How long has the Sponsored Write been running for now, and what made you decide to start it?
What’s now Green Ink Sponsored Write began in theatre. My friend Sophie Porter (neé Spring, 1982-2007), who I’d been a fellow student with of Questors Youth Theatre then Roehampton University, died in 2007 when we were both 25. At her funeral, a bunch of mutual friends loved the idea of doing a play in her memory for her chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. I dropped out of my sensible (but badly-fitting) job as a copywriter for Telegraph Media Group to form a theatre company and make that happen. As an inexperienced director, a large cast many of whom were a lot older, and more experienced, and knew it, was a number of “brave” (bonkers) decisions at once! I also ended up producing it on my own when a colleague had to drop out. But we did it – and I realised directing theatre, supporting a charity my family and friends had benefitted from and teaching creative writing, speech and drama in schools and theatres and privately to adults, teenagers and children to strengthen confidence and communication was a load more meaningful to me than what I had been doing! So that was the beginning of what became Green Ink Writers’ Gym (now The Writers’ Gym podcast and coaching) and, as I moved away from theatre to finish my PhD, the Green Ink Sponsored Write. Although we’ve stopped doing showcases and moved over to digital anthologies, there may be a performance related future for Green Ink Sponsored Write – watch this space!
3) A ‘Sponsored Write’ is a very unique concept. What gave you the idea?
I was sitting in a café in Ealing (where Sophie and I grew up, before she and later I moved to southwest London), thinking about how much writing in coffee shops worked for me and how many writers I knew felt the same way. The idea landed so clearly in my head, I knew I had to make it real.
4) Please share your reasons for choosing Macmillan Cancer Support as the charity to benefit from the Sponsored Write, and any experience of the charity’s work – if you would like to.
In addition to it being the chosen charity at Sophie’s funeral (see above), my grandfather and two of my uncles died of cancer. So have several of my friends, one earlier this week in fact, and many more are living or have lived with it. Every time Macmillan is in the picture, it means solving problems that go far beyond someone to talk to: sex life, money problems, you name it: if it affects your quality of life, they want to hear about it. As a writer and as a coach, the link between communication and quality of life is what my professional career is all about and Macmillan Cancer Support’s mission may well be what inspired that.
5) It’s quite a feat to produce an anthology in 48 hours… Do you enjoy the organisational side of things or find it challenging (or both)?
I do now but I didn’t always! Without the theatre side of the events, it’s been much smoother. We’ve gone to zero overheads, zero expenses and zero carbon footprint. We work entirely through the one Justgiving page so the charity absolutely wins on money and on time, the writers absolutely win as they can work from literally anywhere in the world, the readers win because all the focus goes into creating the stories – and I win because one thing the initial production in Sophie’s memory taught me is how much I hate being a producer/event organiser! But, again, having qualified as a coach something I see all the time is the more honest we are about what makes us tick, the better our results when we pour ourselves into who we really are. I always wanted to write, and I always wanted to do this for Macmillan.
It’s been enormously helpful that the anthologies are typeset by my friend and publisher Steve J. Shaw, of Black Shuck Books, these last few years. And communicating with the writing community that forms around each annual event is a delight. On the day itself we start with a “Zoom coffee” before we turn off our cameras and mics to start writing. At the end of the day we often have a “Zoom drink” too, then everyone sends their extract/story/poem/etc to me before 5.30pm the next afternoon, then it’s over to Steve who typesets and emails everyone who’s sponsored us (and provided their email address!). One thing I’m particularly proud of is during lockdown we had our biggest annual total ever of £3713. That was a year fewer events by far were able to continue which made it very clear the world could do with things like this! It just shows you don’t need a massive budget to make a relevant contribution to a cause you care about.
6) How can writers get involved in next year’s Sponsored Write?
Each year differs in how many spaces are professional authors and how many are developing writers from within my writing coaching community. I’m always careful to make sure the spaces go to people who will relish this kind of deadline, and enjoy the challenge rather than feel overwhelmed by it. I’m deeply aware it’s not for everyone and the important thing to remember is it’s all about the result – the more money we make for this amazing charity, the better. As a writer, I personally find that pretty calming: it’s not about what I do, it’s about why I do it. If anybody reading this thinks “That sounds like me”, let me know on info@rachelknightley.com.
7) Where/how can people donate to support this great cause?
Everything goes through a single Just Giving page, which means we’re not only donating money to the charity but saving time for them so they can get on with doing what they do. This is it, and I’d love it if everyone reading this could share it with their respective worlds! https://www.justgiving.com/page/greeninksponsoredwrite2023