Michael Sheen Launches ‘The Bee’

Michael Sheen has teamed up with New Writing North to launch The Bee — a bold new platform dedicated to amplifying working-class voices in publishing. It’s more than just a magazine; it’s a movement, complete with a podcast, writing commissions, and in-person events. At its heart, The Bee aims to create a genuine space for fiction writers whose stories and perspectives are often missing from the UK’s literary mainstream.

Why does this matter? Only around 12% of UK publishing staff come from working-class backgrounds — a sobering stat that explains a lot about who gets published, what stories are told, and whose lives are visible in bookshelves across the country. For a nation where working-class experience is far more common than the industry reflects, that imbalance can shape the entire cultural landscape.

What makes The Bee stand out is that it’s not about tokenism or temporary initiatives. This is long-term infrastructure: something that builds community, opens doors, and offers working-class writers opportunities to be heard, published, and celebrated without needing to reshape themselves for a middle-class lens.

For me, this is one of the most promising developments in UK publishing. I’ll be bringing regular updates as The Bee unfolds — it’s one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in publishing this year.