‘Talent is classless’: bold project launched to create centre for writing in north-east England

Refurbishing Newcastle's Bolbec Hall could be first step in a mission to build up region's creative industries

This will be the cafe and bar," said Claire Malcolm on the ground floor of a grand, deserted building in Newcastle she hopes will become an international powerhouse of writing creativity. We're thinking of making it a wifi dead zone. You'll have to pick up a book or a newspaper. Or talk to someone."

Malcolm is giving the Guardian an exclusive tour of a forgotten 100-year-old building that is a key part of a bold project to propel north-east England to becoming a centre for writing and publishing.