New Writing North events March 2013

Michael Jecks & Karen Maitland: meet the authors

Stockton Central Library, Church Road, Stockton on Tees: Wednesday 13 March, 7pm

Meet two bestselling historical crime writers for an evening full of mayhem, murder and magic. Tickets: £5 from Rediscover Stockton. For more details or to book, call 01642 528 130.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Lit & Phil: Thursday 14 March, 6.30pm

This talk looks at the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, revealing its author’s innovative combination of folklore, Gothic conventions and deliberate modernity. It also explores the way that Dracula has overwhelmed the older types of the vampire recorded in genuine accounts of superstition and belief, and illustrates those movie representations that have moulded our expectations of what a vampire should be. Second and third talks follow on 21 and 28 March. Free event, no booking required. For more information, see www.litandphil.org.uk.

Kate Atkinson: Life After Life

Forum Cinema, Hexham: Wednesday 27 March, 6.30pm

At this special event to preview the Hexham Book Festival, best-selling author Kate Atkinson presents her new novel, Life After Life. What if you had the chance to live your life again? Could you save the world from its fate? Would you even try? Kate Atkinson’s latest novel charts the turbulent history of the twentieth century through the multiple lives of Ursula Todd. Tickets: £8/£6 (concs) from www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk.