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New
Writing North news
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Linda France wins
National Poetry Competition
Congratulations to Linda France, whose poem, Bernard and Cerinthe,
has won the National Poetry Competition. The poem was inspired by Linda’s
Poetica Botanica
project, a Durham Book Festival 2012 commission, which has seen her visit
botanical gardens all over the world.
Judges Julia Copus, Matthew Sweeney and Jane Yeh selected Linda’s poem
from 12,085 entries which were submitted from 77 countries. Linda becomes
the 36th person to win the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition
(first prize £5,000). For more information about Linda and her work, see www.lindafrance.co.uk.
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Join New Writing
North: Young people’s programme manager
We are seeking a temporary member of staff to cover our young people’s
programme manager’s maternity leave. The young people’s programme manager
performs a key role within New Writing North, encompassing the promotion
and delivery of the Cuckoo Young Writers programme, supporting our work
in schools, and developing and delivering projects with young people.
Initially the contract will be for six months with the possibility of an
extension depending on the current postholder’s maternity arrangements.
For full details and to apply, see www.newwritingnorth.com.
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Forensic Narratives
with Margaret Murphy
After New Writing North commissioned the Crime Story crime
from Ann
Cleeves, the next step was nailing down the guest list for the
conference. Author Margaret Murphy was one of the names it was easy to
agree on. Not only was she a successful crime writer in her own right,
but she had written two novels (under the pseudonym AD Garrett) in
collaboration with a forensic scientist. During Crime Story you can join
her at the Forensics in Fiction
panel; until then find out how she approaches the forensic narrative on
the Crime
Story website.
Crime Story takes place at Northumbria University over the weekend 31
May-1 June. Book your tickets now at www.crimestory.co.uk.
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Cuckoo Quarterly 10:
A smile is the same in every language
We’re now taking submissions for the next edition of Cuckoo Quarterly,
our literary magazine that showcases the very best fiction, poetry and
non-fiction written by people aged 15-23. We are on the lookout for
poems, shorts, cuttings, periodicals and non-fiction (opinion
pieces/articles).
We will also consider writing of any form in response to the theme “A
smile is the same in every language”. And it’s not just about writing –
if you’re a young illustrator or photographer, we’d like to hear from you
too. Submissions will also be considered for Cuckoo Press, our
biannual printed magazine. The summer edition of Cuckoo Press is due
out at the end of May so this is your last chance to submit for this
edition.
Head over to www.cuckooquarterly.com to
find out more about submitting your work. Deadline for submissions is
Tuesday 22 April. Keep your eye on www.cuckooreview.com too,
for reviews of all things jazz-related from the Gateshead
International Jazz Festival at Sage Gateshead. Five Cuckoo reviewers
were resident for the festival and their impressions will be hitting the
page soon.
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Hexham Book Festival:
24 April-8 May
The annual Hexham Book Festival returns on 24 April with an exciting
programme of authors and events. This is the popular festival’s ninth
year, so by this point regular attendees of events might fancy themselves
a literary know-it-all. If so, why not prove it in the Lit
Quiz at the Beaumont Hotel on 24 April at 8pm. You can also meet
short story writer Bernard
MacLaverty on Saturday 3 May at 1.30pm, discover the untouched places
that modern-day explorers still find in the world with Robin
Hanbury-Tenison and find out about the 21st century F-word – feminism
– with Anne
Dickson and Melissa Benn. For a full programme and to book tickets,
go to www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk.
Hexham Book Festival is also looking for volunteers, preferably with
some experience for helping at the festival. The festival runs from 24
April to 8 May, but volunteers are particularly needed between 2 and 5
May. Email info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
if you can help.
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Newcastle Lunchtime
Book Group
Back by popular demand, the Newcastle Lunchtime Book Group is looking
for new members. The group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at
12.30pm at The Carriage pub in Archbold Terrace, Jesmond. Their next
meeting is on 6 May and they’re reading Harvest by Jim Crace. For more
information, see www.northeastbookgroups.com/newcastle.
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People
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Carolyn
Jess-Cooke has been firing on all cylinders recently. Not
only is her Writing
Motherhood project in full swing (see The Listening Post
below), but she has also been appointed as lecturer in creative writing
at Glasgow University, and was pipped at the top ten in the National
Poetry Competition by fellow North East writer Linda France.
Northern Writers’ Award and Gordon Burn Prize winner Ben Myers has a
poem in poetry chapbook Quincunx.
Copies are available to buy now. He will also have a short story
published in the forthcoming edition of The Honest Ulsterman.
Finally, Kelvin
Knight invites you to read along with the Caravan Novel, a
collaborative project supported by Eden Arts in which 33 writers tell the
tale of a couple spending their honeymoon driving around Cumbria in a
caravan. As each chapter is written it can be read at www.kelvinmknight.co.uk.
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In the
North
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Coquet Voices:
Creative practitioners and heritage experts
The Coquet Voices project is looking for freelance creative
practitioners to work on heritage projects with middle school pupils.
They will be delivering short, cohesive projects during a whole school
activity week, giving young people a focused opportunity to learn about
their local heritage and/or local dialect. Closing date for applications:
18 April. To find out more and apply see www.artsjobs.org.uk/arts-job/post/creative-practitioners-and-heritage-experts/.
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Microresidencies at
the People’s History Museum, Manchester
Play Your Part
is an ACE-funded project that aims to make the People’s History Museum
more relevant to today’s audiences. This summer they will transform the
Community Gallery into a hub of creativity and experimentation. Three
early career creative practitioners are sought to spend a week in the
gallery space, exploring collections, engaging with visitors and creating
something inspirational. Closing date for applications: 18 May. For more
information and to apply go to www.phm.org.uk/about-us/vacancies/.
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Poet in residence:
Pannett Art Gallery
The Whitby art gallery is seeking to contract a freelance poet in
residence to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World
War I. The residency will see the poet developing a relationship with the
gallery and community while exploring the theme of Whitby during World
War I. For more information and to apply see www.artsjobs.org.uk/arts-job/post/poet-in-residence-6/.
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Opportunities
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Open submission
fortnight at The Borough Press
HarperCollins imprint The Borough Press is opening its doors to
un-agented submissions of literary novels for a limited two-week period
from 7-21 April. For the next two weeks, previously unpublished writers
can submit the first three chapters, a synopsis of their novel, and an
author biography, by emailing boroughpress.opensubmission@harpercollins.co.uk.
All entered novels must be complete, written in English and at least
70,000 words long. For full terms and conditions see www.boroughpress.co.uk/submissions.
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Young Fiction Writers
Competition
Writers’ Centre Norwich and IdeasTap have launched a new national
writing competition for young fiction writers. Through this unique
competition ten fledgling writers will be offered a series of
opportunities to help develop their craft, including six months of
mentoring, a masterclass, vital industry advice and a bespoke writing
retreat. The competition is free to enter. Deadline for entries: 12 May.
To apply, or for more information, visit www.ideastap.com/Inspires.
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Take your pick from a
dozen writing competitions at Winchester Writers’ Festival
Winchester Writers’ Festival has 12 different competitions for
writers, young writers, poets and novelists to enter in 2014. These
competitions are, they say, a vital part of the festival, opening doors
for emerging writers and enabling the festival to celebrate entrants’ creativity.
Deadline for entries: 16 May. For more information, see www.writersfestival.co.uk/competitions.
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Jobs
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Seven Stories:
Exhibition assistant
An exhibition assistant is sought to provide administrative support to
Seven Stories’ exhibition team. The successful candidate will have
particular involvement with exhibition loans and touring exhibitions.
Deadline for applications: 25 April. To apply or find out more go to www.sevenstories.org.uk/get-involved/current-vacancies.
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The Reader
Organisation: Product development manager
The Reader Organisation runs the Reader-in-Residence and Read to Lead
programmes, which it sells within the health, social care, education and
criminal justice sectors. They are looking for someone to develop and
manage a wider range of projects. The successful candidate will be
structured, creative and have a proven track record of developing new
products in heath and/or educational sectors. Deadline for applications:
Monday 14 April. For more information and to apply see www.thereader.org.uk/working-with-us/job-opportunities/new-product-development-manager.aspx.
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De Montfort
University: Lecturer in creative writing
The De Montfort school is looking for a lecturer in creative writing.
The successful candidate will be a published creative writer with
teaching experience. They will be expected to contribute to the
development and teaching of a lively and innovative creative writing
programme. Deadline for applications: 25 April. For more information or
to apply see https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/Default.asp?Section=Vacancy&VacID=8372.
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The
Listening Post
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Writing Motherhood
Dorothy
Wordsworth Festival of Women’s Poetry, Grasmere: Sunday 13 April, 4.30pm
Hexham Book
Festival: Tuesday 6 May, 7pm
Since December 2013 Carolyn Jess-Cooke has been writing about
motherhood, in a project supported by Arts Council England. Along with
Sinead Morrissey, Debi Gliori, Lily Dunn and more, Carolyn will be
exploring some of the issues confronting female writers with children.
You can find more about the project at the Writing Motherhood blog hosted by Mslexia (see here)
and submit your own creative work on motherhood to carolynjesscooke@gmail.com.
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Salon North: Cool Hunting
Masonic Hall, Harrogate:
Thursday 24 April, 7.30pm
‘Cool
Hunters’ is the first Salon of 2014. Author and creator of science and
performance group Guerilla Science Zoe Cormier looks at the science of
hedonism, professor of acoustic engineering Trevor Cox will be helping us
to listen deeper to the world’s music as he takes us from deep in Big
Ben, to the singing sand-dunes of Saskatchewan, and behavioural economist
Nick Southgate will try to answer the difficult question ‘what is cool?’.
Tickets: £18. Book online at http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/salon-north/salon-north-cool-hunting/.
Special offer: book for both ‘Cool Hunting’ and ‘Personal
Taste’ on Friday 11 July for £30.
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Hit The Ode
CONTACT,
Manchester: Wednesday 16 April, 7:30pm
Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the
country and the world to the heart of Manchester. Just like its
well-established sister night in Birmingham, it features three guest
acts: one from the North West, one from elsewhere in the UK, and one
international guest. Tickets: £6/£3 concs.
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Workshops
and classes
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Holmeside Writers
looking for new members
Led by author Iain Rowan, new writers group Holmeside Writers group
meets monthly at Holmeside Coffee, Sunderland, for writing exercises,
collaborations and critiques. Open to writers of all levels, whether
you’re published or just writing your first story, the group is looking
for more members. Contact iain@iainrowan.com
for more information.
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Write a novel at the
Lit & Phil
Lit and
Phil, Newcastle: 23 April-25 June, 6pm-8pm
A novel takes time and forethought. This course, run by Kathleen Kenny
and Ellen Phethean over a series of ten weekly workshops, is designed to
keep you on track to plan, plot and finish a first draft of a longer
piece of writing. With creative exercises, critical one-to-ones and group
support, two experienced tutors to help you reach your goal. £60 to be
paid in advance for the term. To book, call the Lit & Phil on 0191
232 0192.
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Application deadline
extended for Live Theatre’s Introduction to playwriting course
This popular course aims to give writers a sound understanding of the
key elements of playwriting through a combination of practical exercises
and discussion. What makes a great story and how do you tell it? What
makes a character leap off the page? Learn about playwriting from people
who know. Places on Live Theatre’s Introduction to Playwriting course are
free but limited, and applicants are selected after a short submission
process. New application deadline: Friday 11 April 2014. For more
information on how to apply see www.live.org.uk/get-involved/courses.
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DLI workshops update
There’s still time to book places on two writing workshops at Durham’s
DLI museum. Filling the Gaps on Tuesdays 22 April, 29 April and 13 May,
10am-12.30pm, costs £30 for the series of three sessions, and Lest we
Forget on 11 May, 10am-12.30pm, costs £7.50 for one session. For more
information, see www.dlidurham.org.uk.
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Miscellany
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Become a Beanstalk
reading helper
Did you know that 1 in 5 adults don’t have the reading skills to find
a plumber in the Yellow Pages? Or that more than half of all prisoners
have the reading skills at or below those of an 11-year-old. If this
interests you, the statistics shock you, or it just plain intrigues you,
please read on to learn how you can make a difference by supporting
children to become more confident readers and make a lasting impression
on their education. If you would like to find out how you can make a huge
difference to a child’s life, contact emma.rose@beanstalkcharity.org.uk,
call 0845 4500344 or see www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk.
Beanstalk is a national charity that recruits, vets, trains and supports
volunteers to work in primary schools with children who have fallen
behind with their reading.
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Deadline
for the next newsletter
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If you have news that you would like to submit
for inclusion in the newsletter please contact tammy@newwritingnorth.com.
The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 20
April. The next edition of The
Listening Post, covering May’s literature events, will go out
in late April. If you have events that you would like to submit for
inclusion for this you will need to send information by 21 April to tammy@newwritingnorth.com.
While
every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in
this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do
change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our
knowledge.
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