New Writing North newsletter

Here is the latest New Writing North newsletter that I thought my followers would be interested in:

2014 The Listening Post

Wordpool Various venues, Blackpool: 2-5 July This year Wordpool celebrates the amazing and diverse way we all use words with internationally acclaimed authors Ann Cleeves, Peter Robinson, Sophie Hannah and Lindsey Davis, plus exciting new authors Emma Healey, Stephen May and Jon Wallace. Join Blackpool Arts & Libraries at their fundraising launch party on 2 July for an evening of Murder, Mystery and Martinis in Stanley Park’s art deco café. Ticket prices vary. To book tickets and find out more see blackpoolwordpool.wordpress.com. Robert Williams: Into the Trees Kendal Library, Kendal: Thursday 3 July, 7pm Robert Williams grew up in Clitheroe and lives in Manchester. His first novel, Luka and Jon, won a Betty Trask Award, was translated into six languages and called ‘a hugely impressive debut’ in the Daily Telegraph. His second novel, How the Trouble Started, was shortlisted for the Portico Prize for Fiction. He will be presenting his new novel, Into the Trees, at Kendal Library as part of a 22-date tour, in association with Time to Read, the North West Libraries Reader Development Partnership. Tickets: £1, which includes refreshments, available from Kendal Library, tel: 01539 713520. Allanbank Mill Steading: A Celebration of Art and Living Barter Books, Alnwick: Thursday 3 July, 7pm Sculptor Charlie Poulsen and textile artist Pauline Burbidge present an illustrated talk about 21 years of their annual four-day open studio event. They will cover its growth and development from a derelict farm steading to an extraordinary home, studios and garden, where the whole place speaks of and is their art and life. Weeks are spent preparing for their open studio event which takes place this year from 1-4 August. A new book has been specially produced to celebrate this year’s occasion: Open Studio, Allanbank Mill Steading, 1994-2014. Admission: £5. To book call 01665 604888 or call into the shop. Tea & Cake with Slightly Foxed Beaumont Hotel, Hexham: Saturday 5 July, 11am Discover how independent publisher Slightly Foxed began in a London kitchen from a love of discovering good books. Now 10 years on, Slightly Foxed is firmly established with its elegantly produced and much-loved quarterly book magazine. Cogito Books have a selection of both the Quarterly and the Editions and are looking forward to discovering more from this literary gem. Tickets: £8 including tea and cake available from Cogito Books at 01434 602555. Hebden Bridge Arts Festival Various venues, Hebden Bridge: 27 June-5 July Hebden Bridge Arts Festival is an annual celebration of the town’s creativity and unique landscape. Now in its 21st year, it’s one of Yorkshire’s longest running arts festivals with a reputation for delivering big names in a local setting. To find out more and book tickets see http://hebdenbridgeartsfestival.co.uk. Liverpool Artists’ Book Fair Liverpool Central Library, Liverpool: 4-5 July The first major Liverpool Artists’ Book Fair, with around 30 tables of artists’ work for sale. Exhibiting artists include Andrew Morrison, Hannah Fray, Elizabeth Shorrock, Marches Book Art Group, Wirral Metropolitan College and Hot Bed Press. Free event. For more information go to http://liverpoolbookart.com. Short Short Story Slam Gullivers, Manchester: Tuesday 8 July, 7.30pm After the success of Manchester Northern Quarter’s first-ever Short Short Story Slam in April, writing collective Flashtag Manchester are bringing their flash fiction fight back to the bright lights of the city centre for a second bout. Admission: £1 on the door (free for competitors). Full details and how to sign up, see www.shortshortstoryslam.co.uk. Paddy Ashdown Pocklington Arts Centre: Tuesday 8 July, 7.30pm Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown discusses his latest book based on the long neglected D-Day story of the Resistance uprising and subsequent massacre on the Vercors massif – the largest action by the French Resistance during the Second World War. Tickets: £16. To book, go to www.pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk/shows+on/08-07-2014. York Mystery Plays Various venues, York: 13 & 20 July The York Mystery Plays provide a present day link to the medieval origins of the plays, and the 2014 production will again fill the city streets with drama and spectacle offering a truly unique experience for visitor and local alike. Staged on pageant waggons, this city wide event will see 12 plays performed at four locations and involves around 600 local volunteers in its production. The production is in two parts and tickets are £15 per part. To find out more see www.yorkmysteryplays.co.uk. Lucie Brownlee: Me After You Waterstones, Newcastle: Saturday 12 July, 12pm-2pm Lucie Brownlee is a 38-year-old mother-of-one. And a widow. Her memoir, Me After You, is inspired by her award-winning blog, Wife After Death, and charts her first two years of bereavement following the sudden loss of her husband Mark, who was only 37 when he died. This book is, in her words, ‘a labour of love’ – a defiant love story underpinned with raw honesty, edgy humour and moments of tender grief. Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate: 17-20 July The famous crime festival returns to Harrogate in July with a packed programme of crime authors and talks, including a murder-mystery evening with Ann Cleeves, a look at the importance of the ‘twist’ in crime fiction with Alex Barclay and Nick Stone, a special guest event with Lynda LaPlante, and more. Val McDermid will be hosting the Young Blood panel with a personally selected group of exciting debut authors, Mari Hannah will be talking about the route to publishing with Mark Edwards and James Oswald, and Mark Lawson will be announcing the winner of the Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Tickets: £190 for a Weekend Rover/£79 for a single day ticket. Tickets to individual events are also available. To book or find out more go to www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime/events. Running Before the Wind Lit & Phil, Newcastle: Monday 21 July, 7pm Joy Howard, Meg Peacocke, Katrina Porteous and Fiona Ritchie Walker read from the Running Before the Wind anthology, described as a ‘wind-shaken, salt-laden, heartload of poems by women’. Laydeez do Comics Wharf Chambers, Leeds: Monday 21 July The Leeds branch of Laydeez do Comics – a women-led comic form that focuses on autobiographical comics and dramas of the idea – has been running since 2011, when illustrator Lou Crosby set it up. The July event welcomes speakers Janis Goodman – cartoonist in residence at the Ilkley Literature Festival – and Bristol-based Benjamin Dickson, known for Santa Claus vs the Nazis and Fight the Power. Tickets: £1.50. For more information, see www.wharfchambers.org/events/icalrepeat.detail/2014/07/21/380/-/laydeez-do-comics.html. Steve Cole: Aliens Stink! Horsforth Library, Leeds: Sunday 27 July,1pm-3pm Breezereads Bookfest and Breeze Arts Festival invite you to join Steve Cole, bestselling author of Astrosaurs, Slime Squad and Cows in Action for a fast, furious and fun event for the whole family featuring his new book, Aliens Stink! Tickets: £2 or £1 with a Breezecard. Call 0113 378 1872 or drop into Horsforth Library for tickets.