|
New
Writing North news
|
|
Gordon Burn Prize
2015 longlist
 This week
we were thrilled to announce the longlist for the Gordon Burn Prize 2015.
Whittled down from 136 entries, the 13-strong longlist represents some of
the freshest, most fearless writing from the UK and US published in the
last 12 months and sees books by Martin Amis and Hilary Mantel alongside
Ben Lerner’s 10.04,
Sarah Thornton’s 33
Artists in 3 Acts and In
Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile by Dan Davies.
The winner of the £5,000 prize will be announced at Durham Book
Festival on 9 October 2015. See the full longlist at www.newwritingnorth.com/news_details-longlist-announced-for-gordon-burn-prize-2015-details-3306.html.
|
|
Verb New Voices
writers selected
We’re delighted to announce that four writers from the North of
England have been selected for Verb New Voices 2015. Andy
Craven-Griffiths from Leeds; Kamal Kaan from Bradford; Chanje Kunda from
Manchester; and Carmen Thompson from Saltburn have all been given the
opportunity to develop new work for BBC Radio 3’s The Verb.
The Verb New Voices scheme, now in its third year, is a joint
initiative between the BBC, Arts Council England, New Writing North, The
Writing Squad, Arvon and Freedom Studios, which supports the winning
writers to create an innovative new piece of work for broadcast on the
Radio 3 show and to help develop their art for multimedia environments.
We were so impressed with the applications for this scheme and are
pleased to support four talented writers with this development
opportunity. Read about the four projects at www.newwritingnorth.com/news_details-writers-selected-for-verb-new-voices-2015-details-3307.html.
|
|
A family theatre
production that is out of this world
We are over the moon to have secured the rights to adapt Simon
Bartram’s picture book Man
on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob) for our family theatre
production, which will tour the North of England this autumn. Following
our call-out in March, we have appointed Newcastle-based playwright Zoe
Cooper to write the script. Zoe has previously had her work performed at
Newcastle’s Live Theatre and Soho Theatre, London, and has plays
currently in development at Live, Old Vic and Ovalhouse theatres.
Fans of the book will know that Bob is an orderly, helpful and
delightfully uninquisitive caretaker-cum-tour-guide on the moon. Bob
knows practically everything there is to know about the lunar landscape,
and if there is one thing Bob is sure about, it is that there’s no such
thing as aliens. Then again, who could be making all that mess? Watch
this space for more updates on the production.
The Man on the Moon
theatre tour is funded by Arts Council England’s Strategic touring
programme.
|
|
Four weeks to go
until Newcastle Writing Conference 2015
 The
speakers are booked, the lunch menu has been chosen, and tickets are
selling fast for the second biennial Newcastle Writing Conference, which
takes place on Saturday 6 June. Alongside keynote speaker Meg Rosoff,
whose own writing career began when she was in her forties, we have
invited leading publishing industry experts including literary agents Jo
Unwin and Mark Stanton, editor Francesca Main, publicity manager Ben
Willis, crowdfunding publisher from Unbound Rachael Kerr, self-publishing
experts and many more. We hope you can join us for what promises to be an
informative and inspiring day. Full details and tickets are available at www.newwritingnorth.com/news_details-the-2015-newcastle-writing-conference-do-it-yourself-details-3266.html.
|
|
Freelance opportunity
for a copy editor
New Writing North wishes to appoint a freelance provider of copy
editing, book production and print buying services. The contractee will
work on print and web publications for our Durham Book Festival
programme. They will work on the 36-page Durham Book Festival brochure
and several items of associated web and print marketing materials, which
will be produced in June/July 2015. Following their appointment, the
contractee may be offered further work later in the year. The contract
will be offered on an hourly/daily rate. We require a provider who can
respond quickly to requests for services and turn work around
efficiently. If you have the experience and skills to provide these
services please contact us with a covering letter that details your
experience in these areas and noting your daily fee. Please send this to
Laura Fraine at laurafraine@newwritingnorth.com
by Friday 22 May.
|
|
Cuckoo Review needs
an intern
 New Writing
North is looking for an intern to work on our arts journalism magazine, Cuckoo Review. Cuckoo Review is
written by 15-23 year-olds and we cover music, theatre, films, art and
books (and other things too). We have partnerships with publishers,
record companies and arts and cultural venues across the country. The Cuckoo Review
internship is a chance to gain hands-on experience of working within an
arts organisation, and an opportunity to develop your editing and
proof-reading skills.
The internship will be one day a week for three months (beginning June
2015) and you will receive a bursary of £50 per day for this work.
We are looking for an intern aged 18-23 who has an interest in
journalism or publishing. The position will be based in New Writing
North’s Newcastle office. For a full description of the role, please
download the job description here.
To apply, please email a covering letter explaining why you want to be
a Cuckoo intern (no more than two pages) and a CV to Amy Mitchell at amy@newwritingnorth.com.
The deadline for applications is 5pm, Wednesday 27 May and informal
interviews will be held on Wednesday 3 June from 2pm-4pm. The internship
will begin with a handover/training day on Tuesday 16 June. Applicants
must be available for these dates.
|
|
People
|
We’ve had lots of good news from northern writers this week! We are
rooting for Carys
Davies, whose book The
Redemption of Galen Pike (which earnt her a Northern Writers’
Awards in 2013) has been shortlisted for the 2015 Wales Book of the Year.
You can catch Carys at a Society of Authors event with fellow NWA winner Benjamin Myers
in Darlington
on 16 May. And for Beda
Higgins, whose second collection of short stories, Little Crackers, has
been longlisted for the Edgehill Prize and the Frank O’Connor Prize. As
we reported in our Listening
Post, Beda has three
events in the North this month.
Hooray for Gabrielle
Kent, whose debut children’s novel, Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of
Hexbridge Castle, is published by Scholastic on 5 June. The
book is being launched at Stockton Central Library from 6.30pm. For more
information, see www.goodreads.com/book/show/24684097-alfie-bloom-and-the-secrets-of-hexbridge-castle#other_reviews.
Finally, we are most enjoying Angela
Readman’s first collection of short stories, Don’t Try This at Home,
which was published by And Other Stories earlier this week, and made it
into the Independent’s
Top 10 Books for Spring. Find out more at www.andotherstories.org/author/angela-readman/.
|
|
Opportunities
|
|
Poets in residence at
Ilkley Literature Festival
Ilkley Literature Festival is seeking a 2015 poet in residence and
apprentice poet in residence. The post of poet in residence is an
opportunity for a mid-career poet based in the Northern region, who has
already published/is about to publish a collection, to develop their
career and to be part of an exciting and dynamic festival. They are also
offering an apprentice in residence opportunity for a young, talented,
emerging poet who will be able to shadow the poet in residence, attend
festival events, meet other poets and stage their own event during the
festival. Deadline for applications: 9am, Friday 22 May. Read the brief
at www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/jobs-volunteering/poet-in-residence-apprentice-poet-in-residence/.
|
|
Bear Hunting and
other ways to walk
An afternoon stroll, a pilgrimage, a protest walk, a mass trespass, a
way to explore, a form of exercise, putting one foot in front of the
other, hiking, rambling – there are so many ways to walk and yet so many
of us do so little of it. Walking is an everyday activity with
extraordinary resonances; it has inspired a rich tradition of writers,
artists, performers and activists. We are inviting expressions of
interest from artists and creative practitioners who are interested in
devising public walks as part of Bear Hunting and other ways to walk, a
new arts, nature, walking and heritage festival in Kirklees. They seek
expressions of interest from visual artists, musicians, writers, theatre
practitioners, dancers, composers and others who believe they can inspire
people to explore Kirklees’ footpaths. Deadline for expressions of
interest: Tuesday 12 May. For more information on the commissions visit www.wedocreativity.co.uk/opportunities.php.
|
|
Wakefield Lit Fest
2015 writer and artist collaborative commission
As part of this year’s 4th annual Wakefield Lit Fest (18-27 September
2015), Beam and Trinity Walk are seeking to appoint an artist and writer
to work together to create a new bespoke arts commission that responds to
the Trinity Walk Shopping Centre, engaging a wide variety of people
(including customers, staff, businesses and local community groups) and
with a particular focus on children and families. Artists and writers are
encouraged to apply as an existing partnership – but are also welcome to
apply as individuals. Deadline for expressions of interest: 12 noon,
Monday 18 May. For the brief see http://beam.uk.net/news/call_for_expressions_of_interest1/.
|
|
Competitions
|
|
Luke Bitmead Bursary
Run by Legend Press, the Luke Bitmead Bursary is an annual award set
up to support and encourage the work of fledgling novel writers. The top
prize is a publishing contract with Legend Press and a £2,500 cash
bursary. Submissions must be adult fiction, and only completed novels
will be considered. Entry costs £10 and submissions are open now until
Saturday 1 August. Full guidelines can be found at www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press/365-luke-bitmead-bursary.
|
|
V.S. Pritchett
Memorial Prize
The V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize 2015 for short stories is now open
for submissions. The annual prize of £1,000 goes to the best unpublished
short story of 2,000-4,000 words. The winning story will be published in
Prospect online and the RSL Review. This year’s judges are Philip
Hensher, Adam Mars-Jones and Rose Tremain. The closing date for entries
is 22 June 2015. Enter online at https://theroyalsocietyofliterature.submittable.com/submit.
|
|
Jobs
|
New Writing
North is recruiting for a digital and data manager based in
our Newcastle office. This new post within the organisation will ensure
the smooth running of all of New Writing North’s digital platforms,
manage and report on audience data, lead on digital marketing
initiatives, manage our websites, and support other staff with marketing,
projects and office management. The digital and data manager will work
across the organisation and with senior staff and external stakeholders,
developers, designers and project partners. £22,000 pro-rata for three
days per week. Deadline: Monday 18 May. For more information, see http://www.newwritingnorth.com/text.html?id=digital_and_data_manager.
The Wordsworth
Trust, in Grasmere, has a vacancy for an events officer.
The post-holder will take responsibility for the evaluation,
administration and delivery of the events programme throughout the year.
With the curator, the post-holder will also develop the Wordsworth
Trust’s short course programme, aimed at universities around the world.
Full-time, £17,690, fixed term until March 2018. Deadline for
applications: Wednesday 13 May. For an application pack, contact Melissa
Mitchell at melissa.mitchell@wordsworth.org.uk
or call 01539 435 544.
The Reader
Organisation has a vacancy for a project worker based
in Liverpool. Key responsibilities include delivering group reading
sessions and working one-to-one with young people, developing a
school-wide culture of reading with partner schools and developing and
maintaining key stakeholder relationships, as relevant to your project
and area of work. Full time, £15-16k. This post has a rolling deadline.
For full details, see www.thereader.org.uk/working-with-us/job-opportunities/current-opportunities/project-worker.aspx.
Commonword
in Manchester has a vacancy for a fundraising
intern to assist with fundraising through research,
writing bids and raising Commonword’s profile. The role has been created
as part of the Creative Employment Programme and the applicant must be
aged between 18 and 24 years old, registered unemployed and live in
Manchester. £6.50 per hour, 30 hours per week for six months. Deadline:
21 May. For full details see www.cultureword.org.uk/vacancy-fundraising-intern/.
Beam,
in Wakefield, is seeking an experienced freelance project manager for
Wakefield Lit Fest 2015, due to take place in September 2015. The
appointed person will manage the effective development and delivery of
the Wakefield Lit Fest 2015 programme including author talks, events,
workshops, outreach projects and exhibitions. There is a fixed fee of
£7,500 for a minimum of 50 days work between 25 May and 9 October.
Deadline: 12 noon, Wednesday 13 May. To apply see http://beam.uk.net/news/beam_seeking_experienced_project_manager_for_wakefield_lit_fest_2015/.
|
|
The
Listening Post
|
|
The Poetry Business
Yorkshire Prize Reading
Bank Street
Arts, Sheffield: Friday 22 May, 8pm-9.30pm
Winners of the Yorkshire Poetry Prize, as part of the Poetry Business
Competition, Hannah Stone, John Foggin and Keith Hutson, read alongside
poets Christy Ducker and Jonathan Davidson. Tickets £8. For full details,
see http://southyorkshirepoetryfestival.com/programme/friday-22-may/the-poetry-business-yorkshire-prize-reading/.
|
|
Save the Date:
EclecticIRON
Cullercoats,
North Tyneside: 4-7 June
Following the highly successful IRON AGE Festival in 2013, this year
IRON Press are presenting EclecticIRON, A Festival of Words, Music and
Oddities. Running at six venues along Cullercoats seafront, the festival
includes Tony Harrison, Ann Cleeves and Colette Bryce, as well as
musicians, poetry on a bike, two new IRON Press books, a chance to pen
your own Cullercoats murder mystery, a new Coast Buskers CD launched at
the late night Festival Club – and its very own fringe. For full details
see www.ironpress.co.uk
or call 0191 251 6009.
|
|
Workshops
|
|
Writersroom at
Salford Sitcom Showcase
MediaCity,
Salford University: 12 & 13 May
As part of Salford
Sitcom Showcase, BBC Writersroom is running a series of workshops and
masterclasses on 12 and 13 May. Sessions include Developing characters
for sitcom; Writing sketch comedy for CBBC; and Online comedy for the
digital generation. Tickets are free, but do not guarantee entry to the
event. Seating is allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Sign up
at www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities/BBC-Writersroom-at-Salford-Sitcom-Showcase-2015.
|
|
Writers and Teachers
Skills Sharing Symposium
University of
Bolton: Saturday 4 July, 10.30am-4.15pm
The Poetry Society, the National Association for Writers in Education,
First Story and the University of Bolton are running a Skills Sharing
Day, aimed at writers who work in schools (any age range) and teachers
with an interest in creative writing or who teach the subject. This event
is an opportunity to bring educators together, to network with other
writers and teachers and to share valuable knowledge and experience.
Tickets: £45, including lunch. If you are interested in leading a
session, contact Anne Caldwell a.caldwell@nawe.co.uk.
Book online at http://poetrysociety.org.uk/event/writers-and-teachers-skills-sharing-symposium/.
|
|
|
|
|
Deadline
for the next newsletter
|
If you have news that you would like to submit
for inclusion in the newsletter please contact laurafraine@newwritingnorth.com.
The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 18
May. The next edition of The
Listening Post covering June's events will be
published in late May so if there are any events that you would like to
submit for inclusion you will need to send information to Laura by 20
May.
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.
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment