New
Writing North news
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Book soon for Durham
Moot
 Tickets are
selling fast for Durham Moot, our afternoon of discussion around
community, democracy, society and culture at Palace Green Library on 12
July. We were pleased this week to add two more speakers to the bill:
Vera Baird QC will be joining our panel on Community & Generations
and author Richard Benson will be taking part in the discussion about
Conversation & Culture.
Other speakers on the day include Owen Jones, Sean O’Brien, Ian Wylie,
Cllr Simon Henig, Dave Temple, Heather Wood and many more.
Durham Moot is programmed by Durham Book Festival and Durham Miners’
Association in association with Palace Green Library and The People’s
Bookshop. Tickets cost £6/£4 per session or just £15/£10 for the whole
afternoon. Book online at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/durham-moot-2015-tickets-17335713586. |
Durham Book Festival
for Schools
 Tickets are
now on sale for Durham Book Festival for Schools, which takes place on 7
October and is hosted by Durham Johnston School.
We are delighted to bring three popular and inspiring authors to
Durham to speak to pupils in Key Stages 1-3: award-winning picture book
author Simon Bartram, the hilarious Pip Jones, and Costa-prize winning
novelist Kate Saunders. The children will hear these best-selling writers
read from their work, see live drawing from Simon Bartram, and have the
opportunity to ask questions. Books will be available for sale after each
event, and the authors are happy to sign copies if the children would
like them to.
Schools are invited to attend the event. Tickets cost just £3.50 per
child, with accompanying teachers free of charge. We have a combined
ticket offer for children in KS1 & 2 to attend both the Simon Bartram
and Pip Jones events for £6 each.
For full details about each event, see http://durhambookfestival.com/schools
or book directly through the Gala
website or by calling 03000 266 600. |
Last call for interns
Our vacancy for an internship at New Writing North closes on Monday 6
July. We are looking for a paid intern to work 25 hours per week in our
Newcastle offices.
The successful candidate will assist with day-to-day office
administration, which includes general office work, as well as supporting
a varied programme of projects and events, including our Cuckoo Young
Writers programme, Durham Book Festival and the Northern Writers’ Awards.
This is an entry-level opportunity for a recent graduate who is
passionate about literature, writing and the arts and keen to gain
experience working in creative industry and in particular arts
administration. This is a developmental role in which the chosen
candidate would have the opportunity to gain project management skills
and build relationships within the arts sector.
Entry requirements: This is an internship for people who have
graduated with a degree from Northumbria University in the last 24
months. Applications from graduates in any discipline are welcomed but a
proven interest in the arts and literature is essential.
Salary: £14,287 per annum, pro rata. 25-hour per week contract, which
will be equivalent to a salary of £10,205 per annum. Deadline: Monday 6
July. To apply, see www.newwritingnorth.com/about-intern-wanted-page-2834.html. |
Take part in our
Manifestos project with Juice Festival and Northern Stage
We are often told that young people are disengaged from politics, but
we think that’s wrong. What about #millifandom,
young feminists demanding No More Page 3, or kids using blogs to shame
local authorities into improving school dinners? Maybe it is just
mainstream politics that can’t articulate young people’s concerns?
Cuckoo Young Writers, Northern Stage and Juice Festival are teaming up
to run a project which asks young people to create their own manifestos
about the things they care about, be that gender identity, the
environment, issues in their local community or simply their vision for a
better world. It’s a chance to work with poets, theatre directors and
artists, and interrogate academics for Northumbria University journalists
and politicians. It’s a chance to find out why things are how they are,
and what they’d do to change them. The finished manifestos, which may be
a performance, spoken word, a film or a piece of art, will be presented
as part of a live event during Juice Festival in October.
We are looking for 10 young people, aged 15-23, to take part in 10
workshops from August-October, with the first workshop at Northern Stage
on 3 August, 2pm-5pm. For other dates, check here [website address].
If you would like more information or to sign up please email Laura
Brewis at laura@newwritingnorth.com. |
Come to our
songwriting summer school in Bishop Auckland
Thursday 27
August & Friday 28 August 2015, 11am-4pm
Cuckoo Young Writers is flying to Bishop Auckland this summer, in search
of young writers aged 12-19 who want to try their hand at songwriting.
Working with acclaimed singer-songwriter Martin Longstaff (AKA The Lake
Poets), the Cuckoo songwriting summer school is a chance to learn about
crafting lyrics and creating a memorable melody, and at the end of the
two days there will be some catchy tunes to take home! The summer school
is TOTALLY FREE and open to young people who already write songs and
those who want to give it a go.
Following the two-day summer school we will be establishing a Cuckoo
Young Writers group at Auckland Castle, which will run weekly on a
Saturday from 5 September, 11am-1pm, where keen young writers can
continue to flex their songwriting muscles with Martin. This will
culminate in a performance at Bishop Auckland Castle as part of Durham
Book Festival in October.
If you’d like more information or to sign up, email laura@newwritingnorth.com or
phone 0191 204 8852.
Cuckoo Young
Writers’ activity in Bishop Auckland is kindly supported by Daisy Arts
and Auckland Castle. |
People
|
 Congratulations
to Helena Fox,
who has received Arts Council Grants for the Arts Research &
Development funding, together with funding from New Writing North & Split
Infinitive, for the development of a new site specific script for
Scarborough based on the reminiscence of local people who grew up amongst
the fishing community of Scarborough’s ‘Bottom End’. The project, What The Sea Saw,
will give Nella the opportunity as a writer to investigate new ways of
exploring intangible heritage, including recorded reminiscence, personal
mythologies and historical archives, in writing a site-specific script,
allowing different planes of time to be seen in the lanes, steps and
alleys of this ancient fishing town, reflecting stories of Old Town,
Scarborough, and capturing a soon to be forgotten way of life.
Shelley Day
Sclater has only just won a Northern Writers’ Award and
she already has more good news: her novel The Confession of Stella Moon is to be
published by Saraband! In fact, Shelley won an Andrea Badenoch Award for
an early draft of this book back in 2011, so we’re doubly delighted Stella Moon will
soon be hitting the book shelves.
We’re pleased to announce that Herring
Girl by North Tyneside writer Debbie Taylor has been selected as
the 2015 North Tyneside Summer Read. The project is run by North Tyneside
Council in partnership with New Writing North. Herring Girl will be
promoted to readers along the coast during summer 2015. Previous authors
involved include Carolyn Jess-Cooke, Dan Smith, Mari Hannah, Rebecca
Muddiman and Steve Chambers. Herring
Girl is set in North Shields’ fish quay both in the present
day and in the late 1800s in the fishing port’s heyday, so we can hardly
imagine a more appropriate choice.
We were pleased to see that an archive of Keith Armstong’s
work is now available at Durham University Library within its Special
Collections. Alongside Keith’s own publications, the collection also
records much of his far-ranging collaborative work with other writers and
with community groups. Details can be found at http://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=ead/lit/armstrgk.xml. |
Opportunities
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IdeasTap teams up
with Hiive
Charity IdeasTap, which worked to create industry opportunities in the
arts, is closing its website on 8 July, but you can now access its
opportunities through Hiive. There are £100,000 worth of IdeasTap
opportunities on Hiive over the coming months, including The Columnist,
which is open for applications now. The Columnist is an opportunity to
work as a paid columnist on Hiive, writing insightful opinion pieces
about the arts and culture. Deadline for applications: 27 August. For
more information, see http://competitions.hiive.co.uk/Opportunities/Brief/IdeasTap-Presents-The-Columnist-270815#Overview.
To apply, you must first sign up to Hiive at https://app.hiive.co.uk. |
Poets in residence at
the Northern Poetry Library
Active Northumberland Culture, Heritage and Libraries Service is
looking to appoint five poets in residence as part of an 18-month project
at the Northern Poetry Library. The Northern Poetry Library project aims
to raise and reinvigorate the profile of the nationally relevant Northern
Poetry Library (NPL) in Northumberland and develop audiences for
contemporary poetry. They are recruiting five Northern poets who can draw
on the significant wealth of poetry produced in the North East and held
in the NPL collection, to be resident in the libraries of six towns:
Berwick, Alnwick, Morpeth, Hexham, Ashington and Blyth. Lead Poet Lisa
Matthews has been appointed and will be working in Morpeth. Closing date
for applications: 1 September, 5pm. For details see http://sector1.net/job/poets-in-residence/76621. |
Monkeywood Theatre
wants your football stories
What does football mean to you? By
Far The Greatest Team, a brand new show exploring and
celebrating football fandom in Manchester, is coming to The Lowry in
September 2015. Alongside the production, Monkeywood is seeking
five-minute plays from Manchester United and Manchester City fans about
what it is to be a football fan. Ten of these plays will be selected to
make up Ten Tiny Plays About Football, which will be performed
script-in-hand by professional actors at The Lowry in September alongside
the main production of By
Far The Greatest Team. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never
written before – all you need is to be a Manchester football fan with a
story to tell. Your play can take any form you wish (dialogue, monologue,
even silent!) as long as it runs at approximately five minutes (think
five pages of evenly spaced dialogue as an approximate guide). There is
no fee for entry and this is an unpaid opportunity. Send your finished
plays to info@monkeywoodtheatre.co.uk
by 27 July. Successful writers will be notified by 17 August. |
Artist in residence
at York University
The University of York has an opening for an artist in residence on
health and disease. The Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders (C2D2)
Artist in Residence Scheme is intended to support the creation of new
artistic work inspired by an aspect of research into biomedicine and/or
human health and wellbeing currently being conducted at the University of
York. The scheme is intended to establish a powerful creative
collaboration between artist and researcher that will both generate
persuasive, innovative and visceral art and inspire further
interdisciplinary research and practice to the benefit of artist and
researcher alike. Applications to the C2D2 Artist in Residence Scheme are
welcomed from all professional artists and creative practitioners. The
term ‘artist’ is understood in the broadest sense to include visual
artists, creative writers, musicians, poets and any other producers of
original and experimental creative work. For further information and to
apply see www.york.ac.uk/c2d2/artist/. |
Storytelling at
Manchester Literature Festival
Manchester Literature Festival is looking for a storytelling
practitioner to facilitate a new project around engaging parents in their
children’s reading habits. They are inviting expressions of interest from
practitioners able to work three Saturdays per month. The project will
involve establishing and working with groups of families in three
Manchester-based libraries on a year-long storytelling project. They will
be selecting and reading from popular children’s books and facilitating
activity based on the books shared. The successful practitioner will have
previous experience of working with families in community settings,
facilitating craft and wordplay activities and hold a current DBS
certificate. They will work with the project coordinator to plan the
sessions. The sessions will take place on a Saturday morning and will
begin on Saturday 1 August. Please send a CV and covering letter to Jennie@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk.
Deadline for expressions of interest: Friday 17 July. Fee is £100 per
half day inclusive of planning time, £300 per month. |
Translator in
residence
Free Word is looking to recruit a translator in residence to build on
its work of the last few years. With new support from the Jan Michalski
Foundation they are able to offer a 12-month residency programme
integrated with the broader translation work that they do across their
programme, The Power of Translation. They are looking for a practising
literary translator, who is interested in curating and commission work
around the arts of translation, as well as developing their own practice.
The role will last for 12 months from September 2015. For more
information on the role, and on how to apply, see www.freewordcentre.com/about/jobs/. |
Hit The North
Hit The North is a programme of cross-arts work developed in and
around Preston’s train station. They are looking to bring together from
open call a group of commissions and interventions to work alongside
residencies and engaged communities inhabiting the station over the
period of this project. They are also interested in people who are
interested in contributing a critical response to the programme.
Commissioning will be from open call: a) Two up to £5,000 b) Six up to
£500. Both strands have scope for extension/development. Email ewa@theyeatculture.org for more
information or see www.theyeatculture.org. |
Jobs
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The Portico
Library, Manchester is a historic subscription library
with an exhibition space located on Mosley Street, Manchester. They are
seeking a dynamic and able part-time
administrative assistant who will report to the Librarian
and will often act as first point of contact for visitors and enquiries,
and providing general assistance in the smooth running of the Portico as
a library, gallery and as a business according to the job description.
The successful candidate will have significant skills and experience in
clerical and secretarial duties, have a good command of written and
spoken English, be computer literate in Microsoft Office, web editing and
SAGE applications, have a pleasant telephone and front of house manner
and be a team worker, with a keen interest in the arts. Contact admin@theportico.org.uk or call
0161 236 6785 for a full job description and application form or download
from www.theportico.org.uk/vacancies.
Arvon,
the UK’s leading creative writing charity, has two current vacancies.
They are looking for a centre
assistant to work at Lumb Bank, Hebden Bridge, and a communications officer
to work in their national office in Farringdon. The centre assistant
should have an interest in the arts and literature and be able to
demonstrate a wide range of domestic, practical and interpersonal skills.
Candidates must also live locally and be able to work flexibly. Salary:
£18,162 PA (for 4 days per week, £22,703 FTE). Arvon is looking for a
confident and experienced marketer, with a passion for reaching new
audiences and telling compelling creative stories. Salary: £15,892 PA
(for 3 days per week, £26,467 FTE). For more information and to apply for
both jobs, see www.arvon.org/about-us/arvon-jobs/.
The Poetry
Society is seeking an education coordinator (4 days p/w)
to work on a number of ambitious and exciting programmes from their
Covent Garden offices. You will be working with an experienced and
committed team developing and delivering work for children and young
people. The post-holder will be responsible for editing and curating the
Society’s digital platform for young writers: Young Poets Network;
promoting and overseeing bookings for the Society’s Poets in Schools
programme; assisting with school and youth memberships, website sales and
other projects. Full job description and details of how to apply are at poetrysociety.org.uk/jobs.
Deadline for applications: 13 July, 4pm. |
Workshops
and networking
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A Write at a Museum
Stockton-on-Tees:
From Saturday 18 July (7 sessions)
A Write at a Museum is a new creative writing course taking place in
Stockton-on-Tees. Tutor Joan Opie will lead classroom-based workshops and
three visits to local museums. Participants will explore responses to
exhibits to produce effective, original writing. Develop your writing
skills in a supportive, friendly environment. Suitable for all levels.
Cost for seven sessions: £55. For more information, contact Joan Opie on
07804 797763 or email jopieteacher@gmail.com. |
Writing for Children
Lit and Phil,
Newcastle: From Tuesday 29 September: 10.15am-12.15pm (10 sessions)
Tutored by Ellen Phethean, this 10 week rolling course begins on
Tuesday 29 September and is suitable for newcomers or more experienced
writers, covering many topics including plot, dialogue, creating
character and tension and examining children’s literature, using classic
and new examples of picture books right up to young adult books. Every
session will include some creative writing time, and the term will end
with a helpful in-depth look at a piece of writing produced during the
term. Pay at the first session: £80 in advance or £27 for the first
session and £7 every further session. Book through the Lit and Phil, tel:
0191 232 0192. Contact Ellen Phethean for more details at ellen.phethean@virgin.net. |
Short prose writing
course
Lit and Phil,
Newcastle: From Wednesday 7 October, 6.30pm-8.30pm (8 sessions)
Led by Kathleen Kenny and Ellen Phethean, this course is directed
towards writers who are interested in writing flash fiction, short
stories, longer fiction and memoirs. It will offer the opportunity to
examine and develop your skill and the piece you may be working on. This
course can help with whatever you are trying to achieve, whether you are
just starting, or working on a sustained piece. Fee: £70 for eight weeks
in advance. Book through the Lit and Phil, tel: 0191 232 0192. Contact
Kathleen Kenny for more details on 07909 766 572. |
Workshops at Writers’
Centre Norwich
Our friends at Writers’ Centre Norwich have a series of workshops
coming up for writers at all levels, including a day with Granta managing
editor Yuka Igarashi, and a day with a literary agent, plus poetry, short
fiction and crime writing workshops. It’s also time to sign up for their
new semester of creative writing online courses run in partnership with
the University of East Anglia. Deadline for applications: 28 August. For
more information, see www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk. |
Miscellany
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Literary T-shirts:
What's your favourite?
 Looking for
a gift for a fellow book lover? Or simply in need of some wardrobe
replenishment yourself now the weather's finally warming up a bit? Make
the most of the unseasonably warm English summer and head over to the Scottish
Book Trust site, where they've compiled a list of their 21 favourite
literary T-shirts. |
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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 laurafraine@newwritingnorth.com.
The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 13
July. The next edition of The
Listening Post covering August's events will be
published in late June so if there are any events that you would like to
submit for inclusion you will need to send information to Laura by 22
July.
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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