News from New Writing North

As the deadline for the Northern Writers' Awards is fast approaching, 11pm Wednesday 3 February, the latest News from New Writing North newsletter is a timely reminder.  Also containing information on prizes, opportunities and competitions, it has a link to full details on the NWAs:

30 January 2016 News from New Writing North

New Writing North news Last call for Northern Writers’ Awards 2016 This year’s Northern Writers’ Awards close for entry at 11pm, Wednesday 3 February. There are £40,000 worth of awards to support work-in-progress by writers in the North of England, including bursaries for a 12-month development period with Lime Pictures, a residential writing course with Arvon and manuscript assessment from The Literary Consultancy, as well as cash awards. Don’t miss out! Northern Crime One Newcastle launch Northern Crime One is a crime short story anthology from Moth Publishing, which brings together the work of 20 winners of the Northern Crime Short Story Competition held last year. "From rural noir to urban horror, high concept drama to blunt force trauma, Moth Publishing presents its first collection of prize-winning short stories. From the inner city to the shires, Santander to Stratford, these northern writers know where the bodies are buried." The collection has its North East launch at Newcastle City Library on Thursday 24 March, 6.30pm. For details of the collection, see Moth Publishing's website. To book FREE tickets, see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/northern-crime-tickets-20813545876 SI Leeds Literary Prize New Writing North is pleased to support the SI Leeds Literary Prize for unpublished Black and Asian women. The winning entry will receive £2,000, a free place at an Arvon creative writing course, free manuscript assessment of their work from The Literary Consultancy; invitation to New Writing North’s London summer salon event for publishers and agents; workshops and support; speaking engagements, including at Ilkley Literature Festival 2016 and serious consideration for publication by Peepal Tree Press. SI Leeds will be accepting manuscripts until Saturday 30 April. Further information about the prize can be found at www.sileedsliteraryprize.com. New Writing North's call to tender Are you a graphic designer, web designer or film-maker? New Writing North is looking to work with you. We have put out a call to tender for our website and visual identity, as well as the brand development and a website for the Gordon Burn Prize and the design for Durham Book Festival. We would also like to commission a filmmaker or company to work with us over a nine-month period to produce a series of short films about areas of our work. If you are interested, please have a look at the briefs on our website. Applications for all briefs must be made by 19 February 2016. People Chanje Kunda, one of our Verb New Voices 3 artists, has made a short film of her commission, Physics, which is now live on the BBC website. Opportunities Recruitment for The Writing Squad The Writing Squad is looking for 30 talented writers in the north of England aged between 16 and 21 to join their new two-year line-up. Being part of the Squad is free and successful applicants will receive one-to-one tutoring and feedback, as well as four Squad days a year with guest professional writers. The closing date is midnight on Wednesday 30 March; see the Writing Squad's website. Calling for plays! Kendal Yarns Festival of New Plays (which takes place in July) is calling for fifteen-minute plays referencing Kendal. Every play will receive a public airing at the hands of local and national professional and semi-professional directors. The deadline for applications is Friday 1 April. For more information, see www.kendalcomunitytheatre.org. About Love short play competition International entries are open for the About Love festival of short plays, which takes place in Vancouver, Canada over June/July. The play should be approximately eight to twenty-minutes in length and should have no more than four on-stage characters. There will be a $150 dollar prize for the winning playwright; see the competition’s website for full T&Cs. Places for London editing skills workshop A limited number of bursaried places including travel costs for low-income writers are available for a book editing skills workshop at Free Word Centre, London, 5-7pm on Tuesday 15 March. The practical skills class, led by professional editor Richard Sheehan, is particularly keen to attract those from marginalised communities including BAME, disabled and LGBQT. Further information is available at the Literary Consultancy website. Competitions Wicked Young Writers Awards There is just over a month left to enter the sixth annual Wicked Young Writers Awards, which is spearheaded by Michael Morpurgo and features author-illustrator Cressida Cowell as Head Judge. Entries are open until Friday 11 March for thought-provoking pieces of writing by young people aged between 5 and 25. This year sees the introduction of the new ‘FOR GOOD’ award for non-fiction essays; see www.WickedYoungWriters.com for full details. University of South Wales Prize for Travel Writing The New Welsh Writing Awards 2016 is seeking the best short form travel writing (5,000-30,000 words) from emerging and established writers based in the UK and Ireland. The many prizes include £1,000 cash and e-publication by New Welsh Review. The competition closes at midnight on Sunday 3 April; see www.newwelshwritingawards.com for details on how to enter. The BBC National Short Story Award 2016 Cash prizes of up to £15,000, and a slot for your story to be read on BBC Radio 4, are available as part of the BBC National Short Story Award 2016 with BookTrust. Now open for its eleventh year, alumni have included Hilary Mantel, Mark Haddon and Lionel Shriver (please note: entrants must have a history of publication in creative writing). The deadline is 5pm, Friday 11 March. Enter via the BookTrust website. Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2016 Short Story Competition Published and aspiring writers alike are encouraged to enter the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2016 short story competition by midnight on Monday 15 February for the chance of winning a place on an Arvon residential writing course of your choice; a cash prize of £500, and publication of your story on www.writersandartists.co.uk. See www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions for more information. The First National Octagon Prize The Octagon Theatre has launched its first national writing prize: a competition celebrating new and original writing for the stage. Entrants over 16 with any level of experience are invited to submit 40-minute dramatic monologues of any theme or genre, with the successful entry being performed on the Octagon stage by professional actors. Deadline is Friday 26 February. Workshops and networking The Poetry School Saturday Sessions smith|doorstop and The North editors Ann and Peter Sansom will be running all-day poetry workshops in February, March and April at the Friends' Meeting House in Manchester. Commencing Saturday 6 February, they will combine writing exercises, suggested reading tasks and insightful feedback (session costs start from £50). Book via the Poetry School website. How NOT To Submit Your Manuscript Written a book but not sure how to get it published? A two-hour session solely dedicated to the process of submitting to a literary agent is taking place at Friargate Theatre, York on Saturday 12 March as part of York Literature Festival, in collaboration with Writers & Artists. Tickets cost £25; see the event page for details on how to book. Writing for Wellbeing Workshops Laura Napran’s Writing for Wellbeing workshops, with a focus on fostering personal growth and emotional wellbeing, continue through March, with sessions taking place at The Granary Yoga Studio, Nawton, North Yorkshire, Sunday 6 March, from 1pm – 4pm, £25; and Ecclesfield Library, Sheffield, Saturday 12 March, from 1pm–4pm, £25. For information on more sessions and to book go to www.writingforwellbeing.co.uk. Jobs First Story are looking for an enthusiastic and proactive regional programme officer to act as a champion for First Story and creative writing in Hull and its surrounds. This is a key role that will give the incumbent the opportunity to help shape First Story’s regional operations and will allow First Story to change the lives of young people in the region. For further details including a full job description and how to apply, please visit the First Story website. The Listening Post Hull poetry collection launch David Kennedy, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Hull launches his latest collection The Apple and the Mountain, a poetic exploration of Cezanne’s paintings, at Brynmor Jones Library, The University of Hull on Monday 11 February at 1pm. He’ll be joined by Faber New Poet Rachael Allen and by Lesley Harrison (Mariscat Press), both postgraduate students of the University. For more information about literary readings organised by the Department of English, contact john.clarke@hull.ac.uk. Mslexia Spotlight: An evening of poetry Mslexia, the magazine for women who write, presents the second in a new series of Spotlight events, at the Jazz Café, Newcastle on Thursday 3 March. There will be an open mic slot, and readings from guest speakers Cathy Galvin—Guest Editor of their December issue—Malika Booker and Lisa Matthews. Doors open at 7.30pm, and a bar will be open for refreshments. To pre-book tickets (£5), head to the Mslexia website. Words by the Water Festival of Words and Ideas This year’s Keswick-based festival programme (4–13 March) boasts an impressive array of speakers including A.C Grayling, Meg Rosoff, Richard Dawkins and Kirsty Gunn, as well as a variety of Cumbrian authors. The prestigious Mirehouse poetry competition, which runs as part of the Festival, is now open for entries, with a closing date of Thursday 11 February. A bursary offer of free tickets for young people is also available, with a closing date of Friday 12 February. For all information, contact the Words by the Water office on 01803 867373 or email philip.john@wayswithwords.co.uk. 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 8 February 2016. 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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Creative Kirklees newsletter

Here is the latest Creative Kirklees newsletter, including opportunities and upcoming events, for my followers to peruse:

Top Rated This Week Individual: Elizabeth Dobson / Yorkshire Sound Women Network Business: Ellie P Smith STUDIOS / Design Pop-up Studio Place: Co Up. Creative Coworking Spaces / Co Up. News: More good news about the creative sector Event: WI Sew Crafty - Batik Opportunity: Screen Yorkshire Launches Film Industry Bootcamp for 2016 Space: Creative Art Hub Image: Chris James and Martin Fletcher Video: University of Huddersfield Brass Band, 7 Dec 2015 Audio File: Resilience   Creative Kirklees Newsletter 27 January 2016 We’ve had the January Blues here at Creative Kirklees!  The website’s been down and the newsletter couldn’t go out last week ……….. but we’re pleased to say that everything is now up and running and back to normal – hurray!  So, apologies to everyone who couldn’t access the site when you wanted to and thanks for your patience while we got things sorted. There are plenty of events this week and some lovely workshops to get your creative juices flowing, but we want to flag up two events in the newsletter in case you’ve missed them over the last week or so. First up, PEOPLE · MAKE · PLACES: Business Driving Culture at Café Ollo in Huddersfield on Wednesday 3 February, 6 – 8.30pm.  Featuring presentations from regional and local design agencies: Nick Bax, Director of Humanstudio and Darren Evans, Design Director at The Engine Room , the evening will be an opportunity to explore and discuss how business can play a role in the creative and cultural life of a place.  Get yourself booked on and read more here. Second up, if you run events in Kirklees (particularly festivals, galas, parades and music events in outdoor or non-traditional spaces) you’ll find the Health and Safety training being offered (for free!) invaluable.  The Event Training programme has 3 sessions just on Health and Safety and you need to book on all 3 to make sure you find out all there is to know.  It’s good to be back!   Events Sat 30th Jan 2016 All Stars of Comedy | International Comedy Special Following a sold-out show in 2015, the international comedy clash returns to rock Huddersfield into the new year. This season’s all-star line-up features the people’s choice, the undisputed pound for pound champion of...   Tue 9th Feb 2016 An evening with Levison Wood A talk and slideshow from the explorer and TV personality Levison Wood about his latest expedition, his book and new TV series Walking the Himalayas. The intrepid explorer, writer and TV presenter talks about and pres...   Wed 20th Jan to Wed 24th Feb 2016 (1 month) Contemporary Crafts Contemporary Crafts is a 6 week course aimed at teaching a variety of craft techniques to produce contemporary art. Contemporary Crafts is a great way to improve your wellbeing through creativity and experimentation ...       Tue 26th Jan to Tue 1st Mar 2016 (1 month) Mindful Weaving Mindful Weaving is a 6-week course aimed at building on basic skills and techniques in the longstanding craft of weaving. Using handmade wooden frames you will learn how to weave and create your very own fabric or contem...   Wed 10th Feb 2016 Networking Event for Creative Business Owners/Leaders A monthly meet up for creators, makers and innovators. Creative business owners, freelancers, sole traders and people who stimulate creativity in their community, town/city and the sector at large. We believe that connec...   Wed 3rd Feb 2016 PEOPLE · MAKE · PLACES: Business Driving Culture PEOPLE · MAKE · PLACES is a series of events to simulate thinking, ideas and debate and inspire action to drive cultural and creative development in Kirklees. Guest speakers will present examples of initiatives which are...     Sat 30th Jan 2016 Steve Fletcher, Tim Green, Hoodoo....Live 30.1.16 THE STEVE FLETCHER BLUES BAND "Either they like us or they were favourably drunk! But one way or another Steve Fletcher Music and HIS BAND will be making a ("By popular demand!!) triumphant return to The Marsh Blues &...   Sat 30th Jan 2016 Vinyl Tap Presents... Philophobia Music LIVE Our friends over at Philophobia Music in Wakefield have a fair list of great local talent on their books and so we will be hosting an afternoon live event for some of those acts. Featuring: Yard Wars https://www.f...   Sat 16th Jan to Sat 6th Feb 2016 (3 weeks) Wire Jewellery Jewellery Course– Saturdays, starting: 16th January, 1-3pm. Over the 4 weeks we will be covering the following: · Producing a basic swirl · Producing a coil and double coil of wire to be used within jewellery · P...   Sat 30th Jan 2016 Working with Acrylic Paint Workshop With tuition by professional artist, Audrey Erbany. This workshop is for beginners and experienced artists alike. Get the best out of Acrylic paint and take advantage of the versatility of this great medium. You’ll l...   Opportunities   Mon 8th Feb 2016 Artist/Maker - Creative Interpretation Commission Royal Armouries (Leeds) is seeking creative response from one or more artist/s, jewellery maker/s or metalworker/s to make new work for display in response to objects (mostly highly decorative sword fittings) in a forthc...   Wed 24th Feb 2016 Creative Engagement Conference Event organisers are becoming increasingly aware that good events often need more than good programming to succeed and that locally communities need to gain a sense of ownership to make an event sustainable and successfu...   Wed 30th Mar 2016 Wanted: Talented writers aged 16 - 21 yrs The Writing Squad are looking for 30 talented writers to join The Writing Squad, to work with their tutors, professional writers and squad grads. If you’re aged 16-21 years old, and you’re from or you live, work or stud...   News Tue 26th Jan 2016 For the Love Of It 2016: national street artists gathering Street Arts professionals annual gathering: 48 hrs of inspiration, creation and fun, a chance to recharge an re-connect - this year a the Watershed, Slaithwaite. Theme: INSPIRATION Fri 4th – Sun 6th March 2016 A t...