Saturday 27 February 2016

News from New Writing North

Here is the latest News from New Writing North newsletter, including Read Regional, Workshops, opportunities and competitions:


 

    February 2016
News from New Writing North
New Writing North news
Read Regional begins!
If you want to support writers in the North and your local library service, look no further than our Read Regional programme, which sees 10 authors taking part in events from March to June 2016. Borrow their books; come to their events (and if you fancy taking take part yourself, see the news item below).
In the next few weeks you can catch:
Carys Davies at Leeds Beckett University, 1 March
Hazel Osmond at Edgeley Library, 3 March
Kim Moore at South Shields Central Library, 4 March
Hazel Osmond and Carys Davies at Gosforth Library, 7 March
Ian Clayton at Headingley Library, 8 March
Chris Killen at Spennymoor Library, 10 March
Crista Ermiya and Carys Davies at York Explore Library and Archive, 10 March
Caroline Roberts at Ponteland Library, 10 March
Carys Davies at Cottingham Library, 11 March
Ian Clayton at Keighley Library, 12 March
Chris Killen and Caroline Roberts at Cockerton Library, 15 March
Carys Davies at Doncaster Central Library, 16 March
Kim Moore at South Elmsall Library, 18 March
Also on the campaign are Helen Cadbury, Andrew Forster and Rachel McIntyre, whose public events take place later in the spring.
Read Regional 2017: submit new books by writers in the North of England
Deadline for submissions: Monday 22 April 2016
We are delighted to open the call for submissions for books to be considered for the 2017 Read Regional campaign.
Read Regional is run by New Writing North in conjunction with 22 library authorities in Yorkshire, North East England and North West England. Each year we select 10-15 new books by Northern authors and promote them widely through libraries and festivals. All participating libraries purchase bulk book orders and receive supporting marketing campaign materials. The authors visit libraries to give readings and to meet book groups. A comprehensive media and social media campaign supports the project. Read more.
Looking for a book group?
New Writing North has 8 book groups across the North East, which meet monthly to chat about books in a friendly and informal setting. The New Parents book group encourages parents to come along with or without their small children to discuss the latest read, and there are groups in Berwick, Durham, Hexham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Tees Valley and Whitley Bay.
The groups are free to join, just drop Peter Cumiskey an email peter@newwritingnorth.com so he can add you to our book group mailing list.
Crime Story: Portrait of a Criminal
Two award-winning writers explore the minds of two of the most notorious criminals of recent times.
Dan Davies spent more than a decade writing the highly-acclaimed biography, In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile, which presents an uncompromising portrait of Savile, compiled from years of interviews and dogged research, as well an enquiry into the society that enabled him for so long.
The event also launches Northern Writers’ Awards winner Andrew Hankinson’s You Could Do Something Amazing with Your Life [You Are Raoul Moat]. The book covers the last days of the fugitive gunman Raoul Moat, who shot three people before going on the run in rural Northumberland. Written in Moat’s own words, pieced together from letters and recordings, the book offers a compelling insight into his paranoid state.
Book now for Crime Story: Portrait of a Criminal at Live Theatre, Newcastle on Thursday 10 March.
Ticket holders will receive £8/£10 off their Crime Story festival ticket, the programme of which will be launched on the same night.
Opportunities
The Carrot: Issue #4 is looking for your work
Cumbrian online writing magazine The Carrot is seeking quality writing of any kind, centring on the topic of ‘Twisted Love’. The deadline is Wednesday 23 March, and submissions are open to anyone from or living in Cumbria.  Visit www.thecarrot.org.uk or email enquiries@newwritingcumbria.org.uk to find out more.
RSL Brookleaze Grants
The Royal Society of Literature has opened submissions for its Brookleaze Grants programme—open to novelists, playwrights, poets and short story writers who would benefit time away from their normal lives to write. A total of £5,000 is available annually, and this may be awarded either as two grants of £2,500 or one grant of £5,000. Deadline for the first round of submissions is Monday 11 April; apply via www.rsliterature.org/award/the-rsl-brookleaze-grants.
Filigree Black poetry anthology
Inscribe editor Kadija Sesay and internationally renowned poet Nii Ayikwei Parkes are looking for submissions for a new anthology of contemporary Black British poetry. Applicants may submit up to three new and previously unpublished poems. More information can be found on the Peepal Tree Press website (deadline: Wednesday 20 April).
Competitions
Poetry & Politics competition
Writers have until Tuesday 1 March to submit poems—either about international politics or political issues closer to home—to Holland Park Press. The prize is £200 and winning entries will also be published in the Holland Park Press online magazine; see their website for further information.
Margery Allingham short story competition
The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA)’s short story competition is open until Tuesday 1 March for writers inspired by the works of the celebrated writer, Margery Allingham. The winner will receive £1,000 and full passes to CrimeFest 2017, taking place in Bristol. See www.thecwa.co.uk/debuts/short-story-competition for full T&Cs.
Mslexia seeking Short Story Competition entries
The deadline is fast approaching for Mslexia Women's Short Story Competition 2016, which closes on Monday 14 March. Women writers are encouraged to submit their previously unpublished short stories of up to 2,200 words, for the chance of winning £2,000 and optional extras. Entry costs £10. Find more details at www.mslexia.co.uk/shortstory
Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize
Aspiring and established playwrights can now enter their comedy scripts for the second Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize. One comedy writer could walk away with £10,000 and the opportunity to have their play considered for production by Liverpool’s Royal Court, while up to two Highly Commended awards of £1,500 are also on offer. Entry costs £20 and closes on Tuesday 31 May. Find more details at www.playwritingprize.com.
Bridport Prize for various disciplines
The Bridport Prize 2016 is open for submissions to poets, short story and flash fiction writers, as well as first-time novelists. The winning poems, stories and flash fiction will be published in their winners’ anthology in October. Entry costs between £8 and £20, depending on category, and the closing date is Tuesday 31 May. Find more details at www.bridportprize.org.uk.
Workshops and networking
Writers’ Retreats in the North East
Writer Rachel Cochrane is running two writers’ retreats where you can bring along your own writing and work on it for the day work in inspirational surroundings. Be marooned on an island at St Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay on Saturday 19 March or have your own cosy room or spot in the pleasure gardens at The Garden Cottage, Gibside on Sunday 3rd April. Tickets, costing between £28 and £35, can be booked via the above links.
Writing for Wellbeing in York
Laura Napran’s Writing for Wellbeing workshops offer to lead you through guided writing activities to foster personal growth, increased mindfulness, and emotional wellbeing. Upcoming sessions include York Yoga Studio, Acomb, York on Sunday 20 March, from 1pm-4pm (£25). For information on workshops and to book, go to www.writingforwellbeing.co.uk.
Seasonal Space to Write in Darlington
Following the success of the winter event, Seasonal Space to Write will return to Hall Garth Hotel and Country Club near Darlington on Saturday 9 April, 10am-5pm. Facilitated by North East poet and tutor Natalie Scott, the session will bring together writers, regardless of age, ability or discipline, and a buffet lunch is included. Places, which cost £35, are limited. To register your interest, email nataliescott.poet@yahoo.co.uk.
Jobs
The Durham BRASS Festival is seeking an artistic director to re-visit the vision of the festival, ensuring a successful and vibrant annual event for the future (fee: £20,000, with, preferably, an immediate start. Deadline: Friday 4 March). For more information, and application details, please see the job spec here.
The Royal Society of Literature has opened applications for a talented fundraiser to play a leading role in the organisation, working from its offices at Somerset House in London (£35,000-£40,000 per annum, full-time/permanent). View the job application here, and apply using the application form by Tuesday 8 March. If you need any other information before applying, please contact tim.robertson@rsliterature.org.
The Listening Post
Opera Helps across the North
Wunderbar has launched the UK premiere of Opera Helps, created by artist Joshua Sofaer, taking place across the North of England. Between March and May, a professional opera singer will be visiting applicants’ homes, listening to their problems, and singing an aria to make them feel better. If you’d like to harness the power of opera to help view your troubles in a new light, see www.operahelps.com to submit an application.
Newcastle talk about fairy tales
Brian Alderson, a pioneer of children’s literature studies in Britain, will be presenting a free talk entitled Looking at Children’s Books: Fairy tales? on Wednesday 9 March (5.30-6.30pm) at Newcastle University’s Robinson Library, in association with Seven Stories: National Centre for Children's Books. The talk will be illustrated by material from Brian's collections of books by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, whose work he has also translated. No booking required.
High Rise film & book discussion
J.G Ballard’s classic dystopian novel High Rise has been adapted for the screen, starring Tom Hiddleston and directed by British maestro Ben Wheatley. Join Tyneside Cinema for a special Book Club screening of the film on Sunday 20 March, which will be followed by an informal post-film chat, which is open to anyone. If you would like to attend just come along, buy a ticket and sign up as a free Book Club member on the day.
Free as a Bard at Jam Jar Cinema
Poets Jeff Price, Colette Bryce plus singer songwriter, Steve Daggett will be performing in Whitley Bay as part of Jam Jar Cinema’s Free as a Bard night on Sunday 20 March. This is the first of the regular performance nights taking place in 2016 and tickets can be booked for £5 via the Jam Jar website.
Manchester gets Verbose
The next Verbose live literature night at Manchester’s Fallow Café takes place on Monday 28 March (Easter Monday) and will feature readings by members of the Manchester Left Writers group, who recently appeared at Manchester Literature Festival with their multimedia site-specific Precarious Passages project. Verbose is free entry and doors are at 7.30pm. Keep up-to-date via: www.verbosemcr.wordpress.com.
Haiku Workshop in Whitley Bay
Poet Elaine Cusack’s next haiku writing workshop is taking place in BooBoo & Ted, Whitley Bay on Thursday 12 April from 7pm to 9pm. Come and learn about haiku and have a go at writing some of your own. Participation costs £15 and requires a £5 deposit to secure your place. Contact gail@happyplanetcreativearts.org.uk for more information or visit www.happyplanetcreativearts.org.uk.
T-junction Festival returns to Teesside
T-junction Festival, which first took place in 2014, is returning 14-17 April, in celebration of Middlesbrough and the surrounding area’s vibrant poetry scene. Organised by publishers Smokestack Books, Ek Zuban, Mudfog and Vane Women, the second festival promises to be even better, with poets visiting from Jamaica, Latvia, Pakistan, Bosnia, Finland, Palestine and Syria. Find more details at www.tjunctionfestival.co.uk
Hexham Book Festival line-up
The packed programme of events for the annual literary festival, which takes over the Northumberland town every spring, has just been announced for Friday 22 April–Wednesday 4 May.  Former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King will headline, plus there’ll be appearances from Guardian journalist Luke Harding, former Today programme presenter James Naughtie and comedian and writer Susan Calman, amongst many others.
The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death will be commemorated on Saturday 23 April with some special workshops for children aged 7+, allowing them to stretch their acting skills and indulge in some witty word play. Find the full programme online at www.hexhambookfestival.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 7 March 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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