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New
Writing North news
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Cuckoo
Songwriters Success!
 Thanks
to everyone who contributed to the Sunderland Young [Song] Writers Musical
Instrument fund on Kickstarter. The campaign was a huge success
and will mean that the young songwriters who don't have their own
instruments will start the new sessions in September with access to guitars, percussion
and keyboards!
The Cuckoo Young [Song] writers will also be performing for
the first time at
this year's Summer Streets festival in Sunderland,
alongside other top Northeastern acts such as Field Music
and the Royal
Northern Sinfonia. The young songwriters will be on at 1.20pm on Saturday 16th July.
The festival takes place in Thompson Park in Sunderland. See more information at the Cultural Spring
website.
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Young
Writers’ City teacher wins award
 New
Writing North is very proud that teacher Angela Martin
from Newcastle Sixth Form College has been awarded an NGC Teaching and Learning
Award for 'Innovative Ideas and Impact on Learner Progress'
for her work with our Young
Writers’ City project. Young Writers’ City has been
working with Angela and writer Stevie Ronnie since September last year
to develop new ways of engaging
college students with poetry and literature.
If you are a teacher in a secondary school or FE in Newcastle and
would like to talk to us about how Young Writers’ City could work with
your school, please email cuckoo@newwritingnorth.com.
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Cuckoo
Young Writers Summer Schools
This summer, Cuckoo has a creative
writing summer school for every taste. Join us for
everything from song
writing to crime
fiction, spoken
word to making
poetry out of paper, scissors and glue! Cuckoo Young
Writers’ Summer Schools are for young people aged 12-19 who are
interested in creative writing. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve
already got a novel on your memory stick or you just want to try
something new and have a go: CUCKOO NEEDS YOU. And it’s all totally FREE!
Make poetry
in Newcastle/ Gateshead, 25-29 July 2016
Pick ‘n’ mix
writing summer school in Durham, 2-4 August 2016
Explore
songwriting in Sunderland, 1-3 August 2016
Crime writing in
Cramlington, 16-17
August 2016
Start
songwriting in Warkworth, 23-25 August 2016
For more info about all the summer schools and to sign up, see the Cuckoo Young Writers website.
Spaces are limited, so book soon!
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People
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Two 2016 Northern Writers Awards winners have had their work
published by The
Chronicle in Newcastle. 14-year-old students Amy Langdown
and Shana
Nichols—both members of our Cramlington Cuckoo Young Writers group—were
chosen ahead of 600 other entrants to win the Matthew Hale Award, for
writers aged 12 to 18. Their striking feminist poem, ‘The Competencies
of Rage’, is available to read via The Chronicle’s website.
Our Read Regional 2016 programme may have ended, however the ten
writers who took part are keeping themselves very busy. Carys Davies's
story ‘The Testimonie of Alyss Tee’ was published in the summer 2016
issue of Ploughshares, an award-winning journal of new writing. This
special 45th anniversary all-prose issue is guest edited by novelist
Claire Messud and literary critic James Wood.
Read Regional author Crista
Ermiya’s story ‘1977’ is included in the newly
published Best
British Short Stories 2016 anthology, edited by Nicholas
Royle. A blog post about her experience participating in this year’s
Read Regional is available to read online.
Whitley Bay writer Steve
Chambers's BBC Radio 4 comedy Highlites,
co-written with Phil Nodding, is airing its sixth and final series from
Monday 25 July to Friday 29 July. The episodes will air 10.45am-11am
each day and follow the characters of Bev, a bitter and vindictive
chief stylist in a hair salon, and her fond and foolish assistant
Shirley.
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Opportunities
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Holland
House's Novella Project
Holland House's upcoming Novella
Project has been designed to provide industry
experience and publicity for new writers. The organisation is looking
for submissions
from first-time authors of between 20-50,000 words, and
all genres are welcome. The closing date is 1 December,
but early submissions will receive a response before then. Contact
Holland House at: www.hhousebooks.com/submissions
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Competitions
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The
Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets 2016
The Michael Marks Awards is presented by The Wordsworth Trust and
The British Library, with the generous support of the Michael Marks
Charitable Trust.
The Poetry Award recognises
an outstanding poetry pamphlet published in the UK
between July 2015 and the end of June 2016. The Publishers’ Award recognises an outstanding UK
publisher of poetry in pamphlet form, based on their
publishing programme, while the Illustration Award recognises
outstanding illustration of a poetry pamphlet.
Cash prizes are available ranging from £1,000 and £5,000. For full
details see: www.wordsworth.org.uk/poetrypamphlets.
The competition opens for entries Mon 18 July and closes Friday 26 August.
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Children’s
Novel Competition
Mslexia
Women's Novel Competition 2016 is for novels of at least 15,000 words written for
children (and young adults) in any genre by previously
unpublished women novelists. First prize is £5,000 plus
the winner and four other finalists will receive free professional feedback
from The Literary Consultancy and be invited to meet
literary agents and editors at a special networking event in London.
Entry fee is £25 per novel (deadline: 19 September).
For more information, and to enter, see www.mslexia.co.uk/novel.
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National
Poetry Competition 2016
The National Poetry Competition is now open
to everybody
aged 17 or over, for previously unpublished poems of up to 40 lines
on any subject. The judges read all entries, and all poems are judged
anonymously. Cash prizes range from £1,000 to £5,000, and there are
seven commendations at £200 each. Winning poems are also published in
an anthology and on the Poetry Society website. Deadline: 31 October.
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Jesmond
Library—creative writing competition
Jesmond Library is launching its second annual creative writing competition
over the summer, with the theme—quite fittingly—being ‘Jesmond’. Prizes
include £300
worth of book vouchers from Blackwell’s Bookshop and
The Keel Row Bookshop. Closing date: 1 November. Entry forms are
available from the Library in St George’s Terrace, or from the website www.jesmondlibrary.co.uk. Enquiries
can be made via events@jesmondlibrary.co.uk, tel 0191
281 2385.
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Workshops
and networking
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Tynemouth
Volunteer Life Brigade workshop
There are still some spaces left for Victoria Watson’s daytime retreat at Tynemouth
Volunteer Life Brigade on Sunday 24 July,
10am-2pm (£40, including lunch). As a participant, you'll be invited to
read your TVLB-inspired work at the Heritage Open Day on Saturday 10
September (although this is not mandatory). To book your place, call
Victoria on 07854 147140 or email victoria.watson@elementaryvwatson.com.
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Sci-fi
and fantasy event in Beverley
Humber SFF (27
August, 4pm-8pm, at The Monks Walk, Highgate) is a free
to attend genre-based social event for the Humber region, providing the
opportunity to
meet others who write as well as discovering new books.
Daniel Godfrey
will be reading from his highly anticipated book, New Pompeii, while
David Tallerman
will be reading an extract from The
Sign in the Moonlight and Other Stories. For more
information, see www.humbersff.wordpress.com.
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Writing
for Children 10-week course at Lit and Phil
Suitable for beginners
or more experienced writers, this course will examine a
variety of children’s literature to explore technique and style
(Tuesday 20th
September–29th November, 10.15am -12.15am, with a break
for half term).
All ten sessions cost £80 in advance or £27 for the first session
and £7 per session after that. Book via the Lit and Phil—0191 232
0192—or for more information contact Ellen Phethean.
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Writers’/artists’
retreats at Kelleth Old Hall
2015 Northern Writers’ Awards winner Charlotte Fairbairn is launching
a retreat at her
Eden Valley house, Kelleth Old Hall, with the first one
taking place 28
September–13 October.
There will be time for writing, painting, reading, and thinking, and
qualified Iyengar Yoga teacher Kate Stannard will also be leading
sessions. Prices start from £65 per night, with a minimum five nights’
stay. For more information, see www.kelletholdhall.co.uk/retreats.
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Crime
writing in the Lake District
Mari Hannah,
author of the DCI
Kate Daniels series, is the main speaker at First Page's
residential crime writing course (venue TBC). Mari will be offering top tips for writing compelling
crime fiction, alongside guest sessions on blogging and
self promotion from writer Wendy
H. Jones and blogger Beth Pipe, and expert manuscript
advice from the resident editors and creative writing tutors.
The course runs from 31
October–4 November, and there is an early bird ticket
offer available until 31 July (£425 full board, instead of the usual
£475). For more details, see: www.firstpagecourses.com.
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The
Listening Post
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Indie
Lit in Bradford
The first
ever UK Indie Literary Festival is taking place
Saturday 23 July
at St James Hall, Bradford. 25 UK authors will be there
in person, as well as Kendare
Blake—best-selling author of the critically acclaimed
'Anna Dressed in Blood' series—will be answering fan questions via
Skype. The event is free; see ukindielitfest2016.wix.com/indiefest
for more information.
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Summer
Soiree in Newcastle
A showcase of comedy and new writing by mental health survivors and
supporters, will be taking place on Tuesday 2 August on
the top floor of Broadacre House, Market Street, with special guests
and MC Sharon
Race. The event runs 6.30-9pm and admission is free,
including refreshments.
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Whitley
Bay Film Festival 2016
Tickets for the popular seaside festival (14 August–3 September)
are now on sale, with highlights including a 20th anniversary
celebration of TV mini series Our
Friends in the North (Friday 26 August; The Exchange,
North Shields). Screenwriter Peter
Flannery will be in attendance; discussing the seminal
drama he modestly calls ‘a posh soap opera’ (ticketed; free of charge).
Lit-inspired events include a screening of 1988’s surreal version of
Lewis Carroll's Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland at St Mary’s Lighthouse, and Tales of Terror,
a film based on a trilogy of Edgar
Allen Poe-inspired horror stories. For the full
line-up, and to purchase tickets, see www.whitleybayfilmfestival.co.uk.
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The
Fighting Bradfords
Gala Theatre,
Durham
Thursday 8 to
Saturday 17 September, 7.30pm (+2.30pm on Wednesday 14
& Saturday 17).
Written by
Carina Rodney and directed by Psyche Stott,
this Gala Theatre production tells the story of Roland, George, James
and Thomas Bradford, the most
celebrated brothers in British military service.
Drawing on first-hand accounts, correspondence and family anecdotes,
The Fighting
Bradfords explores what drove this family of decorated
First World War soldiers from County Durham to become national heroes.
Tickets: £12 - £15. Buy them from the Gala website (‘Pay
What You Like’ on Monday 12 September. Call the Gala Theatre Box Office
and pay what you want when booking in advance).
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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 25 July 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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