Birmingham Literature Festival, October 2018

With details of Birmingham Literature Festival in October:

October festival: programme released Hello, Welcome to the October 2018 Birmingham Literature Festival. I'm delighted to reveal the line-up for our October 2018 festival, which will run from 4th to 14th October in venues across Birmingham city centre. Come and join us for 10 days of inspiring, thought-provoking and entertaining events, which not only showcase great books and writers from the UK and abroad, but also create space to bring people together for great conversation and ideas. We're kicking off the festival with two National Poetry Day events on Thursday 4th October, featuring local poets Liz Berry, Roy McFarlane and Jane Commane. We'll also be presenting poetry from nine Caribbean diaspora poets included as part of a new anthology called Unwritten: Caribbean poems after the First World War (co-commisioned by BBC Contains Strong Language, the British Council and 14-18 Now). Our Unwritten event will include readings from UK and Caribbean poets including Jay Bernard, Malika Booker, Karen McCarthy Woolf and Ishion Hutchinson. We are thrilled to also be working again with independant publishers And Other Stories, who will be showcasing four UK and international women writers and translators they are publishing in 2018, as well as offering one-to-one fiction surgeries for writers. Don't miss stories of life-changing travel and adventure with writers Abi Andrews, Katharine Norbury and Alys Fowler in our event The Call of the Wild, as well as new tales from home by local and regional writers as part of the Hometown Tales event, and the launch of the brand new Book of Birmingham. We are also very excited to present award-winning poet and theatre maker Jackie Hagen's celebrated show This Is Not A Safe Space, which challenges the relentless scapegoating and stereotyping of working class disabled people in today’s society. Celebrating the weird, the wonky, the unruly and the resilient! As part of our October festival, it has also been a joy to work with our Guest Curator Sathnam Sanghera, who has curated some very special events with key writers from the West Midlands. You can find out more about Sathnam's events featuring Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes, Nigel Slater and Ravinder Bhogal and Jonathan Coe below. All our events can be booked online, or you can call Box Office on 0121 245 4455. We hope you feel as excited by this programme as we are, and we look forward to seeing you in October! Antonia Beck Festival Director View Programme Just a few highlights... Behold, America by Sarah Churchwell ‘The American dream is dead,’ Donald Trump said when announcing his candidacy for president in 2015. How would he revive it? By putting ‘America First’. The phrase has become the anthem of his presidency and is adored by his supporters. Find out more about the fallacy of this anthem with one of the foremost commentators on US politics and history, Sarah Churchwell. Sunday 14 October, 1pm The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Buy Tickets Nigel Slater & Ravinder Bhogal Sponsored by Birmingham CIty University Join cooks and writers Nigel Slater and Ravinder Bhogal as they discuss their love of food and their passion for writing. Nigel Slater is a cook who writes. The author of a collection of bestselling books and presenter of nine BBC television series, Nigel has been the food columnist for The Observer for twenty five years. Nigel does very few public events and we're honoured he wanted to return to the West Midlands (he grew up in Wolverhampton) to headline this very special event. Sunday 14 October, 3.30pm Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tickets, £15 / £12 (concs) Buy Tickets A Night at the Cabaret Voltaire Let's Dada! In partnership with BCMG  Saturday 6 October, 8pm The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) Buy Tickets To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine Sponsored by Dains Accountants  Tuesday 9 October, 8pm The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) Buy Tickets Middle England by Jonathan Coe Sponsored by University of Wolverhampton Sunday 14 October, 8pm The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) Buy Tickets All Events Birmingham Literature Festival | a project of Writing West Midlands Writing West Midlands is an Arts Council England NPO. ‌ ‌ ‌

New Writing North and Durham Book Festival

With details of Durham Book Festival, here is the latest information from the New Writing North:

Tickets are now on sale for Durham Book Festival! We're delighted to let you know that tickets for Durham Book Festival 2018 are now on sale! From memoir to comedy, prize-winning poets to the best in debut fiction. We’re also looking forward to introducing a host of new commissions from a diverse range of northern voices including David Olusoga, Jacob Polley and Una. We really think there's someone for everyone in this year's programme. You'll find some of our highlights below and the whole programme here. We couldn't be more excited to welcome Sarah Waters to the festival for this year's Big Read. If you're in Durham, make sure you pick up your free copy of Sarah's Gothic ghost story, The Little Stranger. This year we will also be launching our inaugural Little Read, Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie. We’ll be sending a copy of the book to every primary school in Durham and we’ll be working with five community centres in County Durham to help children in these communities take part in Izzy Gizmo workshops to create songs and crafts inspired by the book.     We hope you can join us! My First Gig with Field Music Saturday 6 October, 2:30pm-4pm, Gala Studio Join Mercury Prize-nominated band Field Music for a very special family gig, playing songs inspired by their favourite children’s books, nursery rhymes and some of those VERY familiar TV theme tunes. There will be face-painting, disco balls, dancing and blow up guitars at the best first gig you could wish for...read more Professor Dame Sue Black: All That Remains: A Life in Death Sunday 7 October, 1.30pm–2.30pm, Palace Green Library Durham Book Festival is delighted to welcome Professor Dame Sue Black, one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, to discuss her book All That Remains: A Life in Death. This gripping memoir was featured on BBC Radio 4’s...read more An Evening with Peter James Monday 8 October, 7:30pm-8:30pm, Gala Theatre Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels. His Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series has had worldwide sales of 19 million and achieved 12 Sunday Times number ones, while The Perfect Murder...read more Alan Johnson: In My Life: A Music Memoir Wednesday 10 October, 7:30mpm-8:30pm, Gala Theatre Durham Book Festival favourite Alan Johnson is back to talk about the fourth instalment in his memoirs, In My Life, which tells the story of his life through the music that has inspired him along the way. From being transported by the sound of ‘True Love’...read more Sarah Perry: Melmoth Friday 12 October, 6:30pm-7:30pm, Durham Town Hall Join Sarah Perry, author of international bestseller The Essex Serpent, as she talks about her new novel Melmoth, a chilling and deeply moving book that speaks urgently to our times. Melmoth tells the story of Helen Franklin, who 20 years ago did something for which she cannot forgive herself. As Helen’s...read more Pat Barker: The Silence of the Girls Saturday 13 October, 12pm-1pm, Durham Town Hall We are delighted to welcome Book Festival favourite Pat Barker back to Durham this year. The Booker Prize-winning author of Regeneration and one of our greatest contemporary writers on war will be discussing her reimagining of the most famous conflict in literature – the legendary Trojan War...read more Lucy Mangan: Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading Saturday 13 October, 4:30pm-5:30pm When Lucy Mangan was little, stories were everything. They opened up new worlds and cast light on all the complexities she encountered in this one. She was whisked away to Narnia – and Kirrin Island...read more Carol Ann Duffy and Friends Saturday 13 October, 5:30pm-6:30pm, Gala Theatre Join Carol Ann Duffy, as she reads from her final full poetry collection as Poet Laureate. Sincerity is a frank, disarming and deeply moving exploration of loss and remembrance in their many forms. Carol Ann has invited fellow poets Mark Pajak...read more Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger Saturday 13 October, 7:30pm-8:30pm, Gala Theatre Join us in celebrating the work of award-winning author Sarah Waters, whose haunting fifth novel, The Little Stranger, is this year’s Durham Book Festival Big Read. Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, The Little Stranger is a ghost story that...read more Cathy Newman: Bloody Brilliant Women: The Unsung Heroines Who Made 20th Century Britain Sunday 14 October, 2pm-3pm Bloody Brilliant Women is the new book from journalist Cathy Newman, a freewheeling feminist history of Britain exploring the motivations of the women who played a crucial role in the dramatic transformations that took place in British women’s...read more David Olusoga: Black and British: Growing up in the North East Sunday 14 October, 3:30pm-4:30pm, Durham Town Hall Join historian and broadcaster David Olusoga as he presents this special Durham Book Festival commission. David will write about and share his experiences of growing up in Gateshead and his subsequent journey to reconnect with the North...read more Jacob Polley: Lamanby Sunday 14 October, 6:30pm-7:30pm, Durham Town Hall Jacob Polley is regarded as one of the leading talents of the new generation of British poets, and we are delighted to welcome him to Durham as this year’s Festival Laureate. Lamanby is his extraordinary drama of a childhood house that becomes the site of an alternative personal history and...read more New Writing North PO Box 1277, Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 5BP Tel: 0191 204 8850 office@newwritingnorth.com     Like     Tweet     Forward