City of Literature Weekend, 27-28 May 2022

With details of the weekend and how to get 10% off tickets: 

Start your summer celebrations with our jam-packed festival programme       City of Literature begins! Join us this weekend for a jam-packed programme of book launches, creative workshops and late night parties   Writing workshops — Friday 27 May   Adventures in Fiction Fri 27 May, 10am or 2pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Join award-winning novelist and short story writer Yan Ge for a friendly fiction workshop suitable for writers of all levels. Last few places available! Book now →   Finding the Words – Poetry Fri 27 May, 10am or 2pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Find the words to express your truth in poetry. Ko Ko Thett will share techniques that you will then be able to use in drafting your own poems. Last few places available! Book now →   Events — Saturday 28 May   Offer: book for three or more events on Saturday and get 10% off!   All the Lovers in the Night — Mieko Kawakami Sat 28 May, 10am, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Internationally bestselling author Mieko Kawakami returns to Norwich to discuss her pulsing, poetic and shocking third novel. Mieko is one of an exciting new generation of Japanese authors. Book now →   Everybody Hertz — Richard Mainwaring Sat 28 May, 11.30am, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Join musician, composer, TV presenter and educator Richard Mainwaring for an exploration of how vibrations good and bad govern everything around us. Book now →   Harriet Martineau Lecture — Kit de Waal Sat 28 May, 1.30pm, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield The Harriet Martineau Lecture celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman. This year’s lecture will be delivered by bestselling novelist, memoirist and literary activist Kit de Waal. Book now →   Ancestral Ties — Melissa Fu & Ayanna Lloyd Banwo Sat 28 May, 4pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Ancestry, heritage, grief and new beginnings are explored in two brilliant debut books by Melissa Fu and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo. Places selling fast! Book now →   Banished Histories — A.K. Blakemore & Guinevere Glasfurd Sat 28 May, 6pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Meet the new stars of historical fiction who are uncovering the hidden stories of our past and using them to shed light on today’s world — from the 17th-century witch trials of England, to state censorship in Enlightenment France. Places selling fast! Book now →   Small But Mighty: 10 Years of Galley Beggar Press Sat 28 May, 8pm until late, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall We’re celebrating! Join the co-founders of indie publisher Galley Beggar and discover how small presses work with authors to bring books to readers. Plus — stay with us for the afterparty! Book now →   Events — Sunday 29 May   City of Literature Publishing Fair Sun 29 May, 10am – 4pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Drop in and celebrate the vibrant independent publishing culture of the East of England. Meet the publishers, browse and purchase their work, and take part in a series of lightning talks throughout the day. Free entry! Read more →   Wandering Words An immersive walking tour of Norwich UNESCO City of Literature   Pick up a map from the Festival box office and embark on an immersive literary walking tour of the city. Discover Norwich of the past, present and future through newly commissioned poems from five brilliant writers.   Follow the trail and scan the QR code at each marked location to hear an immersive audio recording of a poem, as well as sounds of the people and settings that inspired each writer’s work. All you need is your mobile phone!   Explore here →   Fully booked — join the waiting list! Contact the Festival box office to be added to the waiting list 01603 531800 boxoffice@nnfestival.org.uk   NCW Book Club: The Manningtree Witches Fri 27 May, 6pm, National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall Join our friendly group for an informal discussion of A.K. Blakemore’s ‘riveting, unsettling’ debut novel, winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize 2021.   Page Against the Machine Sat 28 May, 12noon, The Plantation Gardens Pick a book, bring a cool drink and turn off your phone for a well-deserved detox read in the beautiful surroundings of The Plantation Garden.   Deception Island Wed 25 – Sat 28 May, various times, Chapelfield Gardens Step inside an exact replica of an Antarctic hut and be transported to Deception Island, a tiny caldera in the ocean. Prepare to embark on an immersive poetry, sound and film expedition like nothing you have been on before.   City of Literature Weekend is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing presentation, programmed by the National Centre for Writing.   The National Centre for Writing is supported by:   Copyright © 2022 National Centre for Writing,  All rights reserved. Registered charity number: 1110725   Our mailing address is: National Centre for Writing Dragon Hall 115 - 123 King Street Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1QE United Kingdom