COMEDY WRITING WORKSHOP with Rob Gee

2.30pm – COMEDY WRITING WORKSHOP with Rob Gee – Nottingham Central Library – 4th November

Develop your comedy writing skills with acclaimed comic and performance poet Rob Gee. Part of the Nottingham Comedy Festival.

About Rob Gee: Performance poet, comic, workshop leader and reformed psychiatric nurse, Rob combines elements of theatre, comedy and literature in his live act. From diabolical chat up lines to the end of the world, he insists the human tragedy is a gleeful comedy. Fast, furious and very funny, Rob uses inventive wordplay, whiplash couplets and motored rhythm to tap into the world of chaos and adventure that lurks behind the veneer of everyday life.

Ticket price: £5 or £4 concessions. Tickets available from Nottingham Central Library ground floor reception or call 0115 9152824. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

Pub Poetry

Wednesday 4th November 2009

8.00pm – PUB POETRY – Canalhouse

Part of Nottingham Comedy Festival
An informal and fun evening of strictly comic and light-hearted poetry or short stories.
Anyone is welcome to read, someone will win the limerick competition, but everyone
will enjoy a beer and get some culture down them. Pretentious and overly-serious folk
not required!

Price: Free

A Girl Walked Into a Bar

Monday 2nd November 2009

8.00pm – A GIRL WALKED IN TO A BAR (WEM) – Malt Cross

’An evening of witty and wincingly poignant poetry on the funny things about relationships
with ivoryfishbone, Lydia Towsey, Rob Gee, Kerry Orange and special guests.
Expect to shift uncomfortably in your seat, laugh till you cry and some playing around
with words amongst other things.

Brought to you by Nottingham Comedy Festival and Writing East Midlands – Working for Writers in the Region

Price: £5 (door) /£4 (NUS and adv)- tickets online at www.nottscomedyfestival.co.uk

Will you take part with NaNoWriMo?

November has become a special month for writers world wide. In case you have not heard, 1st November marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short. Started in 1999 in the home of all things progressive, San Francisco, NaNoWriMo has grown to an international phenomenon involving over 119,000 participants in 2008.

The rules of NaNoWriMo are simple. Participants aim to write a 50,000 word novel between 1st – 30th November (making an average word rate of 1,600 words a day). Winners receive nothing more than the honour of crossing the finishing line, and a gnatty badge for your blog or website. Its entirely possible to fake your resuts and claim victory without writing a word, but really, what would be the point?

Some more cynical readers might ask what the point is of the whole project. As the NaNoWriMo organisers make clear, the aim is not to write a bestselling novel and sell it for a six figure advance (although with 21,270 NaNo novels written last year alone its likely that December is a painful month for literary agents world wide) . Instead, the focus is on participation. How many of us dream of stories in our heads, but between the pressures of work, family and the rest of modern life how many of us believe we do not have the time to write them down? NaNoWriMo is there to show that if you really want to write you CAN find the time. Ten minutes over breakfast. Half an hour on the bus or train to work. Moments stolen in the workplace instead of pointlessly surfing Facebook or Twitter. An hour in the evening instead of Eastenders and The Bill. Its amazing how much you can achieve when you give yourself a goal.

Should professional novelists fear competition from the NaNoWriMo hordes? A handful of NaNoWriMo novels (heavily revised and edited we assume) have been published in the last decade, and almost certainly one or two will become bestsellers or award winners in time. But while NaNoWriMo highlights the wonderful growth in our society that allows millions of people to express themselves in writing, it also shows what a challenge it is to write a novel that has meaning for millions of people.

You can join up for this years NaNoWriMo on the official website, where you can also find details of groups taking part in the East Midlands region and beyond. And if you are in Leicester, you can find listings for support meetings here.

Damien Walter is a writer of weird and speculative fiction and coordinator of the Literature Network. You can follow his NaNoWriMo progress this year at damiengwalter.com

NaNoWriMo – Leicester Support Group

National Novel Writing Month starts November 1st 2009

Love novels? Write one! Sign up at NaNoWriMo.org. Here in Leicester we have a month full of NaNoWriMo happenings.

What is NaNoWriMo?
Every November, tens of thousands of people take up NaNoWriMo’s challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. It’s an anti-contest writing contest, one where the judges are missing, the prizes are lousy, and writers and non-writers alike have the time of their lives bashing out surprisingly unhorrible books in an absurdly short amount of time.

—–Kick-off Event—–
Our first event of 2009 is a Meet ‘n’ Greet in central Leicester on Sunday, 25 October at 2.00pm. The location is upstairs at the Coffee Republic at 20-22 Granby Street, Leicester LE1 1DE.

Come along and meet other writers who are attempting the insane challenge of writing 50,000 words in only 30 days! Discuss your plans for your novel, share resources for managing life while scrambling to fill every minute with prose, get ideas for your plot, and find out what other local writers are up to. If you haven’t decided whether to do it or not, or if you want more information, come along and find out more.

—–Weekly Meetings and Write-Ins—–
We will also host a meeting/write-in every Sunday at 2.00pm during November, also upstairs at the Coffee Republic at 20-22 Granby Street, Leicester LE1 1DE.

A write-in is a group meeting where we bring our laptops or notebooks and work on our novels. This is a great way to avoid potential loneliness if you are holed away pouring your heart onto the page.

We all work on our own novels at our own pace. Occasionally we can share a snippet we like or ask for some quick inspiration or a character name. Sometimes we challenge ourselves to include the same element in each of our work, which can result in some extra creativity.

—–Weekly Online Write-Ins—–
All the joy of friendly support, and none of the need to change out of your fuzzy bunny slippers – what could be better? We will be hosting an online write-in every Wednesday evening in November from 7.00pm. The link to the virtual chatroom will be posted on the forum.

—–TGIO Party (Thank Goodness It’s Over)—–
After thirty days of writing, you’ll be saying ‘Thank Goodness It’s Over!’ but you should definitely mark the occasion of surviving the month, whether you’ve reached the 50,000-word goal or not.

Our TGIO Party is scheduled for Sunday, 6 December, with final details to be confirmed. Be assured there will be plenty to celebrate.

http://www.leicestercasuals.org.uk/

HE BATES PRIZE GIVING EVENING: with author Martin Davies

Join us for a celebration of new writing talent as the winners of the 2009 H.E. Bates Short Story Competition are announced by head judge Martin Davies.

Martin Davies is the author of Richard and Judy favourite The Conjuror’s Bird. Join Martin at this special evening to hear him read extracts from the best competition entries and talk about his work including his new book The Unicorn Road.

FREE ENTRY – book early to avoid disappointment. Thursday 26th November 2009, 7pm at Northamptonshire Central Library, Abington Street, Northampton.

For further details and to reserve your place contact Kate Wilkinson on 01604 824155 or kwilkinson@northamptonshire.gov.uk.

Murder, Madness and Fantasy

Celebrating the last day of summer, LeftLion presents their darkest spoken word event yet. From 4pm – 8pm, Sunday 25th October at the Broadway Cinema in Nottingham. They’ll take you to the oddities of the Victorian freak show, down the cold clean corridors of the mental asylum, across time, space and galaxies and then back for one final fantasy you’ll never forget. For more information on this charity event (part of the Hockley Hustle), please see http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/2710
Line up:

Final Fantasy
7.40 +: Al Needham (Todger Talk)

Speculative Fictions
6.50 – 7.30: Damien Walter (Guardian blogger) in conversation with Mark Charan Newton (Nights of Villjamur)
6.20 – 6.45: James Johnson (erth chronicles)

Madness and Murder
5.50 – 6.10: Nicola Monaghan (The Killing Jar, Starfishing)
5.10 – 5.50 Ann Featherstone (Walking in Pimlico) in conversation with Rod Maddocks (No Way to Say Goodbye)

Myth, Magic and Mayhem
4.40 – 5.00 Aly Stoneman and Milk
4.20 – 4.40 King Henry ( England, my England)**
4.00 – 4.20 Joss Ink – (Leading a Horse to Water)

**Extreme content warning, imagine P G Wodehouse with turrets…

Marketing Assistant for Tindal Street Press

An exciting opportunity to join Birmingham’s prize-winning independent fiction publisher and work within a small energetic team three days per week or equivalent.

We seek an organised graduate with promotional flair and a passion for reading, who must be enthusiastic about marketing literary fiction. Previous PR, marketing or publishing experience desirable. £14,000 pro rata 0.6

The successful candidate will focus on marketing and publicity work and gain a broad understanding of the publishing industry. Tasks will include:

· Assisting in creating imaginative marketing and publicity campaigns for our books

· Writing marketing copy, sales material and press releases under direction

· Pursuing press coverage by phone and by email

· Building network of publicity and trade contacts; organising mail-outs

· Working closely with authors to generate ideas; accompanying them to events, festivals, etc.

· Creating and managing marketing and publicity schedules and ensuring deadlines are met

· Significant responsibility for editing website: writing news articles, event promos, updating books and author pages, generating feature ideas, synchronising new content with social networking sites like facebook and twitter

· Updating sales material for sales reps at our London-based sales and distribution force

· Assessing manuscripts alongside editors – for commercial appeal and potential marketing ideas

· Managing submissions alongside editors

· Representing Tindal Street Press at launches, book events, trade fairs, etc

There will be opportunities for training and development, and to develop some editorial experience with manuscripts. There is potential for the role to grow over time. Please apply with CV and letter of application to Alan Mahar, Publishing Director at editorial@tindalstreet.co.uk or Tindal Street Press, 217 Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham B9 4AA

Closing date: 30 October 2009. Interviews are planned to take place on 12 November. To start mid-December or beginning of January

www.tindalstreet.co.uk

What I did on my holidays #1

Ross Bradshaw, publisher of Five Leaves press, tours the sights of literary Scotland and shares his discoveries.

After a couple of hours around Arthur’s Seat (or Arthur Seaton, as my literary Nottingham-centric companion called it) we dropped down to the Scottish Parliament, sitting in its shadow. The cost overrun and the fascinating architecture of the place have been rehearsed well enough, but it is worth a guided tour by anyone visiting Edinburgh. In its first year over around a million people, mostly Scots, went round their Parliament which probably makes Edwin Morgan’s “For the Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 9 October 2004” one of the best read poems going since every tour stops in front of it.

Edwin Morgan is the current “Makar”, the Scottish equivalent of the Poet Laureate, now in his eighties, a belatedly out gay man and a terrific poet. His Scottish Parliament poem is a celebration, but also a warning to the Members of the Scottish Parliament that it should not be a “nest of fearties” and worse of all not a place where they famous Scottish phrase “it wizny me” is used. Had more British Parliamentarians assented to his line “We give your our consent to govern, don’t pocket it and ride away” they might not be in the mess they currently are.

A hundred yards from the Scottish Parliament lies the Scottish Poetry Library (www.spl.org.uk) which proudly boasts the new Edwin Morgan archive (www.edwinmorgan.spl.org.uk). You can pick up some free postcards of Morgan poems like my favourite “Strawberries” or some of his sound poems, so loved by children. Morgan’s archive is not small as he, more than many, contributed to broadsheets, fugitive material of all types, as well as his main publications.

The Scottish Poetry Library is a rare calm space just off the Royal Mile, with a modest events programme, an annual small press fair and a very good broadsheet magazine, Poetry Reader. The library is well laid out with material to borrow or to examine, and some on sale. There’s a children’s area and an area for magazines. Naturally the coverage is slanted towards Scottish poetry, in all the languages of that country. On my visit there was a special exhibition of Ivor Cutler’s poetry and graphics. The same weekend there was a seminar on war poetry, with some current serving soldier poets attending and reading their work.

Without overstating the case, it felt to me that poetry plays a stronger role in Scottish life than here. Burns is never far away. And nor is haggis. I could not believe it at first but it does appear to be true that in 1984, when the Poetry Library first opened (in previous premises) the haggis manufacturer Mcsweeney’s made a vegetarian version that was so popular it went into general manufacture. I’ve bought it and enjoyed it a few times – never knowing its literary origins.

The Scottish Poetry Library produces a neat little pamphlet giving a history of the Library, on its 25th anniversary. £3 well spent.

Later, walking down a footpath by the Water of Leith we stumbled on the Dean Gallery, a building previously quite unknown to me. For the first time ever my jaw really did drop when I went into the exhibition recreating the studios of the Scottish sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi. You have to see it. The literary interest is in the adjacant room, the Gabrielle Keillor Library where the work of the surrealist French poet Paul Éluard is on display, and is broadcast, backed by artists books and illustrated books from the Dada and Surrealist tradition. The Gallery as a whole specialises in Surrealism.

The final literary call was on the new Edinburgh Bookshop in Bruntsfield, a spin off from the children’s book in the same street. The shop had been open a few days when I called, with a small but carefully chosen stock of 3,000 books, mostly displayed face out in single copies. It will not replace my favourite Edinburgh bookshop Wordpower as my first port of call, but is another sign of the welcome return of confidence to independent bookselling.

Supported by Writing East Midlands

Ross Bradshaw runs Five Leaves Publications, the region’s “biggest small press” and jointly organises Lowdham Book Festival. For ten years he was Nottinghamshire’s Literature Development Officer, and, earlier, spent seventeen years working in a radical independent bookshop.

Let the Siren Be Your Muse

The 4th annual Facts and Fiction Storytelling Workshop will take place at New Brewery Arts in Cirencester Glos on Sat. 27th Feb 2010. Facts & Fiction is the UK’s only independent storytelling magazine and is edited and published by Belper based storyteller and folk singer Pete Castle. Each year the workshop is held in a different place but people travel from all over to attend. This year Pete’s co-presenter is Chloe of the Midnight Storytellers. Pete will consider the role of personal and family stories and how they can be woven in among traditional tales; and Chloe will unravel the secrets of breathing life into every yarn through your voice and by choosing language with bite.

Although it is aimed at oral storytelling much will also be relevant to writers. The day finishes with a performance by Pete and Chloe.

All the info and a down-loadable booking form are on the web site www.factsandfiction.co.uk

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