Sunday 30 September 2012

Pass on a poem

Thursday 4th October 

7.30pm.

Wollaton Library 

Free

“Pass on a Poem” and celebrate National Poetry Day.

Attend for an evening of poetry. Pass on a poem is your opportunity to share your favourite poem with other people and to enjoy other people’s choices.

If you have a poem that you would like to share on the evening by reading it yourself, or which you would like someone to read aloud for you please contact helen-pollard1@hotmail.co.uk to have it included in the programme.

Tickets available from Wollaton Library: Telephone (0115)  9155715
or  email wollaton.library@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Friday 28 September 2012

Poetry Readers' Day

4th of October 2012
 
Retford Library is celebrating National Poetry Day on Thursday 4 October 2012.
 
From 9.45 am-1.00 pm there will be a morning workshop with poet C.J. Allen and university lecturer, Julia Gaze.
Tickets are £5.
From 2.00-4.00 pm with Linda Taylor from the Pass on a Poem website and workshop readings. Free.
Please book your place at Retford Library or tel: 01777 708724.
 

Thursday 27 September 2012

Kimberley Book-Worm Day

Kimberley - SATURDAY October 6th



Visit: http://www.greatkimberleybookread.com/
 
Book Fayre: New books of all genres will be available to buy.

Great Kimberley Book Read: The climax. Over the past few months, the readers of Kimberley have been voting on their favourite book, from 18 titles featured at the library. Find out which they have declared the winner. Anna Soubry MP presents the prize.

Meet the authors: About twenty authors will be on hand to have a chat about writing, publishing, or any other matter you might care to raise.

Reading: Rob Hann & Howard Barton will be reading from the award winning children’s book, The Grumblegroar.

Farmers’ Market: Various stalls and a live band.

Fancy Dress Parade: Children dressed as characters from literature. Cheerleaders. The singing of the Book-Worm song.

Shop window display competition: Several retail outlets in the town have been decorating their store fronts in an attempt to win. The best literary offering wins.

Refreshments and parking is available throughout the day.
 
 

Eastwood, the book town


The ninth annual D.H Lawrence Festival ended last week, marking one of the largest and most successful festivals to date, as an estimated 4000 visitors to his hometown of Eastwood enjoyed a two-week programme of over 60 events and activities.
          The town of Eastwood is aiming to reinvent itself, as a Booktown: An exciting centre for the arts; attracting not only book-lovers but also writers, musicians, poets and creative people from around the world. Ambitious? Certainly, but much of the infrastructure is already in place. In addition to the D. H. Lawrence Festival, the town boasts the annual Eastwood Arts Festival, the, the D. H. Lawrence tourist trail, the Lawrence Heritage Centre and the Birthplace Museum, and craft workshops. There are also plenty cafés, inns and food outlets.
          To help crown Eastwood a ‘booktown’ the Eastwood Booktown Development Group has been established.
          The Treetops Hospice (long established bookshop) has agreed to become the official ‘booktown’ bookshop, whilst local retailers have been invited to provide shelves for the displaying of books.

Monday 24 September 2012

Celebrate Sillitoe


Celebrate Sillitoe
on the 27th of Oct 2012

Sillitoe Day

11am – 5pm
£15 (includes limited edition book)
Where: Nottingham Contemporary’s The Space

The Alan Sillitoe Committee present the 2nd Sillitoe Day, at Nottingham Contemporary. They will be launching a Mobile Phone App (commissioned by the BBC and Arts Council England) creating a literary trail through Sillitoe’s Nottingham, and a re-press of Alan’s book The Open Door. There will also be talks from Nottingham writers, Billy Ivory, Michael Eaton, Al Needham, Neil Fulwood and others, a film short 'Mimic' (a Sillitoe short story) and a preview of Frank Abbott's remix of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

Book online or at Reception

 

Sillitoe Evening

8pm – 12pm
Free
Where: Nottingham Contemporary’s Café/Bar


Spoken word with attitude from Andrew ‘MulletProofPoet’ Graves, John Marriott, Sarah Shrugs, beatboxer Motormouf, and music from Sleaford Mods and local legends Gaffa.

Whilst entry is free, a £3 donation to the Alan Sillitoe Memorial Fund is encouraged.


 
To get you in the mood, visit The Space and view the virtual tour of Sillitoe’s Nottingham, focusing on five feature locations from the trail.

Mentoring Scheme

Writing East Midlands is pleased to announce the second round of applications are open for the Writers' Mentoring Scheme 2012.
A well-matched mentoring relationship can give momentum to writers, helping to develop their craft and their awareness of the market they wish to enter.

WEM: "Our mentoring scheme offers support and advice to 4 writers over the course of a year that, in our view, are able to demonstrate great promise and commitment. The scheme matches the selected writers to sympathetic, established, professional writers.

We will require writers to develop a specific piece of work-in-progress. The mentor will offer constructive criticism and support in a number of sessions to help take the work forward."

The closing date for this round of applications is 26th October 2012

Eligibility
  • Writers must be resident in the East Midlands at the time of application and continue to live in the region throughout the mentoring period.
  • Writers will not be accepted for the service more than once in any three-year period.
  • The scheme will be open to published or unpublished writers.

Writing East Midlands decisions will be based on a balance of factors:
  • The literary quality of the work submitted.
  • The probability of publication by a bona fide publisher (Preference will therefore be shown to writers who are able to provide evidence of genuine publisher interest in their work).
  • The need to encourage a range and diversity of new writing from the East Midlands.

To Apply
Applications should be submitted BY EMAIL ONLY to
Aimee@writingeastmidlands.co.uk. A link to the appplication form can be found on this page. Please also submit a sample of the work in question of up to 3000 consecutive words.
The closing date for this round of applications is 26th October 2012
Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend a Creative Professional Development workshop on 8th December 2012, (venue details to be confirmed). Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to an interview on 14th December, and should the applicant be successful a mentor relationship will be matched with an established writer. Other areas where Writing East Midlands can support the unsuccessful shortlisted applicants will be identified during the selection process.

Details
The mentoring relationships will be for an agreed period of time, between 8 – 12 months, and will focus on developing the work of writers who have reached a critical point, enabling them to step beyond the private process of writing and onto new levels. Ultimately, the scheme aims to help writers to develop their work to a publishable standard.

WEM: "All shortlisted applicants will be required to attend a Creative Development Planning workshop (free of charge) to identify further areas of focus.

We will require writers to develop a specific piece of work-in-progress. The mentor will offer constructive criticism and support in a number of sessions to help take the work forward."

This scheme would best suit emerging writers able to display real commitment. The mentoring scheme is also available for established writers in one form who are looking to develop their writing in different forms.

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Arc World Poets

Poetry Translation Workshop

Nottingham Writers Studio, Nottingham
Saturday 20th October 3.30-5.30pm

A two hour writing workshop on the role of language in culture and identity. With translator Maike Oergel, and poets Gerður Kristný and Bejan Matur.

A unique opportunity to work with a professional translator and two international (Iceland and Turkey) poets whose poetry has been translated into English.

Using translations of these poets' most recent works, we will explore what happens to language, culture and the individual when they cross borders. There will be discussion, practical exercises and a chance for question and answers.

 
Cost: £10 / £8 concs (this includes entry to the reading at Lee Rosy's)
Places are limited.
Please book by contacting Sarah[dot]arcpublications[at]gmail.com


 
Reading. Arc World Poets: Iceland and Turkey

Saturday 20th October, 7pm


Icelandic Gerður Kristný and Turkish Bejan Matur share and contrast their idiosyncractic takes on established myths through their lyrical and stimulating poetry.

Tickets: £5 / 3 concs payable on the door.

 


 

Both events are supported by Arts Council England, Lottery Fund

 

 

 

Bios

 

Bejan Matur was born of an Alevi Kurdish family in 1968 in Southeast Turkey. How Abraham Abandoned Me, published by Arc in 2012 is a philosophical pilgrimage in the Anatolian desert, rich in Islamic iconography. An epic, really. Currently, Matur devotes all her time to writing poetry, and contributes to an internet journal and newspapers, writing on Kurdish politics, Armenian and women issues.

 

Gerður Kristný is a phenomenally energetic Icelandic writer, having produced 18 books of fiction and non-fiction prose, as well as children's books and poetry, in the 16 years since the appearance of her first. She has won numerous prizes and awards, from the Icelandic Journalism Award in 2005 to the Icelandic Literature Prize in 2010 for Bloodhoof. Bloodhoof is the re-casting into compulsively spare modern verse of an ancient Eddic poem.

 

Maike Oergel teaches at Nottingham University. Her main area of teaching is translation studies and comparative literature, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She has taught extensively in the area of Enlightenment studies and Romantic literature and thought. She supervises numerous PhD projects in the area of cultural transfer and translation studies.

 

 

NWUK Book Festival


A FREE EVENT FOR WRITERS AND READERS
 
 
No booking or tickets required - just turn up - free parking
 
 
Friday
 
 Musical Storyteller Simon Heywood's
Local Legends of England
 
 
Publisher Pewter Rose Press's
Anne McDonnell discusses the writer/publisher relationship
with Frances Thimann and Roberta Dewa
 
 
Nottingham Post/Nottinghamshire Today's Jeremy Lewis
on Writing Reviews
 
 
Marketing Expert Chris Day
on Generating Book Sales
 
 
Saturday
 
Crime writer Karen Maitland
on Research and Plotting
 
 
Children's author Michael Cox
on Writing
 
 
Literary Agent Samar Hammam
Q and A session
 
 
Publishers discuss
Self Publishing - the pros and cons
 
 
Plus: Worksops for Children from
Steve Bowkett, author, and Pete Davis, storyteller
 
 
Panel Session
 
 
Stalls, Refreshments and more...
 
 
For times, visit the website

Monday 17 September 2012

Another Week of Great Events

Tuesday 18th September
7.00pm – 9pm

Mark Billingham & John Connolly
At Waterstones in Nottingham
TALKING CRIME FICTION THROUGH THE AGES

Thursday 20th September
7.30pm – 9pm
The Lowdham Lecture 2012
At St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Lowdham, Notts
ALAN GIBBONS on LIBRARIES, EDUCATION AND LITERACY

Friday 21st September
6.00pm – 10pm
NWUK Book Festival (free)
At County Hall, West Bridgford.
PEWTER ROSE PRESS, SIMON HEYWOOD, CHRIS DAY, JEREMY LEWIS (NOTTINGHAM POST)
http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk 

Saturday 22nd September
10.30am-4.30pm
Nottingham Writers' Days: How to Keep it Going
At
Nottingham Writers' Studio (NWS)
CLARE BROWN
http://www.nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk/

Saturday 22nd September
10.00am – 5.00pm
NWUK Book Festival (free)
At County Hall, West Bridgford.
KAREN MAITLAND, MICHAEL COX, LITERARY AGENT, PUBLISHERS, PETE DAVIS, STEVE BOWKETT
http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk 

Young Writers - Nottingham Lace Competition


Nottingham Lace Competition

Flash fiction and poetry on the theme of LACE. Wear lace. Love lace. Make lace? Lace words together. What does lace mean to you?

Open to anyone 19 or under living in Nottinghamshire. Winners to be announced at a prize-giving in February 2013 as part of the first Nottingham Festival of Words, 9–24 February.

AGE GROUPS: 11 and under, 12–16, 17–19.

JUDGES: Usborne author Paula Rawsthorne and Derbyshire Poet Laureate Matt Black.

PRIZES: book tokens, mentoring & publication in the Nottingham Lace anthology.

TO ENTER: visit www.nottwords.org.uk for full details.

Dovetail


Dovetail is an EU-funded project which aims to provide an opportunity for adults with difficulties in written communication to rediscover the empowering possibilities of learning new skills or improving abilities they already have.

The project is run in the UK by Nottingham Writers' Studio. We aim to recruit a group of around 10-13 adult learners for the first year of the project. We will run monthly creative writing workshops for all participants, starting on Wednesday 17th October, where they will be encouraged and helped to write about their lives and their heritage.

Over the course of the project there will be three five-day joint workshops in each of the partner locations - Nottingham, Karlsruhe and Budapest. All UK participants will be able to attend the Nottingham joint workshop and one of the other two joint workshops, where we will work with participants from Hungary and Germany to share our stories.

Other outcomes of the project will be anthologies and performances of participants' work, which we will encourage learners to help organise, teaching them useful (and marketable) skills in the process.

There will be no cost to any of the participants - all expenses will be paid for from the EU grant.

If you know of any adults who you feel might benefit from taking part in this project, please pass on this info and encourage them to contact us to find out more.

The UK project managers, Pippa Hennessy (pippa.hennessy@yahoo.co.uk, 07970 274321) and Viv Purkiss (vivpur@hotmail.co.uk, 07866 399258), are keen to hear any questions you might have.

Thursday 13 September 2012

Work Your Verse

Work Your Verse

Friday 14th September, 4pm - 5pm

CITY ART DOME, MARKET SQUARE, NG1 2DT
Jomo, Makungo and Winter (Zambia) and Lee Jing Yan (Singapore) work their verse with a mixture of storytelling, wordplay, and living rythms, part of ParkinProgress.

www.worldeventyoungartists.com

Poetry-Music Jam

Poetry-Music Jam

Friday 14th September, 4pm - 5pm

World Event
Young Artists 2012

CITY ART DOME, MARKET SQUARE, NG1 2DT
Explore the synergies between poetry and music as WEYA writers and musicians get together for live collaboration and improvisation, part of ParkinProgress.

Writers' Day: How to Keep it Going


Nottingham Writers' Days: How to Keep it Going

22 September 2012, 10.30am–4.30pm at Nottingham Writers' Studio (NWS), followed by dinner.

Clare Brown leads a Writers' Day on exercises and strategies to help unstick you from a plot that's reached a dead end, get characters back on track, and reignite the spark with which you started writing the novel/long short story when it is all but extinguished. To book, download the booking form from our Writers' Day page. http://www.nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk/

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Notts Author on Man Booker Prize Shortlist


The Nottinghamshire author Alison Moore, has been shortlisted for the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for her debut novel, The Lighthouse.

The winner will be announced on the 16th of October, with Hilary Mantel and Will Self the bookmakers' favourites.

According to the judges, ‘the six books all display powerful language and artistry. The themes they have in common include old age, memory and loss.’

Last year's winner, The Sense of An Ending, has since sold over 300,000 copies in the UK.

The Lighthouse by Alison Moore
Published by the small independent press Salt, The Lighthouse is about a man trying to find himself on a walking holiday in Germany, only to become more lost and adrift.
‘Melancholy and haunting,” said Margaret Drabble of this unsettling account of paths not taken.

Monday 10 September 2012

Author Talk - Dorothy Koomson - Bulwell Library


Meet the author Dorothy Koomson

Thursday 27th September

2pm Bulwell Riverside Library   

Free

The best-selling author of “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “The Ice Cream Girls” will be speaking about her new novel “Rose Petal Beach”.

Dorothy Koomson is the author of 8 novels and her books are compelling stories that reflect real life and relationships.  

Dorothy’s novel “My Best Friend’s Girl” was selected as a 2006 Richard & Judy Summer Read.  Her latest book, “Rose Petal Beach” (published in September), is an emotional thriller in which a woman finds her life going into freefall when her husband is accused of a shocking crime.

Please ask for a ticket at the Ask Desk or

Tel.  (0115) 8833500 or email bulwell.library@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Sunday 9 September 2012

A Day in the Life of a Set Designer


‘A day in the life of a set designer'

Tuesday 18th September 7pm Nottingham Central Library

Tim Meacock, the designer on the show The Importance of Being Earnest currently on at Nottingham Playhouse will talk through how he decides how a show will look and feel.  This includes designing the set, thinking about how it will work practically when it is used by actors, as well as designing the costumes and props for the show.

Tim will talk you through how he does what he does - from the moment he gets offered the job to opening night.

This will be a thrilling insight into the real work behind the scenes of a huge production.
You'll never look at a set in the same way again!

To book a free place for this talk ask at the Central Library Helpdesk or contact 0115 9152825

Asian Poetry Event - Radford


Mushaira

Saturday 15th September

2pm  Radford Lenton Library.  

Free (no ticket required).

An Asian poetry session in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi

Special guest, the BBC’s Mr Raza Ali Abidi.

Friday 7 September 2012

Writing Workshop - Nottingham Photographers' Hub


LITERATURE PROGRAMME: NOTTINGHAM PHOTOGRAPHERS HUB - workshop on writing and photography

·         Visual Art ·    Literature ·         Talks ·         Educational

Monday 10th September 2012 - 13:30 - 15:30


This workshop follows on from Joshua Muyiwa’s The Catalogue (12–1pm) and may be of interest to those that attended Joshua's performance.

Marc Nair (Singapore) leads a workshop on creative writing and photography. Participants will explore the link between the two artforms, look at ways of reading a photograph, and have a go at captioning poems and writing, based on images.

A light lunch will be available between 1 and 1.30pm for those attending both The Catalogue and the workshop.

Please note that these are two separate events, so if you wish to attend both, please get tickets for both.

 

Thursday 6 September 2012

Central Library - Victorian Nottingham


Survival of Victorian Nottingham

Saturday 8th of September – 2.15pm

Nottingham Central Library, Floor 1

Ian Wells, former East Midlands Case worker for the Victorian Society, enlightens us on how Victorian Nottingham survived the great redevelopments of the 60s and 70s, and how we learnt to appreciate our 19th century heritage. 

Contact 0115 9152873 or e mail local_studies.library@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Free (no tickets needed).

Writing Retreat in Nottingham

Fancy a whole day of uninterrupted writing, tea and cake?
No distractions, no chores, no internet...

Urban Writers' Retreat runs one-day writing retreats in London, and readers of NottsLit have been invited by Nottingham Writers' Studio and Nottinghamshire Libraries to take over Beeston Library for the day on Sunday 16th September.
It's a chance to meet other writers and get more done on your manuscript than you thought possible in a day, and we'd like to offer readers of NottsLit a £5 discount. Tickets are usually £35 (including lunch, tea/coffee and home-made cake!), but you can come for £30 by visiting the special offer
page http://www.urbanwritersretreat.co.uk/arent-you-lovely-discount/
For general information please visit the website homepage http://www.urbanwritersretreat.co.uk/
but you'll need the link above to book at the discounted price.

Hope to see you there, and if you have any questions please give Charlie a shout at hello@urbanwritersretreat.co.uk.

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Launch for Festival of Words

Festival of Words Launch: Love, Lace & Revolution


Wednesday 12 September, 7.15pm
Antenna, 9a Beck Street, Nottingham, NG1 1EQ
Reserve your FREE ticket via http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/4186766732
Nottingham's very own Booker-longlisted novelist Alison Moore (The Lighthouse) will be launching the city's first ever Festival of Words at Antenna on Wednesday 12 September. The night will provide a preview of the Festival programme, which will bring around 100 events and activities to Nottingham over the course of two weeks in February 2013.

Carcanet poet Greg Woods and TV scriptwriter Stephen Lowe will be making appearances on the night, alongside Mouthy Poets, Little Gem storytellers, and Punjabi writer Santokh Dhaliwal. There’ll be spooky storytelling, a new take on the Egyptian revolution, Americana band Border Crossings, and live poster art by Sue Bulmer. We’ll also be announcing the new Nottingham Lace Competition, which will encourage children and young people to get writing and think creatively about their city.

Monday 3 September 2012

Sensing Place - Nottingham Contemporary


Sensing Place

Ben Okri & Jon McGregor

7th September, 8pm – 9.30pm

Nottingham Contemporary

What exactly is meant by the term a ‘sense of place’? To some, it is about geography, landscapes and identities. Others speak of events, memories, feelings, and the people that live in particular places. For some readers it is what marks out great writers – those who are able to transport us and give us that sense of ‘being there’.

Booker Prize winning novelist Ben Okri and Impac Literary Award winner Jon McGregor, in conversation with Dr. Corinne Fowler, Lecturer in Post-Colonial Literature at Leicester University, will discuss what ‘sense of place’ means to them and how it affects their approach to story-telling.

Celebrate the Birthday of D H Lawrence


Bert's Birthday  

A general invitation to has gone out to the public to celebrate ‘Bert’s’ birthday on Sunday 9th September between 1.00pm and 4.00pm at D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre, Eastwood.  Visitors young and old can step back in time at a special Victorian Birthday party for David Herbert Richard Lawrence, affectionately known to his family and friends as Bert when he was a boy.

The Victorian themed party will include traditional party games, drop-in arts and craft workshops, Victorian fancy dress, a fun birthday trail around the Centre’s permanent exhibition, party bags and a very special guest, her Royal Highness Queen Victoria

The event is part of the ninth annual D.H. Lawrence Festival which runs for two weeks during the writer’s birthday month, between Thursday 6th and Wednesday 19th September and brings together a programme of over 60 events and activities.  Lawrence was born on 11th September 1885 in Eastwood, Nottingham.

Admission to Bert’s Birthday Party is £4.00 per child, £3.00 for Broxtowe Leisure card holders or £2.00 for D.H. Lawrence Annual Members £2.00. The first accompanying adult is free, with additional adults £1.00 each.  All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Recently voted Nottinghamshire’s ‘Best Visitor Attraction’, D.H. Lawrence Heritage is a multi-award winning visitor attraction based around two highly-acclaimed sites. The attraction brings together a museum, heritage centre, gift shop, art gallery, meeting facility, civil wedding venue and the Colliery Bistro.

D.H. Lawrence Heritage, which includes the D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre and the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, is open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Monday) from 10.00am until 5.00pm. Admission to the Birthplace Museum is by timed entry throughout the day from 11.00am. Spaces are limited so please call to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

The Colliery Bistro, at the D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre, is open between Tuesday and Sunday from 10.00am, serving a selection of light refreshments and main meals.
 
Janice Trueman poses as Queen Victoria outside D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre.
For more information about the D.H. Lawrence Festival and to request a free copy of the Festival programme, please contact D.H. Lawrence Heritage on 01773 717 353, email culture@broxtowe.gov.uk or download your copy at www.dhlawrenceheritage.org/dhlfestival

You can also find D.H. Lawrence Heritage on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/dhlawrenceheritage, as well as on Twitter by following

@dhlheritage and using the #dhlawrencefestival and #dhlawrenceheritage hash tags.

If you require further information regarding this press release, please do not hesitate to contact Jackie Harwood on 0115 917 3743 or email jackie.harwood@broxtowe.gov.uk

Keep up-to-date with the latest news, jobs and activities in your area by following Broxtowe Borough Council on your favourite social networking sites. For more information, please visit www.broxtowe.gov.uk/socialmedia.

 

Sunday 2 September 2012

The Lowdham Lecture 2012


The Lowdham Lecture 2012
Thursday 20th September
7.30pm – 9pm 
At St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Lowdham, Notts
 
ALAN GIBBONS on LIBRARIES, EDUCATION AND LITERACY

The Lowdham Lecture will be an annual autumn event with a high profile speaker addressing topical issues. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by the award winning author, Alan Gibbons. Alan is a very popular international speaker, organiser of the Campaign for the Book and a member of the Speak Up For Libraries Coalition. The future of literacy, and even the book itself, is under threat in our modern world – Alan Gibbons’ varied career as a teacher, a successful children’s author, and a passionate supporter of libraries, gives him a powerful campaigning voice – this talk will perhaps be of particular interest to teachers, parent and librarians, but of course to all of us who care about the importance of the written word and its place in our society.

Tickets: £10 (£9 concessions, £8 Festival Friends)
From the Festival Box Office at The Bookcase – 0115 966 3219