here - New Writing North
Transcription
here - New Writing North
Autumn Winter 2012 Books, awards, theatre, events and festivals 2 WELCOME BOOK LAUNCHES © Jonny Ring Welcome to our autumn programme where you can see the wide range of projects we are producing this season and get a preview of some of the fantastic events that we are hosting across the North East and greater North area. We have three major projects this autumn: a stunning Durham Book Festival, packed full of new commissions from leading writers and visits to the city from an exceptional line-up of authors and speakers; the launch of Read Regional, which this year expands to libraries, venues and festivals across Yorkshire and Humberside as well as the North East to promote new books by authors from those regions; and the exciting launch of the refreshed Northern Writers’ Awards, which from this autumn onwards are open to writers from across the whole of the north of England. So whether you are a writer or a reader, there are lots of things to enjoy as autumn rolls in. And if you’re interested in finding out about more events or are a writer looking for opportunities in the region, be sure to sign up to our mailing list at www.newwritingnorth.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Lee Child: A Wanted Man book launch followed by screening of Se7en Wednesday 5 September, 7.30pm (film screening at 9pm): Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle Best-selling crime novelist Lee Child talks to Shortlist magazine editorial director Phil Hilton about his new book, A Wanted Man, the 17th novel in his hugely popular series featuring former military cop Jack Reacher. Lee will be discussing his long career, and the character who has made him such a star in the crime genre. Jack Reacher, the film starring Tom Cruise in the lead role, is released in December in the UK. Lee will also introduce a special screening of his favourite film, Se7en. Tickets: £10 for event and screening from www.tynesidecinema.co.uk and 0845 217 9909. Claire Malcolm Chief Executive, New Writing North www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 3 © Charles Bell Stephanie Butland: Thrive: The Bah! Guide to Wellness After Cancer book launch Thursday 13 September, 6.30pm: Waterstones, Newcastle Stephanie Butland was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2008. Since then she’s had surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and drug treatment, and now she’s thriving. Following on from her first book, How I Said Bah! to Cancer, Thrive uses a blend of storytelling, practical advice, humour, thinking techniques and strategies to help those who have had cancer to get from survival to a place where they are truly thriving. Stephanie will read from the book, take questions from the audience, and talk about her writing experience. Free event, no booking required. Wine and nibbles provided. Michael Chaplin: Tyne View book launch Tuesday 18 September, 6pm-8pm: Riverside Room, BALTIC, Gateshead In July 2011, four Tynesiders – writer Michael Chaplin, illustrator and painter Birtley Aris, photographer Charles Bell and poet Christy Ducker – took a riverside walk up and down the tidal length of the Tyne from South Shields Pier to Tynemouth Pier via Wylam Bridge. Tyne View is the result. This richly illustrated book is a vivid, funny and often moving account of what they saw and heard on their ten-day journey. Part social history, part snapshot of a river and its communities at a turning point in its long history, the book’s narrative also tells the stories of countless Tynesiders, ‘ordinary’ and extraordinary, with the tantalising aim of catching the soul of this big northern river. This event is invite-only and only a limited number of tickets are available. If you’d like to attend, please contact [email protected]. www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 4 BOOK LAUNCHES © Alexander James Harry Pearson: Housekeepers, Shortlegs & Flemish String book launch Wednesday 12 September, 4pm: Haltwhistle Library Wednesday 12 September, 7pm: Bedlington Library Thursday 13 September, 7pm: Wooler Library Housekeepers, Shortlegs & Flemish String, written by Harry Pearson and with photographs by Julian Germain, looks at three very different grassroots village sports clubs from across Northumberland: The Wallace Arms Quoits Club from Featherstone, near Haltwhistle; Bomarsund Cricket Club from East Northumberland; and The Kirknewton Archers, who are based close to the Scottish border near Wooler. As well as tackling such esoteric matters as where to find the proper clay for a quoits pit and why one of the North East’s pit villages was named after a Baltic island, the book also looks at the important role sport plays in providing social cohesion in villages that have been hard hit by closures to businesses, schools, pubs and other focal points of community activity. Free events, no booking required. www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth North Tyneside Summer Reads: The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah Thursday 4 October, 6.30pm: Grand Hotel, Tynemouth Throughout the summer, book lovers in North Tyneside have been reading The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah. You can buy a copy of the novel for the special price of £4 from libraries in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, North Shields and Wallsend from July through to September. To celebrate the finale of the project, Mari will be speaking about the book and taking questions from readers. Tickets: £3 from North Shields Library on 0191 643 5270. /newwritingnorth READING 5 © Alastair Smith © Steve Pyke BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival Friday 2 - Sunday 4 November: The Sage Gateshead BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival returns to The Sage Gateshead for a weekend of ideas, debates, high-profile interviews, music and drama. This year’s festival theme is ‘Them and Us’ and speakers include Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and President of Ireland, Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, Israeli thinker Amos Oz, and Canadian intellectual Michael Ignatieff. New Writing North is co-hosting two Books at Breakfast events. On Saturday 3 November, Irish novelist Colm Tóibín discusses his writing, including his Costa Award-winning novel Brooklyn, and on Sunday 4 November, Philippa Gregory talks about her best-selling historical fiction, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen. Book group summit with Café Culture: Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story by Kapka Kassabova Monday 3 December, 6.30pm: Dance City café, Newcastle Join Kapka Kassabova and the New Writing North book groups for an evening of discussion, readings, and a bit of tango. Kapka is a poet, travel writer and novelist, and was born and raised in Bulgaria in the 1970s. She has lived in New Zealand, the UK and Germany and is now settled in Scotland. Kapka will be in conversation with Caroline Beck about Twelve Minutes of Love, followed by a tango demonstration by students at Dance City. Free event, no booking required. For a full programme, see www.bbc.co.uk/freethinking. All events are free but must be booked at www.thesagegateshead.org or 0191 443 4661. www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 6 THEATRE Blue Boy A new play by Margaret Wilkinson “I’m not here to spook you, mister – honest. All I wanted was a place to sleep where it’s warm and safe.” In an office late at night, Reagan discovers that the past can indeed come back to haunt you, even if you’ve shredded the evidence. When a boy arrives in the small hours, it’s not clear if his business is refuge or revenge. In this tense contemporary thriller, no one may be who they seem. Margaret Wilkinson’s previous work for theatre includes the acclaimed Queen Bee (North East Theatre Consortium) and The Tiger’s Bride (Northern Stage). Her work for radio includes Can You Hear Me? (Radio 4), Writing the Century (Radio 4) and Passover (Radio 4). She is a senior lecturer in creative writing at Newcastle University. Directed by Tess Denman-Cleaver, and produced by New Writing North in co-production with Northern Stage, Darlington Civic Theatre, Durham Book Festival and the Customs House, South Shields. Supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Tour dates Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne: 24, 25, 26 & 27 October, 8pm Post-show discussion with cast and director on 25 October. Tickets: £14.50/£12 (concs) from www.northernstage.co.uk and 0191 230 5151 Durham Town Hall as part of Durham Book Festival: 30 October, 2.30pm & 7.30pm Tickets: £12/£10 (concs & Friends of the Festival), £8 for under 16s from www.galadurham.co.uk and 0191 332 4041 Darlington Civic Theatre at Central Hall, Dolphin Centre: 3 & 4 November, 7.30pm Tickets: £11 (discounts available for concs) from www.darlingtonarts.co.uk and 01325 486 555 Customs House, South Shields: 5 & 6 November, 8pm Tickets: £12/£10 (concs) from www.customshouse.co.uk and 0191 454 1234 www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 7 Indiana Jones and the Extra Chair Saturday 3 November, 1pm & 6pm: Live Theatre, Newcastle Presented by Simon Mole Every family dinner needs a hero… Relating to your relations isn’t always easy, and it’s often on those rare occasions when everyone sits down to eat together that things really kick off. Simon Mole’s groundbreaking one-man show is a sensory explosion that combines spoken word theatre, riotous adventure, laughs a-plenty and tasty culinary delights. Having collaborated with a group of writers from New Writing North’s Cuckoo Young Writers’ programme, Simon and site-specific theatre director Peader Kirk take spoken word performance in an exciting new direction. The young writers will serve food with poetic memories and perform their own original family-themed writing as they host guests at this unique event. Presented as part of Juice: NewcastleGateshead’s award-winning festival for children and young people. Presented by Live Theatre, New Writing North and Apples and Snakes. Originally commissioned by Apples and Snakes and The Albany. Tickets: £8/£6 (concs), £20 family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) from www.live.org.uk or 0191 232 1232 www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 8 DURHAM BOOK FESTIVAL © Lee Callaghan Durham Book Festival: 13-30 October 2012 Durham Book Festival returns for another edition this October. Produced by New Writing North with Durham County Council and Durham University, the festival promotes events across County Durham and at iconic venues in Durham city. From poetry to prose and from history to politics, the festival programme includes events on topics ranging from nature and landscape to business ethics and the media. And with a host of newly commissioned work from the likes of Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Smith, Durham is the ultimate literary destination this October. The full programme is at www.durhambookfestival.com where you can also sign up for news and special offers, but here are some highlights and exclusive events to give you a taste of what to expect. All tickets can be booked at www.galadurham.co.uk or by calling 0191 332 4041. Rapunzel Durham Book Festival commission: Rapunzel by balletLORENT, written by Carol Ann Duffy Gala Theatre, Durham: Thursday 18 to Saturday 20 October, 1.30pm (except Thursday) & 8pm The world premiere of Rapunzel, a stunning new adaptation of the classic fairytale, from leading dance theatre company, balletLORENT. Full of colour and emotion, this new version is written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. The production brings together a collection of world-class collaborators including Doctor Who composer Murray Gold, award-winning costume designer Michele Clapton, and actress Lesley Sharp as the Narrator. This spellbinding re-telling will be performed by an outstanding company of dancers, choreographed by Liv Lorent. This is a family production, recommended for anyone over the age of seven. Co-produced by Northern Stage and commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and New Writing North, in association with Durham Book Festival. Tickets: £18/£10 (concs & Festival Friends), £6 (Under 16s) www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 13-30 OCTOBER 2012 © Ellen Warner For non-fiction nuts Ben Miller, scientist and one half of comedy duo Armstrong & Miller, will present It’s Not Rocket Science, his book debunking some of the myths about science, like what the Hadron Collider really does. For those interested in current affairs, BBC political editor Nick Robinson will be talking about life as a reporter during the last few governments and Gavin Esler will be exploring business ethics with the Rt Revd Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham. Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn and former Secretary of State, will be discussing his time in office. © Ulla Montan © Colin Thomas © Paul Stangroom For poetry lovers To celebrate the world premiere of Rapunzel, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy will be reading from her award-winning collections at a special event with musical accompaniment from John Sampson. Roger McGough returns to Durham to present his new collection, As Far As I Know; poets from the region present Butcher’s Dog, a new anthology; we salute Anne Stevenson as she approaches her 80th birthday and publishes her sixteenth collection, Astonishment; and launch a new international project with Linda France. Also appearing are poets Ruth Padel, Jean Sprackland, Pippa Little, John Clegg and Gareth Reeves. 9 Fiction Headlining appearances this year include Pat Barker, reading from her new novel, Toby’s Room, Kate Mosse presenting Citadel, the third part of her Languedoc trilogy, and Gillian Slovo, who will discuss her novel, An Honourable Man. Returning to the festival is Chris Mullin, former MP for Sunderland South, who will be talking about his novel, A Very British Coup, following the broadcast of a new four-part television adaptation. Fans of crime fiction won’t want to miss PD James, who will be discussing the most recent of her many best-selling novels, Death Comes to Pemberley, with award-winning crime writer Ian Rankin in a special event at Durham Cathedral. Doyenne of crime Val McDermid will host a special literary lunch, and Sophie Hannah will be in conversation with Dreda Say Mitchell and North East writer Mari Hannah. We’ll also have a special panel event about Scandinavian crime writers with Ann Cleeves. www.durhambookfestival.com www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 10 Cuckoo Young Writers Cuckoo Young Writers is New Writing North’s flagship writing programme for young writers aged 12-19. Activities include: • Fortnightly writing groups across the North East • Summer writing workshops and masterclasses throughout the year • Cuckoo Review, to talk films, music, theatre, books and art • Cuckoo Quarterly, our online literary magazine Cuckoo members contribute and edit Cuckoo Quarterly, the next edition of which will be published online on 26 October. Find us at www.cuckooquarterly.com. To talk to us or submit, email [email protected], or find out more about Cuckoo classes and workshops at www.newwritingnorth.com. www.cuckooquarterly.com www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth CUCKOO YOUNG REVIEWERS 11 Cuckoo Young Reviewers: Masterclasses Throughout August and September, we’re running reviewing masterclasses for young writers aged 16-25 to meet and learn from the best reviewers in the business. Taking place in some of the region’s most prestigious cultural venues, the masterclass sessions include a performance, screening or exhibition appropriate to the subject. Masterclasses on offer include how to review exhibitions with David Whetstone (arts and entertainment editor, The Journal); film with Danny Leigh (Film 2012 on BBC1, The Guardian); music with Laura Snapes (associate editor, Pitchfork); books with Elizabeth Day (The Observer); and theatre with Kate Kellaway (The Observer). Applications for the 2012 masterclasses are now closed, but if you’d like to know more about them or sign up to the Cuckoo newsletter to be the first to find out about the next session, go to www.newwritingnorth.com. Cuckoo Young Reviewers masterclasses are presented as part of Juice: NewcastleGateshead’s award-winning festival for children and young people. Juice is developed and produced by NewcastleGateshead Initiative as part of its festival and events programme and funded by Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, Arts Council England and Sir James Knott Trust. For more information, visit www.juicefestival.co.uk. www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 12 READ REGIONAL We’re delighted to announce the 13 writers who will feature in our 2012/13 Read Regional campaign: Novelists Stephen May, Annabel Pitcher, Fiona Shaw, Michael Stewart, Mari Hannah, Cassandra Parkin, Russ Litten and Alison Gangel, and poets Pauline Plummer, Seni Seneviratne, Carola Luther, Ann Ryland and Christy Ducker. The Read Regional campaign promotes new books by northern authors through libraries, bookshops and festivals across the north of England from October 2012 to spring 2013. Run in partnership with library authorities in the North East and across Yorkshire and Humberside, the campaign ensures the stocking of books by authors and supports author visits to reading groups and to libraries. From October you can also pick up a free copy of our Read Regional booklet that features profiles of all the writers, plus poems and information on events. Over 30,000 copies of the booklet will be distributed, including with the October edition of Living North magazine in the North East and Yorkshire. Free reading group guides to selected Read Regional titles are also available via the website. Why not choose one of the titles to read with your book group? Read Regional events Featured authors will be appearing at events in libraries across the North and at Durham Book Festival, the Off the Shelf Festival in Sheffield and Hexham Book Festival over the next ten months. You can catch up with the Read Regional programme from October onwards on our project blog where the participating writers will be chronicling their experiences of traversing the North. www.readregional.com www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 13 www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 14 THE NORTHERN WRITERS’ AWARDS £40,000 worth of awards for writers across the North Our flagship awards programme opens up to writers from across the whole of the north of England this autumn. With a new prize fund of £40,000 and a new programme of opportunities included in the awards – from residencies to professional development courses – the programme is expanding in both horizon and scope. The awards are open to writers working in all forms, from literary fiction to poetry and writing for children. To celebrate the expansion of the awards we have appointed two new Northern Writers’ Awards Patrons: Booker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker, and acclaimed poet Simon Armitage. “To an emerging writer, an award of this kind can often be the difference between carrying on and giving up, and can be a huge boost to confidence as well as providing financial backing. Many writers, like myself, can look back to an award or bursary at an early stage in their career as being the pivotal moment, one that gave them the courage and means to continue.” Simon Armitage www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 15 We are delighted to announce that Northumbria University are supporting the Northern Writers’ Awards with an investment of £60,000 over the next two years. This generous support of the project will allow us to offer even more support to talent writers. Potts Print (UK) also join us as project sponsors and through this will enable the awards publicity to become carbon balanced. This autumn we will be launching a new website for the awards at www.northernwritersawards.com which will profile the opportunities on offer and the partnerships around the awards. The Northern Writers’ Awards were established in 2000 by New Writing North to support both new and established writers from the north east of England to pursue their creative work and ambitions. Awards alumni include many writers whose work has gone on to be published, including Carolyn JessCooke, Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Celia Bryce, Mari Hannah, Pippa Little, Jacob Polley, Dan Smith and Niel Bushnell. To help launch the awards across the North, we are undertaking a number of events for writers in conjunction with leading literary festivals: Manchester Literature Festival: Monday 22 October, 1pm: Waterstones Deansgate For more information and to book, see www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk. Off The Shelf Festival: Saturday 3 November, 11am: Quaker Meeting House, 10 St James St, Sheffield For more information and to book, see www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/ off-the-shelf www.northernwritersawards.com www.newwritingnorth.com @newwritingnorth /newwritingnorth 16 DIARY Lee Child: A Wanted Man book launch Wednesday 5 September, 7.30pm: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle Tickets: £10 from www.tynesidecinema.co.uk and 0845 217 9909 Stephanie Butland: Thrive book launch Thursday 13 September, 6.30pm: Waterstones, Newcastle Free event, no booking required Michael Chaplin: Tyne View book launch Tuesday 18 September, 6pm: Riverside Room, BALTIC, Gateshead This event is invite-only and only a limited number of tickets are available. If you’d like to attend, please contact [email protected]. Harry Pearson: Housekeepers, Shortlegs & Flemish String book launch Wednesday 12 September, 4pm: Haltwhistle Library Wednesday 12 September, 7pm: Bedlington Library Thursday 13 September, 7pm: Wooler Library Free events, no booking required North Tyneside Summer Reads: The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah Thursday 4 October, 6.30pm: Grand Hotel, Tynemouth Tickets: £3 from North Shields Library on 0191 643 5270 www.newwritingnorth.com Durham Book Festival 13-30 October 2012 Full programme information: www.durhambookfestival.com Tickets: www.galadurham.co.uk or call 0191 332 4041 Introducing the Northern Writers’ Awards Manchester Literature Festival: Monday 22 October, 1pm: Waterstones Deansgate For more information and to book: www.manchester literaturefestival.co.uk Off The Shelf Festival, Sheffield Saturday 3 November, 11am: Quaker Meeting House For more information and to book: www.welcometo sheffield.co.uk/off-the-shelf Blue Boy: a new play by Margaret Wilkinson Northern Stage, Newcastle: 24, 25, 26 & 27 October, 8pm Post-show discussion with cast and director on 25 October. Tickets: £14.50/£12 (concs) from www.northernstage.co.uk and 0191 230 5151 Durham Town Hall as part of Durham Book Festival: 30 October, 2.30pm & 7.30pm Tickets: £12, £10 (concs & Friends of the Festival), £8 for under 16s from www.galadurham.co.uk and 0191 332 4041 Dolphin Centre, Darlington: 3 & 4 November, 7.30pm Tickets: £11 (concs available) from www.darlingtonarts.co.uk and 01325 486 555 Customs House, South Shields: 5 & 6 November, 8pm Tickets: £12/£10 (concs) from www.customshouse.co.uk and 0191 454 1234 @newwritingnorth BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival The Sage Gateshead: Friday 2-Sunday 4 November Tickets: free from www.thesagegateshead.org or 0191 443 4661 Indiana Jones and the Extra Chair Live Theatre, Newcastle: Saturday 3 November, 1pm & 6pm Tickets: £8/£6 (concs), £20 family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) from www.live.org.uk or 0191 232 1232 Book group summit with Café Culture: Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story by Kapka Kassabova Monday 3 December, 6.30pm: Dance City café, Newcastle Free event, no booking required /newwritingnorth Are you interested in more events or are you a writer looking for opportunities in the region? Sign up to our mailing list at www. newwritingnorth.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to be the first to know about them.