News from New Writing North

News from New Writing North: 5 March 2010

Journal Culture Awards
We were delighted to hear this week that a number of projects that we are involved with have been nominated for The Journal’s Culture Awards. The 2009 Durham Book Festival, programmed by New Writing North and produced by Durham City Arts, is in the running for Best Event, Durham, and The Story Engine, which last year welcomed Oscar-winning Simon Beaufoy to Darlington, is nominated for Best Event, Tees Valley.

The Leighton Group’s generous sponsorship of the Northern Writers’ Awards has also been nominated in the Business Partnership category of the awards. We are also delighted to see Toby Martinez de las Rivas, a Northern Writers’ Award winner, in the running for Newcomer of the Year, and to see Laura Lindlow and Richard Milward, two writers we’re proud to know, in the running for Writer of the Year. The gongs are handed out later this month and we will be keeping as many fingers crossed as we can spare.

Watch out for The Galloping Stone
The publication of The Galloping Stone marks the culmination of poet Gillian Allnutt’s writing residency at The Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, and on Wednesday 17 March, from 12.30pm-1.30pm at Gallery North, you can see contributors to the book perform work inspired by the residency. During her residency, Gillian worked on a one-to-one basis with people who had been though the most traumatic experiences in their countries of origin, most of them now living their lives in limbo, negotiating the asylum system in this country. The Galloping Stone features writing from these people, as well as staff and volunteers at the centre. Gillian will also present some of her own poetry, which she wrote during the project. Admission is free, but you will need to reserve a ticket by emailing booking@newwritingnorth.com.

Young writers make Book of Songs
The Book of Songs, which we published and launched last week, marked the end of Kate Fox’s year-long residency as associate writer at New Writing North. For the past year, young writers from across the region have been meeting fortnightly to discuss and develop their work in a group led by Kate, with much appreciated help from other volunteers. We’re planning to continue the group meetings on a fortnightly basis, but are always looking for new members. We’re also exploring the possibility of extending the meetings into other towns in the region. If you know of a young writer aged 13 to 19 who would like to join, email olivia@newwritingnorth.com with contact details and check out this interview in The Journal, in which Kate spoke about the group and her time at NWN.

Deadlines, deadlines…
Don’t forget that the deadline for submissions of short stories inspired by Joan Littlewood’s Oh What A Lovely War, which runs from 6-27 March at Northern Stage, is 12 noon on Friday 12 March. Short stories submitted must be no longer than 2,000 words. This scheme is open to people who live in the north east of England. You can find details of the Listen at Lunch series in our 5 February newsletter.

And the deadline for submissions to the Northern Writers’ Awards is Wednesday 10 March – please do make sure you send your submission in time to get to us, as applications cannot be hand-delivered and we will not accept any submissions which arrive late.You can find out more and download entry documents at www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php?section=308.

People

Anna Woodford wins Crashaw Prize
Congratulations to Anna Woodford, who is a winner of this year’s international Crashaw Prize, run by Salt Publishing. She will have a full-length collection published in the UK, USA and Australia later this year. The competition, which announced its shortlist in January, attracted 120 full-length manuscripts from poets in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

You can take the woman out of the North East…
Some of you may know Ann Reid, who lived on Teesside for several years and who has just graduated from an MA in creative writing at Newcastle University. Ann and her husband were originally from the USA and recently moved back there and Ann, following encouragement from her tutors on the MA course, has started a blog about the experience, the sense of loss of leaving her adopted home of north east England, and the changes to her hometown since she’s left. It’s a feeling we can all identify with, along with the problem of having too many books to fit in your new house! You can read the blog at http://noplacelikehome2010.wordpress.com.

Carolyn Jess-Cooke: Inroads book launch
Carolyn Jess-Cooke, winner of a 2008 Northern Writers’ Award from New Writing North, launches Inroads, her new collection of poetry, at Newcastle City Library on Thursday 11 March, 6pm. Free event, no booking required.

In the North East

Hexham Book Festival announces 2010 line-up
The Hexham Book Festival has announced details of its 2010 festival, which this year runs from 23 April-2 May, with more than 30 authors of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, gardening, history, politics, food and wine, crime and writing for children, as well as a number of creative writing workshops. The line-up includes Margaret Drabble, PD James, Val McDermid, Shirley Williams, Jodi Picoult, Philippa Gregory, AL Kennedy, Wendy Cope, Ruth Padel, Simon Hoggart, Stephen Anderton, Martin Wainwright, Barbara Trapido, Tamasin Day-Lewis, and the River Cottage team.

There’ll be a whole day of crime writing from guest director Val McDermid; story-telling and book stalls; fabulous foodie deals and wine tastings; film and book events at the Forum Cinema; and horticulture and cakes at The Garden Station. The fest is also extending its geographical range to present an event in Alnwick Castle with Philippa Gregory. For more information, see www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk.

National opportunities

Wicked award for young writers
The Wicked Young Writers’ Award has been established to develop writing talent in young people between the ages of 5 and 25. The top 20 winning entries from each age category will be invited to a special prize ceremony held at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, while one overall young writer will be chosen as a winner from each age category and will receive tickets to see the London production of Wicked and a writing master class from one of the author judges. All 100 winning entries will be published in an anthology, Wicked Young Writers’ Award 2010. For more information, see www.wickedyoungwriters.com/about_the_award.html. Deadline for entries: 31 July.

Playwriting competition for young writers
Rewrite has announced the launch of this year’s playwriting competition for aspiring writers from the age of 11-21. This is the third year the competition has been held and the theme this year is ‘Ten’. The play should be no more than seven minutes long. It’s free to enter and the winning plays will get a staged reading at the Oval House Theatre, directed by a professional director and read by professional actors. For more information, go to www.rewrite.org.uk. Deadline for entries: 14 March.

Biscuit Short Story Prize 2010
The Biscuit Short Story Prize 2010 is now open for entries. The competition carries a first prize of £1,500, or the winner’s collection of shorts or novella published plus £500. For more information, including how to enter, see www.biscuitpublishing.com, where you can also read previous winners’ stories. Deadline for entries: 14 April.

Mystery Women Short Story Competition
The Mystery Women Short Story Competition, which is open only to unpublished writers, carries a first prize of £100, with the winning story published in Mystery Women magazine, plus a ticket for the CrimeFest Conference 2011. The crime story must be 1000 words, and entitled Mystery Woman or Mystery Women. The fee for entering is £10 per story, with a maximum of two stories per person. For more information, see www.mysterywomen.co.uk. Deadline for entries: 15 March.

Jobs

Hosking Houses Trust: writer in residence
The Hosking Houses Trust is seeking to appoint a writer in residence for its twelfth arts residency. The appointment, which is restricted to women aged 40 or over, is for a minimum of two months and a maximum of one year. The residency is based in Stratford upon Avon, and a monthly bursary of £750 is available for the resident writer. For more details, see www.hoskinghouses.co.uk. Deadline for applications: 12 April.

The Poetry School: regional programme co-ordinator, Manchester and the North West
The Poetry School is looking for a freelance literature professional with a passion for poetry to contribute to the programming, coordination, promotion and development of its most active region outside of London. The new co-ordinator will inherit an established programme in robust health, with real opportunities and challenges ahead as the organisation looks to consolidate and grow. Fee: £2,400 per annum. For a job description and details of how to apply, email administration@poetryschool.com or phone 020 7582 1679. Deadline for applications: 22 March.

Workshops and courses

How to get Published: Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Saturday 6 March, 10am-12pm
This workshop, in association with Mslexia magazine and led by writer and editor Debbie Taylor, is aimed at fiction writers and poets and will be made up of exercises identifying the characteristics of an intriguing, inviting title and applying them to a writing project. Because this event is in celebration of International Women’s Day, the workshop is only open to women. Tickets: £10 (£8). To book, call 01388 602 610 or go to www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk.

The Night We Know: Moon and Stars, Sleeping and Not Sleeping, Night Workers and Travellers: Berwick Library, Thursday 18 March, 10am-12 noon
Poetry workshop exploring the theme of night, followed by exercises for people of all abilities to experiment with personal poetry. Free workshop but booking essential on 01289 334051.

Creative writing spring schools at Teesside University
Teesside University writers in residence and MA tutors Bob Beagrie and Andy Willoughby are running a number of free writing courses in Middlesbrough and Darlington. ‘Introduction to Creative Writing’ is an ideal module for those just beginning to explore short stories, poetry and scripts or those who have been writing for a while but want to go on to develop their skills, while ‘Regional Writing’ will run at Darlington only and encourages writers to imaginatively explore location, a sense of place and regional identities through structured creative writing exercises and the study of a number of eclectic texts from contemporary and popular literature. For more information, see www.tees.ac.uk/springuniversity.

Writing From Locality: free Holywell writing course
A creative writing course for people who do not have a degree or equivalent qualification is to run at Holywell Community Centre for ten weeks on Monday evenings. Run by Barry Stone, Writing From Locality will offer participants the chance to write imaginatively about the village, Holywell Dene, and the surrounding area. For more information, email Margaret Rochester at madgeholywell@googlemail.com or call 0191 237 2276 or 07833 162758.

Miscellany

Take part in a Culture Show books special
BBC2’s The Culture Show is looking for contributors for a special programme about books and popular fiction. They’re looking for contributors who are passionate about books, whether as readers, writers, publishers or literature professionals. See www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/beonashow/culture_show.shtml for more information.

Creative writing magazine looking for submissions
Platinum Page is a new bi-monthly creative writing magazine that is looking for well-written short stories of up to 1,500 words. The magazine is available by subscription, details of which can be found at www.platinum-page.blogspot.com, along with further guidelines.

Writers make mischief with rabbits
On Friday 26 and Sunday 28 February, a mysterious figure entered Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema dressed in a rabbit suit and walked away with canisters containing one of the films from this year’s Northern Lights Film Festival. Can you to help identify who this mysterious figure is, uncover his motivations for the theft, and assist in retrieving the stolen canisters before the festival’s closing night on 27 March when the stolen film should be playing to a packed house? Let’s Make Mischief is an alternative reality game that runs throughout the month of March as part of the Northern Lights Film Festival. It was conceived by filmmaker Ian Fenton and creative media company Mere Mortals. To find out more, go to www.letsmakemischief.com.

New Five Dials goes online
The new issue of Five Dials, the free digital literary magazine published by Hamish Hamilton, is now online and features new fiction from Paul Murray, new poetry from Melissa Broder, a piece about Raymond Chandler and his unused book titles, and Jon Savage on the year 1974. Five Dials is at http://fivedials.com/fivedials.

E-book economies of sale
With Apple’s iPad looming and sales of the Sony e-reader and Amazon Kindle picking up speed, the New York Times looks at just how much it actually costs to produce a printed book versus a digital one.

Bound for glory
If you’re sick to death of reading about ebooks, you can always refresh your palate with this Bibliodyssey gallery of beautiful hand-bound books from the collection at the Royal National Library of The Netherlands. (And yes, we are fully aware of the irony of suggesting you look at a computer image of a book as an antidote to having to grapple with all that stuff about electronic publishing.)

Girls and boys
Boys read as much as girls, but the books they choose are far less challenging and easier to comprehend than those selected by girls, according to a major new study of children’s reading habits. For more information, see www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/boys-read-as-much-as-girls-but-prefer-the-simpler-books-1913667.html.

Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 15 March.

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While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our knowledge.

Writer wanted for book commission

The Tyneside Cinema is a Newcastle institution and one of the city’s favourite buildings. As the Tyneside comes to the end of a successful heritage regeneration project that sees new screens and new resources in place, it would like to celebrate its rich and diverse history by producing a book.

The book will not be a straightforward, historical telling of the story of the Tyneside, but a creative undertaking that will tell the story of the cinema through the examination of the characters that have shaped the history of the building and of the company. We are looking for a writer who can produce a quirky, fun book. The starting point will be a series of short essays that focus on interesting people and moments from the cinema’s history. For example, the writer might use the perspective of some of the cinema’s usherettes to tell the story of the Tyneside from their perspective – bringing to life the working conditions and lives of these remarkable women. The cinema has lots of information to get the commissioned writer started on the project, so finding the material won’t be a problem: shaping the book and knowing where to draw the boundaries might be.

The writer undertaking the job will most likely have a basic grasp of Newcastle’s cultural history which they can bring to the project. They also need to be able to demonstrate their writing ability by providing supporting material that shows their creative writing style and which demonstrates their talent. In essence, we are looking for a writer who can write creative non-fiction that will appeal to a wide and varied audience and who can pinpoint and bring to life some great stories.

The commissioning fee for the project is £2,250. The book will be produced as an e-book and a print on demand book, sold via the Tyneside’s website. The work will need to be undertaken between March and the end of May.

If you would like to apply for the job, please send the following by email:

• A covering letter which explains your interest in the project and outlines your writing track-record and published work.
• An example of your writing that you think suitably supports your application (no more than 2,500 words).

Please send this information by Wednesday 17 March 2010 to claire@newwritingnorth.com

If you would like to discuss the job in more detail, please email any questions to New Writing North director Claire Malcolm at the above address.

The Listening Post: March 2010

Café Culture
Urban Café, Dance City, Newcastle: Monday 1 March, 7pm
Café Culture and New Writing North present a free event exploring whether poets are still, as Shelley claimed, the ‘unofficial legislators’ of our times. Poet and executive director of Arts Council England North East Mark Robinson and poet Kate Fox (who as well as being a familiar voice on Radio 4’s Saturday Live, also founded National Write a Poem About the News Day) will debate the issue. For more information, see www.cafeculturenortheast.org.uk.

Northern Lines
Lit & Phil, Newcastle: Monday 1 March, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Event open to all to perform new work. If you would like to take part and read your work out loud in public, poems and prose should be no longer than 31 lines. (If your piece exceeds 350-400 words, you are welcome to submit an extract.) Open to all ages. Email contributions to gardiner44@aol.com.

Joanna Trollope
Newcastle City Library: Wednesday 3 March, 2pm-4pm
The Sage Gateshead: Wednesday 3 March, 6pm
Best-selling author Joanna Trollope discusses her new novel, The Other Family, which is set in the North East. Free tickets for the Newcastle City Library event are available from any Newcastle library, or for more details and to book, email information@newcastle.gov.uk or call 0191 277 4100. Tickets for the evening event at The Sage, which is presented in association with New Writing North, are free but must be booked in advance at www.thesagegateshead.org.

Hyperlexic
Washington Arts Centre: Wednesday 3 March, 7.30pm
Hyperlexic features three of the North East’s finest performance poets – Jeff Price, Kate Fox and Alfie Crow – who will amuse, amaze and delight you with their own brand of stand-up poetry. This event will also include an open mic session, where budding poets in the audience are invited to perform their own work. Tickets: £5/£3 (concs). For more information, call 0191 219 3455.

Rendez-Vous
Cumberland Arms, Byker: Thursday 4 March, 8pm
Life, Death and Drinks In-Between: an evening of songs, poems and epitaphs with Ellen Phethean and Tim Dalling. Tickets available on the door only: £7/£5 (concs).

The Long March Back
The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle: Saturday 6 March, 11.30am onwards
All-day book fair followed by folk and poetry social commemorating the end of the 1984-1985 miners’ strike and its aftermath. Free attendance, all are welcome, no booking required.

Dirty Bertie! With David Roberts
Seven Stories: Saturday 6 March, 2pm-3pm
Bertie has shockingly dirty habits – he picks his nose, eats sweets off the ground, licks the dog’s face and embarrasses his family by making nasty smells. Meet author David Roberts as he introduces you to his hilarious, best-selling picture books, followed by a signing in the Seven Stories bookshop. Booking essential: call 0845 271 0777 ext 715 or go to www.sevenstories.org.uk.

Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker in conversation
Life Science Centre, Newcastle: Tuesday 9 March, 6pm-7pm
Rebecca Goldstein discusses her new book, Thirty Six Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, a novel following psychologist and writer Cass Seltzer (‘the atheist with a soul’) through a week of sudden celebratory status, as his own book becomes a best-seller. Doors open at 5.15pm. Tickets: £2/£1 (concs). Pay on the door, but reserve your seat by calling 0191 243 8209.

Vesna Maric: Bluebird
The Living Room, Newcastle: Tuesday 9 March, 6.30pm
Vesna Maric will be joining the Newcastle Living Room Book Group to talk about her wonderful memoir, Bluebird. The book is Vesna’s memoir of life in this country as a young refugee. She left Sarajevo at the height of the brutal civil war and came to seek safety in the UK. Although sometimes harrowing, the book is completely lacking in self-pity and is a frank and often funny look at dealing with a new life in Britain. Open to all. Admission free.

Pints & Poetry
The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle: Tuesday 9 March, 8pm
Pints & Poetry, a regular platform for talented young writers in the North East to showcase their work, is back with its first event of 2010. Come along to hear some of the freshest writing in the region, entirely free of charge. Doors open at 7.30pm. For more information, email pintsandpoetry@gmail.com.

Anne Perry
Newcastle City Library: Wednesday 10 March, 2pm-4pm
Talk, reading and book signing with author Anne Perry, who will discuss her latest novel, Execution Dock. Admission free. Tickets are available from any Newcastle library, or for more details and to book, email information@newcastle.gov.uk or call 0191 277 4100.

Jack the Ripper: The Truth
Gateshead Heritage@St Marys: Wednesday 10 March, 6.30pm
Norman Kirtlan, forensic artist and retired Police Inspector, profiles Jack the Ripper and uncovers new evidence. Suitable for 16+ only. Tickets: £2. Tickets can be purchased in person from the Gateshead Old Town Hall Box Office, by calling 0191 433 6965 or online from www.gateshead.gov.uk.

International Women’s Day: poetry evening
Newcastle City Library: Wednesday 10 March, 6.30pm-8pm
Poetry evening to celebrate International Women’s Day with Sheree Mack, Catherine Graham, Maggie Tate, Sue Spencer, Degna Stone and Shirley Ann Emmersen. Admission free. Tickets are available from any Newcastle library, or for more details and to book, email information@newcastle.gov.uk or call 0191 277 4100.

Ian Jack in conversation
Percy Building, Newcastle University: Wednesday 10 March, 7pm
Ian Jack edited Granta between 1995 and 2007 and writes a weekly column for The Guardian. His anthology of essays, The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain, was published in 2009. Tickets: £6/£4. For more details, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

Carolyn Jess-Cooke: Inroads book launch
Newcastle City Library: Thursday 11 March, 6pm
Carolyn Jess-Cooke, winner of a 2008 Northern Writers’ Award from New Writing North, launches her new collection of poetry, Inroads, which has just been published by Seren. Free event, no booking required. Refreshments provided.

Escape: poetry multimedia masterclass
ARC, Stockton on Tees: Saturday 13 March, 12 noon-5pm
Are you a performance poet, writer or artist looking for exciting new ways to bring a multimedia approach to what you do, and find out how other people do it? Tickets: free (£15 refundable deposit required). For more information, call 01642 525199 or see www.arconline.co.uk.

English Journey Revisited: Iain Sinclair and Alan Moore
The Sage Gateshead: Sunday 14 March, 8pm-10pm
In 1933, during the Great Depression, JB Priestley travelled from London to the North East to write his legendary book, English Journey. 75 years since its publication, in a new era of recession, AV Festival 10 brings together leading writers and musicians to perform moments from a contemporary journey, offering new social observations and predictions of the future. Tickets: £12/£10. Available from 0191 443 4661 or at www.thesagegateshead.org.

Michael McNay: Hidden Treasures of England
Barter Books, Alnwick: Monday 15 March, 7.30pm
Michael McNay, author and journalist, will talk about and sign copies of his latest book, Hidden Treasures of England. The talk will concentrate on Northern treasures, including the mural at Barter Books which was painted by local artist Peter Dodd and consists of more than 30 life-size portraits of famous writers. Admission: £3. For more details, call 01665 604 888.

The Slam Winners’ Slam
The Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle: Monday 15 March
Poetry slamming in the North East has a new venue, and we want the best of the North East slam poets to step up. Have you won a slam in the last three years, want the big money prize and the prestigious Slam Winner’s Trophy? Email jeffprice@btopenworld.com to book your place.

Meet Pauline Rowson
Ingleby Barwick Library: Tuesday 16 March, 11am
Talk and book signing. Meet this popular crime writer, author of a series of mysteries set by the sea. Tickets are free, but booking is essential. To book call 01642 750767 or email inglebybarwick.library@stockton.gov.uk.

The Galloping Stone book launch
Gallery North: Wednesday 17 March, 12.30pm-1.30pm
The publication of The Galloping Stone marks the culmination of poet Gillian Allnutt’s residency at The Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, north east office. Come and hear contributors to the book perform the work which was inspired by the residency. Gillian will also present some of her own poetry, which she wrote during the project. Admission is free, but you will need to reserve a ticket by emailing anna@newwritingnorth.com.

Andrey Kurkov
Culture Lab, Newcastle University: Thursday 18 March, 7pm
Andrey Kurkov was born in St Petersburg in 1961 and worked for some time as a journalist. He did his military service as a prison warder at Odessa, became a film cameraman, writer of screenplays and author of several darkly humorous novels. Admission: £6/£4. For more details, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

Caryl Phillips
Culture Lab, Newcastle University: Monday 22 March, 7pm
In addition to writing plays, screenplays and works of non-fiction, Caryl Phillips is the author of nine novels, is a regular contributor to The Guardian and The New Republic and is professor of English at Yale University. Admission: £6/£4. For more details, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

Lemn Sissay
ARC, Stockton on Tees: Tuesday 23 March, 7.45pm
Lemn Sissay’s Why I Don’t Hate White People is a whirlwind tour of race seen from one man’s unique and intensely personal perspective. Call 01642 665409 to book or see www.arconline.co.uk for more information..

Vane Women: Mad Hatters
Darlington Arts Centre: Wednesday 24 March, 7.30pm
Vane Women are getting into the March mood with a “Mad Hatters” evening of poetry and prose. Come along, listen to their work and admire their headgear! Why not bring a piece of your own for the open mic? Tickets: £4/£2 (concs) from Darlington Arts box office on 01325 486 555.

Graham Pears: The Myth of Justice
Gosforth Library: Thursday 25 March, 2pm
Talk, reading and book signing with author Graham Pears, who will discuss his debut novel, The Myth of Justice. Admission free. Tickets are available from any Newcastle library, or for more details and to book, email information@newcastle.gov.uk or call 0191 277 4100.

Girl Talk: Girls night in with Carmen Reid
Stockton Central Library: Thursday 25 March, 7pm
A girlie evening with chocolate, nibbles and sparkling drinks in the company of Carmen Reid, bestselling author of a series about personal shopper, Annie Valentine. Plus free mini beauty treatments! Tickets: £5, available from any Stockton borough library or call 01642 526522.

Sindiwe Magona and Kachi A Ozumba
Percy Building, Newcastle University: Thursday 25 March, 7pm
South African novelist, memoirist, playwright and storyteller Sindiwe Magona will be a Visiting Fellow at the NCLA from March-April 2010. Kachi A Ozumba is a creative writing PhD student at Newcastle University and a winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and Arts Council England’s Decibel Penguin Short Story Prize. Admission: £6/£4. For more details, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

Listen at Lunch: Oh What a Lovely War
Northern Stage: Friday 26 March, 1pm
Brighten up your lunch hour with two new short stories inspired by Oh What A Lovely War, and read by members of the cast. Admission: £7 including lunch; £3 reading only. For more details and to book, see www.northernstage.co.uk or call 0191 230 5151.

Rites of passage: birth, death and the big bits in-between
Queen’s Hall, Hexham: Saturday 27 March, 10am-12pm/1pm-2pm
Two-hour creative writing workshop exploring how you can begin to write about those life-changing events, whether in fiction or in life-writing, with novelist Fiona Shaw, author of the acclaimed Tell It to the Bees. Cost: £15. To book, go to http://winafas-rites.eventbrite.com.

You can also join Hexham Book Festival director Susie Troup in conversation with Fiona about her life and work from 1pm-2pm on Saturday 27 March at the Queen’s Hall. Admission is free, but book your place at www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/arts.

Deadline for the next newsletter

The next edition of The Listening Post covering April’s literature events will go out towards the end of March. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send information by 20 March to olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The Listening Post is North East-specific, but from time to time may also highlight interesting writing events nationally. Promoters should also note that they can also submit information on events happening in the Tees Valley area directly to the Lit-Tees website.

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News from New Writing North: 19 February 2010

We are the (Cultural) Champions!
Paul Callaghan of the Leighton Group, the generous sponsor of the Northern Writers’ Awards, was honoured as a Cultural Champion at an Arts & Business event at Seven Stories on 29 January. The event celebrated the people whose giving allows great cultural projects to happen. The awards were hosted by Nick Brown MP, who spoke about how philanthropic and corporate giving was more important than ever in the North East, due to the high level of reliance on public funding that the region has. NWN director Claire Malcolm was also nominated as a Cultural Champion for her work supporting and developing Hexham Book Festival.

Polarbear: spoken word workshop for young people
Spoken word performer Polarbear will be in Newcastle on Saturday 27 February when, among other things, he’ll be running a workshop for our young writers’ group. There are a few places remaining on the workshop, so if you are a young person and interested in working with one of the country’s most exciting and innovative spoken word artists, then contact anna@newwritingnorth.com as soon as possible to book your place. The workshop will take place at Northumbria University from 2pm-4pm and will look at developing character-led monologues that bridge spoken word, poetry and storytelling. For more information about Polarbear, see www.myspace.com/polarbearspoken.

Deadlines looming
We know that writers just love deadlines so we’re taking the opportunity to remind you that the Northern Writers’ Awards deadline for entries is Wednesday 10 March and that the People’s Play new play competition deadline is Thursday 25 March. With £27,000 available to support emerging writers, these are opportunities not to be missed this spring. You can find out more and download entry documents at www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php.

Vesna Maric at the Living Room Book Group, Newcastle
Vesna Maric will be joining the Newcastle Living Room Book Group as a guest to talk about her wonderful memoir, Bluebird, on Tuesday 9 March. Bluebird is Vesna’s memoir of life in this country as a young refugee. She left Sarajevo at the height of the brutal civil war and came to seek safety in the UK. Although sometimes harrowing, the book is completely lacking in self-pity and is a frank and often funny look at dealing with a new life in Britain. The event is open to all, so if you’re interested, please come along to the meeting at 6.30pm to the Living Room at 12 Grey Street, Newcastle.

Poets debate at Café Culture
Café Culture and New Writing North present a free event on Monday 1 March exploring whether poets are still, as Shelley claimed, the ‘unofficial legislators’ of our times. Poet and executive director of Arts Council England North East Mark Robinson and poet Kate Fox (who as well as being a familiar voice on Radio 4’s Saturday Live, also founded National Write a Poem About the News Day) will debate the issue. Come and have your say on Monday 1 March at 7pm at Urban Café, Dance City, Newcastle.

Joanna Trollope tells all at Sage
Joanna Trollope will be appearing on Wednesday 3 March at 6.30pm at The Sage Gateshead, where she will be talking about her new novel, The Other Family, with New Writing North director Claire Malcolm. The novel is set between London and Newcastle and tells the story of two families coping with the death of one father who was a well-known musician. The Newcastle scenes in the novel will delight anyone who knows the area and the novel concludes at The Sage. To book, see the Sage website.

Rites of passage: birth, death and the big bits in-between
New Writing North and Hexham Book Festival invite you to take part in a two-hour creative writing workshop exploring how you can begin to write about those life-changing events, whether in fiction or in life-writing, with novelist Fiona Shaw, author of the acclaimed Tell It to the Bees (Tindal Street Press). The workshop runs from 10am-12pm on Saturday 27 March at Queen's Hall, Hexham. Cost: £15. To book, go to http://winafas-rites.eventbrite.com.

You can also join Hexham Book Festival director Susie Troup in conversation with Fiona about her life and work, with particular focus on Tell It to the Bees, from 1pm-2pm on Saturday 27 March at Queen's Hall, Hexham. Admission is free, but please book your place at www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/arts.

Lionel Shriver and Sarah Hall interviews on Radio 3
If you came along to the Books at Breakfast events with Lionel Shriver and Sarah Hall which New Writing North helped organise at the Free Thinking festival at the Sage Gateshead last October, you'll remember that the events were recorded for BBC Radio 3's Night Waves. The Lionel Shriver interview was on last night and is now available on iPlayer while the Book at Breakfast interview with Sarah Hall will be broadcast next Thursday 25 February at 9.15pm.

People

Alec Finlay’s poetry turbines take off
We were delighted to hear of artist Alec Finlay’s new work, which will open at the Hatton Gallery of the Great North Museum in Newcastle on 5 March, as part of the annual AV Festival. Sky-wheels is a ‘field’of 16 model windmill turbines with poetic texts on their blades and features field-recordings of windmill turbines in the landscape by Susan Maris. For more information and to see a preview, go to www.alecfinlay.com. Alec designed and made the bird boxes with poetry at the Botanic Garden in Durham, which were commissioned by the Durham Book Festival in 2009.

In the North East

Different Stages arrives at Live
Live Theatre’s new writing festival, Different Stages, begins in early March. There are author talks, workshops and play readings. For more information, see www.live.org.uk.

Live’s popular Introduction to Playwriting course returns this spring. The five-week course, run by Gez Casey and Steve Gilroy, begins on 5 May and runs on Wednesday evenings between 6pm and 9pm in the Studio Theatre at Live. For further information and details of how to apply, email degna@live.org.uk. There is no charge for the course. Deadline for applications: Friday 26 March 2010.

Publishers showcase in Washington
We’ve been told by the organiser that there are stall spaces left at the P.R.E.S.S. event on 10 April at Arts Centre, Washington. The event is a showcase for printing and publishing in the region, and has a good mix of people, including book publishers, artists books and comic books. There will be workshops and talks throughout the day too. Stalls are free and the stall area will run from 10am-4pm. If you’re interested, email Leonie O’Moore at leonieomoore@googlemail.com.

Be inspired by the National Trust
The National Trust in the North East is running free writing courses aimed at adults aged 19-plus. Each two-day course consists of a writing day and a ‘crafting day’ – getting together to work on a piece of ‘interpretation material’ to be left behind at the property to be viewed by visitors, using the words written by course participants. The courses will be at Gibside, Cherryburn, Housesteads and Allenbanks and will draw inspiration from the properties and their surroundings. You can find details of the courses at www.gibsidearts.org.uk/4.html and you can email lynn@gibsidearts.org.uk to secure your free place.

National opportunities

Apprenticeships in Fiction
Adventures in Fiction is offering five subsidised placements for first-time novelists of commercial and literary fiction, including one for crime, one for fantasy and one for fiction for children and young people (9+/teenage). The placements, which have an individual value of over £2,750, will take the form of an apprenticeship with a professional writer working in a similar genre. The five apprentices will be selected from open competition by a panel of experts including Hannah Westland from literary agency Rogers, Coleridge, White. The scheme has a strong record for supporting aspiring writers from the North East. Past and current apprentices include Alison Gangel, Wendy Storer and Noreen Rees. Now approaching its fifth year, it has already resulted in three publications and referred eight writers to literary agents. Deadline for submissions: 31 May 2010. For more information, see www.adventuresinfiction.co.uk/apprenticeships.

Wordsworth Trust seeks poet in residence
The Wordsworth Trust is seeking a new poet in residence, to run for nine months from July 2010 to end March 2011. The residency may be extended to a year, pending confirmation of further funding from Arts Council England. This residency offers an invaluable opportunity for a published poet, from any cultural background and writing within any literary tradition, to spend time in Grasmere, Cumbria, in the heart of the Lake District, an area of outstanding natural beauty that so much inspired William Wordsworth. The poet will be given space to develop their own work and will also take part in the Wordsworth Trust Literature Programme and the wider cultural life of Cumbria. The poet in residence will be paid a monthly stipend of £1,000 and provided with a cottage for which they will be charged a subsidised rent. For full details and application procedure, contact Andrew Forster at a.forster@wordsworth.org.uk or on 015394 35544. Closing date for applications: 5pm, Friday 5 March 2010.

Get poetic in Stone Barns
Maddy Prior is running two poetry workshop weekends at her Stones Barn arts centre in Cumbria: one with David Morley, and the other with Don Paterson. From 16-18 April, David will work with participants on new poems and introduce fresh approaches to writing about the world around us, while from 15-17 June, Don Paterson will look at the ways Shakespeare’s sonnets can influence and educate us about the contemporary poem in all its aspects from metre to metaphor and form. For more information on both courses and to book, see www.maddyprior.co.uk/sbcoursedesc.htm.

Jobs

The Reading Agency seeks project manager
The Reading Agency, a national organisation based at the Free Word centre in London, is looking for an experienced project manager to join their young people’s team, supporting exciting new youth programmes. This is a full-time fixed-term contract, initially for six months. For more information, see www.readingagency.org.uk/about/jobs. Deadline for applications: 1 March.

Miscellany

Confessions of a book pirate
What sort of person would scan all the new books he buys and then make them available on the internet for anyone to download for free? Find out in this fascinating interview at www.themillions.com/2010/01/confessions-of-a-book-pirate.html. While you're there, you should check out the rest of The Millions, which has been offering coverage on books, arts, and culture since 2003.

Every picture tells a story
We've only just discovered Pictory but have already found plenty to keep us interested. Pictory is a showcase for people around the world to document their lives and cultures. Anyone can submit one large, captioned image to each of Pictory’s editorial themes. The editor selects 20 to 40 submissions to create a collaborative photo essay, in the form of an online showcase. The effect is somewhere between reportage and something which feels much more personal. Check it out at www.pictorymag.com.

Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 29 February.

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News from New Writing North: 5 February 2010

Listen at Lunch: Oh What A Lovely War
Northern Stage will be producing Joan Littlewood’s revolutionary satirical musical Oh What A Lovely War from 6-27 March. We are inviting submissions of short stories or songs inspired by the themes of the play. Two pieces will be selected, which will be read or sung by members of the cast for an audience, at the Listen at Lunch event on Friday 26 March.

Created in 1963, Oh What A Lovely War is a truly original portrait of the ironies and tragedies of the First World War. From the misplaced optimism of the British home front to the blood-soaked fields of Flanders, the story is told through a fantastic collection of irreverent and poignant songs including well-known favourites Pack Up Your Troubles, Keep The Home Fires Burning and It’s A Long Way To Tipperary. This is the first national production of the show since Britain went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can get more information about the play at www.northernstage.co.uk.

Submissions should be sent by email to listenatlunch@newwritingnorth.com and must arrive before 12 noon on Friday 12 March. Short stories submitted must be no longer than 2,000 words. This scheme is open to people who live in the north east of England.

Call for writers: William Cowe and Sons, Berwick
The family firm of William Cowe and Sons, makers of the famous Berwick Cockles sweets, has been in business in Berwick since 1801. Occupying two sites on Bridge Street, the Cowes Brothers properties contain a maze of storage, workshop and living spaces, that have remained largely untouched for many years.

Working closely with Inspire Northumberland, the Berwick Townscape Heritage Initiative is seeking to appoint a creative writer to work alongside photographer Mike Golding to explore and document the fascinating interior of the buildings and the human stories they contain. The appointed writer will be expected to undertake independent research into William Cowe and Sons, and respond creatively to this and to the photogaphic images, while liaising with the Conservation Officer responsible for the project and Inspire Northumberland. For further information, download the brief.

We are inviting expressions of interest from writers. To register your interest, please send up to 10 recent poems or up to 3,000 words of recently published prose. Please also send us a covering letter of not more than one page explaining why you would like the opportunity to undertake this project. Please send information to anna@newwritingnorth.com by Monday 15 February. The clients will make their selection based on this submission. This opportunity is open to writers who live in the north east of England.

‘Folken word’ commissioning opportunity for writers and musicians
The Sage Gateshead and New Writing North are seeking three writers (poetry or prose) and three folk musicians/composers to work together in pairs to create five-minute joint performance pieces which will be staged as part of an event – folken word – which will take place within the Words and Music weekend festival at The Sage Gateshead from 14-16 May. From the work that is produced, one pair of artists will then be commissioned to produce a full-scale piece of work for presentation this autumn.

We are interested in awarding these commissions to writers and musicians who have not already had the opportunity to collaborate in this way before. A shortlist of artists will be drawn up in early March by a panel that will include Folkworks artistic director Kathryn Tickell, poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan (who is curating the Words and Music weekend), Ros Rigby (performance programme director, The Sage Gateshead) and Claire Malcolm (director, New Writing North). The chosen artists will each receive a commission fee of £500 plus rehearsal space, technical support and, if necessary, a modest budget for the use of other musicians. Artists wishing to apply should send a CV and examples of their work (no more than 10 pages of work for writers), plus a short statement as to why they would be interested in this opportunity to Tom Besford, Folkworks Event Administrator, The Sage Gateshead, St Mary’s Square, Gateshead, NE8 2JR or tom.besford@thesagegateshead.org by 26 February.

Northern Writers' Awards 2010 open for submissions
We are delighted to announce the launch of the 2010 Northern Writers’ Awards. The annual awards, which are produced by New Writing North, support writers to complete new work and move forward with their careers. Each year £25,000 is awarded to support emerging talent and to recognise the work of established writers. Awards range from £1,000 to £10,000. The judges this year are agents Julia Churchill and Madeleine Buston and writer Daljit Nagra.

The awards are open to writers who live and work in the north east of England. The deadline for entries is Wednesday 10 March 2010. Full entry information is available at www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php?section=308.

Carol Ann Duffy steps in for UA Fanthorpe at The Poetry Room March meeting
If you’re a member of our Poetry Room book group and are having trouble getting hold of a copy of UA Fanthorpe’s Selected Poems for the 2 March meeting, then you probably were as surprised as we were to discover that it was in fact out of print. Consequently, we’ve decided to read Carol Ann Duffy’s Selected Poems instead. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. For more information about the group, see www.poetrybookgroup.com.


In the North East

ACE North East looking for Relationship Manager, Literature
Arts Council England North East is looking to recruit a 'Relationship Manager, Literature'. Salary up to £35,000 plus excellent benefits package. Closing date for applications is 8 February. For more information, see the Arts Council website.


People

Bea makes it through to Chicken House shortlist
Congratulations to Bea Davenport, who we reported had been longlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in the last newsletter. Bea has since been told by Barry Cunningham himself that she’s now on a shortlist of five for this prestigious award. Barry is the publisher of Chicken House books and the man who discovered JK Rowling, so he clearly knows a good thing when he sees it. The winner is announced on 9 March and our fingers remain crossed.

Noreeen Rees is latest apprentice
Congratulations to Noreen Rees, who was recently awarded a place on the national Apprenticeships in Fiction scheme. The scheme selects five aspiring writers a year and offers them an apprenticeship with an established author. Noreen, a past winner of The People’s Play, will spend a year being mentored by acclaimed children’s writer Brian Keaney, with the aim of developing her young adult novel The Hand of Glorie for publication. If you think you might be interested in applying for an apprenticeship in fiction, you can get more information at www.adventuresinfiction.co.uk/apprenticeships/apprentice-intro.html.


Jobs and commissions

Writer in residence wanted for Hartlepool Art Gallery
The successful applicant will engage with the variety of portraiture represented in Hartlepool’s fine art collections through creative writing and storytelling, working on the project for two months in April and May. The writer in residence will be expected to write a number of short stories inspired by a selection of portraits in the exhibition, spend a number of hours in the exhibition, writing, where they can be observed by and engage with visitors to the exhibition and deliver a small number of creative writing workshops led by the content of the exhibition. Expressions of interest for this project are invited, with a deadline of Monday 22 February at 12 noon. Expressions should include a CV detailing relevant experience, a proposal for the project including an indication of how many hours would be given to each part, what this would produce and an estimate of cost. For further details about the position, contact Emma Hamlett, Museums Manager, on 01429 523428 or emma.hamlett@hartlepool.gov.uk.

Artists wanted for south east Northumberland schools project
A Key Stage Three themed Curriculum Enquiry project with Creative Partnerships is inviting proposals. Bothal Middle School in Ashington is part of the Ashington Learning Partnership which is also a Sports College. The project will look at the human body from a science, PE and Art perspective. The facilitators are looking for artists who can bring some or all of the following curriculum areas: maths (data collection), PE skills, body and movement, English (poetry), ICT (Digital imaging, digital manipulation), Design and Technology, History, Geography and Music to the project. The fee is £20-£25K pro rata. Deadline: Friday 12 February. Please email pauline@prfsolutions.com for more information.

Tees Valley schools project
Norton Primary school is looking for an individual or organisation who can bring creative vision, imagination, enthusiasm and experience to deliver an innovative creative project across the whole school. The school is keen to develop more creative approaches to the delivery of numeracy skills, in order to interest and challenge pupils and raise attainment in both key stages. The school is open and flexible about the approach and methodology for the work and is keen to hear from individuals or organisations who can offer staff and pupils a unique experience which has pupil’s numeracy skills and development as its focus. The work will take place in the summer term of 2010 with the planning phase to be completed by April 2010. There is a fixed budget of £16,000, inclusive of planning, delivery, evaluation, materials, and contracting other expertise. For more info, contact annasnell@hotmail.com by 5pm, Friday 12 February. For an informal discussion about the programme please call Anna Snell, Creative Agent for the School, on 07702 566126.

National opportunities

The Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets
Now in its second year, the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets, run by the Poetry Book Society and the British Library, is now accepting submissions. There are two awards worth £5,000: the Poetry Award recognises an outstanding work of poetry published in pamphlet form in 2009, and the Publishers’ Award is for a publisher, to reward their endeavours in promoting poetry pamphlets in 2009. The judges this year are Ali Smith (chair), Richard Price and Jo Shapcott. For more information, see www.poetrybookshoponline.com/pamphlets.php or email pamphlets@poetrybooks.co.uk. Submission deadline: 12 March.

HighTide Festival 2011 open for submissions
HighTide is open for play submissions for HighTide Festival 2011. They are looking to fully produce and premiere new works by emerging playwrights. They also welcome international scripts, written in English. For more information see the HighTide website at www.hightide.org.uk. Submission deadline: 15 May.

Courses and workshops

You Are Here: creative writing course at Queen’s Hall, Hexham
These practical fortnightly sessions led by Linda France will explore the importance of a sense of place and presence in what and how we write. 4 February-15 April, Thursday evenings, 6.15pm-8.30pm. Tickets for the course cost £55 and you can book by calling the box office on 01434 652477.

Nik Jones: creative writing workshops in Berwick and Hexham libraries
Nik Jones, author of 9987, one of last year’s Read Regional titles, will be running free writing workshops in Northumberland on 17 February. The sessions are open to all and should appeal to novice and experienced writers alike. A morning workshop will run at Berwick Library (11am-1pm) and an evening one in Hexham Library (7pm-9pm). The sessions are drop-in, so just turn up at the libraries on the day.

The Blank Page with Linda France
Linda France is also running a day-long creative writing workshop suitable for beginners and for people who are confident in writing but would like to extend their confidence with words. In the morning the workshop will focus on creative journal writing – how to write about real life and capture real events and experiences. In the afternoon you will be taken through the process of how to write a poem. The workshop will take place from 10am-4pm on Saturday 20 February at the Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle, and again in March (date TBC) at Clayport Library, Durham. For more information, please contact Jakki at WIN on 01670 566 566 or email info@womenintothenetwork.co.uk.

Starting to Write with Ellen Phethean
If you’ve always wanted to write creatively but have never devoted any serious time to trying to do so, this workshop is for you. Aimed at beginners who would like to learn how to develop their work, this workshop will give you great ideas for starting to write and help you plan to develop and improve your writing. The workshop will take place from 10am-4pm on Saturday 27 February at the Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle and again in March (date TBC) at Clayport Library, Durham. For more information, please contact Jakki at WIN on 01670 566 566 or email info@womenintothenetwork.co.uk.

Songwriting and recording course: Easter 2010
Award-winning composer Steve Luck will be delivering a songwriting and recording course aimed at young musicians between the ages of 12 and 18 during the Easter school holidays. The course will be held at the Royal Grammar School in Jesmond from 12-15 April. The students will learn about different aspects of songwriting and recording and as part of the course will write and record their own songs, working in small groups, tutored by professional musicians and experienced teachers. For further information, see http://songwritingandrecordingcourses.wikispaces.com or contact Steve on 07970 865243.


Miscellany

Artists take on writers
Various artists interpret their favourite literary figure/author/character at http://heyoscarwilde.com. As you might expect from a site based in the US, it’s a bit more Thomas Pynchon than Iris Murdoch, but there’s still plenty to enjoy.

Writing for radio residential course and writing retreats in Andalucia
Write/Radio/Spain is a residential course running from 24-28 May and is aimed at writers who want to explore radio drama and sound as a creative medium. Led by award-winning BBC radio, film and television writer Steve Chambers and writer/radio producer Caroline Beck, the course offers participants expert tuition in pitching and writing for radio drama and tutorial support/script advice. The course is based at the relaxing and tranquil venue of Casa Acequia in the beautiful inland region of the Serriana de Ronda, Andalucia. Casa Acequia also offers ‘get away from it all’ writing retreats with all sorts of reasonable options for accommodation, catering and generally being looked after while you write. For further details, email Caroline Mitchell at cam.algo@googlemail.com.

How to use semicolons
Everything you ever wanted to know about semicolons but were too afraid to ask at http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon.


Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 15 February. The next edition of The Listening Post covering March's literature events will go out in late February. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send information by 20 February to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

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While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our knowledge.

The Listening Post: February 2010

Crime Wave
Touring North East libraries: 28 January-25 February
Crime fiction authors visit libraries in the North East to discuss their books. The interactive tour will consist of workshops, murder mysteries projects and quizzes. Tickets: £1. For more details, contact your local library, go to www.durham.gov.uk/pages/eventslist.aspx?p=3&ecid=7 or call 0300 123 7070.

Live entertainment at the Tyneside Cinema
Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle: Monday 1 February, 7.30pm
Sunderland-based musician Lucas Renney plays music from his debut album, Strange Glory, supported by poetry from Scott Tyrell. Tickets: £3. For more information, see www.tynesidecinema.co.uk.

Bryan Talbot: Grandville and the Anthropomorphic Tradition
Lit & Phil: Wednesday 3 February, 6pm
Bryan Talbot presents a history of anthropomorphic representation in book and comic book illustration, exemplified by his new graphic novel, Grandville. Free to members, £2 for non-members. For more information, see www.litandphil.org.uk.

The Acoustic Kool-Aid Cabaret of the Spoken Word
The Python Gallery, Middlesbrough: Wednesday 3 February, 7pm-10pm
Event showcasing the literary works of numerous authors, including Harry Zevenbergen, PA Morbid and Bob Beagrie. Free entry (donations appreciated). For more information, email info@pythongallery.co.uk.

Tales from the Council Chamber
Bishop Auckland Town Hall: Wednesday 3 February, 7.30pm
Live talk with two former council members, Olive Brown and Chris Foote Wood, discussing their book, Tales From The Council Chamber, in an informative and amusing manner. Free entry with ticket. For more information, see www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk.

Joan Bakewell in conversation with Jackie Kay
Kings Hall, Newcastle University: Thursday 4 February, 7pm
Journalist and TV presenter Joan Bakewell discusses her first novel, All The Nice Girls. Tickets: £6/£4. For more information, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

PlayDay with Cloud Nine Theatre Company
Bishop Auckland Town Hall: Sunday 7 February, 7.30pm
A live rehearsal of two new plays: Mark Robberts’ light-hearted comedy, Kiss Me Quick, plus Sean Burn’s innovative drama, Fell. Tickets: £4/£3. For more details, call 01388 602610 or see www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk.

Matt Lynn: Fire Force
City Library, Newcastle: 10 February, 2pm-3.30pm
Matt Lynn talks about his new action-packed military thriller, Fire Force. Matt is the author of the Death Force series of novels, which started with Death Force in 2009, and continues now with Fire Force. To book your free place, call 0191 277 4100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk.

Ronald Harwood: Playing with History
Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle: Thursday 11 February, 7.45pm
Discussion with legendary dramatist Ronald Harwood. Followed by a screening of The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Tickets: £10/£8. For more details, see www.tynesidecinema.co.uk.

Poetry School presents Poetry’s Music by Rommi Smith
Thistle Hotel, Middlesbrough: Saturday 13 February, 10.30am-4.30pm
A practical, focused writing exploration of the relationship between music and poetry, thinking about music as stimulation for ideas, imagery, rhythm and structure. £49/£35 concs. For more information, see www.poetryschool.com/?courses=1.

StAnza Poetry Festival event
Gallery North, Northumbria University: Tuesday 16 February, 6.30pm
New Writing North and the StAnza International Poetry Festival are delighted to invite you to a special evening in Newcastle with StAnza’s Artistic Director Eleanor Livingstone and poet Kei Miller, author of There is an Anger that Moves (Carcanet). Meet the festival team and find out more about the Scottish poetry scene. Free event.

You Are Here
Northern Stage, Newcastle: Friday 19 February, 7pm
Poets Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott come together on stage for a performance that asks, Who are you? Where are you and where are you going? Tickets: £6/£4. For more details, contact Melanie Birch at melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk or on 0191 222 7619, or to book call 0191 230 5151.

Writing out of the Corner of the Eye with Peter Bennet
Quaker Meeting House, Newcastle: Saturday 20 February, 10.30am-4.30pm
A day about ghostly or mysterious qualities in poetry. You’ll read and discuss poems that send a shiver down the spine, and aim to produce the beginnings of a poem of your own. Beginners as well as more experienced writers welcome. £49/£35 concs. For more details, email ask@quakers-in-newcastle.org.uk or call 0191 281 2924.

Sara Paretsky: Hardball
City Library, Newcastle: 22 February, 6pm-7.45pm
Internationally best-selling crime writer Sara Paretsky is the author of 15 novels, 13 of which have featured her legendary protagonist, female private investigator VI Warshawski. She is the winner of several awards and visits Newcastle on tour to promote her new book, Hardball. To book your free place, call 0191 277 4100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk.

Sara Paretsky: Writings on the Wall
Wall Village Hall: Tuesday 23 February, 11.30am-1.30pm
Lunchtime event with the internationally-acclaimed best-selling crime writer, creator of VI Warshawski, the Chicago-based private investigator. Tickets: £9 (includes a light lunch) from Cogito Books, tel 01434 602555. The ticket price includes a paperback copy of Sara’s latest paperback, which may be collected when you buy your ticket.

Ann Cleeves and David Hewson in conversation
City Library, Newcastle: 23 February, 2pm-4pm
Two crime writers come face to face. Ann Cleeves’ Blue Lightning is the fourth book in the award-winning Shetland Quartet Series and is published by Pan McMillan on 8 February, while David Hewson’s latest, The Blue Demon, is the eighth novel in the best-selling Nic Costa series. To book your free place, call 0191 277 4100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk.

Book of Songs launch
Gallery North, Northumbria University: Wednesday 24 February, 6pm
The Book of Songs is an entertaining and diverse mixture of poems and stories about music and songs from New Writing North’s young writers’ group, which is run by Kate Fox. Join Kate and the authors for the launch and find out how you could become a mentor for young writers at New Writing North. All welcome.

Yang Lian and Brian Holton
Culture Lab, Newcastle University: Thursday 25 February, 7pm
Widely regarded as one of China’s finest poets, Lian and his principle translator, Brian Holton, will be reciting poetry. Tickets: £6/£4. For more information, contact Clare Graham on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk.

Deadline for the next newsletter
The next edition of The Listening Post covering March’s literature events will go out towards the end of February. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send information by 20 February to olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The Listening Post is North East-specific, but from time to time may also highlight interesting writing events nationally. Promoters should also note that they can also submit information on events happening in the Tees Valley area directly to the Lit-Tees website.

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Northern Writers' Awards 2010 open for submissions

£25,000 to support local writing talent

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 2010 Northern Writers’ Awards. The annual awards, which are produced by New Writing North, support writers to complete new work and move forward with their careers. Each year £25,000 is awarded to support emerging talent and to recognise the work of established writers. Awards range from £1,000 to £10,000.

The Northern Writers’ Awards have been helping to boost writers’ careers since 2000. During the last ten years, 89 writers have received awards and a high percentage of those who have done so go on to successfully publish their work. Recent winners who have had great success include poet Toby Martinez de las Rivas , who was chosen as one of the Faber New Poets in 2009 and went on to see his first pamphlet published by Faber and Faber that year, and Carolyn Jess Cooke, whose first poetry collection, Inroads, will be published by Seren in February this year. Her new novel has also recently sold around the world and will be published in 2011 following support from New Writing North.

The Northern Writers’ Awards uniquely offer both financial and practical support to the winners, and each author who wins an award has access to a range of support including editorial support, manuscript appraisal, mentoring and introductions to the industry.
The winners will receive their awards at a special event in Newcastle and will attend an industry meet and greet in London in July.

The judges for the awards this year are:

Julia Churchill of the Greenhouse Literary Agency. The agency operates in both the UK and the US and specialises in representing children’s authors. Julia founded her reputation as a talent-spotter and deal-maker at the Darley Anderson Agency, where she developed the agency’s prestigious children’s books list. She joined Greenhouse in 2009 and is on the lookout for new storytelling talent.

Literary agent Madeleine Buston from the Darley Anderson Literary, TV & Film Agency. Madeleine is a fiction agent and handles all kinds of work with a commercial focus, including accessible literary, general fiction, and women’s fiction for a wide readership. Madeleine is also Head of Rights at the agency, handling US, foreign, and film and TV rights.

Writer Daljit Nagra, whose first collection of poetry, Look We Have Coming to Dover!, is one of the breakthrough poetry collections of the first decade of the century. It won him the South Bank Show Decibel Prize, the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and was nominated for the Costa Poetry Prize and the Guardian First Book Award.

The Northern Writers’ Awards are sponsored by Sunderland-based technology, media and communications company The Leighton Group, and are supported by Arts Council England.

The awards are open to writers who live and work in the north east of England. The deadline for entries is Wednesday 10 March 2010. Full entry information is available on our website at www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php?section=308.

A published collection, Ten Years On, bringing together new work from 11 previous winners of the awards, is available to buy from New Writing North’s web shop.

News from New Writing North: 22 January 2010

People's Play 2010 open for submissions
New Writing North and the People’s Theatre Company are proud to announce the launch of the 2010 People’s Play Award. The award is run to find an exciting new play that will be produced for one week in the studio theatre at the People’s Theatre in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, in November 2010. The winning writer will receive an award of £2,000. The competition aims to discover and develop new writers for theatre and is only open to writers who have not yet received a full professional production of their work on the stage. For full details on how to apply, see www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php?section=584.

New NWN book group starting in Durham
The new Durham Book Group, run by Jo Colley, will feature a mix of fiction and poetry. The group's first meeting is on 8 February at Leonard’s Café in Durham, when the book under discussion is What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn, which won the prestigious First Novel Award at the 2008 Costas. The book is about a disparate group of characters coming together over a missing girl and features a woman detective with a monkey on her shoulder! If you would like to join the group, contact durhambookgroup@newwritingnorth.com or phone 0191 233 3850.

Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January 2010
On Wednesday 27 January, Durham Student Readers are marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a special day of reading and film events. At 1.30pm, the group will discuss The Reader by Bernard Schlink at Vennels Café, and then in the evening, the Gala cinema is showing the film of The Reader, along with Night and Fog, the celebrated documentary by Alain Resnais. To give people a special insight into the Nazi period and the films, the films will be introduced by Dr Sheila Wittlinger from Durham University. The evening starts at 7.40pm, with the films screening from 8pm. Tickets for films cost from £5 and are available from www.galadurham.co.uk.

People

Val McDermid wins CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award
Val McDermid has been named as the recipient of this year’s prestigious CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing. The announcement has been made by the Crime Writers’ Association in recognition of Val’s work over more than 20 years. The Diamond Dagger is the latest accolade in a highly successful career which last year saw Val inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ITV3 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

Rosalind Wyllie play selected for Red Lion performance
Congratulations to Rosalind Wyllie, from Newcastle, whose short play, Trust, has been selected to be performed as part of the first Bare Bones evening at Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington on 25 January. Over 450 applications were received and six were chosen. More information about the evening can be found at www.barebonesnights.com/page4.htm.

Prue Phillipson has date with Destiny
Congratulations to Hexham writer Prue Phillipson, whose historical novel, Jeanie’s Destiny, has been published by Quaestor2000. Prue has self-published novels before and also had two non-fiction books and articles and short stories published over a long writing career, but at the age of 81, this is her very first work of fiction to be accepted and published. Jeanie’s Destiny is set on the Galloway coast in the 1870s and is the story of a young girl’s efforts to keep her family together and find her true destiny in the face of many trials. For more information, go to www.quaestor2000.com.

Bea Davenport on Chicken House longlist
Congratulations to Bea Davenport, a writer from Berwick-upon-Tweed, whose children’s book, The Serpent House, has been longlisted for The Times/Chicken House children’s novel competition. Bea is one of 18 to be longlisted from more than 2,000 entries. The shortlist is announced in early February and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for her until then.

In the North East

Bloodaxe takes TS Eliot Prize honours
Congratulations to North East publisher Bloodaxe, whose publication, The Water Table, by Philip Gross has won the 2009 TS Eliot Prize for Poetry. Judge Simon Armitage formally announced the winner at the TS Eliot Prize award ceremony at the Wallace Collection in London on Monday 18 January. Mrs Valerie Eliot presented the winner with a cheque for £15,000 and each shortlisted poet received a cheque for £1,000. For more information about the prize, see www.poetrybookshoponline.com/tseliot.php.

Bridging The Gap: Wednesday 27 January
Don’t miss Bridging The Gap, which is broadcast at 11am on Radio 4 on 27 January. The programme is a vivid sound portrait of the Tyne Bridge and draws on the voices and sounds of the bridge, the river, local people and wildlife, while exploring the history, construction and role of the bridge. Contributors to the programme include sound recordist Chris Watson and poet Keith Armstrong.

Live announces new Introduction to Playwriting course
Live Theatre has finalised dates for its next Introduction to Playwriting course and is keen to receive applications from writers of all experience levels. The five-week course begins on 5 May and runs on Wednesday evenings in the Studio Theatre at Live. The course will be structured around the following plays: A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen; A Number by Caryl Churchill; and The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall. For more information, see www.live.org.uk/newwriting/index.php or email degna@live.org.uk.

Call for applications: Greater North: Toronto study visit
Literature Northwest and Mslexia magazine, in partnership with Arts Council England and the Scottish Arts Council, are seeking literature professionals working in strategic roles relating to the short story, and based in the north of England (the North West, North East, Yorkshire) or Scotland to take part in a group study visit to Toronto, including a visit to the 11th International Conference on the Short Story in English. The trip will take place from 14-20 June this year. For more information on the conference, see www.yorku.ca/shortcon and for more information about the trip and to get an application form, contact Ra Page on ra.page@commapress.co.uk. Deadline for applications is Monday 1 February.

INK Festival seeking submissions of new writing
INK is a new festival promoting new writing from the region and beyond, comprising two nights of mini-plays, short stories and poetry. Submissions are now being accepted for the 2010 event. This is open to everyone, regardless of experience. Plays submitted should have a running time of no more than 15 minutes and with no more than four characters, short stories have a word limit of 2,000, while poetry submitted should be suitable for performance and in any language. There is no limit to the number of entries per person. Winners will have their entries performed during the festival and receive free entry to the event. Please email entries to inkfestival@hotmail.co.uk, including your name and contact details. The deadline for entries is 31 January 2010.

New home for Flambard Press
We’re delighted that Flambard Press, the North East’s acclaimed publisher of fiction and poetry have relocated their office to be part of the writing and publishing community at Holy Jesus Hospital. This vibrant, historically important building is New Writing North’s base and home to Mslexia magazine. You can contact Flambard’s editor Will Mackie at editor@flambardpress.co.uk.

National opportunities

John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition 2010
This competition for young writers aged 11-14 years carries a prize of £1,000 (£500 to the winner and £500 to the English department of their school) which is donated by John Murray Publishers. Young people wishing to enter the competition can download the entry form at http://johnbetjeman.com/comp.html. The deadline for entries is 31 July.

Wigtown Poetry Competition open for submissions
The Wigtown Poetry Competition is now open for entries. The competition is the largest in Scotland, with a first prize of £2,500, runner up prize of £750, eight additional prizes of £50 each and a Gaelic prize of £500. The winning poem and runner-up will also be published in The Scotsman, or its sister paper Scotland on Sunday, and the winner invited to appear at the Wigtown Book Festival 2010. Full details of the competition, along with the application form, can be found at www.wigtownbookfestival.com/poetrycomp.

Jobs

Harmony Initiative project seeks creative writer and artist/film-maker
The successful candidates will work as a creative team with a group of young muslims in Middlesbrough (who include asylum seekers and refugees) to create a film that captures and represents who they are. They will be employed for six days beginning with two days during February half-term with the further four days to be delivered during Easter holidays. There will then be a period of post-production to edit and create the finished film. Please download the project outline for more information and details of the application process at www.teesvalleyarts.org.uk/newsandevents.html. The deadline for applications is Friday 29 January.

Miscellany

Correction from previous newsletter
In the last newsletter, we mentioned in The Listening Post that the BHS North East Haiku Poetry Group was holding a workshop on 24 January. The date has been moved to 31 January, at the same time (1.30pm-4.30pm) and at the same place (Morden Tower).

Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 1 February. The next edition of The Listening Post covering March's literature events will go out in late February. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send information by 20 February to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

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People's Play 2010 open for submissions

New Writing North and the People’s Theatre Company are proud to announce the launch of the 2010 People’s Play Award. The award is run to find an exciting new play that will be produced for one week in the studio theatre at the People’s Theatre in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, in November 2010. The winning writer will receive an award of £2,000.

The competition aims to discover and develop new writers for theatre and is only open to writers who have not yet received a full professional production of their work on the stage.

The People’s Theatre is one of the largest, oldest and most prestigious amateur theatres in the country. Many of its members go on to professional theatre work. The theatre has always been keen to promote new writing and the People’s Play is now a well-established event in its calendar. For more information about the theatre, see www.ptag.org.uk. New Writing North is the reading and writing development agency for the north east of England. New Writing North works with writers in all forms of writing, from plays and screenplays to fiction and poetry, to develop new opportunities and projects.

Winning The People’s Play is a great first step to establishing a career as a professional writer. Former winners who have gone on to write professionally include Alison Carr, Peter Straughan (who recently wrote the screenplay for The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney) and Carina Rodney.

The award is funded by New Writing North and The People’s Theatre and is open to writers who live and work within the Arts Council England North East region (Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Tees Valley and County Durham).

HOW TO ENTER
You may enter for the award if you are permanently resident in Tyne and Wear, the Tees Valley, County Durham or Northumberland and have lived here for at least one year. The awards are supported by Arts Council England North East and as such are designated for this region of the UK. Writers may only enter one script for the award. The play that you enter for the award must be a new play that has not yet received a professional production.

For full details on how to apply, see www.newwritingnorth.com/awards/awards.php?section=584

Good luck with your application

News from New Writing North: 8 January 2010

Our focus is on getting you published and produced this year
It may have been nice to have had a White Christmas for a change, but the snow's starting to lose something of its appeal now. But if you’re starting to feel a bit stir crazy, don’t despair as there are lots of great opportunities for writers coming up from New Writing North this year. Our focus for 2010 is very much on helping new writers to take the next big steps with their careers and on seeking out and creating real commissioning opportunities for more established writers.

Next week we will be launching the 2010 Northern Writers’ Awards and announcing this year’s judges. With £25,000 of prize money up for grabs plus the chance to meet industry contacts and to be supported to develop your fiction, children’s fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, it’s a chance not to be missed.

Also this month we will be launching the 2010 People’s Play Award, our biennial project for first-time playwrights. With a £2,000 prize to be won and the chance to see your play produced by the theatre this November, this is a wonderful opportunity for writers who aspire to write for the stage.

Scriptwriters will also be interested in our new Development Programme, which we are currently recruiting for until 15 January. Through this scheme, up to four writers will be supported by theatre director Deborah Bruce to complete a full-length play. At the end of the process, we would anticipate that one of the plays will be selected to be fully commissioned, produced and toured by the North East Theatre Consortium, a group of organisations led by New Writing North along with three regional venues: Queen’s Hall in Hexham, The Customs House in South Shields, and Darlington Arts Centre. The consortium has previously produced and toured Pub Quiz by Carina Rodney and Queen Bee by Margaret Wilkinson. Click here to download full details about the scheme and guidelines on how to enter.

Do make sure that you keep us abreast of your news too. We’re always delighted to hear about new books, awards nominations, things you’ve written in the media and any other writing-related news that you’d like to tell us about.

Here’s to us all having a great 2010. Claire

People

Anna Woodford on Crashaw shortlist
Congratulations to Anna Woodford, who runs our Poetry Room Book Group and who’s just been shortlisted for the international Crashaw Poetry Prize. There are 12 on the shortlist from a field of 120 poetry manuscripts by poets from the UK, USA, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The winners are announced on 26 February and will have their collection published by Salt.

Valerie Laws selected for international residency
Northumberland writer Valerie Laws, whose novel The Rotting Spot was part of our Read Regional 2009 promotion, has been selected for the first international El Gouna Writers’ Residency in Egypt, for the month of February. Four to six writers are invited to enjoy a full month’s stay at a beautiful villa in El Gouna, with opportunities to interact and exchange thoughts with writers from different cultures. Valerie will be working on her new poetry collection based on work with scientists and pathologists from her Wellcome Trust Arts Award-funded project.

New work from Sean Burn
Congratulations to North East writer Sean Burn, whose third collection, Wings Are Giving Out, has just been launched by Skrev Press after having been shortlisted for a DaDaFest 2009 award.

In the North East

Olympians, poets and prize winners at Café Culture this spring
New Writing North is one of the cultural programme partners for Café Culture North East, the popular Monday night talks programme which takes place at Dance City’s Urban Café.

On Monday 18 January, Rebecca Jenkins will be giving a timely talk entitled 'Lessons from Britain’s first Olympics in 1908'. Rebecca is the author of The First London Olympics: 1908 and will explain the impact of the Olympics 100 years ago, including the preparation of a 140 acre site of scrubland in west London which was transformed into White City. What cultural legacies did our first-ever Olympics leave? And what lessons can we learn for our forthcoming 2012 Olympic games? If you’ve not heard Rebecca talk before do come along – she’s really fun and very well informed.

Other events coming up as part of the programme include Mark Robinson and a panel of poets discussing whether poets are still the “unofficial legislators” of our world on Monday 1 March, and author Kate Clanchy talking about her memoir Antigona and Me on Monday 19 April. We’re delighted to have Kate along to the events programme and would like to congratulate her on winning the National Short Story Prize at the end of last year.

All the events start at 7pm prompt and are over by 9pm. Admission is free and there is no need to book, though we do advise turning up early to grab a good seat as events are popular. The ethos of the programme is for people to listen to guest speakers and then engage in a open conversation about the topics and themes of the night in a café-style environment. It’s relaxed, fun and if the evening makes your mind fizz with ideas, all the better. You can find out more about the annual programme of stimulating talks at www.cafeculturenortheast.org.uk.

Mslexia celebrates first decade by winning Women in Publishing’s 2009 Pandora Award
Mslexia, the quarterly magazine for women who write, became the proud recipient of Women in Publishing’s 2009 Pandora Award just before Christmas. The award has been presented since 1981 to an individual or organisation for a significant and valuable contribution to publishing and for promoting positive images of women in publishing, book-selling and related trades. Since 1982, the prize has been an antique writing desk, which is passed from one winner to the next. Mslexia is produced in Newcastle (from an office just downstairs from us at New Writing North, so we'll be down to inspect the desk as soon as it arrives) and is a must-read for writers and readers alike. For more information about Mslexia, including how to subscribe, see www.mslexia.co.uk.

National opportunities

The Script Factory wants women writers
The Script Factory has announced She Writes! – a new training programme targeted directly at women screenwriters, presented together with their partners at Birds Eye View and supported by the Skillset Film Skills Fund. The programme caters for eight ‘emerging’ women writers who will join The Script Factory over the course of 2010. During the year they will enjoy a residential retreat, attend two specialist workshops in London, meet with mentors, gain a better understanding of how the film industry works, have exclusive access to industry and training events at the Birds Eye View Film Festival and Script Factory preview events and masterclasses, and get the opportunity to workshop their feature screenplay project with actors. If you are a new writer with just one drama credit to your name (a short film or a piece of TV, radio or theatre), this could be the boost you need to take your writing to the next level. To find out more, see www.scriptfactory.co.uk/go/Training/Article_757.html. Deadline for applications is 29 January.

The Listening Post

Poetry from Sheree Mack and Catherine Graham
Bewick Hall, Newcastle City Library: Wednesday 13 January, 6.30pm-7.45pm
Free tickets available by telephoning the library on 0191 277 4100.

Meet the Author: Jasper Fforde
City Library, Newcastle: Thursday 21 January, 2.30pm & 6pm
Newcastle Library’s Meet the Author events continue with two events with the eclectic Jasper Fforde, who will be visiting Newcastle for the day to talk about his new book, Shade of Grey. For more information, tel 0191 277 4100. Admission free.

Julia Blackburn & Blake Morrison
Culture Lab, Newcastle University: Thursday 21 January, 7pm
Julia Blackburn is the author of four books of non-fiction and two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper’s Companions, both of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Her memoir of her troubled relationship with her parents, The Three of Us, was published to great acclaim in 2008. Blake Morrison is a novelist, playwright, memoirist, journalist and critic. And When Did You Last See Your Father? (1993), a chronicle of his relationship with his father was produced as a feature film in 2004. For more information, see www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla.

Ten by Ten
The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle: Thursday 21 January, 7.30pm
Andy Willoughby reads extracts from his new work, SAMPO: Heading Further North, while Kate Fox will be giving us an inside view of her new show, Fox News. Plus Kathleen Kenny, Barry Fox, Stephen Baines, Nikki Hawkins, Scott Tyrrell, Nick Montgomery, Keith Parker and Alfie Crow. Admission: £3 on the door.

BHS North East Haiku Poetry Group Workshop
Morden Tower, Newcastle: 24 January, 1.30pm-4.30pm
No previous experience of writing haiku is necessary. Refreshments provided. Admission: £3/£2. For more information and to reserve a place, email chrisphil79@hotmail.com.

Northern Voices Annual Poetry Award event
Bridge Hotel, Newcastle: Sunday 24 January, 7.30pm
Featuring Bob Beagrie, Andy Willoughby and Robert Lonsdale from Teesside; Stephen Murray and Brendan Murphy from Ireland; Geraldine Green from Cumbria and Catherine Graham, Dave Alton and Gordon Phillips from Tyneside. Plus the presentation of the Northern Voices Poetry Award 2010. Admission: £5. For more information, call 0191 252 9531.

Lee Hall: Six Necessary Ingredients for a Successful Play
Curtis Auditorium, Newcastle University: Tuesday 26 January, 5.30pm
Lecture by the writer of Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters, Lee Hall. Free event.

Articulate
ARC, Stockton on Tees: Wednesday 27 January, 7.45pm
An evening of live literature inspired by film. From the fleapit to the art-house, a diverse line-up of poets and storytellers present an eclectic mic of comic work. For more information, tel 01642 525199. Admission: £3.

Murder in the Cathedral: a special event with Ann Cleeves
St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle: 28 January, 7pm
An interactive murder mystery for lovers of traditional detective stories with crime writer Ann Cleeves and CSI Helen Pepper. A fundraiser for St Nicholas Cathedral choristers. Tickets: £7.50/£5, to include wine and nibbles from the cathedral chapter office. For more information, tel 0191 232 1939.

National Storytelling Week launch
Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology, Durham: Saturday 30 January
National Storytelling Week begins. For more information, tel 0191 334 1823 or see www.durham.ac.uk/fulling.mill.

Writing workshops for new writers coming up in March

The Blank Page with Linda France
Saturday 20 February, 10am-4pm: Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle & Saturday 27 March: Clayport Library, Durham
Join poet Linda France for a day of creative writing. In the morning the workshop will focus on creative journal writing – how to write about real life and capture real events and experiences. In the afternoon you will be taken through the process of how to write a poem.

Starting to Write with Ellen Phethean
Saturday 27 February, Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle & Saturday 20 March: Clayport Library, Durham
If you’ve always wanted to write creatively but have never devoted any serious time to trying to do so, this workshop is for you. Aimed at beginners who would like to learn how to develop their work, this workshop will give you great ideas for starting to write and help you plan to develop and improve your writing.

Both workshops are produced by New Writing North in association with Women into the Network as part of the Learning Transformation programme Arts for Art's Sake. If you're a member of WIN there is no charge; if you are not, each event costs £15 plus VAT. You can find out how to book on the WIN website.

Miscellany

A Journey Round My Skull
The owner of blog A Journey Round My Skull describes the site as "Unhealthy book fetishism from a reader, collector, and amateur historian of forgotten literature." The blog has in the past featured beautiful and fascinating books of all sorts, but, the author notes, current obsessions are illustration and graphic design. One particular highlight recently has been a collection of images from Soviet children's books from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, although so much of the material is so extraordinary, it's easy to lose hours at a time just browsing.

New editorial consultancy based in Edinburgh
The Fine Line is a new editorial consultancy, who got in touch to ask whether we could put their details out to our mailing list. Their fees for a reader’s report are modest at just £50, as are their fees for a full edit of completed manuscripts. Even if you’re just starting out as a writer, their website has lots of blogs and insights from more established writers which you might find inspiring or interesting. For more information, see www.editorial-consultancy.co.uk.

Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 18 January. The edition of The Listening Post covering February's literature events will go out in late January. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send information by 20 January to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

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News from New Writing North: 18 December 2009

New Writing North is taking a break over Christmas and New Year, and from the time you get this newsletter until 4 January, the office will be closed.

We’ve had a busy, exhausting, but brilliant 2009, with some wonderful projects, and worked with some truly inspirational people. We’re working on our 2010 programme at the moment, and will of course let you know about it as soon as we can.

  We hope you all have a good break, and look forward to seeing you all in 2010.

Best wishes

Claire, Anna, Cath, Catriona and Liv

People

Peter Bennet scoops Bunting Award second spot
Congratulations to Northumberland poet Peter Bennet, who has taken second prize in the inaugural Basil Bunting Award for his poem, The Tower. First prize went to DH Maitreyabandhu for The Coat Cupboard. A total of 914 poems were received from around the world, with the winners announced at an awards ceremony at Culture Lab, Newcastle University, on 10 December. You can read Peter’s poem, as well as those of the other prize-winners, at www.basilbuntingaward.co.uk.

  Join Janet MacLeod Trotter on the hippy trail
Janet MacLeod Trotter was just 18 when in 1976 she set off on the hippy trail to Kathmandu. And now you can follow in her footsteps as she publishes her diaries of her overland adventures at http://janmacleodtrotter.blogspot.com.

Courses and workshops

Burning the Midnight Oil: creative writing course in Newcastle
The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) is celebrating its centenary in 2010 and will be holding special events around the North East. Their creative writing workshops will be focusing on writing about the stories, poems, sketches and lyrics you see in any of the 'Pitman' paintings, which were themselves created at a WEA art course in Ashington and made famous by Lee Hall’s play The Pitman Painters. Two 10-week courses begin on Saturday 23 January from 10am to 12pm at the Nunsmoor Centre, opposite the BBC studios, Studley Terrace, Fenham and at the WEA, 21 Portland Terrace, Jesmond, from Wednesday 13 January. For more information, contact the Nunsmoor Centre on 0191 226 1006 or the tutor on 0191 274 7803, email gordonfrankphillips@hotmail.com.  

Creative writing course in Whitley Bay
Enrolment is now open for a Whitley Bay-based writing course called Creative Writing: Writing Dialogue, which will run for ten weeks from 13 January. The dialogue-focused classes are being targeted at people who are over 18, and who do not have a first degree, or equivalent, but are looking to expand their writing skills. Creative Writing: Writing Dialogue will run from 7pm-9pm on Wednesday evenings at Culture Quarter in Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay. For more information, contact Phil Dixon on 0191 253 0466 or at phil@culturequarter.org.

National opportunities

The Fielding Programme for writers: spring 2010
The Fielding Programme is a specialist residency programme for new and early career writers. In spring and autumn each year, it offers the opportunity to develop professionally in spectacular and inspiring surroundings and to receive one-to-one mentoring. You receive individual support from an accomplished writer who can share experience and ideas on everything from the details of technique to the direction your writing career might take. You also benefit from each other’s experience with informal workshops. Only six writers are resident at one time so places are very limited. You can get more details and apply at www.fieldingprogramme.com.

Miscellany

Last chance for a Mslexia Writers’ Diary
If you're thinking about one of these for a present, then you may be cutting it a bit fine, but if you haven’t sorted out your 2010 diary yet, look no further: once again, Mslexia, the magazine for women who write, has come up with the perfect writer’s diary. They still have a few left, so if you want one, hurry to www.mslexia.co.uk/shop/diary_buy.html and they'll post it out to you for the start of 2010.  

Take the David Foster Wallace grammar challenge
It goes without saying that we're sticklers here for grammar and spelling and all that sort of business, but quite clearly David Foster Wallace was in a league of his own. If you're up for a challenge, head to http://htmlgiant.com/craft-notes/grammar-challenge and try your luck at a grammar test he set his class of non-fiction students. And while you're there, the rest of the site – http://htmlgiant.com – is worth looking at too.

Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 4 January.
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While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our knowledge.

Open call for submissions of new novels and new collections of poetry by North East writers

Read Regional is a campaign to promote published books by North East writers. The 2010 Read Regional campaign will be launched at the Hexham Book Festival in May 2010 and runs until the end of October. The campaign will include author promotions, reading stunts across the North East region, library promotions and stock purchases by participating libraries, book group events and a major press promotion, triggered by a special public launch event. The event ran successfully last year – see www.readregional.com for more information.

Read Regional aims to support the promotion of work by writers who live and work in the North East; if they are also published by regional independent presses, that’s a bonus too. We will aim to select a line-up of books which are diverse in nature and which will offer project partners lots of potential promotion opportunities. Last year the campaign focused on four fiction titles – this year we would like to consider poetry titles too.

Criteria for selection
• The book must be written by a writer who currently lives and works in the north east of England (Teesside to Berwick upon Tweed)
• The author must be available to participate in at least 10 events across the North East between May and October 2010
• Books must have been published between January 2009 and April 2010 in paperback

To enter
Please send the following if you would like your book to be considered for the campaign:
1. A copy of the book
2. Biog of the writer and information on the publisher and where the book is currently available to buy
3. A summary of past reviews and press coverage and marketing activity for older books, or information on forward marketing plans for new titles
Please send this information to New Writing North by Monday 4 January 2010. If you have any questions about eligibility, please email catriona@newwritingnorth.com.

Catriona Taylor
Read Regional Programme Manager
New Writing North
Holy Jesus Hospital
City Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 2AS

Please do not try to hand deliver materials as our building is not always open to the public and there is no public letterbox

Read Regional is core funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England.