News from New Writing North

News from New Writing North: 15 August 2008

This week we are prioritising reading rather than writing in the newsletter to show our support of the National Year of Reading. There are lots of great projects coming up around the region, including a new network of book groups to join, Read Regional (a campaign to promote home-grown poetry and fiction) and events programmed by lots of different publishers and promoters. In the next newsletter we’ll be announcing our autumn events programme which we are busy putting the final touches to this week. I hope until then you can find time to curl up with a book while it's still raining outside. Claire

News from New Writing North

It’s the National Year of Reading!
You’ve probably already come across the logo or library campaigns in the national press, but if you didn’t already know, 2008 is the official National Year of Reading, a government initiative to promote the pleasures of reading. The project is co-ordinated in the North East by Richard Bliss, who has been working with libraries across the region to create book crossing hubs alongside a range of reading promotion activity. For more information about local events, visit www.yearofreading.org.uk or check the MLA’s Year of Reading section and Richard’s updates at www.mlanortheast.org.uk/nemlac/page.php3?500.

Free books for reading groups
We’re delighted to be working with innovative Newcastle indie publisher Tonto Books to give away 500 free copies of two new publications by local authors: Everything You Ever Wanted, a novel by Rosalind Wyllie, and Being Normal, a new collection of stories by Stephen Shieber. To complement this fantastic give-away, which is open to reading groups only, New Writing North has produced reading guides to both books in conjunction with the authors. To reserve copies of the books for your reading groups, contact Olivia on 0191 222 1332 or email olivia@newwritingnorth.com. Please note that books must be collected from NWN’s office. The project is part of the National Year of Reading.

Tonto books launch
If you’re not in a book group but want to find out what all the fuss is about, come along to the joint launch event for Everything You Ever Wanted and Being Normal at 5pm on Tuesday 19 August at Northern Stage in Newcastle. Everyone is welcome and entry is free. As well as an opportunity to get a signed copy of each book, actors will be reading extracts and there will be live music from the North East’s own Beccy Owen.

What we’re doing for the National Year of Reading
Here at NWN we are joining the spirit of the year and using the focus on reading to underpin the development of a new reading group network around the region. Following a recruitment drive in this very newsletter to identify new readers in residence, we are thrilled to announce that come September we will be launching five new reading groups in Berwick-upon-Tweed (facilitated by Barbara Henderson), Sunderland (Laura Sandy), Hexham (Susie Troup), Washington (Sandy Parsons), and Darlington (Jo Colley). These groups will complement our existing groups in Newcastle and Middlesbrough. The groups will have access to free books, authors visits, special offers on books and for events tied to featured books – so they are really special groups. The groups are programmed by the readers and NWN so a range of books are read across the season.

Read Regional launch
As part of the Cultural Olympiad Launch Weekend and in partnership with the National Year of Reading, we will be having some fun on the concourse of Newcastle Central Station on Friday 26 September to launch our new Read Regional campaign. We will be in situ in a very unique way on the platform, promoting reading and bookcrossing. We are also looking for volunteers to participate in the day. Volunteers would be required to sit and read for one hour between 8am and 6pm. We promise to reward volunteers with cake and tea. If you’re interested, please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com and we’ll tell you what we’re up to. We are also looking to identify new opportunities for promoting the campaign, so if you think that you could help us to promote 10 books by regional authors in your doctors' surgery, workplace, library or school, please get in touch.

In the North East

Call for artists looking to work with young children
CTC Theatre in Darlington is running a programme of development activities in September for artists working in Early Years. They would like to work with both emergent and established artists (from any discipline) who are committed to creating work for the very young. This work will be the preliminary phase to establishing networks of Early Years artists working in the region who will become part of the wider CTC family. The deadline is 26 August. To get an application form and more details, email miranda@ctctheatre.org.uk or call 01325 352 004.

Centre for Lifelong Learning offers creative writing classes in Hexham
The Centre for Lifelong Learning is running creative writing classes in Hexham on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Thursday evenings. New and experienced writers are equally welcome. The course begins in September and will run for ten weeks. For further information call 0191 515 2800.

Son of Samurai
Son of Samurai, the latest comedy from playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood is coming to the North East following its recent Latitude Festival success. Performances will be staged at the Customs House, South Shields on 4-6 September, Stockton Arc on 18-20 September and Newcastle’s Theatre Royal from 25-27 September. Contact the theatre box offices for more information.

National opportunities

Red Planet Pictures screenwriting competition
Red Planet Pictures, the independent production company set up by Life on Mars and Hustle co-creator Tony Jordan, has just announced its second annual writing competition. Budding writers should submit the first ten pages of a 60-minute pilot script with television series potential, along with a one-page series outline. There are no guidelines or restrictions in terms of genre or subject. The winner will receive £5,000, representation by a leading literary agency and a script commission from Red Planet Pictures. Runners-up will have the opportunity to be mentored by the Red Planet team. The deadline for entries is 30 September. To find out more, see www.redplanetpictures.co.uk/news/index.html.

Jobs and opportunities

Working in the mental health sector: paid training for artists
Good For the Soul, Wear Valley District Council’s Arts in Health project, is running a training day for artists wishing to work with people in mental health settings. Douglas Hunter of Equal Arts will lead the session, which will include the opportunity to meet Arts in Health professionals. Artists will be paid a fee of £70 for attending the session and lunch will be provided. The event takes place between 10am and 3.30pm on 11 September at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. For details contact Jane Dancer at JaneGood4TheSoul@aol.com by 29 August.

Editors and writers required
Blyth Valley Borough Council is inviting bids from writers and editors for the research and writing of of its commemorative book, which will take place between September and November 2008. This will be part of a celebration of the 35-year lifespan of Blyth Valley Borough Council, which will cease to exist in April next year. The commemorative book will be part of the the council's last annual report and will be distributed to all 36,000 homes in the borough; a further 2,000 copies will be placed in libraries, community centres and sent to partners. The role will involve researching and writing articles and sourcing photography. For information on how to apply, contact Chris Shaw at cshaw@blythvalley.gov.uk by 26 August.

Miscellany

Congratulations
Many local writers have seen their hard work pay off in recent weeks. Many congratulations to Chris Allan, a Newcastle-based children’s writer who entered his story The Silhouettes and Winds of the Valley in The Invisible Ink anthology competition advertised in our newsletter last Christmas; the anthology is now in print, and Chris’s story is featured. Readers can now vote for their favourite story in the anthology, and the winner will be given a full-length fiction commission. To vote, visit www.invisibleink.org.uk/competitions.html.

In other good news, Radio 4 is broadcasting a short story by Phil Robinson (whom we supported with the launch of The Faber Book of Gardens) as part of the Opening Lines week on 29 August at 3.30pm.

Colette Bryce’s poem The Full Indian Rope Trick has won the Poetry Society's online poll to find the most popular winner of the National Poetry Competition from the last 30 years. To read the poem visit www.poetrysociety.org.uk. Colette will be launching her new collection at Live Theatre on Sunday 31 August with Michael Longley. See Live's website for more details.

And finally, Sean Conway is having continued success with his two films Alex and Her Arse Truck and Kings of London. Both films are being screened on Channel 4 in the coming days: Alex on Sunday 17 August at 1.15am and Kings on Wednesday 20 August at 11.35pm. Alex is also being shown at many film festivals around the world this summer, and we wish Sean the best of luck with it!

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 25 August.

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News from New Writing North: 18 July 2008

Long summer holidays and nothing to do?
If you're a teenager or a parent of a teenager and want to get involved in a summer holiday writing project, we might have just the thing. We have limited places available on a project running for a week from 18 August, where participants will be working with a published author to develop their creative writing. The course is free, and lunch is provided: all you need to do is be able to get into central Newcastle. Please email olivia@newwritingnorth.com if you're interested in taking part.

News from New Writing North

Weddings, holidays and newsletters…
As half of us here in the office are off on our holidays, including NWN director Claire who's actually on honeymoon for a few weeks, and it's such a quiet time over the summer with so many people away, we're going to be taking a short break from the newsletter. Our next newsletter will be on 8 August, with the deadline for news to come to Olivia on 5 August. Send your news to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

NWN user survey
In the next few weeks, some of you may receive an invitation to take part in our user survey. We will be asking a sample of writers and people who attend our events to complete an online survey. We want to make the most of this opportunity by listening to what you have to say and responding to it. The results of the survey will form the basis of further consultation and will help us to make decisions about the services we can offer in the future.

In the North East

Mslexia Poetry Competition winners
Congratulations to Whitley Bay writer Valerie Laws, who took second place in the annual Mslexia Poetry Competition with her poem A Litter of Moons, and to Blaydon poet Fiona Ritchie Walker, who was named one of the runners-up. Full competition results and the winners' entries are in the July issue of Mslexia, which is available now.

MAS-SAMple: debates at Live Theatre
Artists, performers and writers from the Caribbean diaspora will be in conversation at Newcastle's Live Theatre on Friday 25 July, discussing the challenges of their work. Featured artists are Mario Lewis from Trinidad, Annalee Davis and Ewan Atkinson from Barbados. The day runs from 2pm-5pm, with tickets priced £10/£5. For tickets, call Live Theatre’s box office on 0191 232 1232 or visit www.live.org.uk. For more information please contact mas.sample@gmail.com.

George Loggie bursary offers reward for young people
The George Loggie bursary was set up in 2002 in memory of former Northern Arts Chair George Loggie. The bursary is worth £1000 for a young person to use "to facilitate imaginative and inspiring creative ideas to aid their personal and artistic development". You can apply if you are a young artist under 21 working in any artform. Examples of the how the bursary might be used include travel to train with a specialist, new equipment to enable the young person to realise an idea or a community arts project led by the young person. Email Jane Tarr at jt@communityfoundation.org.uk for an application form. Deadline is 24 October.

Claire Morgan joins Apples and Snakes as NE co-ordinator
Apples and Snakes, the national agency for performance poetry, has appointed Claire Morgan as its North East co-ordinator. Claire is the woman behind spoken word organisation Monkfish Productions. She takes up her post in September and we all look forward to working with her.

Funding update from Arts Council England
In the past four weeks, three new projects have been funded through Arts Council England's open application scheme, Grants for the arts. Congratulations to the following successful applicants:

- An individual writer has received £6,930 towards research and development of a new book
- Durham City Arts have been awarded £18,600 towards the costs of the Durham Book Festival fringe programme
- Smokestack Books have received £8,900 towards their publishing programme

New screenwriters' group in Newcastle
Maybe you've just started writing a script and feel like you need some feedback, or maybe you've been doing it for years but need some fresh ideas. Either way, this new screenwriters' group could be just the thing for you. Meetings will take place monthly, and the first meeting is 9 August at the Lit & Phil in Newcastle, from 11am to 1pm. For more information and to book your place, email kjewitt@blueyonder.co.uk.

Greater North: Cities of Literature 2008
Study visit to Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature and Melbourne, November 2008
Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, in partnership with Arts Council England and the Scottish Arts Council, is seeking literature professionals working in strategic roles in the north of England and Scotland to take part in a group visit to two Cities of Literature: Edinburgh and Melbourne.

As the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh has a strong literary heritage and thriving contemporary scene. It is a 'city built on books' with the world's largest international book festival, numerous libraries and prestigious collections, and booksellers, both new and antiquarian. Leading publishers and publications originated in the city, and a thriving publishing industry continues today. Melbourne is bidding to become UNESCO's second City of Literature. As part of their bid, Arts Victoria and the Australian State Government have given $9 million to further develop Melbourne's literature sector.

The project will be particularly well suited to those involved in audience development, literature festivals or literary events programming, readership development and those working for literature development agencies.

For an application form please email rachael.ogden@artscouncil.org.uk. The closing date is 12 noon on Friday 1 August 2008. Arts Council representatives from the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Scottish regions will select participants by Thursday 14 August 2008.

This activity is subject to funding by Arts Council England and travel availability.

National opportunities

Asham Award for women writers
Entries are now open for the annual Asham Award for women writers, which is a national short story competition. First prize is £1,000, second £500 and third £300. Runners-up receive £100 each and have their stories published in a collection by Bloomsbury. For more information and how to enter, see www.ashamaward.com.

Amateur theatre group seeking new material
Bench Theatre is an amateur theatre group based in Havant, Hampshire. They are launching a play competition to mark their 40th anniversary and are seeking a new full-length play describing in some way the state of Britain today. The winning play will be performed in September 2009, and a first prize of £500 will be awarded.

You can find more information at www.benchtheatre.org.uk/40yearsofbench/competition.php. If you have any questions or would like to know more about the competition, contact competition organiser Jacquie Penrose at jacquie@benchtheatre.org.uk or 02392 481318.

Jobs

Poet or writer in school in Cumbria
A primary school in Workington, Cumbria, is planning an exciting and interactive book week from 6-12 October. If you are a poet or writer and would like to join them for a day during this week, then please contact Mrs D Midwood, Seaton Infant School, High Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1NP. Tel: 01900 325233.

Poetry School looking for Finance and Administration Officer
Salary: £22-25000 PA

The Poetry School works with poets all around the country to deliver its programmes of courses, seminars, workshops and tutorials to aspiring writers at various stages in their development.

It is looking for a committed and enthusiastic Finance and Administration Officer to support its operations across all its activities. Working in a small team, you will be required to administer all financial functions of this busy arts organisation; to administer all bookings and databases relating to its growing national programme; and to develop the use of its new teaching premises in central London.

You will have some experience of financial administration, with knowledge of financial processes and accounting packages; strong administrative skills; and an interest in poetry and the wider arts sector. For more details, a full job description and person specification, please email Will Carr at director@poetryschool.com. Closing date is 21 July 2008, with interviews to take place on 29 July 2008.

Miscellany

Survey for freelancers: responses needed
Creative & Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries, would like to know what kinds of skills you think are relevant to make it as a successful freelancer. You can help them by completing a short survey about what skills, activities and knowledge are important for freelancers to work effectively in your sector. The survey should only take around 15 minutes and can be found at www.ccskills-nos.org.uk/freelance.html. By completing these questions you will be helping Creative & Cultural Skills to write a series of professional standards which will in turn help freelancers, employers and clients.

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 5 August.

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News from New Writing North: 4 July 2008

New Writing North news

Summer launches: one down, two to go…
Thanks to all who attended Rebecca Jenkins’ book launch yesterday evening at Newcastle Blackwell’s; it was a really lovely evening. Rebecca’s was the first in our series of summer launches – the next two are for Wife in the North by Judith O’Reilly on 10 July and Strange Music by Laura Fish on 15 July. We hope you can join us for these two evenings of cool drinks, nibbles and book chat – there’s more information on our Events page. And to whet your appetite, there's also a podcast of an interview with Judith in our Multimedia section.

Congratulations to Peases West Primary School
Three cheers for this wonderful school, who we’ve worked with a lot over the last few years, including placing writer Carina Rodney in a year-long residence at the school. Now all that hard work has paid off as they've been named one of only 30 National Schools of Creativity 2008-2011!

The SAMA Young Writers' project
As part of the Writers @ SAMA festival – a celebration of South Asian writing which is taking place this October – we are running a summer holiday project for young people from South Asian backgrounds. From Monday 18-Friday 22 August, poet Sundra Lawrence will help participants on the project develop their own poetry and short stories on the theme of home. She will provide them with starting points, tips and techniques to create top quality written work and really develop their creative writing. During the week, they will also work with a professional photographer to take photos to illustrate their written work. The result will be a publication which will be promoted throughout the region and launched at an event in October as part of the SAMA Festival.

The project will take place at Newcastle University from Monday 18 August-Friday 22 August from 10.30am-4pm and it's free to take part. There are 15 spaces available for 13-18-year-olds from South Asian backgrounds. To book a place, please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com or call Olivia Mantle on 0191 222 1332.

In the North East

Anna Ralph wins Betty Trask Award
Congratulations to Anna Ralph, author of The Floating Island (Century Hutchinson, 2007), who won a Betty Trask Award from the Society of Authors on 18 June. The prize recognises first novels by authors from the Commonwealth under the age of 35 and the prize money must be used for foreign travel. Previous winners have included Zadie Smith, Sarah Waters and Meera Syal. Anna Ralph is from Durham and her second novel, Before I Knew Him (Century Hutchinson, 2008) has just been published in hardback, and was inspired by the Northumberland coastline.

Fiction translation? It's a crime…
The Lit and Phil in Newcastle is hosting an evening with three great translators of crime fiction on 8 July at 7.30pm, chaired by Ann Cleeves. The speakers will be: Ros Schwarz, who co-translated Dominique Manotti's Lorraine Connection (EuroCrime, 2007); Stephen Sartarelli, a New York poet who translated Andrea Camilleri's The Patience of the Spider (Picador, 2008); and Peter Millar, who translated Martin Suter's A Deal with the Devil (EuroCrime, 2007). All three books are shortlisted for the 2008 Duncan Lawrie Daggers for Best Crime Fiction. Tickets for the event are £3. Please reserve your seat by calling (0191) 232 0192, emailing library@litandphil.org.uk or by calling in.

Random Ramblings at Morpeth Methodist Church hall
Nothing to do on Saturday night? How about an evening of light entertainment, comedy and narrative verse with local author Amanda Baker? Amanda was a finalist of the 2005 BBC National Sitcom Competition and is the author of The Companion Contract (AuthorHouse, 2007). The event is on Saturday 12 July at 7.30pm; tickets are £4 from Morpeth tourist centre/£5 on the door.

Bored in the office? Have a look at this while the boss isn't watching…
Poet Kevin Cadwallender has teamed up with visual artist Anton Hecht to create something quirky in celebration of the Angel of the North's tenth anniversary this year. Check it out for yourself on http://youtube.com/watch?v=S8C2lGaW-Yg – but don't get caught while you're supposed to be working!

Worldlab introduces new writing course
Hartlepool writing group Wordlab is introducing a new creative writing class run by poets and Teesside University lecturers Bob Beagrie and Andy Willoughby. The course runs from 12 September for 20 weeks and will cover all aspects of writing. At the end of the course, the group's work will be published. For more information, contact Lynnfield Centre on 01429 232946 or email wordlab@hotmail.co.uk.

New North East publisher looking for short stories
Byker Books is looking for contributions for the quite splendidly-named Radgepacket short story page on their website – see www.bykerbooks.co.uk for more information.

Launch for Paul Batchelor’s debut, with special guest Frances Leviston
Paul Batchelor launches his debut poetry collection, The Sinking Road (Bloodaxe, 2008), at Side Cinema on Monday 14 July at 7pm. He will be joined by Frances Leviston, whose debut collection Public Dream (Picador, 2007) was shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. To reserve a ticket, call 0191 261 4224, or email livepoetry@hotmail.co.uk. Tickets cost £4/£3 concs.

To Make The People Smile Again: commemorating the Spanish Civil War
Newcastle's Morden Tower hosts this evening commemorating one of the key events of the 20th century. Mike Mould will read from To Make The People Smile Again, George Wheeler's memoir of his experience in Spain; Lewis Mates will talk about the role the North East played in the war, based on his research for his recently-published book; and Steve Chambers will share his experience of traveling around Spanish battlefields and meeting Spanish people involved in the war. The evening takes place at Morden Tower on Monday 14 July at 8pm and tickets are £3 from Northern Stage.

National opportunities

Seven Stories launches Frances Lincoln Prize
Children's books publisher Frances Lincoln and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle, have announced the creation of an award in memory of company founder Frances Lincoln, who died, aged 55, in February 2001. Called The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award, it aims to “take positive steps to increase the representation of people writing from or about different cultural perspectives, whose work is published in Britain today”. The prize of £1,500, plus the option for Frances Lincoln Children's Books to publish the novel, will be awarded to the best work of unpublished fiction for 8-12 year-olds by a writer, aged 16 years or over, who has not previously published a novel for children. Entry forms can be obtained by email from diversevoices@sevenstories.org.uk or from Helena McConnell at Seven Stories on 0845 271 077.

Cardiff International Poetry Competition: entries now open
The judges for the 2009 Cardiff International Poetry Competition have been announced by Academi as esteemed poets Ian McMillan and Kurt Heinzelman. The competition is now open for entries, so if you think your poetry has got what it takes to pick up the £5,000 prize, head for www.academi.org/cipc/i/132712 for all the details.

Book and Pamphlet competition for poets
If you’re a poet and are looking to have your collection published, this is the competition for you. The five winners will have their collections published in pamphlet format, and will receive a share of the £1,000 prize money. For more details and to enter, see www.poetrybusiness.co.uk/competition.aspx.

Jobs

Poetry School needs poetry tutorial leaders
The Poetry School works with poets all around the country to deliver its programmes of courses, seminars, workshops and tutorials to aspiring writers at various stages in their development.

They are looking for poets to run individual tutorial sessions with writers – via email, postally and/or face to face. The pay is £65 for a 1,000 word critique on 200 lines of poetry; or for one hour’s preparation and a one hour face-to-face session. Tutorials take place at times and locations convenient to both tutors and students.

If you are a published writer with experience of teaching, and would be interested in running tutorials through the Poetry School, please email Will Carr at director@poetryschool.com with a covering letter and a CV. They would like to know about your published work, your experience of teaching, and which particular areas of poetry you are interested in. Where possible, please include details of a referee. The deadline is 11 July 2008. To find out more about the Poetry School and its work, see www.poetryschool.com.

Live Theatre seeks script readers
As part of Live Theatre’s commitment to new writing, they offer a free script reading and feedback service for writers from and/or living in the North East. As the number of scripts coming into the new writing department increases, the team is looking to expand their network of experienced freelance readers. If you are interested in joining the team, please email your CV and a relevant example of your work to degna@live.org.uk.

Miscellany

Can Serrat writers' residencies in Spain
Can Serrat International Art Centre annually provides two writers with a private room (all meals included) for a 30-day period. The residency is open to writers in all fields regardless of nationality or age. All chosen writers have the opportunity to do a reading at the centre. The deadline for applications is 31 July. For more information, see www.canserrat.org

Deadline for the next newsletter

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Rebecca Jenkins: The First London Olympics book launch: 30 June 2008

Blackwell, Newcastle upon Tyne: 3 July, 6.30pm

As we gear up for the summer of sport, don't forget that the launch of The First London Olympics: 1908 by Rebecca Jenkins (Little, Brown, 2008) will be taking place on Thursday 3 July.

Rebecca is an acclaimed historical writer from Teesdale. After studying history at Somerville College, she spent several years working alongside her father, the Right Rev David Jenkins (Bishop of Durham from 1984-94). Her ringside seat on the height of Thatcherism in the '80s developed Rebecca's interest in the media and popular history. These two interests, along with her study of the history of Anglo-American relations, contributed to her latest book, which relates the story of a very different kind of Olympics, packed with British underdogs, underhand Americans and a lot of controversy.

Rebecca will be reading from the book and taking questions at Blackwell’s bookshop in Newcastle, just opposite Haymarket Metro. This free event begins at 6.30pm and lasts about an hour and we'll be laying on wine and nibbles.

Blackwell
141 Percy St
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RS

This is the first of our summer book launches. For three evenings in July we will be hosting a night of wine, nibbles and newly-published North East writers in Blackwell’s bookshop, Newcastle. Join us to share in our local authors’ success and hear them talk about their work. For more information, see our Events page.

News from New Writing North: 20 June 2008

I’ve known Rebecca Jenkins for a number of years and have always admired her erudite and humorous approach to non-fiction and biographical writing so I’m really excited to read her new book about the first time the Olympics took place in London in 1908. You can hear her talk about the book on Thursday 3 July at Blackwell’s as part of our season of summer launches. At a time when many of us are wondering what the 2012 Olympics will mean for the UK, it’s interesting to reflect on how the games have changed. Do you know that in 1908 countries couldn’t participate in the games if they were at war? Now there’s a thought. Claire

What's going on…

NEW WRITING NORTH NEWS

A cool glass of wine and a good book: the perfect way to unwind this summer…
Step out of the heat of summer and come enjoy a cool glass of wine and some local writing in Blackwell’s bookshop. For three evenings in July we will be holding an evening of wine, nibbles and newly-published North East writers. Join us to share in our local authors’ success and hear them talk about their work.

Thursday 3 July Rebecca Jenkins: The First London Olympics – 1908
Thursday 10 July Judith O’Reilly: Wife in the North
Tuesday 15 July Laura Fish: Strange Music

All events are free and take place at Blackwell’s, opposite Haymarket Metro in Newcastle city centre. The events start at 6.30pm and last around one hour. For more information, see our Events page.

Blue Room Book Group welcomes Stella Duffy to Middlesbrough
On Tuesday 1 July, novelist and comedienne Stella Duffy will be spending the day in Middlesbrough. Stella will run a workshop with writers in the afternoon (no spaces left unfortunately), then at 6.30pm will be participating in a discussion about her book The Room of Lost Things at the Blue Lounge on Linthorpe Road with the Blue Lounge Book Group. At 8pm there will be a reception and then Stella will read from her work. Anyone can join in with the book group or the reading, so do come along if you’d like to know more about Stella’s work, or if you’re already a fan. Natalie Boxall, who coordinates the book group for us, has written about Stella on her blog at http://blueloungebookgroup.wordpress.com.

Race for Life in a month
There’s less than a month to go till the New Writing North team run the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK – which means there's not much time for you to sponsor us! It couldn't be easier – all you have to do is click on www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/teamnwn and follow the instructions. If you’re a UK taxpayer you can also Gift Aid your donation and Cancer Research UK will get even more money, at no extra cost to you. We’ll be running on 13 July in Exhibition Park in Newcastle.

The Moon & Flowers midsummer poetry picnic
Don't forget the about the world premiere of The Moon & Flowers at Chesters Walled Garden, which takes place tomorrow 21 June. The Moon & Flowers is a collaboration between poet Linda France and sound recordist Chris Watson and throughout the day there will be opportunities to hear the 30-minute soundpiece in various parts of the garden, with full performances at 11am and 3pm. Bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawn. Look out for more details on www.chesterswalledgarden.fsnet.co.uk. The soundpiece will soon be available online in the Multimedia section at www.newwritingnorth.com.

IN THE NORTH EAST

Congratulations to Eileen Thornton
Big congratulations to Eileen Thornton, a fiction writer based in Northumberland, whose first book The Trojan Project has just been published by Austin & Macauley Publishers. See www.eileenthornton.co.uk for more information.

North Tyneside short story competition
North Tyneside Council is supporting a short story competition. If you’d like to improve your chances of success or feel like you need some creative feedback, head to one of the free writers' workshops taking place in North Tyneside libraries. The workshops will be led by author Ruth Henderson and are open to all. The workshops are: Tuesday 24 June, North Shields Library, 2pm-3.30pm; Tuesday 15 July, Wallsend Library, 2pm-3.30pm; Wednesday 16 July, Shiremoor Library, 2pm-3.30pm. Contact Wallsend Library on 0191 200 6968 to book a place. And for more information on the competition, see www.northtyneside.gov.uk/newlib/pdfs/Short%20Story%20Competition%202008.pdf.

Radical US poets in the North East
Middlesbrough-based Smokestack Books is bringing radical US poets Martín Espada and Jon Andersen to the UK to promote their new collections. They will be reading with three local authors at two events in the region: the first event is on Wednesday 9 July, 7pm, at mima, Middlesbrough, with Maureen Almond, Ellen Phethean and Nkosana Mpofu; and on the following night, Thursday 10 July, at 7pm, they will be appearing at Newcastle's Lit & Phil. Admission is free for what promises to be a lively and provocative evening of poetry and discussion.

Changing Perspectives
Peter Adegbie would like to invite submissions of poetry or short prose from members of the African and Caribbean community living in the North East to be included in the Changing Perspectives anthology. Peter will provide editorial assistance and advice and final selection will be undertaken by poet Jack Mapanje. If you have an interesting experience worth sharing, here is your opportunity to be published. Send two or three poems not more than 40 lines each or one short story of not more than 1,000 words to info@changing-perspectives.co.uk or peteradegbie@yahoo.co.uk.

Factory Nights: free open forums for artists and writers
Factory Nights are free evening sessions that simply provide an opportunity for creative people to come together in an interesting venue and supportive environment to make work or initiate ideas. Artists can come to the sessions with something they have been working on or could start something brand new, inspired by the space. The next Factory Night is on Saturday 21 June, 6pm-8pm (plus an after-show event from 8pm-late) at Tynemouth Station, Tynemouth, NE30 4RE (outside Porters Café).

The last Blue Room of the summer
Sunday 6 July sees the last bow of the Blue Room this season before it enters its summer hiatus. The evening features the best modern writing from two Northern Writers’ Award winners – Paul Batchelor and Nell McGrath – as well as work from Alison Gangell and Carolyn Kirk. With music from Ieuan Goch ab Einion. As ever, venue is upstairs at the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle, 8pm-10.30pm, and admission is £4/3 on the door.

Writing workshop at the Garden Station
Creative writing tutor Natalie Henderson is hosting a writing day at The Garden Station in Langley, near Hexham, on Tuesday 9 September. This lively and interesting workshop will use the Garden Station’s colourful history as its starting point. For more details, see www.thegardenstation.co.uk and click on Courses, or call 01434 684391.

Hexham poetry writing group
The next (not-just-a) Poetry Café will be on Tuesday 8 July at 7.30pm in the Forum Cinema Café in Hexham. This event runs every second Tuesday of the month and offers an opportunity for writers to read their own work – poetry, songs, narrative prose etc – in an informal setting. There is no obligation to read, so do come along and listen, too. For more details, contact enquiries@tynedalewritersfestival.co.uk.

Tyneside play hits Latitude
North East playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood’s play Son of Samurai will be the first play from the North East to be represented at the mixed artform Latitude Festival in July. Headlining bands at the festival this year include Franz Ferdinand and Blondie, who we’re sure will enjoy Son of Samurai, a play about a young Geordie shoe shop salesman who discovers he’s a descendant of a famous Samurai warrior. The play originally premiered at the Customs House in South Shields to widespread critical acclaim. For more information, see www.latitudefestival.co.uk.

Joan Hewitt reading at Northern Poetry Library
Waterhouse Award winner Joan Hewitt will be reading from her latest collection, Missing the Eclipse, at 7.30pm on 10 July at the Northern Poetry Library in Morpeth. Tickets are £2, which includes a glass of wine. Call 01670 534524 for more information.

NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

York Theatre Royal summer workshops
York Theatre Royal is running a series of creative writing workshops over the summer. Each three-day course will equip participants with new skills, new ideas and new friends. The courses are: Writing for radio (7-9 August); Writing for the theatre (14-16 August); and Writing poetry (21-23 August). Cost is £50/£40 concessions and 12 places are available on each course. Call 01904 623568 to book a place or visit www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

£10,000 Manchester Poetry Prize up for grabs
The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching the Manchester Poetry Prize – a new literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing. Deadline for entries is 1 August 2008 and first prize is worth £10,000. Go to www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk for more information.

Tamasha New Writing
Tamasha is one of the UK's leading producers of new writing by British Asian playwrights and the award-winning company behind productions such as East is East, Strictly Dandia, A Fine Balance and The Trouble with Asian Men. Tamasha New Writing is an intensive two-week course which seeks to develop the artistic individuality of its participants, whether young, aspiring playwrights wanting a bridge into professional employment, or established artists looking to develop skills in writing for theatre. The course runs from 3-17 September 2008. For much more information, see www.tamasha.org.uk/Ebulletins/nw_jun08/index.htm or for an application pack, please contact Zoe Cooper on 020 7633 2270 or email admin@tamasha.org.uk . Deadline for applications is Monday 30 June.

TAPS Continuing Drama Course
Developed and run in close association with ITV Wales and ITV Yorkshire, this course is designed to kick-start your career in television. Split between theoretical work, studying an episode of Emmerdale, and practical work on your own ideas, the introductory workshop will give you a unique understanding of the realities of television writing. A two-month distance-mentoring session follows, challenging you to develop an original 23-minute piece of television drama. The best will be produced and filmed on the Emmerdale sets by a professional cast and crew. Submission deadline for regions is 27 June 2008. For application forms, email shamsul@tapsnet.org or visit www.tapsnet.org.

SOURCES 2: script development workshop
The SOURCES 2 programme is aimed at individual scriptwriters and teams of writers, producers or directors with feature film projects and creative documentaries in development. Application deadline is 1 July 2008 for the workshop in Potsdam/Germany, which runs 14-22 November 2008. Applications are accepted for feature film projects and biopics for cinema and television, as well as creative documentaries for cinema and television. For more information, see www.sources2.de.

Short story competition for young people
Paper Cuts is a competition from ChildLine that gives you the chance to be published in a Penguin book. You’ll also have your writing recorded by a celebrity and hosted on Penguin's Spinebreakers website. You can write about any topic in any style – stories, lyrics, poems, screenplays, a stream of consciousness or anything else. Just as long as it’s something you really care about. Please make sure that you are between 13-18 years old and that your story is 100 words (so about the same as this paragraph!) or less or else you can’t win. Closing date is 11 August 2008. See www.spinebreakers.co.uk/Competitions/Pages/papercuts.aspx?id=email&link=papercuts to enter.

MISCELLANY

Are you a budding filmmaker in need of a set or location?
Writer and entrepreneur Gari Sullivan is developing a business to provide studio-based sets and locations for filmmakers. The aim is to facilitate amateur and low-budget film projects with locations and sets that a group or individual would find difficult to secure either due to financial restraints or the type of location. As part of the development, the business proposal needs to see what demand is out there, so Gari has created a short questionnaire. If you are interested in answering questions about your need/use of film sets and locations, he would like to hear from you and can be contacted at gari@garisullivan.co.uk.

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The Moon and Flowers poetry picnic: 16 June 2008

The Moon and Flowers

“If it’s true the more there is the less
you see, this Full Moon, I don’t know where to look
there’s so much in bloom, so many changes
in the weather –
this still point of the sun.”
(From June-Dryad Moon by Linda France)

Want a break from those whirring lawnmowers and out-of-tune ice cream vans? Why not come along and relax to a new, refreshing sound for summer instead?

Chesters Walled Garden in Chollerford, Northumberland, is the perfect setting for the world premiere of The Moon and Flowers, a collaboration between poet Linda France and sound recordist Chris Watson. According to Linda, the garden is a “small paradise… its magic infused the poems I wrote there. It’s a sanctuary from the city.”

There will be chances to hear this unique soundpiece in 30-minute slots in the garden with full performances, including a reading by Linda, at 11am and 3pm.

Bring a picnic, relax in the garden, and enjoy a new experience of sound and poetry united. Elderflower champagne and strawberries will be served, with live music from a Northumbrian piper and flautist. Shelter from the sun or rain (if needed) will be provided in the shape of a hand-made yurt.

There will also be a limited edition publication for sale, so you can drift back to the garden whenever you want (or need to).

This midsummer poetry picnic takes place on Saturday 21 June at 11am and 3pm (garden closes at 5pm). Entrance is only £3.

Chesters Walled Garden is just six miles north of Hexham near Chesters Roman Fort. For detailed directions, see www.chesterswalledgarden.fsnet.co.uk.

This project is funded by Queen’s Hall Arts, Northumberland National Parks, Cultural Sector Development Initiative and New Writing North.

News from New Writing North: 6 June 2008

Our week

I was delighted to hear this week that Newcastle writer Alice de Smith's novel Welcome to Life (formerly Enough) is to be published by Atlantic, following a heated bidding war. Alice received a Time to Write Award from us in 2007 to develop the novel towards publication, so big congratulations to her. You can hear her reading from the early draft of the novel here. Claire

NEW WRITING NORTH NEWS

Read regional this summer - and hear the book read on Radio 4…
For three evenings in July we will be holding an evening of wine, nibbles and newly-published North East writers. Full details are on our Events page, and we'll be sending you an invitation very soon. You can also hear one of the books we'll be launching on Radio 4, which has chosen Judith O'Reilly's Wife in the North as their book of the week for the week of 14 July. We will be also launching new books by Barnard Castle's Rebecca Jenkins and Durham author Laura Fish.

Words and Vision poems selected: now we just need the filmmakers
After reading through many, many entries, ten poems have been chosen by New Writing North, in association with Northern Film and Media, to provide inspiration to filmmakers in the North East. The poets and their poems are: Medicine and Magazines, Mark Pembrey; Oak Beanley, Louise Hislop; Transporter, Owen Simpson; The Metro to Whitley Bay, Christine Lowes; Everstones, Pippa Little; Saint Abbs, Sean Burn; Holy Island, Deborah Buchan; Other Women, Elizabeth Whyman; Two up two down, Anna Woodford; and Suspended Conflict, Yvette Hawkins.

Filmmakers are invited to submit a 60-second film idea relating to one of the poems. Five ideas will then be selected for production. If you think you have what it takes to produce such a film, go to www.northernmedia.org/?mod=news&pageid=38&id=331 for more information. The deadline for applications is 19 June.

The Moon & Flowers: midsummer poetry picnic at Chesters Walled Garden
Saturday 21 June sees the world premiere of The Moon & Flowers at Chesters Walled Garden. Created over the course of a year, The Moon & Flowers is a collaboration between poet Linda France and sound recordist Chris Watson. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to hear the 30-minute soundpiece in various parts of the garden, with full performances at 11am and 3pm. A limited edition of the poem sequence will be available to buy. There will also be elderflower champagne and strawberries and live music from a Northumbrian piper. Bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawn. Look out for more details on www.queenshall.co.uk or www.chesterswalledgarden.fsnet.co.uk. The soundpiece will soon be available to listen to online in the Multimedia section at www.newwritingnorth.com. The garden closes at 5pm, entrance fee is £3.

New Writing North running Race for Life
For the fourth year in a row, the New Writing North team is going to run the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK. Well, Anna will probably run it, the rest of us will limp around the 5km track, pretending to have cramp. We'd really appreciate any sponsorship you can give us, so if you can, please go to our sponsorship page at www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/teamnwn. We’re running on 13 July at 2.30pm at Exhibition Park in Newcastle, so please come along and cheer us on if you’re around.

IN THE NORTH EAST

Michael Standen
We were saddened to hear that Michael Standen passed away suddenly at the weekend, dying pain-free at 6am on 1 June of a heart attack. The funeral will be at Durham Crematorium on 12 June and will be open to all. There is also going to be a party, venue and date TBC, although looking quite likely to be 27 July, the day before what would have been Mick’s 71st birthday, probably at the Botanic Gardens in Durham. As Mick’s son Louis put it, “If you are travelling a long way – come for the party – Dad was not big on funerals!”

You can see the footage Louis shot last week of Mick reading at http://michael-standen.moonfruit.com. You can also leave your own tributes.

Vote, vote, vote for Jackie Kay
As the hunt for the next poet laureate gathers pace, Newcastle Univerity professor of creative writing Jackie Kay has emerged as a strong contender. In fact, she’s starting to look like a distinct favourite if this poll in The Independent is anything to go by.

Ink on Paper: poems meet artworks at the Lit & Phil
Ink on Paper, edited by Colette Bryce, is an exciting collaboration between Mudfog Press and MIMA, the new Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. A selection of the poets whose work appears in the anthology will be reading at Newcastle’s Lit & Phil on Thursday 3 July at 7pm, including Jo Colley, Gordon Hodgeon, Katie Metcalfe, Pauline Plummer and Geoff Strange. For the book, writers from the Tees Valley region responded to works in MIMA's collection to produce poems that are fresh, touching, quirky conversations with a range of artists’ work from Gaudier-Brzeska to Tracy Emin. The result is a beautifully designed book that combines these poems with high quality reproductions of the art work. Admission is free but if you can’t be there and would like a copy of the book, it is available for £8 from the MIMA Shop in Middlesbrough and from Mudfog Press online with free P&P at www.mudfog.co.uk.

Cynthia Fuller poetry masterclass at Darlington Arts Centre
The workshop will focus on the line – traditional lines and experimental. Examples will come from the work of Gillian Allnutt, John Burnside, Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Longley. You might be interested to have a look at these poets beforehand, but the main preparation is to look over your own recent work and see whether you have your own ‘line habits’. Bring pen and paper. The workshop runs on Saturday 5 July, 10am-1pm. Tickets: £12 (to be obtained in advance). To book, call 01325 486 555.

Poetry slam at Stockton Borders
Are you a budding poet, just bursting to get your writing heard? Come along to the poetry slam headlined by Whitby poet Chris Firth, with an open mic session. Bring your courage and your poems to Borders in Teesside Retail Park, for 6.30pm on 18 June. For more information, call 01642 608651.

New PlayDay for Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine Theatre Company is inviting new scripts for its latest PlayDay project, which will see two plays chosen for performance in front of a live audience in the autumn. The selected writers will work with Cloud Nine actors and a director before the script-in-hand performance. Over the years, Cloud Nine has taken five such scripts on to full production. This year's event will take place in Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Sunday 23 November. Plays should be 30 minutes in length and capable of performance with a cast of four. Only previously unperformed work should be sent. Scripts to, or more details from, Peter Mortimer, Cloud Nine, 5 Marden Terrace, Cullercoats, North Shields, NE30 4PD, tel: 0191 2531901.

Poetry workshops at Live Theatre
Les Murray and Michael Symmons Roberts will be leading writing workshops at Live Theatre on Sunday 8 June, from 4pm-6pm. The cost is £20, which includes entry to their reading at 8pm. Please contact livepoetry@hotmail.co.uk for further details.

Pen and Tonic summer schedule
Pen and Tonic, the North East community organisation promoting the health benefits of creative writing, has just announced its summer season. For more information, see www.penandtonic.org.

NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Lived it? Dreamt it? Write it!
The second Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for the Royal Exchange aims to find new plays, new playwrights and new voices. Go to www.writeaplay.co.uk for more information and be sure to get your entry in by 13 June.

Workshop: Dove Cottage Poets with Wordsworth Trust poet-in-residence Adam O'Riordan
A wonderful opportunity to try your hand at writing poetry at the Lower Rotunda, The Jerwood Centre, The Wordsworth Trust, at 2.30pm-4.30pm on Friday 27 June and thereafter on the last Friday of every month. Whether you have never set pen to paper before or you are a seasoned sonneteer, this is a monthly group for poets of all levels of experience. The discussion will be on a range of forms, from sonnets to sestinas, as well as focusing on approaches to the creative process and how best to harness the poetic impulse. For more information, contact literature officer Andrew Forster on a.forster@wordsworth.org.uk or on 015394 35544.

Aesthetica Creative Works competition
Aesthetica, the national arts magazine, is looking for undiscovered talent with this competition which is open to fiction, poetry and artwork and with a first prize of £500. For more information and how to apply, see www.aestheticamagazine.com by 31 August 2008.

MISCELLANY

Theatretravelogues
During Duska Radosavljevic's time as dramaturg at Northern Stage she occasionally wrote a travel supplement for the theatre’s newsletter. Duska has now decided to publish these online in the form of a retrospective blog with pictures, with the intention of building on these with more thoughts on theatre-related travels. The blog can be found at http://theatretravelogues.blogspot.com.

Room for writers
After an item in our last newsletter we were contacted by Maryanne Freer, who can offer office space for a writer in Alnmouth. You can get in touch with her at maryanne.freer@pcpartners.org.

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News from New Writing North: 23 May 2008

Can you help home a writer? Two writers who we are working with at the moment are looking for places to write over the summer months. Do you have a quiet office that you could make available to a writer for a stretch? If so, please get in touch.

We're all feeling rather digital this week after joining in with Tim Wright's excellent digital writing workshop – we aren't twittering right now and haven't yet flash mobbed anywhere, but at least we now know what those words mean. We have however begun to upload choice pics from our photo archive onto flickr… so do have a look. Have a great bank holiday

Claire

What's going on...

NEW WRITING NORTH NEWS

Tim Wright workshop
Thank you to Tim Wright, who led a fascinating workshop on digital writing on Thursday 22 May. We had an overwhelming response to this workshop, and over 50 people attended on the day. We’ll be looking to put on more workshops like this in the future, so watch this space!

Grants available for Tees Valley writing groups
As part of the Tees Valley Writers and Publishers programme, New Writing North has a fund of £1,500 which is available for writing groups located in the Tees Valley. The fund is to support visits to the group by professional writers. Grants of £250 per group are available to pay for writers to run workshops, give readings and talks or to judge competitions. If you are a member of a voluntary group and would like to apply for a grant, please write to New Writing North director Claire Malcolm with information on your group and why you would like a professional writer to visit. Claire will be able to help groups get in touch with writers. Deadline for application is Friday 27 June.

The Tees Valley Writers and Publishers Programme is supported by the Strategic Officers group, which represents local authorities in the Tees Valley, and Arts Council England.

IN THE NORTH EAST

Live launches Lee’s Me & Cilla
Congratulations to Lee Mattinson, who was on our 2007 Emerge theatre writing development programme, and whose play Me & Cilla is produced at Live Theatre soon. The play is set on Christmas Eve in the Stephenson house and Cilla Black’s struggling with a buffet. Cliff’s ringing after The Snowman and Dale’s on speed dial in case of emergency. But it’s going to take more than wet-look lip gloss to stick this family back together again. Because Ringo’s late home from his pantomime, Alfie’s dabbling with Dannii Minogue chic and Sadie’s in a borrowed thong. But Cilla has to raise the most fabulous of fake smiles because between Buckaroo, sex changes and a mint choc chip Viennetta, she has a surprise surprise all of her own.

Me & Cilla runs from Thursday 12 June to Saturday 5 July 2008, tickets £12/£10/£8. Call 0191 232 1232 or go to www.live.org.uk to book.

Blue Room celebrates local authors
Northern Writers’ Award winner Lizzie Whyman joins Keith Armstrong and Sheree Mack to give a reading at The Blue Room, upstairs at the Bridge Hotel, in Newcastle on Sunday 1 June. Margaret Swindell will also be reading from her novel and music will be provided by Jinski. The evening kicks off at 8pm, with tickets priced at £4/£3 available on the door. For more information, see www.blueroom.org.uk.

Janette Jenkins: Angel of Brooklyn book launch
Durham’s Gala Theatre will host an evening in celebration of local author Janette Jenkins, whose second novel, Angel of Brooklyn, is published in June. Angel of Brooklyn (Chatto & Windus, 2008) is set during WWI as an American bride, Beatrice, finds it hard to adapt to life in the north of England. She shares stories of her past with the other women, keeping to herself how she became known as the Angel of Brooklyn. The years pass, the men are still not home and Beatrice finds her old life catches up with her...
The reception will take place on Thursday 19 June at 7pm at the Gala Theatre Studio in Durham. Come and join us!

Tyne Bridge tells story of North East miners
The Great Northern Miners by local authors Ken and Jean Smith tells the story of mining in Northumberland and County Durham and the men who risked their lives in the darkness to win coal. From the very early days of bell pits, to the giant undersea workings of the 20th century, the book recalls the hazards that these brave men faced on a daily basis. Illustrated in full colour. The Great Northern Miners is available at bookshops at £12.95 or from Tyne Bridge Publishing on 0191 2774174 at £12.95 plus £1 P&P.

Darlington Arts Centre backs story competition
Darlington Arts Centre has announced that it is one of the sponsors for the monthly Global Short Competition, which is judged by North East author Fiona Cooper. Now in its fifth month, the competition regularly attracts entries from all over the world. The competition closes on the final day of each month and first prize is £100. For more information, see www.globalshortstories.net.

NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Portico Prize opens up for North East books
The biennial Portico Prize, founded in 1985 and previously only open to books set in the North West, has been expanded to include books set anywhere in the north of England. Publishers are invited to submit fiction and non-fiction titles for this award worth a total of £8,000, with the overall winner receiving a prize of £5,000 and the runner-up from the remaining category receiving £3,000. Entries must have been published between 31 August 2006 and 31 August 2008. The book must be of general interest and literary merit, and set wholly or mainly in the Northern Counties of England. For more information, see www.theportico.org.uk/portprize.htm.

Think you can write for TV?
BBC writersroom is looking for the next generation of writing talent. To apply, send an original 30-minute TV script exploring ‘the nation’s health’. It doesn’t need to be a hospital precinct drama – you can explore ‘health’ in its broadest possible senses. Twenty writers will be selected for a workshop, which will involve writing exercises as part of the selection process. Eight final writers will be selected for a week-long residential, with an intensive focus on developing their work, craft, and writer’s ‘toolbox’, with input from BBC Drama Production and professional writers. Each of the eight writers will also receive a £500 bursary, mentoring from in-house development teams at the BBC, and a showcase rehearsed reading with professional actors. For more information and to apply, see www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/sharps.shtml.

Call for entries: 2008 Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award
Are you under 30 years of age and a non-US citizen residing outside the US? Can you create a completed half-hour to one-hour English-language television drama script for a family audience? If so, you may be eligible for a $2,500 prize and a trip to New York City. The deadline for submissions is 15 July 2008 and the winner will be presented with the award at the International Emmy World Television Festival in New York on 22 November. The winning script will be read by actors in front of an audience at the festival, and the winner will be invited to take part in the red carpet festivities at the 36th International Emmys on 24 November. For more information and to download an application form, see www.iemmys.tv/foundation.aspx.

New opportunity for emerging writers: Jura Malt Whisky New Writer Retreat
Scottish Book Trust is offering a new unpublished author the chance to spend the whole of October on the Isle of Jura (where George Orwell found the seclusion he needed to write 1984) to concentrate on their writing. Please submit a story not exceeding 3,000 words, the application form and no more than 1,000 words on why you wish to spend a month on Jura. To download an application form, go to the Scottish Book Trust website.

Biscuit Poetry and Short Fiction Prizes: last call for entries
The 31 May deadline is fast approaching for the Biscuit poetry and short fiction prizes. Each category offers a first prize of £1,000 or your collection published (winner’s choice); a second prize of a stay in a writers’ retreat in Flanders plus £200; and a third prize of £200. Seven runners-up receive £25 each. Biscuit will also shortly be announcing the results of its Flash Fiction competition, which closed at the end of March. The winners will be announced on 31 May 2008 on the Biscuit website and the best three entries will each receive £200 and a week in Talbot House, Flanders. Full details are on www.biscuitpublishing.com.

JOBS

Tutor needed for Buddle writers group
Based at the Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend, the Buddle Writers Group is a long-established writing group which meets every Wednesday morning between 10.30am and 12.30pm during school term times. They are looking for a writing tutor to develop and deliver a creative writing programme for the group. The fee is £40 for the two-hour session and funding is in place to cover the next 12 months. If you are interested, please send a brief CV to Ken Joyce at kenscr@blueyonder.co.uk.

Job opportunities at CTC in Darlington
CTC are looking to recruit two new positions:
* Finance & Office Manager (20 hours per week, £18,928-£24,370 pro rata) who will have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the company’s finances and premises.
* Marketing & Schools Liaison Officer (16 hours per week, £18,928 pro rata) who will coordinate the company’s Marketing and Teacher Engagement Strategy.

Application details are available from CTC Theatre, 01325 352004 or anne@ctctheatre.org.uk.

Apples & Snakes looking for a North East programme coordinator
Performance poetry organisation Apples & Snakes requires a North East programme coordinator in a part-time (21 hours or three days a week), two-year fixed-term post. Apples & Snakes is establishing a network for performance poetry across the country by appointing coordinators based in each region. The coordinators develop artists’ work in performance and education and collaborate on large-scale national projects.

For an application form and information pack please send a large sae to Apples & Snakes, The Albany, Deptford, London, SE8 4AG or for an email pack email chikodi@applesandsnakes.org or download the information from www.applesandsnakes.org/about.php.

Salary: £21,990 pro rata. Closing date: 9am, Monday 9 June 2008. Interview date: Monday 16 June 2008 at Arts Council England North East.

Writer wanted for local heritage project ‘Durham Young Lives’
Durham City Arts wishes to engage the services of two artists – an animator and a writer – to work with young people, aged between 11 and 17, on a Heritage Lottery and Durham County Council-funded project, Durham Young Lives, for the equivalent of 14 days each during the period September 2008-April/May 2009. A fixed fee of £3,150 (£225 per day), inc. VAT if payable, is available for this work, for each artist. An additional budget is available for materials, technical support, exhibition, display, publication, editing and other costs. Deadline for applications is 13 June 2008. For more information, contact Esther Salamon at Durham City Arts, tel 0191 375 0763.

MISCELLANY

New installation at the refurbished Tyneside Cinema
Jacob Polley, Imogen Cloet and John Alder’s Saturday Matinee is a new audio installation commissioned by Tyneside Cinema. You can hear, smell and read about it every day between 12pm-4pm on High Friars Lane, outside the newly-reopened Tyneside Cinema.

Writing day for women led by Gillian Allnutt
Northern Rock Writer’s Award winner Gillian Allnutt will be leading a group of women writers at a one-day course at Shepherd’s Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland, on Monday 9 June 2008 from 10am to 4pm. Attendees will be able to use the house and grounds as inspiration and starting point for the writing day. There will be indoor and outdoor spaces to work in. Cost for the day is £30 to include an excellent home-cooked lunch and plenty of home-made biscuits and cake with tea and coffee. Contact Gillian on 0191 373 4859 by 31 May for further details and booking.

Notes available for NAWE creative writing workshop
Last autumn Julie Ward ran a creative writing workshop for NAWE exploring approaches to working with people with learning disabilities. The notes from this workshop are now available as a resource on the NAWE website as part of the Professional Development Programme.

Northumberland writer wins Best Podcasting Campaign
Congratulations to Northumberland-based writer Adam Maxwell, whose short story podcasts have won the 2008 North East Digital Award for Best Podcasting Campaign. Check them out for yourself on www.adammaxwell.com.

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New from New Writing North: 9 May 2008

Our week

Most of us spent the Bank Holiday weekend in Hexham at the third annual Hexham Book Festival and, of course, the announcement of the winners of the 2008 Northern Writers’ Awards (pictured). Each author read an extract of their work, which always makes me see it in a new light, even if I’ve already read it. Congratulations to all the winners from all of us, and also to Susie Troup and her team who organised a brilliant festival. Roll on the next one! Liv

What’s going on...

NEW WRITING NORTH NEWS

New arrival for Sandra
Congratulations to Sandra Reddie, who went into labour just two days after stepping down from her job as our Tees Valley programme manager. Sandra finished work at NWN on Friday 25 April and on Sunday 27 April gave birth to Edward Reddie! We are happy to report that mother and baby are both doing well.

Sandra’s email address is no longer being checked, so please delete it from your address books, and if you have a query, please call the office instead on 0191 222 1332.

The Baby in the Mirror: Charles Fernyhough book launch at Blackwell bookshop
Have you ever looked at your child and wondered what on earth is going on in their mind? Like every parent looking at his child for the first time, Charles Fernyhough wanted to understand what made her tick – how she could communicate with the world when she wasn’t yet able to speak. Charles had a unique viewpoint into his child’s mind though – he is a lecturer and researcher in developmental psychology at Durham University and finally got the opportunity to see first-hand, as a parent, what he’d been working on during his career.

The Baby in the Mirror will be published by Granta Books on 5 May and New Writing North, in association with Blackwell, has organised a launch on 15 May at 6.30pm at Blackwell bookshop on Haymarket, Newcastle on Tyne. Charles will be giving a reading, taking questions, and signing copies. Wine and nibbles will be provided.

Please come along to celebrate this thought-provoking, touching and fascinating book. Entry is free but if you’d like to come along, please email booking@newwritingnorth.com to reserve your place.

People’s Play 2008 winner
Congratulations to Mike Yeaman, whose play Lucky Numbers had its first airing last week at the People’s Theatre. A good evening was had by all!

NWN book groups are expanding: would you like to be part of our team?
Following the success of book groups we’ve set up in Newcastle and Middlesbrough, we’re now looking to create a network of groups around the region. We are looking for keen, articulate readers, who would be confident enough to host group meetings in venues in their local area. NWN will work with hosts to choose books, market events, provide authors for visits and negotiate special offers with venues and local bookshops.

We are particularly interested in working with people in the following places: Berwick, Alnwick/Alnmouth, Morpeth, North/South Tyneside, south east Northumberland, Durham City, Sunderland, Darlington and rural County Durham, but are keen to hear from you wherever you may live if you think that a group would work in your local area. The groups could be evening or daytime events. We’re also happy to engage with partner organisations if you think that the place where you work (office, community centre, youth group or hospital, for example) could support a regular group.

If you’d like to talk to us about leading a book group in your town, send an email explaining why you’re interested and how you envisage the group to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

IN THE NORTH EAST

Word Circus at The Round: performance poetry masterclass
Got a poem bursting to get from the page to the stage? Are you a performance poet who'd like to brush up on your performance skills, or explore how your current work could be developed for performance? This practical workshop could be just the ticket. Share any work in progress, get useful feedback, and try out a few performing, recital and delivery techniques. The workshop will be led by Ross Sutherland, The Round's performance poet in residence, who was recently hailed in The Times as one of the country's top 10 emerging young literary stars. The masterclass runs on Wednesday 14 May at 1pm-4pm at The Round, Lime St, Newcastle. Cost is £5. For more information, see www.the-round.com.

Teesside creative writing course at Darlington College
Have you ever wanted to write poems, scripts, drama or fiction? On this course you'll explore forms and techniques, take part in inspirational group and individual writing activities and increase your confidence about writing and sending work off to publishers or performing it live at events. Come along and have some fun with North East writer, publisher and lecturer Andy Willoughby. For more information and to book your place, go to www.tees.ac.uk/sections/parttime/summer_courses_darlington.cfm.

North East screenwriter wins Italian Oscar
Congratulations to Newcastle-based screenwriter Martin Herron, whose most recent project, Irina Palm, has been awarded the David di Donatello Best European Film award, beating off stiff competition from the likes of Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The film, starring Marianne Faithfull and Miki Manoljovic, will be in UK cinemas from 8 June.

Lit & Phil book launch for Stevie Ronnie
Poet Stevie Ronnie, who recently took part in the Jesmond Community Festival, launches his collection The Thing To Do When You Are Not In Love on Monday 12 May at 7pm at the Lit & Phil on Westgate Road. All are welcome to attend: just come along.

Live Theatre playwriting group
Live Writers is an informal writers group based in Newcastle where members can discuss modern plays as well as sharing and developing their own work. Sessions are held every other Thursday and you can choose from two time slots: either lunchtime or evening. The next meetings will be held on 15 May. Please email degna@live.org.uk or call 0191 2693494 to register or for more information.

Pints and poetry at the Colpitts
Happy Birthday, Colpitts! Durham's Colpitts pub, the original home of Colpitts Poetry back at its inception in 1975, will be hosting an informal open mic evening to celebrate 33 years of the group. If you’d like to read your work (or you’d just like a relaxed pint) go along on Wednesday 11 June. The Colpitts Hotel is on the corner of Sutton Street and Hawthorn Terrace.

Calling all budding filmmakers: one-day event in Hexham
Dedicated to developing and celebrating participatory filmmaking with North East communities, New Directions is a free one-day event happening on Wednesday 4 June at Queen’s Hall Arts Centre in Hexham. If you already work in community filmmaking or want to know where to get funding and how to get started – or what makes a strong film project with lasting impact – this is an event you can’t afford to miss. The day will consist of practical workshops, including a film ideas lab and funding surgery, as well as presentations, panel discussions and screenings. Speakers will be appearing from key organisations including Suited and Booted, Tyneside Cinema, Mediabox and The Rural Media Company. For more information, including a full programme and schedule, go to www.northernmedia.org/?mod=news&pageid=38&id=294.

New NCSP website
The Northern Cultural Skills Partnership website is now up and running. For a quick tour, or to find out how to get involved, visit www.ncsp.co.uk.

NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Bruntwood Playwriting Competition: female applicants needed!
The deadline is now looming for entries in the second year of the competition for the Royal Exchange Theatre, and judging panel member Brenda Blethyn has urged more women to enter. It’s open to writers aged 18 and over and anonymous selection means that both novices and professionals compete side by side. There’s a first prize of £15,000 up for grabs, plus the chance for the winning writers to have their plays considered for production and then published. All entries should be submitted by Friday 13 June. For more information go to www.writeaplay.co.uk.

Special sweetener from the Arvon Foundation
If you were thinking of doing a course with the Arvon Foundation, there couldn’t be a better time to apply. If you attend one of their courses this year, you will be considered for the new Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Scheme for Gifted and Talented Writers. Nine people from the courses will be chosen to be mentored in 2009 for a year by a published writer. In addition, as an extra bonus for the first time, in 2008 if you wish, you can have your writing read by one of the UK's leading literary agents, Capel & Land, and by leading literary publisher John Murray. You will be told how to do this when you book your Arvon course with them. See www.arvonfoundation.org/p3.html for more information.

Exiled Writers INK mentoring and translation scheme
Are you a writer forced to live in exile? Are you finding it hard to get recognition and published in the UK? Exiled Writers INK is running a mentoring scheme to match writers in exile with well-known writers and translators in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications/readings and new opportunities. You do not have to have been previously published, or have perfect English, but you do need to be writing at a high level and ready to accept guidance and constructive criticism from your mentor. If you are interested, please send 10 poems or two short stories and a CV (in English) to NatTeitler@aol.com. The deadline is 18 June 2008.

Young Writers’ Festival at the Royal Court
If you’re under 26 and have an urgent story to tell, write it for the Royal Court and send it to the Young Writers’ Festival by 31 May. Your play can be about absolutely anything and be in any style. The most exciting plays will win a full professional production at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2009. See http://royalcourt.e-flyers.org.uk/anythingcanhappen/youngwriters.php for details of how to enter.

JOBS

Side Cinema traineeship
12 months, two and a half days per week, fee: £6,000
Amber in Newcastle upon Tyne is looking for a energetic, imaginative and self-motivated individual who will take full advantage of this traineeship in cinema programming, audience development and administration. Applicants must be interested in working creatively in the context provided by Amber and its 48 seat screening venue, which has built a reputation around independent, socially engaged cinema. Further details of Amber, Side Cinema and this traineeship are available from the website at www.amber-online.com. Please write a letter of application, enclosing a CV and giving reasons for applying, as well as details of interest in and of practical experience in cinema. The traineeship is supported by Northern Film & Media.

MISCELLANY

Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2008: Vote for Val
Val McDermid's The Grave Tattoo has been longlisted for this year's Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. A winner in 2006 for The Torment of Others, this year her fellow nominees include Alexander McCall Smith, Stef Penney and Christopher Brookmyre. This is the only literary prize of its kind to be voted for by the general public, so have a browse through the full list of nominees and place your vote at www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1319 or pop into any branch of Waterstone’s. The winner will be announced on Thursday 17 July at the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. If you’d like to go along, accommodation packages including tickets to all festival events are on sale now. Call 01423 562303 for booking and further information.

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 19 May.

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