THE INKY The Inky Writers Newsletter Autumn 2005 No. 35 INKY NEWS All Systems Go for "Off the Shelf" Sheffield's annual celebration of all things literary returns for its 14th year this autumn. 2004 was a great success with bigger audiences than ever before and more sold out events than promoters dreamed possible. It looks as though this year will continue this trend with an exciting and diverse mix of authors and media personalities including Prunella Scales, Roger McGough, Rose Tremain, Claire Tomalin, Lord Robert Winston, Danny Wallace, David Nicholls and Monty Don. Jamaican actress and author Yvonne Brewster performs at SADACCA and outstanding performance poet Merle Collins pays a rare visit from Grenada for an event at the Crucible. There is also a wonderful evening of Poetry In Translation with Mexican poet Coral Bracho and Indonesian poet Toeti Heraty with leading British poets Katherine Pierpoint and Jo Shapcott acting as translators. The Festival is also delighted that a number of local writers and writing groups will be taking part. Lesley Glaister, Danuta Reah and Linda Lee Welch will all be reading from new work. Sheffield poet Chris Jones presents his new series of poems about the river Don with an original sound-scape created by the Only Michael and F.O.B. plays host to events with a variety of writers groups practically every night of the Festival. Some of the quirkier events on offer include Third Angel looking at graphic novels and super heroes, newly commissioned work by Demolition to be performed in Sheffield Cathedral and a Sheffield pop night with music journalist Martin Lilleker, songwriter Richard Hawley and a Sheffield themed pop quiz. There is a wealth of events for children and young people including a rare chance to meet well-loved illustrator Shirley Hughes, a blogging workshop and young people's Open Mic. There is a diverse range of workshops for adults on a variety of themes for those who love to write. This year you could try your hand at playwriting, family history, haiku poetry or even yoga and creative writing. There is an adaptation for performance workshop with actor Raymond Sargent which could prove of interest to anyone who would like to try their hand at producing an original adaptation of a classic story. There's even a session on Yorkshireness focusing on writing about the North and how you reproduce the Yorkshire accent on a page, at the Crucible Studio Theatre. Daniel Blythe will also be offering advice on maximising your chances of being published. Aspiring playwrights might be interested to know about the 'Cued Up' competition to be judged by Samuel West and with the winning work to be performed at the Crucible Studio Theatre. For more details on the Festival or to order a brochure: Phone 0114 273 4400 Or Email: offtheshelf@sheffield.gov.uk or visit the website at: www.offtheshelf.org.uk The Off the Shelf Festival runs from the 15th to the 29th of October 2005. Once again, our apologies to all E-recipients of the Inky for the delay in receiving your copy of the latest issue, we do endeavour to issue both the e-mail version and the hard copy as close together as possible but due to the time it takes to reformat the layout of the e-mail version this can, depending on other demands, be longer than we would wish. If you would prefer us to transfer your details so that you can receive the hard copy as opposed to the e-version then please contact us with your request together with your address and we'll update the mailing list so that you will receive the Inky as soon as we publish it. BACK AGAIN! ACE Free Read Scheme (Manuscript Feedback) Signposts are now administering for the fourth year running a free read scheme for writers in South Yorkshire, in conjunction with NALD (National Association for Literature Development). The reads and feedback are provided by The Literary Consultancy (more details on the web, under that name), an organisation set up by Arts Council England for this purpose. The scheme is designed to give manuscript feedback from readers in the publishing industry, and those who submit manuscripts should expect a detailed response to their work. Applications should come from writers who are ready for such a response. People who sent work in previous years were very impressed and positive about the scheme. The idea is to use the free reads mostly for novelists, and short story writers, but there will be room for two or three poets as well. A free read for a full novel may be available if it isn't too long, but a synopsis and some sample chapters is more likely as then there will be more money left for other people. Priority for free reads will go to people who would have trouble affording the service otherwise. If you want to apply for a free read, please send an email to:matt.black@pop3.poptel.org.uk or a letter to: Matt Black, 51 Pearson Place, Sheffield S8 9DE, by November 7th, and give a rough idea of how much work you want to submit. Please also say whether the work has been seen by anyone else, either through a workshop or any other reader. We can then let you know whether you will be able to have a free read, how TLC would like the work presented, etc. If you require any further information please email or telephone Matt Black on (0114) 2554030. Young Writers Workshop If you're writing a novel, dream of selling scripts to Hollywood or find yourself scribbling poems and lyrics on the back of envelopes then there's a new project that you should know about. Sheffield Young Writer's Workshop is about to begin in Sheffield on alternate Wednesdays in the Central Library. The group will be an informal place for young people, aged 13-17, to explore different kinds of writing and to develop new skills. Through taking part in the group, you will get the chance to meet and work with a range of professional writers and to gain valuable insights into the literature world. You will also have the opportunity to see your writing published on paper and online. You don't have to be a brilliant writer to come along. All you need is a love of words and the desire to share your creative journey with other likeminded people. The group will meet between 5-7pm on Wednesdays from 28th September at the Central Lending Library, Surrey Street and then every alternate week after this. For more information contact Beverley on 07754 091014, email sheffyoungwriters@yahoo.co.uk or contact the Central Children's Library or Signposts on 0114 2634787. Signposts Workshop Happy Feet: The Sounds Poems Make A poetry workshop for beginners and more experienced writers looking at the way word-sounds create different effects. Using workshop games and examples we will explore the texture of language - how it builds sense and feeling from the patterns of vowels and consonants rubbing together in poems. Well established Sheffield poet Chris Jones won an Eric Gregory award in 1996 and his collection Hard on the Knuckle won the Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet competition in 2002. He has spent the last 9 months writing Our River, Our City, a sequence of poems based around the River Don and its relationship with the people of Sheffield. Chris will present the workshop at the Signposts offices on Furnival Gate in Sheffield on Saturday 3rd December between 11.00 am - 1.00 pm. Tickets are £5.00 / £3.00 concessions; please book your tickets in advance. Please send a cheque (payable to Signposts) together with your details to the Signposts address at the end of this newsletter, if you require more information, phone or email us, details of which also follow at the end of the newsletter. Route Leads the Way Route is a publisher of contemporary fiction and performance poetry with a track record of bringing quality written work to an audience in innovative and practical ways and now, they have a new offering in the form of "Bytebacks." Think hardback, paperback and now byteback, a brand new format which brings book lovers into the age of the download. Readers can simply pick a book that they fancy on the Route website, and in less than five minutes they can have that book in their hand. That's more than 300 times faster than anything that Amazon can offer. Bytebacks are not e-books, Bytebacks are real, physical books, printed on paper. They come as small files which can be downloaded and turned into a physical book in a matter of minutes, all that is needed is an internet connection and a printer. Simply, these are books of between 30-60 pages which are designed to be distributed over the internet and are ideal for reading on a train, in bed or wherever people want to read. To introduce readers to the Byteback series, Route has just published Bloom, a collection of short fiction that explores the realities of life in 21st century Britain by seven young writers. The book has strong South Yorkshire connections, editor Emily Penn is from Sheffield, writer Hannah Rodgers is from Penistone and studies at Sheffield University and two of the other writers - Wes Brown and Amy Creswell - are part of the Writing Squad which is based at Sheffield Hallam. For more details visit www.route-online.com and if you don't have access to the internet then Route also provide a pre-printed byteback service for those wishing to order the book just contact them by phoning 01977 797695 or write to: Route, PO Box 167, Pontefract, WF8 4WW. The South Yorkshire Pages Barnsley "How to Get Published" Surgery ALTHOUGH most people still think of "getting published" as a process of finding an agent and then landing an advance from a major publishing house, it only takes a few returned submissions to realise that the process is not that simple. In this Surgery, organised by Signposts Writing Development Project in partnership with B.M.B.C. Libraries & Arts Departments, Daniel Blythe will explain what publishers are looking for, how you can get a publisher to read your work in the first place, how to avoid sinking into the dreaded slush pile and, what comes first - publisher or agent? If you want to find out the answers to these questions, and many more, then this surgery is for you. Established writer Daniel Blythe has sold 7 books (fiction and non-fiction) and worked with 4 different publishing houses in the last 12 years. In this presentation, which is for new and more experienced writers alike, Daniel will give you a step-by-step guide that is aimed at maximising your chances of being published. The surgery will be held in the Lecture Theatre in the Barnsley Central Library on Saturday 8th October between 11.00 am - 1.00 pm. There will also be an opportunity to visit the Writers Resource Centre, which will be running at the same time. Tickets are £5.00 / £3.00 concessions - tickets must be booked in advance. Please send a cheque (payable to Signposts) together with your details to the Signposts address. For all of those who may have wished to attend this workshop we will be running it again, this time in Sheffield, sometime in 2006. If you would like to be notified of this nearer the time please do contact us and we will make a point of contacting you as soon as the details are finalised. A Year in Athersley by Sue Sefton, Tutor of the Roundhouse Writers' Workshop. It was like stepping back in time when I was asked to tutor the Roundhouse Writers' Workshop for the W.E.A. This is because I lived on the council estate in the 1970s. My everlasting memories of Athersley are of burning effigies of Ted Heath on a big bonfire in the Co-op field and barricading the street as a protest against the rent increases. This was done in support of the Clay Cross strikers who were imprisoned. Seth (of Emmerdale fame) lived over the road. He actively supported the young people from the estate. Athersley in the '70s had a strong sense of community. The people supported each other, and other just causes. Over the years, the estate has been re-vamped, but I can happily report that the people haven't changed. The Writers' Workshop is peopled by friendly, down-to-earth individuals. Within the group there is a wealth of talent. Their work ranges from satirical prose, fantastical stories, children's stories, dialect poetry and humorous verse through to serious and sombre subjects and all points in between. The writers have produced short stories, plays and poetry all of a really high standard. If you would like to learn in a productive yet light-hearted environment, the Roundhouse Writers' Workshop is for you. Brighten up your Thursday afternoons! I can definitely assure you that 'the natives are friendly'! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Roundhouse Writers' Workshop meets on Thursday afternoons from 1.00 to 3.00 at the Roundhouse Lifelong Learning Centre, Laithes Crescent, off Laithes Lane, Athersley, Barnsley. It has three 10-week sessions per year, during term-time. Contact Sue on Barnsley 361851 for more details, or just turn up! Having met Sue and some of the group members, I can tell you that you won't get a warmer welcome - or more acceptance and encouragement - anywhere I know of! Jakey Anderson Royston Writing Group If you live in Royston and want to be part of a new writing group then this is your chance. Signposts, in partnership with B.M.B.C. Libraries, are co-ordinating the start up of a new group which will be held in Royston Library. The group will meet once a fortnight on Friday mornings between 10.00 am - 12.00 pm. The plan is for the group to run itself regardless of the number of participants but if there are enough members there may also be the possibility of acquiring a tutor through the W.E.A. Signposts have received a substantial amount of feedback from members of a previous group to suggest that there is enough interest to establish a new group so, whether you are a new writer or quite experienced, if you would like to share your interest with other writers then send us your details and we'll get back to you. If you are interested please send your name and address to: Royston Writing Group, Signposts, 4th floor Furnival House, 48 Furnival Gate, Sheffield, S1 4QP. Rotherham The Rotherham Arts Mike Haywood Creative Writing Competition Results Following another successful round of entries the results have been announced for the biennial competition. The competition is organised by the Literature & Drama Panel, which is comprised of local writers' groups and drama groups - some of the seventy, or so, member organisations that make up Rotherham Arts. 1st Prize for the winning story goes to Louise Wilford for her piece Meg Ryan is the Anti-Christ. Runner up prizes go to Jeannette Ayton - Beached and to Samantha Priestley - Hit and Run. 1st Prize for the winning poem also goes to Louise Wilford for her poem Lancelot's Testimony. Runner up prizes go to Ann Lloyd - Stan's Sunny Day and to Andrew G. Wattie - The Allotment Congratulations to everyone involved and for those of you bitten by the bug, the Rotherham Arts One-Act Play Writing Competition has just opened. An entry consists of a one-act play, written by the entrant, with a running time of between 25 and 40 minutes. For further details, rules and an entry form please contact: Graham Rippon, 19 Godric Drive, Brinsworth, Rotherham, Yorkshire S60 5AN. Doncaster We're still sitting here, waiting, wishing and hoping that some of the writers in Doncaster will contact us to let us know what is happening in their writing world - we'll welcome you with open arms and find space in the Inky for all of your news. The Inky Interview Gerard Benson was born and brought up in London, but he spent some time in the country as a child evacuee during the Second World War. He has worked as a sailor, labourer, window cleaner, waiter, washer-up, market researcher, actor, architect, clerk, teacher, postman and lecturer. Best known as a member of the group of performing artists, The Barrow Poets, and as editor of 'Poems on the Underground', he now lives in Bradford. Could you introduce your new book, Omba Bolomba, published in September 2005? Omba Bolomba, my new book of poems for children, is published by Smith/Doorstop. Many of the poems are funny or teasing or quirky. A few, like 'Hidden Child: A Polish Christmas, 1940', are hard-hitting. I imagine a readership aged about 7 to 12, although a recent reading to Metroland Poets (in Buckinghamshire) had an excellent reception. Seven to ninety-seven, as they say. The poems are illustrated with lovely black and white drawings by my wife, Cathy Benson. The title comes from a sound poem within. And it's the current recommendation of the Poetry Book Society. Backtracking to the 1960s, could you introduce The Barrow Poets to the rising generation? Well, how long have you got? We were a performing group of poet-cum-musicians. We developed our skills in pub performances, but played during the thirty years or so of our heyday (say 1960-1990) in a bewildering variety of settings: arts festivals, pop concerts (indoors and out), village halls, mansions, cathedrals, hospitals, inner city schools, universities. You name it, we were there. We performed in a boxing ring, at the Festival Hall, on a Dutch tram, in a convent. Four times we toured the USA and Canada. And so on and on and on, about 150 gigs a year. We appeared on TV and made nine vinyl records. Our 1980 single, 'The Pheasant Plucker's Song', stayed in the Aussie Top Ten for months. It's just been revived in Oz, on a CD compilation, Funny Peculiar. Oh yes: and we could be quite serious. Poems on the Underground will be twenty years old next year. Are you planning any more books after last year's collection? New Poems on the Underground (2004) will be followed next February by a second, extended edition. Even more exciting: we have a children's book, Carnival of the Animals, coming out in December, published by Walker Books. We commissioned new poems (one for each of Saint-Saens's 'animals') from thirteen poets. Each has a double-page spread with a wonderful colour illustration by Satoshi Kitamura. And there's a CD of the music played by the Apollo Players. Cicely Herbert (also a Barrow poet) and I speak the poems. We have high hopes. You're from London and living in Bradford. Bit of a contrast or home from home? Quite a contrast. But I'm OK here. And I visit my hometown quite often. You've described Quakerism as 'a radical creedless form of religion, highly suited to the age we live in'. Yet all we seem to see, hear about and read about these days is Judaeo-Christian, and especially Islamic, Fundamentalism. Do you sometimes despair? I don't despair. Fundamentalism (which folds the mind to closed position) is worrying wherever it comes from. But as a Quaker I live in hope, and work for a more open-minded, tolerant world. I wish some of those natural Quakers out there would come and join us though. You've taken part in events organised in opposition to the second Iraq War. Can I play devil's advocate and suggest that, whatever motivated the 'allied' invasion (oil, the appearance of waging war on terror, etc.), the accidental by-product might be a freer and more democratic Iraq? Saddam Hussein would still be operating a reign of terror if the invasion hadn't happened. It's true that Saddam Hussein might still be operating his reign of terror if the most heavily-armed force in the history of the world had not invaded, overcome and occupied his country. But occupying armies are never popular. And outside intervention rarely solves internal national problems. Nothing I've read or seen leads me to believe that life is better now for the ordinary Iraqi person. Random violence is rife now, and the death toll is enormous. Stop Press: I read today (26th August) that the US military is replacing National Guard contingents with combat troops in preparation for the election. Democracy? Poetry - what chance has this slender weed against life's heavy artillery - Money, Career, Business, Property, Marketing, Politics? 'Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive my powerful rhyme'. Poetry is indestructible, and it reaches deep into the human psyche. I'm with William Shakespeare on this one, who finishes a superb love poem with a passionately affirmative statement: 'So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee'. Thanks to Gerard Benson Interview by Dave Sissons More News Just Dip In That's the title of the latest anthology from one of the oldest writing groups in Sheffield. The Sheffield Writers' Club, established in 1957, has produced a varied collection of poetry and prose which is now into its second printing. The collection features over twenty local writers and is a good introduction to the group which meets every fortnight in the centre of Sheffield. The book, priced at £3.50 (including p&p) is available from 42 Churchill Road, Sheffield, S10 1FG or for more information on the collection or the group call John on (0114) 2668641. The Sheffield Writers Club meets on alternate Mondays between 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm at 69 Division Street in the centre of Sheffield. Apprenticeships in Fiction Awards Scheme 2006 Adventures in Fiction is offering five awards for first-time novelists of commercial or literary fiction, including one for fiction for children or young people. The awards which are supported by the Arts Council of England, will take the form of an apprenticeship with a professional writer. Finalists will be offered a comprehensive mentoring programme with a monetary value of over £950.00. The individual apprenticeships will include a structured programme of manuscript appraisals and tutorials in addition to regular feedback and peer group support. Apprenticeships in Fiction is a new scheme designed to nurture emerging writers at a key stage in their career, and to ensure that writers from traditionally marginalized backgrounds have access to specialised editorial input. This is a national initiative seeking to bring together a dynamic group of individuals drawn from a range of cultural, ethnic and regional communities. It is aimed at aspiring novelists who have already made a considerable commitment to the development of their practice and would benefit from a year of transitional support. The scheme is suitable for writers who have already produced a complete or almost complete draft of a novel. Candidates will be expected to meet a number of key deadlines and to aim towards concluding the programme with a novel in final draft. * The deadline is 7th November so you must act quickly. * For further information on the scheme please go to: www.adventuresinfiction.co.uk or write to: Adventures in Fiction, 15 Grosvenor Avenue, London, N5 2NR Telephone: 020 7354 2598 Writing Retreats at Padley Rise Staple editor Ann Atkinson is planning autumn weekend writing retreats in her home in Derbyshire's beautiful Peak District National Park. The house is set in hillside woodland with excellent walks from the door, yet is well-served by public transport, being close to Grindleford Train Station and on the bus route from Sheffield. There is room for 3 writers, each with their own large and comfortable study-bedroom. (Couples and non-writing partners can also be accommodated) All food will be provided, breakfasts and lunches being informal and 'help-yourself', with the evenings given to a sociable meal cooked and served by Ann. If the participants wish, the meal can be followed by a read-round of work-in-progress with group feedback. The dates for these retreats are:- October 14th - 16th October 28th - 30th Arrival time is around 4.00 pm on Friday, and departure after afternoon tea around 4.00 pm on Sunday. The cost is £175 per person (reductions for couples sharing a room) For more information ring 01433 631949 or email Ann: atkinsonannie@aol.com There are further retreats and writing courses/holidays planned for 2006 please contact Ann for more details. ... and at the seaside Writing Weekend for experienced and beginner writers in prose and poetry. Friday 4th - Sunday 6th November. Tutor: Liz Cashdan. En suite hotel accommodation at the Victoria Hotel in Bridlington and tuition: £120 Contact: Liz on 01142 368361 or email: cashda@onetel.com The Barnsley Writers Resource Centre is continuing to draw people in to the Central Library in Barnsley and we have now organised the run of visits through into the new year - We plan to be there between 11.00 am - 1. 00 pm on the 2nd Saturday of each month through until February 2006 and beyond then? Watch this space. Robin Garside, the designer of the Signposts website, now has a new web site for those interested in having their own site designed. It can be found at www.g-web.co.uk LIVE LISTINGS Nov/Dec 2005 In November Friday 11th November Chantwriters Community Writing Group - Football Unites /Racism Divides 10th Anniversary Gala Evening More info - tel: 01246 850 023 Saturday 12th November Barnsley Writers Resource Centre - 2nd Saturday of each month at the Central Library, Shambles Street, Barnsley 11.00 am-1.00 pm More info tel: 0114 2634 787 Monday 14th November Access Poetry Barnsley News, and a chance to share your writing with others Barnsley Central Library, Shambles Street. 7.00 pm Info tel: 01226 232 604 December Tuesday 6th December The Sticky Bun Writers Club Liz Cashden & Woodseats W.E.A. writing class read from their new anthology. F.O.B. Church Street. Free. 7.30 pm start. 0114 2366 225 We always welcome entries for our listings page - If you have anything that you want us to include then please send us the details Barnsley Writers Resource Centre For information & advice The 2nd Saturday of each month 11.00 am to 1.00 pm Barnsley Central Library more info - 0114 2634 787 Sheffield Writers Resource Centre For information and advice Wednesdays 5 pm - 7.30 pm The Central Lending Library Surrey St, Sheffield, S1 For more info - 0114 2734 726 To be included on The Inky's Listings - Email: signposts@lineone.net or contact us at the address below. The Inky acknowledges support from: The Inky is a Signposts Project - Signposts Writing Development Project www.signpostsonline.org Please send contributions for the next issue to: The Inky SIGNPOSTS 4th Floor, Furnival House, 48 Furnival Gate, Sheffield, S1 4QP For more information - Phone Geoff on 0114 2634787 or Email: signposts@lineone.net If you would like to receive a hard copy of The Inky then please contact us at the above address, we will need your address details and your permission to keep your details on our database. If you wish to receive the email version of the Inky we will require your email address together with your permission to keep your details on our database. *Please note* - The hard copy of The Inky may well precede the e-version by a number of weeks and some articles may be out of date by the time the e-version is received. *************************************************