New Slam on the Block

The Northern Poetry Slam

in association with Manchester Literature Festival and sponsored by Baltika lager

Thursday 17^th April 2008, 9pm ’til late

The Northern Pub, 56 Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1LX

Tel: 0161 835 2548 www.thenorthernpub.co.uk

Free Entry

Manchester Literature Festival is delighted to join forces with The Northern, Manchester’s original modern pub in the heart of the Northern Quarter, to launch a regular poetry night for northern slammers. The first slam is hosted by the effervescent comedian John Cooper and features a special guest appearance from Max Seymour, winner of last year’s Manchester Literature Festival Comedy Slam. Come and discover the city’s rising stars of poetry and comedy and help crown a champion.

Each contestant gets 3 minutes on the mic to impress the audience. The winner of each heat receives a small cash prize, a guest spot in next month’s heat and automatic entry into the Manchester Literature Festival Grand Slam in October.

To book a performance slot, please email: admin@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk or tel: 0161 236 5725

Future Northern Slam Dates: May 14^th, June 18^th, July 16^th, August 20^th September 17^th, October 23^rd.

An Exciting Opportunity - The Modern Muse!

The Modern Muse: a poetry commission opportunity with Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester Literature Festival

Following our successful collaboration last year, involving the commissioning of a series of flash fiction stories by David Gaffney in response to the Art Treasures Manchester exhibition, Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Art Gallery are again teaming up to inspire the city's writers.

We are looking to commission a poet to produce creative responses to the art works displayed in Manchester Art Gallery’s Modern and Contemporary Galleries, which include works by Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso and Juan Munoz. The poet will be expected to produce a minimum of six new poems to be performed as part of a special lunch time event to be in held in the Gallery as part of the Manchester Literature Festival in October 2008. The commissioned poems will also be displayed in the Gallery for the duration of the Festival and published online.

The commissioned poet will also be expected to help inspire members of the public by facilitating a two day workshop held at the Gallery on the weekend of 18^th/19^th October. As part of the workshop, the poet will encourage participants to produce their own creative responses to the exhibitions via a series of practical exercises aimed to stimulate ideas and develop craft.

The poet will be paid a total commission of £1,000, including performance and workshop facilitation fees.

To apply for this commission opportunity you must live or work in Greater Manchester. All applicants are required to submit:

* a covering letter including your contact details and a brief explanation of why you would like to take up this commission

* a one page CV outlining your writing history and previous teaching/workshop facilitation experience

* one original poem that you have written in response to a work of art (not necessarily one exhibited at Manchester Art Gallery)

The deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday 7^th April and they should be submitted by email to Jon Atkin at admin@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk or by post to

Manchester Literature Festival, 3^rd Floor, 24 Lever Street, Manchester M1 1 DZ. Shortlisted applicants may be invited to an informal interview in mid-April.

More information about the MAG's Modern and Contemporary Galleries can be found at www.manchestergalleries.org

Getting Into Writing...

Manchester Literature Festival, with financial support from Davis Blank Furniss Solicitors and Arts & Business, have recently coordinated a series of Get into Writing workshops at Whalley Range and Levenshulme High Schools and Xaverian College. The workshops provided students with an opportunity to meet local authors and publishers, Peter Kalu (novelist and editor of Crocus Books and Suitcase Press) and Zahid Hussain (poet and author of the popular Manchester novel, Curry Mile) who provided an entertaining insight into the writer's life and career opportunities in the publishing industry. We are hoping that some of Peter's and Zahid's talent and enthusiasm will rub off them – watch this space for the next generation of Manchester writers...

“Thank you so much for getting Pete and Zahid into our school for the workshop. They were charismatic and inspirational and we all thoroughly enjoyed meeting them.” Claire Narayanan (Whalley Range High School)

“The girls said that although there was a lot of listening, they did get a lot out of it. Quite a few reviewed their career plans, they hadn't even known about some of the jobs Peter described and expressed an interest in finding out more. One pupil joined the Manchester Book Awards group that night and several pupils have since written some interesting pieces.” Barbara Reynolds (Levenshulme High School)

Blogging Workshop Works Wonders...

Last Saturday afternoon, as reported in our previous blog entry, Kate Feld of the Manchizzle and Chris Horkan of Mancubist led a very successful workshop at MDDA. The workshop was full up (with many more people on the reserve list) and everyone who attended found something useful, whatever their ability or starting point.
Here's some comments from some of those who attended:

'As an experienced blogger I thought the event covered absolutely everything it needed to'.

'Both talks were well structured and immensely helpful for me'

'I found the workshop very useful, inspirational even. I've gone from
thinking I might start a blog to thinking I will. Watch this (blog)space!'

'Having two warm generous people leading the event made for a lovely atmosphere. The vibe from the people round the table was good too.'

Kate and Chris are planning to run further workshops later in the year, so watch this (blog) space too...

So You Wanna be a Blogstar?

As the end of the year approaches, you are probably thinking about New Year resolutions. As well as the usual do more exercise and read more books, you might want to add become a blog star to your list? So far, the winners of last year's Manchester Blog Awards have netted two book deals and a Guardian column! If you fancy following in their footsteps, then sign up for our free workshop for bloggers asap:

So You Wanna be a Blogstar?
With Kate Feld of The Manchizzle and the Manchester Blog Awards, and Chris Horkan of Mancubist

1 – 3 pm Saturday, January 19 2008
Manchester Digital Development Agency, Portland Street, Manchester
Free

After a huge demand for our blogging workshops during this year’s Manchester Literature Festival, we’ve decided to hold another one for those who might have missed out in October.

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll look at the elements that go into successful blogs, and discuss the finer points of style, design, focus, and attracting readers. We’ll also take you through the applications and add-ons that can make your blog function more professionally. This workshop will suit someone who’s already familiar with the basics of blogging but wants to progress to the next level.

Wireless available on site for laptops, or workstations provided – please specify your needs when booking. Limited to ten places. Book by calling the Manchester Literature Festival office on 0161 236 5725, or by emailing admin@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

This event is being supported by Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA). MDDA offer a number of services to small organisations based in Manchester to help them make better use of the web, including podcasting workshops, web site planning workshops, technology audits, and more. Contact Martine Tommis or Alan Holding to see what support MDDA can provide to your organisation. Fore more inforamtion visit: http://www.manchesterdda.com/contact/

For directions to the venue please check: http://www.manchesterdda.com/directions/.

Review: MLF weekend break

My partner and I spent a wonderful weekend enjoying the Festival’s hotel break at the City Inn. Located next to Piccadilly station it proved to be a perfect base for the various events we attended. Our first was in the Friends Meeting House to hear Howard Jacobson read from his novel Kalooki Nights. This he did with gusto, though not without first weighing up the sensitivity of his audience to some of his stronger images, tongue firmly in cheek. Then followed a discussion on contemporary orthodoxy in Judaism and other religions around Manchester. This gave us plenty to think about as we wandered back past the first shift of night clubbers and the colourful array of wigs and spangled gowns along Canal Street to our welcoming bedroom.

The following day we enjoyed readings from Gerard Woodward and Adam Thorpe in the peaceful setting of St Anne’s Church at odds with the bustling food stalls outside. Both readings contained perceptive accounts of men trying to gain understanding of themselves in unfamiliar or skewed surroundings. Question and answers brought up the topic of autobiographical details filtering into their fiction that both authors readily admitted to.

Next a short journey down to the Whitworth Gallery with some time to explore the exhibitions before the next speaker. This was the charmingly loquacious Roddy Doyle who took the audience on a brisk journey through a delightful montage of one family’s head on experience with the increasingly diverse ethnic mix of today’s Ireland.

A glass of wine and a chance to assimilate all the ideas and discussions we had heard so far as we waited for Maggie O’Farrell and Anne Enright. As the room filled with an expectant audience and the lights dimmed, all eyes were on these two ladies. After a long and inspiring day we sat back to savour their stories. Anne started with a domestic scene from The Gathering that combined pathos, anger and humour in equal measure, along with the frustration of family life that most of us regularly experience.

Maggie’s excerpts from The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox gave us an atmospheric glimpse of colonial India from a child’s point of view, followed by her haunting frankness after lengthy incarceration in a mental institution. Both authors read beautifully, conjuring up a disturbing bedtime story heard in the comfort of one’s own bed. What a perfect way to end our stay.

- Claire Yates

Final Fling

Saturday evening, Linton Kwesi Johnson led the audience through a vivid modern history of black Britain, powerfully illustrated with his own poems. A standing-room-only crowd packed the Contact Theatre for this rare opportunity to hear the poet read in Manchester, and they were not disappointed. It was really a night to remember.

The final weekend of the festival was so stuffed with events it made deciding what to go to a difficult task. From Howard Jacobson and Galway Kinnell on Friday night, to Saturday's powerful lineup, which included Maggie O'Farrell and Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle, Tariq Latif and Gerard Woodward and Adam Thorpe, to Sunday's Doctor Who and Comedy Curtain call events, it was a hectic weekend in the best possible way.

Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this year's festival a success, and especially to the audiences who return each year to prove that live literature is a vital and thriving part of British culture - and an indispensable part of life in Manchester.