In the presence of future greats – Is There A Novelist In The House?

23rd October

We’ve not even got started yet and the windows have steamed up, so many bodies are crammed into the not insubstantial Waterstone’s Events Room for Is There A Novelist In The House? This is the culmination of the First Chapter Competition run in association with Crocus Books, the publishing imprint of Commonword and Cultureword. The contest aims to give a leg-up to budding novelists in the north of England, with £250 up for grabs for the winner and advice to all seven finalists to assist them in getting their first novel published.

Having submitted a two-page synopsis plus their novel’s first chapter, the shortlisted entrants now have to pitch their idea, in just five minutes and in front of this packed house, to Jane Rogers (author and Sheffield Hallam University Professor of Writing), Dan Franklin (digital editor at independent publisher Canongate Books) and Zoë King (agent at Darley Anderson). No wonder they look nervous...

First up is Benjamin Judge, coincidentally the MLF Blog reviewer of this event last year. Having had short fiction published through the likes of Bewilderbliss, Rainy City Stories and Manchester Blog Awards winner 330 Words, Ben calls his writing “speculative”. Indeed as he reads an extract from All Creatures Great With Chips, sci-fi of the Douglas Adams ilk springs to mind, with protagonist Casey delivering the wrong kind of flamingo to an evil mansion owner on Stork island. The panel is impressed with Ben’s imagination and likens his humour to Man Booker winner The Finkler Question.

Quite a contrast is Nicola Timms’ gritty tale, which she describes as “women’s realism”. A rebuilt Sheffield is the setting, and even a character, in This City Of Steel We Live, which follows the trials and tribulations of care-worker Sarah Smith and her “mix’n’match family”. Nicola draws on the strength of Yorkshire folk and her own experience with social services, but it’s the lack of sentimentality in the narrative (along with her recital from memory) that goes down well with the judges.

Newspaper editor Andrzej Wieckowski offers up a historical novel. Three Days In September recounts the German invasion of Warsaw during World War II through the eyes of Polish soldier Piot and his comrades. Obviously Andrzej was never there, but his story is so rich in detail, it seems authentic. He acknowledges that he’s done a lot of research into both the battle and the background, listening to then re-imagining the stories of older people in the Polish community. Jane, Dan and Zoë love this idea of finding a hidden corner of history to explore and make his own.

Former advertising copywriter Gary Parkinson has already surreptitiously promoted Scarecrow by scattering postcards about the room; his next trick is to introduce the book to us by reading out a “letter” from the main voice, Lily Brakes. The play on words doesn’t pass unnoticed as he reveals a plot thick with abuse, incest and horror in the Staffordshire fields contrasting sharply with the poetic prose. He likens the style to The Lovely Bones, and the crafted language is one of the things the panel likes.

Deborah Mann’s concept is intriguing: Eve, a schoolyard bully abused by her father, goes on to marry a violent husband then have a number of affairs with both sexes. Eve eventually finds the perfect lover, although this person’s gender is never revealed; perhaps so the spell remains unbroken, perhaps, as Deborah says, because the important thing is that this relationship finally works. The judges think Deborah is brave to tackle such subjects and find “genderlessness” an interesting premise.

Mothers Beloved by Susie Stubbs, editor, appropriately, of Creative Tourist, is set in Laos in southeast Asia, and puts a teenage girl, Nantip, centre stage. Visiting the country a number of times has paid off, and Susie’s descriptions of people and place are compelling. She hopes the book will appeal to “anyone who has ever felt like an outsider”, but the narrative, complete with mysterious visions, is probably its real selling point. The feedback for Susie is that her research really shines through and that incidents in the story unfold well, making the reader want to read on.

Finally, Katy Massey introduces The Book Of Ghosts as “not a scary haunted house-type novel” but a story about the effect of bereavement on a multiracial family and the ghosts witnessed by one of them, Sophie. Katy explains it is somewhat autobiographical, with a distinctly northern voice like her own, and shows that “the dead can be written back into existence”. The judges find this “instantly likeable”, and enjoy the two backdrops of the monied 1980s and the recent economic crash.

After a nail-biting 20-minute break for deliberations, Jane, Dan and Zoë return to praise all the finalists - “Everyone was outstanding” - and name this year’s winner as Susie Stubbs. Congratulations!

By Sarah-Clare Conlon

Sarah-Clare is a freelance writer, editor and press officer. She is the co-creator of Ask Ben & Clare, author of the award-winning Words & Fixtures, and regular contributor to Manchester Blog Awards 2010 Best New Blog 330 Words.

Manchester Sermon – It was funny, it was moving, it was powerful.

21st October

Like most people of my generation, barring weddings and funerals, I have not stepped foot in a church in twenty years. I thought the Manchester Sermon might be a nice place to break that habit. Happily I was right. It was a brilliant evening.

The location, Manchester Cathedral, is stunning. At night it is warm and welcoming at its centre, but at the edges lie gloomy corners, dark and full of mystery. Chocolate brown stone pillars prop up giant ceilings. Sodium street lights shine through stained glass windows. It is a venue that invites contemplation.

Canon Andrew Shanks introduced the evening by explaining the philosophy behind its conception (I’ll stop the religious puns now – sorry). The sermon, as a form, was until very recently a major branch of literature, practiced by some of the greatest British poets. The Manchester Sermon was an attempt to revive an almost lost part of our literary heritage. So unused to hearing a sermon is the majority of the audience that we are given a little hint of sermon etiquette. We are politely asked not to applause the sermon but to sit in silence for a few moments: “It’s like when you microwave something and leave it to stand.”

After the introduction, and before Jeanette Winterson speaks, a choir sings. The devil hasn’t got the best tunes, he just has a better press agent. The music is beautiful. Some of it, written in the time of the Tudors, is still incredibly effecting and the acoustics in the cathedral were stunning.

And then there is the Manchester Sermon itself. I’m afraid my notes get a bit sketchy here because I stopped writing and started listening. Winterson used the temptation of Christ in the desert as her base text, and from it delivered a secular sermon which looked at the current economic climate, celebrity culture, and our responsibilities to each other as human beings. It was funny, it was moving, it was powerful. It was surprisingly edgy. It was a triumph.

You can read it at the Manchester Literature Festival website and hear it on the BBC's.

The evening ended with a question and answer session. The questions were answered by Jeanette Winterson and Canon Andrew Shanks, and also the poets Michael Schmidt and Michael Symmons Roberts. The discussion was chaired by Rachel Mann.

The panel discussed whether or not we had heard a sermon, the need for spiritual guidance in an increasingly secular world and the place, and role, of the church during the terribly difficult economic period the country is entering.

At the risk of sounding controversial I would say that it may well be events like this that show the church’s relevance in the coming years. By interacting with the community, by reaching out, by being able to surprise, churches like Manchester Cathedral will continue to remain relevant and important. That the evening was such a success is due not only to Jeanette Winterson but also to churchmen and women like Shanks and Mann who are brave enough to open their doors to argument.

It would be hard not to be effected by the Manchester Sermon. It was important as well as being interesting. I hope very much it will be the first of many.

by Benjamin Judge

Benjamin is a sort-of writer whose blog Who the fudge is Benjamin Judge? was shortlisted for two awards at this year's Manchester Blog Awards. He also read from his one flamingo against the world novel at this year's Is There A Novelist In The House?

The Universe, and Everything in It: Patricia Duncker and Barbara Trapido

Waterstones, 16th October.

On the bus to Manchester I was reading Lavinia Greenlaw’s The Importance of Music to Girls. I was struck by the line “This kind of dancing was like gambling for matchsticks rather than money. It had no charge and I felt no flight or spring or joy...”. The description is of the country dancing she learned at school but it could be applied to so much of life. The concept of “gambling for matchsticks rather than money”, of merely going through the motions, is one that fits rather neatly to so much of contemporary literature which can so often be all intellectual workout with no pep or sparkle.

It is a description that could not be applied to Duncker and Trapido, who were introduced last week as two of Britain’s best, and then later, two of Britain’s most intriguing, women novelists. The definition is misleading because the majority of Britain’s best and most intriguing novelists currently are women. Nicola Barker, A.S. Byatt, Ali Smith, Shena Mackay, Sarah Salway, Elizabeth Baines, Hilary Mantel, and, of course, Patricia Duncker and Barbara Trapido, are just a few examples among many. When these novelists write they are certainly not playing with matchsticks, and when we buy their books we are not gambling with our money. (Blimey! That almost sounds clever, doesn’t it?)

When I first read through the Manchester Literature Festival program this was the first event I circled with red biro, marking it as a must-see. Its taking place on Saturday evening meant it became the perfect start to a holiday; the now annual week away from work so I can make the most of the Literature Festival. I was not disappointed. Especially as being a volunteer, writing this review, turning up early meant I got to chat briefly to Patricia Duncker before the reading. We talked about, amongst other things, writing, squid, and Sylvester Stalone’s portrayal of Judge Dredd.

A disparate mix, but not an unfitting one because both Duncker and Trapido write books that are chock full of things, knowledge. They are novelists who are both interesting and interested. Who write about the world instead of preaching to it.

Duncker read from The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge. It is a dark tale of suicide cults, rationalism, faith, work, and ominous seeming movements in deep space. It is a novel of the universe, and everything in it. Duncker is excited by the concept of “one man’s faith being another man’s horror” and her novel investigates this idea.

Barbara Trapido read from Sex & Stravinsky, a whirling pirouette through several countries and a cacophony of family ties. It is a book of many and various characters; in the readings we got to see a young boy whose life is at the whims of South African politics and a wonderfully convincing teenage girl full of rage for her mother and her Portmerion tableware.

What was especially interesting for the audience was our learning by what incredibly different routes the two authors create their work. In the question and answer part of the event we learnt how Duncker starts with a very definite plotline and researches meticulously, going to watch people at their workplace, while Trapido can find herself at four in the morning stomping around her room acting out parts of her novel-in-progress and how she finds her characters “ways of trying yourself out in different roles.”

However different the methods of production though, the novels that are the end product are both equally brilliant and the readings from them fascinating, fun, and the perfect advert for both the writers' novels and the rest of the Manchester Literature Festival. As Duncker herself said while discussing her own reading habits “if I don’t want to turn the page, I don’t want to read the book.” This is a sentiment that was shared by all those gathered.

After an hour or so of great writing, in a room that I didn’t even know existed, tucked up behind the café on the top floor of Waterstone's, the audience applauded the writers one last time and headed toward the pile of books and the queue to get them signed.

Ten minutes later, I was back on Deansgate, amongst the sirens and the music that had gently drifted up to us as we listened to the readings, my bag two books heavier and my wallet slightly lighter, surrounded by the universe, and everything in it.

by Benjamin Judge

Benjamin Judge is a sort-of writer whose blog Who The Fudge Is Benjamin Judge? Has was shortlisted for two awards at this years Manchester Blog Awards. He also read from his one flamingo against the world novel at this year's Is There A Novelist In The House?

A Pinch Of Salt: Northern Salt (Whitworth Art Gallery, October 18)

The Whitworth Art Gallery is a near perfect location for a reading. Through the windows the park breathes, behind us the art awaits. The fragrance of new tastes drifts towards us from the cafe. Autumn, in the form of flat orange leaves, falls slowly from the trees outside. The hand-driers in the bathrooms whisper sweet nothings to our hands. (Actually, if anyone from Whitworth is reading this, you might want to look into that - they seem to be on half-blow or something.)

Where was I? Oh yes...

Location. The backdrop of the park is so perfect because the glimpses of people’s lives as they meander through the trees complements the snapshots of life we get from the writers visiting Manchester today: Robert Graham, Elizabeth Baines, John Siddique and Mark Illis. I must admit that all four names were unfamiliar when I decided to come along to the event. Although, of course, it is a great pleasure to listen to a favourite writer read from their work, one of the best things about having a literature festival on your doorstep is the opportunity to find new writers. New favourites. And with so many of the events being free, it is an unusual reader who isn't tempted to explore. This is doubly true when you consider that much of this new talent will not be published by companies that can afford huge advertising campaigns. Salt is a case in point. Literature is like everything else; you can make a little effort and find real treasures, or you can go to the supermarket and buy what everyone else is buying.

If you do go to the supermarket you will miss Robert Graham's short story collection, The Only Living Boy, with its witty tales of life in Manchester and Northern Ireland. You will not find Elizabeth Baines’ novel, Too Many Magpies, a tale of an unnamed woman's encounter with a mysterious stranger that reflects the author's belief that we are living in a newly precarious world. You will have to live without John Siddique's heartfelt and powerful poetry, the latest collection of which, Recital, is a combination of lunar almanac, love poetry and an investigation of modern Britain.

Most of all, though, you will miss out on Mark Illis' new work, Tender. This is a novel as a series of short stories. Mark admits during the question and answer section at this event that his writing may be subconsciously influenced by his work in television. He says, perhaps, you could view his new book as working in a similar way to a television series in which the episodes form a coherent narrative arc but at the same time work individually, too. Certainly, the story he read - There's A Hole In Everything - didn't seem at all lost when separated from the collection. It was writing of the very highest order and those of you who were there will know why I am picking my words very deliberately when I say I 'beseech' you to buy a copy.

Of course, going to the supermarket isn't the only way you can miss out on these writers. By the time Jo and I got to the front of the queue at the book stall, we were greeted by an empty table. I will be making a visit to www.saltpublishing.com - may I suggest you do the same? And don't forget too that there is still a week of the festival left – that’s a whole week's worth of new writers to find.


Benjamin Judge collects his thoughts on his blog Cynical Ben, which has been shortlisted at this year's Manchester Blog Awards. He also writes very short fiction at Carp Glob.