Writer's News
The Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy
The Birmingham Rep

Created by our Artistic Director Sean Foley, The Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy (in partnership with The Victoria Wood Foundation) is the UK’s first ever major playwriting competition dedicated to the art of Comedy. The prize is open to UK residents only and will take place biennially.
There is one category, ‘New Comedy Play’, and all plays submitted must be an original, full-length, unperformed and unproduced piece of work.
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Glass: A Journal of Arts
SUBS OPEN

A new literary arts mag:
publishing the bizarre anarchists and the ordinary bits
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Sherwood Voices
Storytelling Audio Walks
Andy Barret
Excavate

Put on your walking shoes and step into Sherwood Voices!
Get your headphones ready, put your best foot forward, set your own pace, and join us on our journeys into the heart and soul of the Sherwood Forest area. . .
As the saying goes, you can’t truly understand someone, or the place that has shaped them, until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. That’s why we’ve created a series of six audio walks, written and directed by Excavate's Andy Barrett, and led by Sherwood people, who will take you on a journey through the stories and culture of the Sherwood Forest area.
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Writer's Diary
advert
Mountbatten Hospice Wing Walk 2024
Emily Jones
In 2024, I am taking to the skies and taking part in the first charity Wing Walk on the Isle of Wight in aid of the wonderful Mountbatten Hospice on the island who looked after my lovely Dad and our whole family in his final weeks.
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Advert
Give While You Shop

Raise free funds for Hothouse Theatre and Oh MyNottz by shopping online with Give as you Live, over 4200 retailers to choose from, shop & raise a donation at no cost to you!
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Open Mic
6th Dec
Crafty Crow, Nottingham

Open Mic
Free drink for every performer
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Run Your Tongue
feat. Leilah King
Spoken Word Open Mic Night
7th Dec
Watson's Cocktail Bar
94 Granby Street Leicester

We are back for another edition of Run Your Tongue -
the spoken word open mic night where everyone is welcome and anything goes.
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Open mic
7th Dec
Victoria Inn, Derby

They themselves said it would never happen, but Paul and Steven, known across the civilised world as "them that used to host that Open Mic at The Tap", invite you to join us for the "re-boot".
Everyone is welcome, providing any kind of entertainment.
See you at 8ish.
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Invoke Poetry Workshops
Oliver Nicol
7th Dec
Nottingham Writers’ Studio, The Carousel, 25 Hockley, NG1 1FH

Invoke Poetry Workshops are creative writing poetry workshops centred on providing the tools, space and support for anybody who has the urge to write their own poetry.
Whether it’s your first time writing a poem, you have a multitude of unfinished ideas in your notes or you’re looking for a place to be inspired to fuel your hundredth poem. Whatever your experience so far, these workshops are intended to get your creativity flowing, build your confidence in your writing and unleash your self-expression through poetry.
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Late light
with Michael Malay
an illustrated talk on moths, eels, libraries, the economy and the links between them
7th Dec
Five Leaves Bookshop
14a Long Row, Nottingham

When Michael Malay came to England at twenty-one, he was enchanted by the green and pleasant land he had read so much about. Befriending naturalists and birders, he began to learn the names of the species and the phenomena that shaped this new life of his: downs; combes; brambles; oystercatcher; skylark – it was the beginning of a love affair.
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Open Mic
Let’s celebrate self-expression! Join us for our free and regular Open Mic to have some fun and hear the local talent Notts has!
10th, 17th, 31st Dec
Hopkinson's, Station Street, Nottingham

We welcome you, whether you’re an observer or a performer, to get stuck in to our Open Mic! Station Street Kitchen is a safe space for everyone, and we LOVE creativity, community and GOOD VIBES!
Share your talent through three songs, acts or performances, and we’ll gift you a cheeky bev to say well done
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'You Better Not Cry'
The Connection between Christmas and Horror
11th Dec
Online

In this two day course, which includes creative writing tasks throughout, we will examine the connection between horror and Christmas: from isolated settings, bad weather, large gatherings and familial unease, what better holiday to start writing a horror?
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advert
The Gift
A Christmas Ghost Story
by Guy Jones
On the top floor of an old Victorian house, that should be empty, there is a light on. A low light. A candle light.
And next to the light, just visible ... or was it my ... a figure ... and was it ... was she looking straight at me?
She? Yes, it was a girl.
All proceeds go toward HotHouse Theatre's Edinburgh Fund
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Real Talk
December
12th Dec
Bunk (Derby)

Real Talk is back for the last time in 2023
An entertaining evening of some of the most talented people locally. Poets and musicians.
Open mic and live DJ.
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The Mermaid and the King
and other folktales
Hothouse Theatre
Tues 19th Dec @ The Robin Hood, Sherwood, Nottingham
Wed 20th Dec 2023 @ Bakersfield Community Cent, Sneinton Dale, Nottingham

An evening of folktales in a very grown-up style.
The Mermaid and the King is a weaving together of 3 classic folk tales into a new tale with a very modern theme.
There will be other invited storytellers plus a few 5-minute open mic slots available on each night.
Tickets are 'pay what you can'. All proceeds go towards Hothouse Theatre projects.
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