Writer's News
Submit Your 2024 Festival Event
Nottingham Poetry Festival
Deadline 29th April
This is a change of date
This year, Nottingham Poetry Festival celebrates local, national and internationally acclaimed artists that align with our community values.
We are passionate about strengthening our partnerships as we invite you to organise performances, workshops, debates, and any other poetry-related activity as part of our 2024 programme.
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Writer in Residence Wanted
Writing East Midlands
Registration End Date
Fri, 3rd May
WRITER IN RESIDENCE WANTED
Leading 25-30 workshops (1-2 hours each) in the Bolsover District Cultural Corridor between June 2024 and February 2025
This projects aims to build strong creative relationships with communities in the Corridor’s geographic area, exploring the creative ideas that matter to these communities and inspire new writing.
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Advert
Home, I’m Darling
Bonington Players
24th - 27th April
Bonington Theatre, Nottingham
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DIY Poets
Youtube Channel
We are a Nottingham, UK based poetry collective. We're nice and we don't always rhyme.
Our aim is to give budding poets the opportunity to perform their work in public and get their work published and we're proud to have members of all ages, shapes, sizes, experiences and styles, from brand new poets and occasional hobbyists to slam winners and published writers.
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Our City, Our Stories
Join one of our FREE workshops this spring, dates to be confirmed soon, at your local library.
Nottingham City of Literature
Our City, Our Stories is a creative project, about gathering local stories. Join us for relaxed workshops where we’ll talk, listen and write together, building stories based on your experiences and ideas.
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The Creative Future Writers’ Award
Deadline 19th May
The Creative Future Writers' Award is the only free to enter national writing competition for all underrepresented writers. Prize winners are selected by a panel prestigious authors and industry experts and are given the opportunity to develop their work through training, mentoring, assessment and coaching.
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Writer's Diary
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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Word Wise #76 Twisted Tongues
26th April
Dubrek Studios, Derby, DE1 3LB
Word Wise is a spoken word and poetry night uniting the best talent from around the UK and beyond, with Derby's finest performers. Word Wise won the 2019 Saboteur award for Best Regular Spoken Word Event in the UK.£3 Early bird tickets (plus booking fee) £5 on the door.This month we've got the legendary Twisted Tongues.
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SOUND AT CENTRAL
Nottingham Central Library’s monthly music and performance event
27th April
Nottingham Central Library
An epic line-up of bands and artists take over the space as the bar and atrium-cum-dance floor open for our cabaret night.
This month’s event includes astounding local singer-songwriter, Franklin Anselm, published poet and esteemed performer Sophie Sparham, Rap-hip-hop-jazz fusion Local Healers, and visionary soulful artist and producer Phe B.
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Realms of Fantasy 3
A day of fantasy writing workshops with a range of guest authors.
27th April
Online
Realms of Fantasy returns to complete the trilogy, serving up a loaded day of fantasy writing workshops with a series of guest authors! Join us to gain the insight, inspiration and information to take your fantasy fiction to the next level.
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Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism
Non-Fiction Book Group
29th April
Five Leaves Bookshop
14a Long Row, Nottingham, NG12DH
Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism does both of those things. In less than a hundred pages he makes the case that it has become easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism. Fisher argues that a lack of alternatives to this system creates a sense of cynicism and political apathy. For him, this way of organising our society affects not only our economy but our culture, private lives and mental health. He makes his case not through classical literature or impenetrable political theory but rather by analysing popular culture.
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Count Our Blessings
Onwards & Upwards, 2021
Fiona Linday
Society of Authors
1st May
Nottingham Central Library
Powerful, insightful narratives of the world we live in. Exploring different cultures, different generations and highlighting inequality, injustice and pain. Steering the reader in direction of hope, purpose and life.
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Against landlords
how to solve the housing crisis
with Nick Bano
1st May
Five Leaves Bookshop
14a Long Row, Nottingham, NG12DH
Britain has become a nation of renters and landlords. Building more housing is not the solution. Housing crisis lawyer Nick Bano proposes that it is rent not house prices that is at the core of the problem. Despite economic boom and bust, why has the cost of housing continued to skyrocket since the 1970s? Bano argues that rents have also continued to rise – supported by housing benefit payments and weakening housing laws on evictions. The state has colluded with the market as social housing provision has been replaced by payments, spiralling ever higher.
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poetics of migration poetry workshop
NOTTS POETRY
1st May
Nottingham Central Library
Discover the transformative power of expression: Notts Poetry, in collaboration with Nottingham Refugee Forum and the University of Nottingham, warmly welcomes refugees, families, and those affected by migration to share their stories through words and visual art. Together, we'll explore the depths of loss, while honoring the resilience and beauty of finding love and meaning amidst displacement. Join us in shaping a narrative of strength, compassion, and solidarity.
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Getting Published
w/ Pippa Hennessy & Georgina Wilding
2nd May
City Arts, Nottingham
Discover the transformative power of expression: Notts Poetry, in collaboration with Nottingham Refugee Forum and the University of Nottingham, warmly welcomes refugees, families, and those affected by migration to share their stories through words and visual art. Together, we'll explore the depths of loss, while honoring the resilience and beauty of finding love and meaning amidst displacement. Join us in shaping a narrative of strength, compassion, and solidarity.
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Nottingham City of Literature Lectures 2024
2nd & 3rd May
Nottingham Central Library
This year marks a first for Nottingham City of Literature as we welcome not one but two internationally acclaimed authors to deliver the City of Literature Lectures. Taking place at Nottingham’s fantastic new Central Library, which opened its doors in November 2023, the two lectures delivered over two consecutive days promise a fascinating insight into topics including identity, storytelling, inheritance, desire and nostalgia.
Plus, on 3rd May, Tahmima Anam and Chris McCormick will be joined by Jon McGregor for a roundtable discussion on ‘The Art of Short Form Narrative’ chaired by Ruth Maxey from the University of Nottingham. Tickets are FREE and available to book now using the links below.
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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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Speak Easy
The Spoken Word Collective
Young People
3rd May
Nottingham Playhouse
Come and join the SpeakEasy Spoken Word bi-monthly open mic nights at Nottingham Playhouse. Led and curated by The Mighty Creatives and Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature youth board member Connor Brown, alongside Nottingham Playhouse and fellow City of Literature youth board member Abigail Hutchinson.
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Ghost Stories and Writing Fantasy Age Group: 10 years +
Jae Malone
Society of Authors
4th May
Nottingham Central Library
Fantasy stories come from the imagination, but what about ghosts? Are they fantasy or real? Let's create worlds, create people, create situations where you might find ghosts, but find out how to stay within credible boundaries when writing stories; making the imaginary realistic. Jae Malone has been presenting workshops for adults and children for 18 years. Her writing includes fantasy, and ghost stories, and she was invited to present a workshop at this year's UK Ghost Festival, to great reviews.
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DIY Poets – Quarterly Showcase
The featured act is Keith Ford
9th May
City Arts, 11-13 Hockley, Nottingham, NG1 1FH
and online
An Evening of poetry, of all kinds from a diverse view point. It will make you think, it may make you cry, but it will certainty make you laugh.
Featured Poet Keith Ford
Plus DIY Poets
Open mic slots are also available on the night.
It’s taken Keith 10 long years to finally release his debut collection ‘Matters of Life and Death’ through Big White Shed. The book is reversible but the experiences that informed it are sadly not. The Life section happily charts the early years of teenage fumbles, middle aged mumbles and the growth in groans and grumbles. The Death section was sadly informed by the lives and losses of cousins and parents, friends and the famous. Keith looks forward to sharing poems from it with the lovely DIY audience.
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Reasons To Be Cheerful
DIY Poets
Nottingham Poetry Festival
13th June
City Arts, 11-13 Hockley, Nottingham, NG1 1FH
and online
City Arts are pleased to host Reasons To Be Cheerful, DIY Poets’ event for Nottingham Poetry Festival. It is an online/offline hybrid event from our building in Hockley, Nottingham. This is a chance to join Nottingham’s oldest running poetry group for a game of 3 halves, featuring open mic poetry and positive vibes.
There will be verse, some of it free, there may even be a rhyme or two. There will definitely be laughs and smiles all round. So why not dig out your most positive work and get yourself down to City Arts for a great night out?
Everyone is welcome. This is an entirely open mic event. You can take part as a Zoom performer or at the venue.
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