Catch Guy talking about DIY Poets and the Quarterly Showcase Featuring Jade Moore, 8th Aug at City Arts.

Guy is on at 26 minutes.

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DIY entertained at Gate to Southwell festival (GtSF) this weekend, between enjoying bands, eating crepes and watching morris dancers they held a poetry showcase and open mic on Saturday afternoon in the Steeples tent and the annual all comers Slam on the Frontier stage on Sunday morning.

At the Steeples set, themes included the adventures of cats, the nostalgia of childhood memories, finding identity, insecticide, cannibal slugs, nature documenting, diy disaster, grief, love, loss and lessons learned in space travel.

Excellent hosting was from Trevor Wright who introduced the DIY Poets (Clare Stewart, Andy Szpuk, Martin Grey, Hazel Warren, Kevin Jackson, Lytisha Tunbridge, Kieth Ford, and Annette) who were joined by Denise (a regular now at the Gate to Southwell open mic) sharing a set of poems on connection to Mother Earth and two new comers Craig who shared a poem on insecticide, and Glenn who shared a touching piece on his relationship with his mum. An all ages audience enjoyed the show.

At the GtSF Poetry Slam poets came together, facing off the threat of heavy showers (which mostly held off) to battle each other for the title “Bard of Southwell”. The contest was stiff, including several previous winners and everyone brought their A-Game. 13 contestants took part including a first time ever poetry performer Nick (always amazing privilege to encourage new poets to move from the page to the stage). 3rd place went to Clare Stewart who performed a rhythmical piece entitled Scottish Andante, John L came second (a first timer at the GtSF Slam) with some Good Advice on always being in your skin. The climax of the show was a four way tie for first place, featuring Will Kummer’s piss poem (a Bladderfull of Hyperbole) Martin Grey’s -You Can Sponsor a Roundabout Today, defending champion Tibbie Star came with a new piece entitled “Galaxy” but all were all beaten in an incredibly close call on the clapometer test, by Gabe (3) and Ella (11) reading a whimsical piece inspired by the compass directions and a cowboy/cowgirl search. Great fun had by all. Join us next time if you’re able!

Thanks Hazel

Open for submissions until Wednesday 7th August at midnight

The Aurora Prize seeks outstanding new writing in short fiction and poetry.

Since 2016, Aurora has provided a platform for writers, offering a prize that is truly national (and international) with its heart in the East Midlands.

Our judges have included some of the region’s leading literary lights, with names such as Joanna Cannon, Casey Bailey, Mahsuda Snaith, Alison Moore, Jon McGregor, Malika Booker, Helen Mort, Debris Stevenson, Shreya Sen-Handley and Georgina Wilding.

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Guidelines
Please send a maximum of 10 pages upfront. We’ll ask for the full manuscript of shortlisted submissions. .pdf or .doc files are preferred. If you need to use a different format then do, and we’ll let you know if we’re unable to open it. We don’t have specific font or spacing requirements, but please keep it clear and readable, with no more than one poem to a page. Keep your email brief – no need to explain your work as we’ll expect it to speak for itself. Feel free to include a short bio. We’re based in the UK, but welcome submissions from poets anywhere in the world.

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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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Robin Hood Sherwood

This months feature act Taylor Riley @documentinglife2.0 poet, activist, events organiser & all round good guy is back at Scum! It was a pleasure to watch Taylor blossom at Scum back in the Sumac days & then go on to set up his own extremely successful open mic night @nottspoetry 👏 can't wait to have ya back with us ❤️

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Five Leaves Bookshop 14a Long Row, Nottingham, NG12DH

Our book group is open to all. Attend every meeting, occasionally or just once a lifetime. All we ask is that you read the book in advance and take part in the discussion. There’s a short introduction by a member of staff, a group regular, or someone we know with a special interest in the book in question.

We follow Amal, Younes, Raffiq and Shahira as they navigate love, loss, identity and belonging in their Kurdish-Germany community. In her kaleidoscopic novel, Karosh Taha expands our ideas of class, race and gender as she loops two stories around an invisible lynchpin: a woman who defies all expectations, a blank canvas for projections from all those around her.

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Five Leaves Bookshop 14a Long Row, Nottingham, NG12DH

Five Leaves hosts the Nottingham Pagan Book Club, a reading group for those interested in Pagan literature, both modern and classical. The group is open to anyone who would like to discuss books from a pagan perspective, be they long-time pagans or just curious about exploring pagan spirituality.

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Five Leaves Bookshop 14a Long Row, Nottingham, NG12DH

Our book group is open to all. Attend every meeting, occasionally or just once a lifetime. All we ask is that you read the book in advance and take part in the discussion. There’s a short introduction by a member of staff, a group regular, or someone we know with a special interest in the book in question.

Uncovering the mystery of her mother’s disappearance as a child: Laura Cumming, prize-winning author and art critic, takes a closer look at her family story.

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New Art Exchange, Nottingham

Come along to New Art Exchange on Friday, 2nd August, 7-9pm, for an in-person sharing session where Jay Sandhu will reflect on his residency and explore themes of care and belonging, featuring Jah Digga, Megs, Hil the Poet, Akapila, Tim G and more.

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The Organ Grinder, Nottingham

Leanne Moden is a poet, theatremaker and educator, from Nottingham. She’s been performing poetry for over fourteen years, and she was a semi-finalist at the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Slam in 2018. Her second pamphlet of poetry was published in 2020 and she’s fuelled by Jaffa Cakes, fruit tea, and unrelenting whimsy.

Sonia Burns is a poet, performer, community worker and workshop facilitator currently based in the East Midlands. Her first poetry chapbook, Umbra:philia, was published in November 2021 by the Derbyshire based Bearded Badger Publishing Company.

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City Arts - Nottingham

DIY Poets bring their eclectic style in three halves to City Arts with their August Quarterly Hybrid Showcase featuring Jade Moore, 10 DIY Poets, and an open mic. You are most welcome in the room or via Zoom. Sign up for a 3 minute open mic slot at the event. Please arrive from 7.15 for 7.30 start. This is a hybrid event - Zoom will commence a few minutes before start time. Free event - suggested voluntary donation - £5

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Bottesford library

We are a group of writers from all over the Vale of Belvoir and beyond. We meet every month in the Parish Room next to Bottesford library. Each meeting has an optional theme that you can use as a writing prompt. We also love to hear your works in progress and to meet anyone curious about writing.

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Online

THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED Four-week online writing course Tuesdays 12:30pm-1:30pm, August 13th to September 3rd Tickets £35 or £55 including one-hour author one-to-one

You’ve written your story – congratulations! But what now? There’s a wealth of options for authors, as well as a huge array of information out there to pile through. In this four week course, we’ll be walking you through the fundamentals of getting your writing published in a variety of different areas as well as some of the ways you can earn money from your fiction.

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The King Billy, Nottingham

Free minds is a poetry night open to all forms of poetry and for all stories to be told, we want to foster a safe and comfortable environment where people can share the thoughts that rattle around in their heads! Come down to perform, listen and enjoy some incredible poetry!

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Online

Two of the most popular subgenres of science-fiction come into focus with this four-week course, exploring the origins of both movements, some core examples and how to write within the field! Join us a mix of steam-powered contraptions and the darker side of technology over our four-week run…

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Normanton Library, Derby

Join us as we celebrate the last day of South Asian Heritage Month at Normanton Library.

The day will feature a free writing workshop in the afternoon, with award-winning multi published poet and literary critic, Sandeep Parmar, who is returning to her Derby roots.

And in the evening there will be spoken word, music and open mic slots, with readings and performances from poets Sandeep Pamar, Shruti Chauhan and Punjabi vocalist Khushi Kaur.

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