books
Reading with Tindal Street Press
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
Reading with Tindal Street Press
£6.50/£5 / 4pm/ Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
Join Tindal Street Press for a reading group of sorts – a chance to meet some of the writers they are publishing this year and discuss their new books – Paul Wilson and David Belbin. Tindal Street have a reputation for uncovering remarkable fiction – this year’s cast of characters are no exception.
Paul Wilson’s novel is titled The Visiting Angel. Care worker Patrick Shepherd has been struggling for as long as he can remember: orphaned, mourning a brother, and battling each day to rebuild the lives of the broken residents of his halfway house. But when he’s called to talk a man named Saul down from a ledge, Patrick’s world is suddenly shocked back into life. Saul looks exactly like Liam, Patrick’s brother, whom he thought was dead.
Dissolute, charming and uncannily perceptive, Saul says that he’s an angel on a mission to heal the fragile souls of a very particular list of people: Sarah, a GUM clinic nurse trapped by her own grief; Tusa, an HIV positive asylum seeker afraid to lose her last vestige of hope; and Edward, accused of murdering a lost child. Saul must help them weave the frayed edges of their lives back together again.
But for Patrick to understand the meaning of this visitation, he first must face his traumatic childhood in the council orphanage, Providence House, and the terrifying betrayal that tore the brothers apart.
Praise for Paul Wilson:
The equal of Graham Swift at his best
— Independent
David Belbin’s novel, Bone and Cane, is set in Nottingham in 1997. Sarah Bone is a Labour politician with a hidden radical past, about to face the election battle of her life. She also has a radical ex-boyfriend, Nick Cane, just released from prison for growing and selling cannabis. They’re brought together again when Sarah campaigns successfully for the release of Ed Clarke, a wrongfully imprisoned ‘murderer’, only to be sexually assaulted on the night she celebrates his release with him. Is she responsible for a terrible injustice?
Nick’s life is strangely bound up with Ed Clarke’s: inmates in the same prison and now working illegally for the same mini-cab firm. Will the old chemistry spark as Nick and Sarah work together to expose Ed Clarke’s guilt? As the election of a generation heats up, Bone and Cane’s convictions are tested to the limit.
With thanks to Tindal Street Press. 
GET THE BOOKS FIRST! You will soon be able to buy Paul and David’s books directly from Tindal Street – watch this space..
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Workshop: Creating Characters with Paul Dowswell
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
Workshop Creating Characters with Paul Dowswell
£23/£17/ 3.15-5.45pm / Seminar Room, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
How do you invent believable, interesting and rounded characters in children’s and adult fiction? Writer Paul Dowswell will explore basic rules, first or third person, back story and motivation.
Paul writes historical fiction for Bloomsbury Publishers.
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000.
The Edible Garden: Alys Fowler
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
The Edible Garden: Alys Fowler
£6.50/£5 / 2.15pm / Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
Growing your own is, says Alys Fowler, ‘a powerful political gesture about our oil-reliant food chain’.
In this timely new book, Gardeners’ World’s thrifty and resourceful Alys Fowler shows that there is a way to take the good life and re-fashion it to fit in with life in the city.
Abandoning the limitations of traditional gardening methods, she has created a beautifully productive garden at home in Kings Heath where tomatoes sit happily next to roses, carrots are woven between the lavenders and potatoes grow in pots on the patio. And all of this is produced in a way that mimics natural systems, producing delicious homegrown food for her table. And she shares her favourite recipes for the hearty dishes, pickles and jams she makes to use up her bountiful harvest, proving that no-one need go hungry on her grow-your-own regime.
Good for the pocket, good for the environment and hugely rewarding for the soul, The Edible Garden urges urbanites everywhere to chuck out the old gardening rules and create their own haven that’s as good to look at as it is to eat.
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Outlaws & Ashes: New Voices In Fiction: Stuart Evers & Naomi Wood
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
Outlaws & Ashes: New Voices In Fiction: Stuart Evers
£6.50 / £5 / 12.30 – 1.45pm / Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
It is always a pleasure to discover great new writing. The two authors featured here are well worth taking note of, for their talents and for choosing subjects often avoided.
Stuart’s collection Ten Stories About Smoking weaves tales of love, loss and yearning around the symbolic cigarette, locating the extraordinary in the ordinary. Ten sto
ries of allure, betrayal, nostalgia, solitude, seduction, damage, desire and loss; of silence broken by the click of a lighter; insomnia defined by a glowing ember; a magician’s trick; a lover’s scent; a final wish. These are stories that go to the heart of things.
‘In this remarkable collection, Stuart Evers winds a course through worlds of yearning, secrets and mortification in prose
as lithe as a ribbon of smoke’ Wells Tower
‘Love, loss and recovery are the real themes of these quiet, haunting stories, which add up into an unexpectedly powerful book. An impressive debut’ Aravind Adiga
‘Evers has found possibility in even the bleakest and smallest of lives, with each delicately linked not only by a cigarette but also by a glimpse into how terrifyingly empty a life can be’ David Vann
‘With powerfully understated writing, Evers has an eye for the humor that lives alongside sadness, and above all for the humanity in the smallest of actions’ Evie Wyld
A former bookseller and editor, Stuart Evers now writes about books for the Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, Time Out and many other publications. His fiction has appeared in 3:AM Magazine, Litro, The Book Club Boutique Magazine and on EverydayGenius.com.
If you were forced to live with faith, or without, which would you choose? Naomi’s debut novel, The Godless Boys, draws the choices into sharp relief.
England. 1986. The Church controls the country, and all members of the Secular Movement have been expelled to the Island. On the Island, religion is outlawed. A gang of boys patrols the community, searching for signs of faith, and punishing any believers. When an English girl arrives – intent on finding her mother who disappeared, mysteriously, ten years ago – she is swept up in the dangerous games of the gang. But while one boy falls in love with her, the other wants revenge for the wrongs of the past, and, as the violence escalates, the English girl becomes their pawn.
The Godless Boys is a book about faith, and life without faith; about love, and its absence. But above all, it’s about power, and how dangerous it can be to stand out from the crowd. Both violent and tender, it’s a remarkable debut, and clearly marks Naomi Wood as a name to note.
Naomi Wood is 27. She studied at Cambridge and at UEA for her MA in Creative Writing. Originally from York, she has gone on to live in Hong Kong, Paris and Washington DC. This is her first novel.
With thanks to Picador.
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Writing Workshop: Project Pigeon (with Paul McDonald)
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
Writing with Project Pigeon & Paul McDonald
£23/£17 / 11am – 1pm /Project Pigeon Loft, Milk Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5NH
Do you know much about Pigeons? That they have won medals for saving lives, been featured in many great works of art and films? That they race, find their way home and can even be involved in artworks? Pigeon fancying has a long history in the West Midlands, and those at Project Pigeon are part of an expansive, innovative project designed to explore the history and social impact of pigeon keeping in this region. Project Pigeon works with pigeons and people to bring about social change. They do lots of things with their pigeons, such as run workshops, make musical performances, curate exhibitions and design and build city centre lofts. Project Pigeon is run by Alexandra Lockett and Ian England. The project started in January 2009 and it is open ended – it has taken them to lots of places and they have made lots of discoveries.
They have invited us, and writer Paul McDonald, to come along and meet the birds and hear some of the amazing stories of this adventure.
Born in Walsall, Paul McDonald left school at 16 to train as a saddlemaker. In 1986 he began full-time study, completed his PhD in 1993 and now lectures at Wolverhampton University. Paul remains in Walsall where, to his horror, he’s developing a taste for chunky jewellery and combat dogs. His novels include Do I Love You? and Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle. He is published by Tindal Street Press
.
Please note that due to the nature of the venue, facilities are limited. Warm clothing and sensible footwear is advised. Tea and coffee will be available but you are welcome to bring a flask!
For more information, visit www.project-pigeon.co.uk
Project Pigeon’s Loft is located on Milk Street, Digbeth, Birmingham (in Boxxed’s backyard opposite a youth hostel, under a viaduct)
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Workshop: Poetry With Roz Goddard
1 year ago
Sunday 10th April 2011
Poetry Workshop with Roz Goddard
£23/£17 / 11am-1.30pm / Seminar Room, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
Who knows wh
at an apple thinks? (Edwin Morgan).Explore the role of poet as the receiver of messages. How do we interpret what a fence panel thinks, or a peach? We will look at celebrated poets who use personae and use voices other than our own.
Roz Goddard’s fourth poetry collection is The Sopranos Sonnets & Other Poems (Nine Arches Press). She is a former poet-laureate for Birmingham, and her work is permanently displayed in BMAG’s newest gallery. Her poetry has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She runs writing workshops and courses, including for the Arvon Foundation and mentors individual writers. She is currently studying for an MPhil in writing at Glamorgan University. More details of her work can be found at (www.rozgoddard.com)
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Talking Cities: Performance Poetry
1 year ago
Saturday 9th April 2011
Talking Cities: Performance Poetry
Free! No need to book / 6.30pm / The Library Theatre, Birmingham Central Library, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HQ
Hosted by, and featuring, Birmingham’s Poet Laureate Roy McFarlane plus a host of special guests [watch this space!], this evening of performance poetry looks at cities – our own and those we visit. Supported by Birmingham Libraries.
Partly inspired by Poet Laureate Roy’s recent visit to Amsterdam, this event encourages other poets to think about the places that mean something to them – home and away.
Lively, touching and not without laughs, this showcase has been devised specially for The Spring Thing.
Guest poets on the night include Dave Reeves, Julie Boden, Bohdan Piasecki, Kadisha, Alan’ Kurly’ McGeachie and Roz Goddard.
Workshop: Editing Your Fiction with Will Buckingham
1 year ago
Saturday 9th April 2011
Workshop: Editing Your Fiction
£23/£17 / 2pm – 4.30pm / Shakespeare Memorial Room, Birmingham Central Library, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HQ
Writer Will Buckingham leads this popular workshop on editing , offering practical advice on perfecting your writing.
Will is a writer, lecturer and philosopher. His most recent book is Finding Our Sea-Legs: Ethics, Experience and the Ocean of Stories, is an exploration of the relationship between ethics and storytelling. The book is published by Kingston University Press
Will’s first novel, Cargo Fever, is published by Tindal Street Press. He is currently working on a second novel called The Martyrdom of Ivan Gelski, a second philosophy book, and various short stories and essays. His philosophy blog thinkbuddha.org was listed by the Sunday Times as one of the top 100 blogs of 2009. When Will is not writing, he teaches in the department of English and Creative Writing at De Montfort University, Leicester.
Book Online or call 0844 870 0000
Bodies In The Library: An Audio Journey
1 year ago
Bodies In The Library
Commissioned by Theatre Writing Partnership and Writing West Midlands, BODIES IN THE LIBRARY by Sibyl Ruth is a poetic and evocative audio journey exploring the past and present of Birmingham’s Central Library. Reflect on the pain and pleasure of its architectural idiosyncracies with some of its inhabitants, both real and imagined.
Bodies launches on Saturday 9th April and will be available thereafter (closing date tbc). To enjoy it you can use your own mp3 enabled device or borrow one from Bodies itself.
In advance of the launch, follow the project on Twitter( @ears_wide_open) or visit www.theatrewritingpartnership.org.uk for more information. There will be chances to download the audio tracks in advance for those with their own mp3 enabled device.
Be one of the first to experience ‘Bodies’, and gain extra insight into the process by attending one of two ‘how to’ sessions with the creators - Saturday 9th April 2011, 11am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm.
These sessions begin in the Library Foyer (next to reception desk in Central Library) and last approximately 30 minutes. They are FREE – just turn up!
This is a partnership project between Theatre Writing Partnership and Writing West Midlands.
The Writing Squads – Live!
1 year ago
Saturday 9th April 2011
The Writing Squads – Live!
Free – no need to book / 2.15pm / Arena Foyer, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG
Members of Writing West Midlands’ young creative writing groups ‘The Writing Squads’ come together to share some of the work they have developed with professional writers over the last few months. Poetry, short stories, mini-plays - there are no rules!
Join them, and writer Helen Calcutt, for a showcase of new young voices.
This event is FREE and there is no need to book.
The Writing Squads are a project of Writing West Midlands and are ongoing. For more information, go to their website.
**Please note for free events tickets are subject to availability on the day .**
