Wakefield Lit Fest 2013

People

Ideas

Words

Places

Voices

21 to 30

September

‘Everyone has a story...’

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

Welcome to the second Wakefield Lit Fest!

At Beam we’re delighted to be organising the Wakefield Lit Fest again, and that the great success of the festival in 2012 has brought increased support from Arts Council England, Wakefield Council, and other partners.

in literature’s relationship with other artforms and modes of expression --- theatre, music, visual and digital art, everyday speech and the spoken word. You’ll find surprising elements of these popping up everywhere through Lit Fest.

Our theme this year is ‘Everyone has a story’ and we’ve certainly attracted some of the UK’s very best and most well-known story-tellers and writers! But young people from Wakefield are also telling their own and their community’s stories through ‘Takeover Lit Fest’; and there are plenty of stimulating creative opportunities for both new and experienced writers.

The Festival has a wider range of venues this year including the remarkable Westgate Chapel, the splendid new Library at Wakefield One, and the city’s public realm. Even as the Lit Fest spreads more widely in Wakefield, we hope that The Orangery remains at its heart.

And this year The Orangery is able to offer a second special venue to the festival --- the exciting ‘Word Lab’ at The Orangery Café, with a programme chock-full of readings, activities, workshops --- and cake!

While it’s true, and exciting, that there are lots of literature festivals occurring in Yorkshire at this time of year, we hope there’s something very unique about Wakefield’s. Our Lit Fest has a strong sense of ‘places and spaces’, and the relationship between the written and performed word and the places we live in, walk through, and imagine --- ‘the ‘North’, ‘the Past’, or the streets, nooks and crannies of Wakefield itself. We also believe strongly

Places

People

So - I hope you, your friends, and your family enjoy this year’s offer.

Robert Powell

Creative Director, Beam & The Orangery

Words

Ideas

Voices

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

3

Saturday 21st Readers’ Morning with Gavin Extence & James Wheatley

10am - 1pm / The Orangery / £4 Join us at The Orangery for a celebration of reading chaired by Festival Writer in Residence Steve Dearden with New Writing North Chief Executive, Claire Malcolm. There will be opportunities to talk about your favourite books, meet fellow readers and discuss key books with their authors Gavin Extence ‘The Universe Versus Alex Woods’ and James Wheatley ‘Magnificent Joe’.

Presented in association with Read Regional, a New Writing North Project.

The Rhubarb Ogre and Other Stories

1pm - 4pm / Trinity Walk Shopping Centre / Free, Drop-In A family friendly afternoon of digital storytelling, projected animation and music, all performed live by members of the 154 Collective as they explore the myths of Wakefield and the surrounding area, including the story of the Rhubarb Ogre and the legend of the Enchanted Sandal (of Sandal). This event is presented in partnership with Trinity Walk.

‘Takeover Lit Fest’ Showcase

3pm - 5pm / The Orangery / Free, No Booking Required Our ‘Takeover Lit Fest’ team is made up of students from Cathedral Academy and Hemsworth Arts and Community Academy who have been working with mentors (writers James Nash and Peter Spafford) throughout the year to develop their writing. Inspired by artist Richard Woods’ maze at The Orangery and taking the theme ‘Finding Your Way’ the group have engaged with their local communities and created a range of written and audio material which they can’t wait to share with you. Join us to celebrate these very talented young people. This project has been funded as part of Wakefield Council’s ‘Creative Partners’ grant scheme.

Tracy Chevalier – ‘The Last Runaway’

7pm - 8.30pm / Westgate Unitarian Chapel / £10/£8 This year’s official festival opener, Tracy Chevalier is the author of six previous novels and is renowned for her rich evocations of periods past.

The international bestseller ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ was Tracy’s second novel and in 2004 was made into a film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. Tracy joins us to read from and talk about her latest novel ‘The Last Runaway’. Set in the tangled forests and sunlit cornfields of Ohio, this vivid novel is the story of bad men and spirited women, surprising marriages and unlikely friendships, and the remarkable power of defiance.

Her biggest novel yet, and her best... it’s the characters that stay with you.

– The Times

4

Sunday 22nd ‘Poetry Business’ Writing Day

11.30am - 3.30pm / The Orangery / £20/£15, Booking Essential (price also includes entry to the poetry reading which follows)

Exhilarating writing exercises and expert constructive feedback on your poems. Whether much published or new to writing, come along and work with “the best poetry teachers in the world” – The Guardian.

‘Poetry Business’ Readings

4pm - 6.30pm / The Orangery / £5 Described by Andrew Motion as ‘one of the most vital and vitalising literary organisations in the country’, the Poetry Business curate a twilight event for Wakefield Lit Fest, featuring entertaining readings from Catherine Benson, Simon Currie, Geoff Hattersley, Kim Moore, Cliff Yates and River Wolton.

An Insight into Digital Storytelling

7pm - 8.30pm / The Orangery / £4 Artist/writer Andy Campbell reveals how written narratives can be taken light years beyond the confines of books and e-books into interactive, game-like and visually stunning experiences.

Wakefield based One to One Development Trust’s pioneering website dreamingmethods.com is a portfolio of internationally collaborative electronic literature that combines the written word with digital media to create new forms of storytelling.

Monday 23rd Trinity Walk Book Club

2pm - 3pm / The Café, Debenhams, Trinity Walk Shopping Centre / Free Come and meet Steve Dearden, the Lit Fest Writer in Residence, as Trinity Walk launch their new Book Club! It’s a chance to relax and chat about your favourite writers and books over coffee and cake and find out more about the monthly Book Club that will be running at the café.

Whatever your literary passion, be it crime, romance or sci-fi, we want to hear about it. This is an open session so just drop by and chat.

A Life in Writing - Panel Discussion

6pm - 7.30pm / The Orangery / £4 Ever wondered how to make a career from writing? Join us for this panel discussion where we’ll explore the many facets (the obvious and not so obvious), which can go into building a ‘life in writing’. Chaired by festival Writer in Residence Steve Dearden, we’re also delighted to be joined by other experts, including Neil Astley, editor of Bloodaxe Books, one of Britain’s leading poetry publishers. Why not stay on and join us for the For Books Sake literary pub quiz taking place in the Word Lab following this event?

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

Kate Fox – ‘Fox Populi’

7.30pm - 8.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Booking Required Poet, performer and comedian Kate Fox leads a hilarious journey through the crackly airwaves of contemporary culture, a bi-lingual cross between Stand-up Comedy and Sit-down Poetry. With a radio-mic in one hand and a bar of chocolate in the other, Kate Fox listens to comedians and psychiatrists, runners and nutters, and joins the pioneering sociologist Harriet Martineau in a Call Centre in modern day Tynemouth. Kate’s latest book is ‘Fox Populi’ out now with Smokestack Books.

‘Kate Fox is funny, quirky and a wonderful writer.’- Sarah Millican

Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

Tuesday 24th Storytime for Under Fives

1.30pm - 2.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Drop-In Join Wakefield Library staff for stories and rhymes.

‘The Stars in the Sky’ - Telling Tales with Susanna Meese

4.30pm - 5.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Booking Required A wonderful storytelling session that explores the challenges and delights of following your dreams. Listen to one of the most inspiring stories from the English folklorist Joseph Jacobs, and then let Susanna guide you into making a brand new story to be passed down for generations to come!

Suitable for children aged 5-12 and grown-ups who will gain tips on how to make up tall-tales with your children (very useful for those long car journeys!). Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

‘Revealing Women’ - Telling Tales with Susanna Meese

7pm - 8.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Booking Required A storytelling experience that is funny, comforting, thought-provoking and just a little scary.

Susanna Meese, actor and storyteller, brings three traditional English stories to life: stories from different ages and stages from girl to Gran interweaved with her own personal tales of womanhood. Suitable for anyone from age 12 upwards who likes stories. Shortlisted as Outstanding Newcomer at the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence. Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

Black Horse Poets New Anthology – Launch Event

7pm - 9pm / The Orangery / Free, No Booking Required Join the Black Horse Poets for an evening of readings, music and celebration as they launch their latest anthology. The evening will feature an Open Mic session with prizes – if you’d like to perform please contact john.i.clarke@btinternet.com in advance.

5

6

Wednesday 25th Creative Writing Workshop for Adults with Currock Press/Wakefield Museum

2pm - 4pm / Wakefield Library & Museum / Free, Booking Required Join writer and poet John Irving Clarke, with Wakefield Museum Curator John Whitaker, and encounter some fascinating objects from Wakefield’s past to inspire your writing. John Irving Clarke is the author of ‘After the Storm’ (Macmillan) and ‘I Was Ready to Fall in Love’ (Currock Press). He is the Chairman of the Black Horse Poets, founder of Currock Press and co-organiser of the Red Shed Poetry readings. Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

Wakefield Artwalk

5pm - 9pm / The Orangery / Free, Drop-In Join us for a host of activities spanning the worlds of literature and visual art during Wakefield’s bi-monthly artwalk. Take this opportunity to explore and contribute to the ‘New Wakefield Mythologies’ exhibition by illustrator John Welding in The Orangery Gallery; pop into ‘Word Lab’ at The Orangery Café for a drink, chat and some literary themed fun; take part in a free bookswap courtesy of the Travelling Suitcase Library; and meet our festival Writer in Residence, Steve Dearden.

Staz Johnson

6pm - 7pm / The Orangery / Free Stewart (Staz) Johnson started his career as a cartoonist in the mid 1980’s working for DC Comics, Marvel UK and 2000AD on a multitude of licensed character titles including Transformers, G.I.Joe, Thor, Avengers, Batman, Wolverine, Catwoman, X-Men, Spiderman, Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd.

Based in Wakefield, Staz joins us to talk about his work and career to date.

Lynne Chapman

5-7.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, (booking required for the 5-6pm session only) Illustrator Lynne Chapman’s work can be seen in many well-loved children’s books such as ‘Dragon’s Dinner’ and ‘Bears on the Stairs’. She also created the fabulous Wakefield Children’s Library mural. Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

5-6pm Storytelling & Drawing with Lynne Chapman Storytelling and drawing for children aged 4-8 and families. Listen to Lynne’s hilarious storytelling, watch her draw and create your own pictures. Booking required.

6-7.30pm Drop in & Draw with Lynne Chapman Drop in and draw with Lynne – art lovers of all ages are invited to draw with Lynne, peek into her sketchbooks and talk to her about how books are created.

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

7

Wakefield Wordwalk

7.15pm / 7.45pm / 8.15pm (Each walk will last approx. 35 minutes) Walk starts from a secret city centre location to be revealed to you 2 days before the event.

Free, booking essential Commissioned especially for the festival from creative producer Andrew Loretto, Wakefield Wordwalk will take you on a short journey of discovery on foot and via transport through the city centre. From galleries to rivers, fountains to cathedrals, street benches and modern buildings, catch one-off performances of brand new local writing in response to the theme: ‘Wakefield City Centre Stories – Permanence and Change’. Starting at a secret city centre location and finishing at The Orangery, your friendly guide will regale you with tall tales of the city whilst you encounter surprising and quirky live performances, animating city centre spaces in exciting ways!

Thursday 26th Children’s Storytime

10.30am - 11.30am / Word Lab at The Orangery Cafe / Free, Drop-In Join Word Lab staff for stories and rhymes. Family fun for accompanied under 7’s.

Care to Read Book Sale with Wakefield Hospice

5pm - 8.30pm / Merchant Gate Sales Office / Free, Drop-In Wakefield Hospice will be holding a pre-loved book stall featuring books in excellent condition including collectable editions, both fiction and non-fiction. All of the proceeds will be going directly to hospice patient care enabling the hospice to provide excellent care to members of the local community with an end of life condition.

Poetry & Music with Carol Ann Duffy & John Sampson

6pm - 7.30pm / 1 Burgage Square , Merchant Gate / £10/£8 Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate, Professor and Creative Director of The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University joins us for a magical evening of words and music in the popup surroundings of Wakefield’s Merchant Gate. ‘In the world of British poetry Carol Ann Duffy is a superstar’ The Guardian. Providing musical accompaniment, John A Sampson will join Carol on stage. ‘Words and music combine, pipe tunes weaving through densely alliterative verses, building a crescendo of word and sound then falling to silence. The effect is mesmerising.’ Presented in partnership with Merchant Gate Apartments

8

An Evening With David Nobbs

7.30pm - 9.30pm / The Orangery / £10/£8 The man behind the blockbuster TV series ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ looks back on 50 years as a comedy writer. With countless other hits including ‘The Two Ronnies’, ‘Sez Les’ Dawson and ‘A Bit of a Do’, David Nobbs takes to the stage for the first time himself to tell the funny stories behind a lifetime of comedy writing.

Friday 27th Storytime for Under Fives

10am - 11am / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Drop-In Join Wakefield Library staff for stories and rhymes.

‘Animal Antics’ Children’s Writing Workshop

4.30pm - 5.30pm / Wakefield One Library & Museum / Free, Booking Required Come and take a look at the crazy creatures of Wakefield Children’s library mural, listen to stories and write your own exciting animal tales and poems with help from Conrad Burdekin, author of ‘The Hungrumptious Blumpfh’, ‘Teachers Pick their Noses’ and ‘The Baked Bean Queen’. For Children aged 6-12, and families. Presented in partnership with Wakefield Libraries.

Michael Wood – ‘The Story of England’ 7.30pm - 9.30pm / Westgate Unitarian Chapel / £10/£8 For thirty years historian, documentary film maker and broadcaster Michael Wood has made compelling journeys into the past, which have brought history alive for more than one generation of readers and viewers. He is the author of several highly praised books on English history including ‘In Search of the Dark Ages’, ‘Domesday’, and ‘In Search of England’. In this illustrated talk Michael will describe his recent project taking one village (Kibworth in the East Midlands) through the whole of English history.

Yew Tree Working with Wakefield Primary Schools

Yew Tree Youth Theatre will be working with pupils from four Wakefield Primary Schools throughout September to create new writing inspired by their explorations of the City of Wakefield. A showcase of the young people’s creative work will emerge and evolve at The Orangery’s ‘Word Lab’ during the festival itself. Come and hear what Wakefield’s children have to say about their city!

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

9

Saturday 28th NORTH DAY – a day of festival events exploring the concept of ‘North’.

Readings in a Northern City

10am - 12pm / Wakefield City Centre (meet at The Orangery) / Free, Booking Required Join Beam Director Robert Powell, Lit Fest Writer in Residence Steve Dearden, Wakefield Civic Society and a host of specially invited guest readers in exploring Wakefield’s spaces and places through literature and verse. Get under the skin of what makes a northern city on this wide-ranging reading tour and walkabout of Wakefield.

Versions of the North – Five Leaves Publishing

12.30pm - 2pm / The Orangery / £5 Fives Leaves, a small independent publisher from Nottingham present ‘Versions of the North’ a collection edited by Ian Parks. Parks describes, “Most of the collection’s poems aren’t ‘about’ Yorkshire in the literal sense but are written out of a sensibility that recognises the unique quality of the place.” This event will see readings by contributing poets Ian Parks, Gaia Holmes, Steve Ely and Ed Reiss.

‘All the poems in this book are worth reading and they make me excited about the future of poetry round here. We’re nuanced and subtle, tha knows!’ – Ian McMillan, Yorkshire Post

Paul Morley – ‘The North (And Almost Everything In It)’ followed by a Panel Discussion

3pm - 5pm / The Orangery / £10/£8 From Manchester to Liverpool, to Newcastle via Reddish, ‘The North’ gets to the heart of what life is like above the M25. Written in Paul Morley’s inimitable style, it is an extraordinary mixture of memoir and history, and offers a unique insight into how we, as a nation, classify the unclassifiable.

As funny as Alan Bennett’s ‘Untold Stories’, as poetic as Simon Armitage’s ‘All Points North’, and yet nothing like either, this is a memoir like no other. Paul Morley grew up in Stockport, Cheshire, and has worked as a music journalist, pop svengali and broadcaster. He is the author of a number of books on music and has written for publications including the New Statesman, the Sunday Telegraph, NME, the Observer and the Guardian.

‘A personal odyssey going north by north-west and a tour de force’ - Simon Armitage

Panel Discussion – ‘What Is North?’, Chaired by Robert Powell Paul will talk about this latest book and will then be joined on stage for a chaired panel discussion exploring the idea of the ‘North’. Expect some fiery exchanges and strong opinions – please bring your own!

10 ...NORTH DAY

The Secret Garden Outdoor Cinema: Wuthering Heights (Rated 15)

8pm (129 minutes) / The Orangery / £4 (includes a free serving of popcorn) Join us at the conclusion of ‘North Day’ for this atmospheric outdoor screening of the 2011 version of Wuthering Heights, directed by Andrea Arnold. We recommend you wrap up warm and bring a blanket as it can be windswept up on’t moors! We’ll do our best to keep you cosy, though, with hot drinks available from our café and hot water bottle refills on tap (bring your own hot water bottle!). A unique and not to be missed cinema experience presenting the controversial latest retelling of this classic northern love story. Presented in partnership with Wakefield Film Society.

‘A beautiful rough beast of a movie’ - The Guardian.

The North Writing Competition We’ve teamed up with ‘Off the Shelf’ Festival of

winning entries will be published on both festival

Words, Sheffield to create a competition around

websites as well as netting the winner a book

the theme ‘The North’. Tell us what ‘The North’ means to you!

Your entry can be micro fiction, poetry or prose but must be no longer than 125 words. Our judge is writer and journalist Paul Morley. The

token, some signed books and other prizes.

Closing date for Wakefield entries is Monday 23 September.

Please submit to sara@beam.uk.net

Sunday 29th The Dragon Who Hates Poetry

11am, 1pm & 3pm / Trinity Walk Shopping Centre / Free, no booking required, (each performance lasts 40 minutes) ‘There is no dragon scarier / in any earthly place. / His face looks like his bottom / and his bottom looks like his face’. Join poet Dommy B to help bring this fearful dragon’s reign to an end in a fun-packed, one-person show filled with lyrics and laughter. This event is presented in partnership with Trinity Walk.

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

11

‘Five Years, Fifty Books’: An Afternoon with Scarborough’s Valley Press

4pm - 6pm / The Orangery / £5 As Scarborough-based publishing house Valley Press approaches its fifth anniversary (and fiftieth book), join publisher Jamie McGarry, host Kate Fox and a panel of familiar authors to reflect on some of the triumphs and struggles of this young but ambitious literary operation – and consider what the future might have in store, in the ‘Valley’ and the wider book world. With readings, panel discussions and a chance for audience Q&A, this event would be perfect for aspiring publishers/ writers, or anyone with a vested interest in local literature.

John Cooper Clarke

7.30pm / Theatre Royal Wakefield / £19.50, £17.50, £15 (plus concessions) John Cooper Clarke, the UK’s leading performance poet, has collaborated with sterling music legends such as Joy Division, Arctic Monkeys and the Sex Pistols, Expect to hear plenty of brand new material from JCC as well as some of his classic ‘punk poetry’, including Evidently Chicken Town and Beasley Street. Expect a hilarious performance of anecdotal stories mixed with JCC’s unique brand of witty poetry, featuring fellow performance poets Luke Wright and Mike Garry. ‘John Cooper Clarke: The Punk Poet whose time has come again.’ - The Independent. Presented in partnership with Theatre Royal Wakefield.

Monday 30th Festival Finale Darren Shan

6.30pm - 8pm / The Orangery / £4 (Tickets for this event are only available from Waterstones Wakefield) Meet the Master of Horror and dare to be scared with Darren Shan as he reveals his new series, Zom-B. Featuring a grisly zombie apocalypse with classic Shan action, a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting storyline, each book is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed! Come and meet Darren as he launches the fifth book in the series, Zom-B Baby.

Presented in partnership with Waterstones Wakefield.

12

Wakefield Lit Fest ‘Seed Fund’ Events New for 2013 Wakefield Lit Fest, ‘Seed Funded’ events are a series of curated events organised independently by local groups and individuals with a passion for literature. An open call for ideas for festival events was made in July, with successful events being given financial support from the Lit Fest through Arts Council England Grants for the Arts funding.

Tanka & Taiko

Fri 20 Sept. 8.30pm - 10pm / Wakefield Cathedral / Free, No Booking Required Tanka & Taiko is a live Japanese influenced poetry and music performance featuring the work of poets Amina Alyal and Oz Hardwick and interwoven with oriental music in the form of drumming (performed

by Kaminari Taiko), koto and shamisen (performed by Michael Graham), and flute (by Anna Plews).

This event takes place in the inspiring surroundings of Wakefield’s newly renovated Cathedral.

Tell Your Story Loud & Proud Workshop

Mon 23 Sept. 1pm - 3pm / Voluntary Action Wakefield District / £4 (Max 8 Places), Booking Essential A workshop on self-expression and confidence using spoken word, led by experienced facilitator John Clarke. The session will explore the importance of stories and the craft of storytelling. Fee includes refreshments and an end of workshop booklet.

For Books Sake presents… The Literary Pub Quiz

Mon 23 Sept. 8pm - 10pm / The Orangery / £2, No Booking Required, Pay on Door For Books Sake return to Wakefield Lit Fest for another round of their popular literary pub quiz – think you know your stuff? – Gather a team and see if you could win - an evening of literary themed fun guaranteed. Maximum of 4 people per team.

Egypt in Crisis – Fact & Fiction

Wed 25 Sept. 8pm - 9.30pm / The Orangery / Free, Booking Required Political upheaval has long been the catalyst for great literature. In this hour-long debate, local academic David Green and York author N.E. David exchange views on the Arab Spring and the current situation in Egypt and how this might be reflected in the books of the future. N.E. David’s debut novel ‘Birds of the Nile’, set against the background of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, is about to be published by Roundfire.

Agbrigg Lives Writing Workshop

Thur 26 Sept. 1pm - 3pm / Agbrigg and Belle Vue Community Centre / Free, No Booking Required Join local creative writing group Agbrigg Writers for a session exploring writing which is personal, creative and distinctive to you, led by an experienced tutor. It is envisaged that the work produced from this session will be gathered together and published in booklet format following the event. Agbrigg Writers are supported by Community Chest.

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

13

Rugby League Readings, ‘This Sporting Life’ & ‘The Spirit of ‘45’

Sat 28 Sept. 1pm - 5pm (Exact timetable on Lit Fest website) / Wakefield Labour Club / Free, Drop-In An afternoon of readings and discussion at Wakefield’s Labour Club including: - Readings and film extracts from ‘This Sporting Life’ by David Storey. You are invited to bring mementos and to share memories of Wakefield’s most famous film.

- Readings from ‘Rugby’s Class War’ in which the schism between League and Union is explored. Readers will include David Hinchliffe and special guests.

- A screening of extracts from Ken Loach’s film ‘The Spirit of ‘45’, an impassioned documentary about how the spirit of unity which buoyed Britain during the war carried through to create a vision of a fairer, united society, to be followed by discussion.

Battle of the Books

Sun 29 Sept. 1pm - 3pm / The Orangery / £2, No Booking Required, Pay on Door Think you can ‘sell’ your favourite book to a crowd using your powers of enthusiasm and persuasion? Whatever the genre – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a play – we want to know what writing you really love! A secret vote will take place at the end of the night and the top three winners will each receive a prize. A free drink and sweet treats are included in the ticket price.

Exhibition

A New Wakefield Mythology by John Welding

16 Sept – 25 Oct / The Orangery (gallery open Mon – Fri 10am - 4pm and during festival events) / Free ‘A New Wakefield Mythology’ by Wakefield Illustrator John Welding is an exhibition which has been commissioned especially for the Lit Fest and features snapshot monochrome illustrations of buildings in Wakefield’s emerging ‘Cultural Quarter’, around the Westgate area of the city.

John says - ‘When stood in front of these buildings you can’t help but let your imagination roam their corridors and imagine what might have gone on in and

around the buildings… and that’s the point of the drawings for ‘A New Mythology’, it’s a chance for people to rewrite a building’s history’.

John’s drawings will be on display throughout the festival period and we are inviting you to contribute your written ‘New Wakefield Mythologies’, inspired

by John’s drawings. The winning entries will see their text incorporated into John’s artwork – and will win the final completed artwork for their efforts.

14

Word Lab at The Orangery Cafe An exciting development for this year’s lit fest is ‘Word Lab’ a temporary pop up café bar space in the grounds of Wakefield’s Orangery, right next to Westgate Station.

‘Word Lab at The Orangery Café’ will be open throughout the festival period as a Lit Fest hub - an informal and relaxed place celebrating the joy of reading, writing and words. As well as a delicious locally sourced café menu there will be a changing programme of informal writing workshops and readings taking place throughout the festival.

Further details of Word Lab events and activities can be found on the Lit Fest website and on Twitter @Wake_Lit_Fest.

Word Lab will be open daily from 11am.

Whilst you are at The Orangery why not visit ‘A Maze for Yorkshire’ the fantastical cartoon dry-stone wall by internationally renowned artist Richard Woods. The Maze features a soundscape at its heart created by the Takeover Lit Fest Youth Team from their own writing and gathered stories. Only here until the end of September!

More details at amazeforyorkshire.net

Writer In Residence

Steve Dearden is this year’s Lit Fest ‘Writer in Residence’ and will be out and about at many festival events.

Steve writes short stories and his e-collection Single Skin is published by Smith Doorstop. He and Amina Souleiman have just finished writing Chaos Cafe, a novel set in Mogadishu during the 1990s civil war, and currently Steve is co-translating a novel set in Leeds by the Spanish writer Mario Crespo.

Steve has kept a daily photo-diary for sixteen years and for his festival commission is interested in using words and images to explore the area around The Orangery – the various old and new routes into the city, the prison, the station and the residential and urban developments “I am really excited to be working with a new, around Wakefield One.

growing festival which has such a strong

sense of where it is based and the people it A passionate advocate of writing and reading, Steve is Director of the Writing is for – people who like books and ideas.”

Squad, the north’s programme for young writers, and has worked with libraries and festivals throughout the country developing reader centred activities. His own projects have explored how leaving or giving away text in public places gets new writing directly to readers. www.stevedearden.com.

Lit Fest at a Glance!

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

15

FRI 20

Lit Fest Warmup...  Tanka & Taiko 8.30pm - 10.00pm

SAT 21

Readers Morning with Gavin Extence & James Wheatley 10am-1pm / The Rhubarb Ogre and Other Stories 1pm - 4pm / Takeover Lit Fest Showcase 3pm - 5pm / Tracy Chevalier – ‘The Last Runaway’ 7pm - 8.30pm

SUN 22

Poetry Business Writing Day 11.30am - 3.30pm / Poetry Business Readings 4pm - 6.30pm / An Insight into Digital Storytelling 7pm - 8.30pm

MON 23

 Tell Your Story Loud & Proud Workshop 1.00pm - 3.00pm / A Life in Writing - Panel Discussion 6pm - 7.30pm / Kate Fox – ‘Fox Populi’ 7.30pm 8.30pm /  For Books Sake presents… The Literary Pub Quiz 8pm - 10pm

TUES 24

Storytime for Under Fives 1.30pm -2.30pm / ‘The Stars in the Sky’ - Telling Tales with Susanna Meese 4.30pm - 5.30pm / ‘Revealing Women’ - Telling Tales with Susanna Meese 7pm - 8.30pm / Black Horse Poets New Anthology – Launch Event 7pm - 9pm

WED 25

Creative Writing Workshop for Adults, with Currock Press/Wakefield Museum 2pm - 4pm / Wakefield Artwalk 5pm - 9pm / Staz Johnson 6-7pm / Storytelling & Drawing with Lynne Chapman 5pm - 6pm / Drop in & Draw with Lynne Chapman 6pm - 7.30pm / Wakefield Wordwalk 7.15pm, 7.45pm & 8.15pm /  Egypt in Crisis – Fact & Fiction 8pm - 9.30pm

THUR 26

Children’s Storytime 10.30am - 11.30am /  Agbrigg Lives Writing Workshop 1pm - 3pm / Poetry & Music with Carol Ann Duffy and John Sampson 6pm 7.30pm / An Evening with David Nobbs 7.30pm - 9.30pm

FRI 27

Storytime for Under Fives 10am - 11am / Animal Antics Children’s Writing Workshop 4.30pm - 5.30pm / Michael Wood – ‘The Story of England’ 7.30pm 9.30pm

Readings in a Northern City 10am - 12pm / Versions of the North – Five Leaves Publishing 12.30pm - 2pm /  Rugby League Readings, This Sporting Life & The Spirit of ‘45 1pm - 5pm / Paul Morley – ‘The North (And Almost Everything North Day In It)’ followed by a Panel Discussion 3pm - 5pm / The Secret Garden Outdoor Cinema: Wuthering Heights 8pm SAT 28

SUN 29

The Dragon Who Hates Poetry 11am, 1pm & 3pm /  Battle of the Books 1pm - 3pm / ‘Five Years, Fifty Books’: An Afternoon with Scarborough’s Valley Press 4pm - 6pm / John Cooper Clarke 7.30pm

MON 30

Festival Finale... Darren Shan 6.30pm - 8pm  Lit Fest ‘Seed Fund’ events

Venues The Orangery, Back Lane, Wakefield, WF1 2TG / Word Lab at The Orangery Café, Back Lane, Wakefield, WF1 2TG / Wakefield One Library & Museum, Wakefield One, Burton Street, WF1 2DD / Westgate Unitarian Chapel, Westgate, Wakefield, WF1 1XR / Theatre Royal Wakefield, Drury Lane, Wakefield, WF1 2TE / Wakefield Labour Club, 18 Vicarage Street, Wakefield, WF1 1QX / Trinity Walk Shopping Centre, Wakefield, WF1 1QS / Agbrigg and Belle Vue Community Centre, Montague Street, Wakefield, WF1 5BB / Voluntary Action Wakefield District, 11 Upper York Street, Wakefield, WF1 3LQ / Wakefield Cathedral, Westmorland Street, Wakefield, WF1 1HG / 1 Burgage Square, Merchant Gate, Cliff Parade, Wakefield, WF1 2TA / Merchant Gate Sales Office, 9 Burgage Square, Wakefield, WF1 2TS

Ticket Booking

Further Information

All tickets and reservations to be made through Theatre Royal Wakefield box office unless otherwise stated.

Online: wakefieldlitfest.org.uk

Phone: 01924 211 311

Phone: 01924 215 550

Online: theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk In Person: Theatre Royal Wakefield, Drury Lane, Wakefield, WF1 2TE

Follow us: @Wake_Lit_Fest Find us on Facebook: Wakefield Lit Fest To enquire about discounted booking rates for groups of ten or more please email sara@beam.uk.net / 01924 215 550

Acknowledgments

With thanks to Mark Bradley, Alison Cassels, John Clarke, Ian Clayton, Murray Edwards, Ian McMillan, Stephen May and Andy Wright who continue to support the development of Wakefield Lit Fest.

The Beam ‘Lit Fest’ Team are Robert Powell, Fran Smith & Sara Unwin.

Image credits: Thanks to John Jowett for all Lit Fest 2012 images. Front page: Carol Ann Duffy: Jemimah Kuhfeld (&p.7); Owl John Welding (&p.13); Tracy Chevalier: Eamon McCabe (&p.3). Page 2: A Maze for Yorkshire: Jonty Wilde. Page 3: Rhubarb Ogre: Fabric Lenny/ 154 Collective. Page 6: The Joker: Staz Johnson.

All details correct at time of going to print.

www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk