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LITERATURE | FESTIVAL
Rising voices As the city prepares to welcome the first ever Working Class Writers Festival this October, we get to know festival founder and artistic director, Natasha Carthew, who is looking forward to celebrating underrepresented writers of all styles and disciplines
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his year, Bristol will see its first ever Working Class Writers Festival grace the city streets. The event, which is set to run from 21 – 24 October 2021 as part of the annual Festival of Ideas, aims to give exposure to working class writers and provide inspiration for young people from similar backgrounds. It will showcase authentic stories reflective of and relatable to the experiences of working class communities and be physically and financially available to audience members experiencing different financial pressures. The festival will welcome poets, journalists and academics to the physical and digital stage, including Stella Duffy, Tracy King and Mahsuda Snaith. The special guests will also join panel discussions, speaker events and workshops. To find out more, we spoke to festival founder and artistic director, Natasha Carthew, who initially suggested the idea in 2008, using social media to gauge interest in the event – the response was a resounding yes. Almost 13 years later, Natasha’s idea has finally come to fruition... What’s a typical day for you? Daily I write in a three-sided cabin I built out of scrap in my back garden in Cornwall, it overlooks a few farms and in the distance I can see Bodmin Moor. I head out for a hike every day in the neighbouring fields and woods and bring a small notebook and pencil with me for any lightning bolt moments. All my favourite places to write are outside and when I visit Bristol I make sure to take some time out to write beside the River Avon. Afternoons are generally spent working on the festival and doing interviews. What are you currently working on? I’m currently touring the UK with my new collection of prose-poetry, which celebrates the lives of working class women. It was published with Hypatia Publications in April. With my artistic director hat on, I’m also planning the finer details of the Working Class Writers Festival. Class Festival is a dynamic new festival of national significance based in Bristol, with a far reaching ambition to enhance, encourage and increase representation from working class backgrounds across the country, whilst connecting authors, readers, agents and editors. Commissioning and showcasing writers of all styles and disciplines is at the heart of this festival, providing a platform for both established and debut writers to get involved with both live and online events. The Working Class Writers Festival will not only provide a platform for working class writers, but will set precedence among festivals that will make attendance more affordable and accessible to all. What can we expect to see at the festival? Writers that are set to appear at the festival include Val McDermid, Paul Mendez, Graham Caveney, Kerry Hudson, Sam Friedman, Lorraine Brown, Mark Hodkinson, Juno Roche and so many more! 52 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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JUNE 2021
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NO¯ 199
Natasha Carthew
What inspires you? Tell us about some of the things that drive you to write. In my work I’m interested in socioeconomic issues, ranging from poverty to social isolation. It is these people’s stories that I am compelled to tell, the stories that may at first seem bleak, but are ultimately uplifting as the characters push for better. Social justice is at the heart of all my work, the simple fact that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. Describe your ambitions for your work going forward. I didn’t see working class identity in books when I was growing up and I still find it hard to find many working class writers that are published in the UK and I want to change that. I want to give readers a sense of belonging, so it’s always been my ambition to write stories that empower instead of isolate and this goes the same for Class Festival. Who deserves a special shout-out in Bristol for their work this year? For me it has to be the Festival of Ideas team. From the moment I met the director, Andrew Kelly, I knew I had met a like-minded soul and the support of the entire team has been priceless in the creation of Class Festival. Bristol Festival of Ideas aims to stimulate people’s minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate throughout the year and is produced by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership. What music are you into? I’m a massive country music fan, but I’m really into an Australian band at the moment called Confidence Man. I first saw them in Bristol at the Dot to Dot Festival in 2017 at The Louisiana and they are incredible live (nothing to do with my nephew on drums!). • Keep up to date with festival news on social media: @ClassFestival
