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Writer’s block?
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over 60 poets from across Europe, including Valerio Magrelli from Rome and Monika Rinck from Berlin. In keeping with festival tradition, themes will be worked into the events. This year two have been chosen – firstly, “myth and legend” and ,secondly, a tribute to long-term festival director Brian Johnstone, who is retiring from the post in May. www.stanzapoetry.org
London Word Festival
London’s Word Festival is one for those who aren’t afraid to push boundaries. Expect multidisciplinary performances and innovative uses of space from a three-week run of events including an evening on “The Art of Story Telling”, which might not be what you’re expecting. The performers will be using puppets, cartoons and a live printing press to tell their own tales. Animator Matthew Robins will be performing extracts from his The Death of Flyboy series – a story which the organisers call “a science-fiction romantic shadow-opera” – with the help of a live band. A temporary “chip shop” will also be erected out of chip-board, creating an up-and-running printing workshop where customers can get whatever words they fancy printed on a piece of wood. www.londonwordfestival.com
All photos: press shots
York Literature Festival
There won’t just be a celebration of literature going on within York’s historic city walls; in fact, this festival is a recognition of all things artistic, poetic and musical as well as the traditional written word. The event itself has only been going for three years but has racked up an impressive list of guests and speakers, including current Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and writer Joanne Harris, author of the saucy novel Chocolat, which was later turned into a hugely popular film. This year Kate Atkinson, author of Behind the Scenes at the Museum, will be talking at York St John University after being voted by festival audiences last year as the person they would most like to see. Other highlights include creative
writing workshops, literary walks around the city and a night of erotic poetry and prose. www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk
Oundle Festival of Literature
Although Oundle won’t be known to many, this community focused festival should definitely not be underestimated. Located in the east of Northamptonshire, this ancient market town will provide an idyllic setting for interviews, debates and talks with well-known figures including Woman’s Hour presenter Jenni Murray, and Sunday Times columnist Michael Winner. There will also be a specially-commissioned “murder mystery” evening written by local author Nick Perry. As the festival takes place in a more modest location than most, it lends itself to greater audience participation. Look out for the local shops and venues who will have carefully decorated their windows along the lines of literary themes; the winners will be chosen by festival-goers. The festival organisers are also asking people to submit their favourite poem. The top ten will be displayed all over the village, so keep your eyes peeled. www.oundlelitfest.org.uk
Huddersfield Literature Festival
If St Andrews is the Scottish poetry capital, there’s nothing stopping Huddersfield from becoming “the poetry capital of the North” – or so say the organisers of the town’s fledgling literature festival. But even though it sounds like an unlikely tag pulled out of nowhere, this year Huddersfield really does have a literary line-up to match. Activities will include the chance to compose an album in just one day (plus a showcase of the completed work in the evening), workshops on how to adapt fiction into film and how to structure the perfect story, tracing theories back as far as Aristotle. There will also be a question and answer session with representatives from independent publishing companies about what they look for in newly-submitted scripts, and Alexei Sayle will be talking to audiences about his yet-to-befinished memoirs. www.litfest.org.uk
f you feel more than a little inspired by the thought of spring and new beginnings, why not express it by picking up a pen and having a go yourself ?
Sam Llewellyn is the author of many novels, including sea-faring thrillers and children’s literature. He also writes opinion columns for a number of sailing magazines, and has kindly leant re:new readers his top hints for novice writers. Write about what you know. If you don’t know anything about anything, use an unreliable narrator or try science fiction. Write a lot. Set yourself a minimum target every day, and stick to it. One page a day is 365 pages a year. Five pages a day is a blockbuster in six months. Rewrite. A writer needs a huge wastepaper basket. Read your work aloud to check for rhythm and authenticity of dialogue. If you can find anyone who will listen, cross out the bits where they fall asleep. When you submit your work, send three chapters and a synopsis, A4, one side of the paper, double spaced, with email backup, to an agent who represents authors who write books similar to yours. Ask yourself if you’ve got anything to say. If you haven’t, you may be a reader, not a writer – which could be more fun in the end, anyway. Never wear linen when you’re being interviewed on TV. It creases. For Q & As and more information go to www.journalism.cf.ac.uk/renew
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