writingwestmidlands.org @writingwestmids
National Writers’ Conference 2022
Saturday 9th July 2022, 10am-4pm (registration from 9.15am) Bramall Music Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT
Presented in Partnership with University of Birmingham, in association with Arvon and supported by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society and Arts Council England
National Writers’ Conference 2022: Getting Together as Writers Presented in partnership with University of Birmingham, in association with Arvon and supported by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society and Arts Council England Getting together as writers has never been more important. While we continue to make much of our work available online, we are aware that simply being in the same space as each other is valuable to writers and those in the writing industry. We are proud to present a series of fascinating discussions to help writers understand and navigate what can be a complicated sector. Our subjects are various, but they are linked by the knowledge that those who work with words share a common desire to connect, to communicate, to be part of a community.
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We welcome those from across the UK and beyond, but we are particularly pleased to offer what has become the great ‘day-out’ for writers in our region. Wherever you are from, please do take the time to join in today’s many conversations; ask questions during the sessions but equally importantly find out about the writing of whomever you happen to bump into in the queue for lunch or while waiting to buy books from our booksellers, the Bookshop on the Green! We are grateful for the support of the many individuals and organisations who have helped make this event happen, including the University of Birmingham (College of Arts & Law), Arvon, Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, Arts Council England, Three Tables TV, The Poetry Pharmacy, Script Angel, Penguin Randomhouse, KayMedia, British Council, Aston University, the Bookshop on the Green.
Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands
Timetable
13:15 – 13:45:
09:15 – 10:00:
The fine art of setting up writing projects and making them pay
Registration & refreshments
10:00 – 10:10:
Welcome & Introduction Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands & Professor Tom Lockwood, University of Birmingham
10:10 – 10:30:
Keynote Address: Representation in Art Kasim Ali, writer
10:30 – 11:00:
How Publishing Works What you need to know about how publishing works
11:00 – 11:10: Comfort / Refreshment Break
11:10 – 11:40:
Writing for TV & Film How to approach writing for these industries
11:40 – 12:10:
Keynote Interview Lindsey Davis, writer, in conversation with Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands
12:10 – 12:30:
Making New Things Happen 13:45 – 14:15:
Marketing Yourself as a Writer Getting the messages right on social media and beyond
14:15 – 14:30: Comfort / Refreshment Break
14:30 – 15:00:
Developing Your Creative Practice Hints and tips on successfully applying to Arts Council England
15:00 – 15:30:
Being in Residence How residencies work for writers and translators
15:30 – 15:45: Comfort / Refreshment Break
15:45 – 16:15:
How Writers Keep Writing The inside story from three writers on Writing West Midlands’ Room 204 Writer Development Programme
16:15 – 16:30:
Farewell Notes Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands
Winds of Change Launch of a new digital writing project
12:30 – 13:15: Lunch Break
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Timetable All times are BST
09:15 – 10:00: Registration & refreshments
10:00 – 10:10:
Welcome & Introduction Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands & Professor Tom Lockwood, Professor of English Literature, Head of School of English, Drama and Creative Studies, University of Birmingham
10:10 – 10:30:
Keynote Address: Representation in Art Kasim Ali, Writer & Editor What kind of representation are writers and readers looking for? Whom is representation for? Who gets to represent whom? Both in the world of publishing and in the arts more widely, these are challenging questions. Is it even possible to give answers, and will they make for better art?
10:30 – 11:00:
How Publishing Works
11:10 – 11:40:
Writing for TV & Film
How to approach writing for these industries David Chikwe, Founder/Producer, Three Tables Productions; Annabel Brightling, screenplay writer; Carol Harding, film/TV producer; Hayley McKenzie, CEO, Script Angel The key to getting opportunities as a writer for television and film is understanding how the sector works. Our four panelists will share what they know of the industry: how to get noticed, who to follow, and where to go.
11:40 – 12:10: Keynote Interview – Lindsey Davis, Writer & Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands. Lindsey Davis is the author of over 30 novels, all historical fiction and many about her Ancient Roman hero, Didius Falco (and more latterly his daughter, Flavia Albia). In this wide-ranging conversation, Lindsey will discuss keeping going as a writer and the qualities required of to sustain a creative career across the decades.
What you need to know and what’s new in publishing
12:10 – 12:30:
Jessica Killingley, The BKS Agency; Ellie Hughes, Head of PR, Penguin Random House & Gillian McAllister, writer.
a new digital writing project
Publishing brings together a range of people intent on getting great books into the hands of readers. This session will look at how those various elements work together and at any notable changes in recent years.
11:00 – 11:10: Comfort / Refreshment Break
Launch of Winds of Change Introduced by Annabel Brightling Winds of Change is a digital writing project developed by Zimbabwe-based digital creative company Kay Media working partnership with Writing West Midlands and the British Council. Challenging our response to climate change, with a script by Annabel Brightling and illustrations by Tafadzwa Shumba, this work will be shared widely across the UK and in sub-Saharan Africa.
12:30 – 13:15: Lunch Break
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13:15 – 13:45:
14:45 – 15:15:
Setting up writing projects and making them pay
How residencies work for writers and translators
Making New Things Happen
Being in Residence
Jane Commane, Founder/Editor, Nine Arches Press; Kate Innes, writer/publisher; Deborah Alma, Founder, The Poetry Pharmacy
Jo Bell, poet, activist; Sarah Letza, Translator in Residence at Aston University; Isabel Galleymore, poet
Although writing rightly commands much of our collective attention, there are times when it is necessary for writers to get involved in other aspects of the literature sector. Our three panelists have each put considerable time and energy into setting up new initiatives and in doing so, have helped readers and writers to connect.
From the Amazon rain forest to the UK’s canal network, we are never far from a ‘writer in residence’. With duties ranging from simply writing to helping to encourage new literary translation, residencies have many roles. Our panelists offer their thoughts on making them happen and making them work.
13:45 – 14:15:
15:30 – 15:45:
Marketing Yourself as a Writer
Getting the messages right on social media and beyond Ben Davis, children’s writer; Leena Normington, poet, YouTuber; Abda Khan, novelist, activist Increasingly, writers are required to balance time spent privately writing with demands to present themselves in the public domain using an array of apps and platforms. Our three panelists with discuss how to get the messages right and how much marketing is enough marketing.
14:15 – 14:30: Comfort / Refreshment Break
14:30 – 15:00:
Developing Your Creative Practice
Hints and tips on successfully applying to Arts Council England Roya Khatiblou, writer; George Ttoouli, writer, editor, mentor; Andrea Mbarushimana, poet
Comfort / Refreshment Break
15:45 – 16:15:
How Writers Keep Writing The inside story from three writers on Writing West Midlands’ Room 204 Writer Development Programme Sara-Jane Arbury, writer, performer; Sujana Crawford, poet, playwright, researcher; Samiir Saunders, mixedmedia poet Keeping writing while making a living is a constant challenge for writers. Three writers from the West Midlands share their stories of keeping going during interesting times and how to find support from various quarters.
16:15 – 16:30:
Farewell Notes Jonathan Davidson, Chief Executive, Writing West Midlands
Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice funding is a popular choice for any writer looking to buy some time and expertise to support their development. Three writers who have successfully navigated the application process talk us through their routes to success.
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Chairs:
Speakers: Olivia Chapman:
Jonathan Davidson: Jonathan Davidson has worked for over thirty years in arts management and literature development. He is joint-founder of the Birmingham Literature Festival, Chief Executive of Writing West Midlands and Director of Midland Creative Projects Limited. He is on advisory panels for publisher The Poetry Business, the LGBTQ+ writer training initiative Out on the Page and the Muslim Arts & Culture Festival and on the Birmingham & Midland Institute’s Governance Committee.
Olivia (Liv) previously worked at New Writing North, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency and Puffin Children’s Books. She is from London, where she did a BSc in International Relations at LSE before moving to North East England to do postgraduate studies in marketing and PR.
Kasim Ali: Kasim Ali works at Penguin Random House and has previously been shortlisted for Hachette’s Mo Siewcherran Prize, longlisted for the 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, and has contributed to The Good Journal. He comes from Birmingham and now lives in London. His debut novel, Good Intentions, is published by 4th Estate. Web: https://www.juskasim.com/ Twitter: @juskasim
Deborah Alma: Emma Boniwell: Emma has worked in arts administration since graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music with a degree in music. Emma has worked with writers for over 20 years, including at Cheltenham Literature Festival, and she worked at the Society of Authors for over ten years.
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Deborah Alma is a poet, editor, and teacher. From 2012, she has been the Emergency Poet offering poetry on prescription from her vintage ambulance. In 2019, she co-founded the world’s first walk-in Poetry Pharmacy in Shropshire with partner and poet, James Sheard. A mix of the therapeutic and the theatrical, Deborah offers consultations and prescribes poems as cures. She is editor of Emergency Poet, an
anti-stress poetry anthology, #MeToo, a women’s poetry anthology, Ten Poems of Happiness, as well as coediting These Are the HandsPoems from the Heart of the NHS with Dr Katie Amiel. Her first full collection, Dirty Laundry, is published by Nine Arches Press.
Welcome
Web: poetrypharmacy.co.uk Twitter & Facebook: @emergencypoet Instagram: @poetrypharmacy
Sara-Jane Arbury: Sara-Jane Arbury is a writer, performer, and tutor. An active advocate of creative writing / live literature, she collaborates with many organisations including Oxford University Press, National Literacy Trust, Writing West Midlands, and Ledbury Poetry Festival. In 2021, she was longlisted for The Plough International Poetry Prize, a finalist in Mslexia Poetry Competition, and Cambridge Scriptwriting Forum selected her play, Acquisition, for performance. She co-runs community organisation Red Earth Arts and is Writer-in-Residence for theatre company, Feral Productions.
Jo Bell: Jo Bell is an award-winning poet working across the UK with poetry talents from Ian McMillan to Brian Patten and Gwyneth Lewis. A performer, playwright, project manager, programmer, producer and a few things that don’t begin with P, Jo is former director of National Poetry Day, sometime programmer for Ledbury Poetry Festival and others, and occasional broadcaster. Twitter: @Jo_Bell Instagram: @jo_bell1
Annabel Brightling: Annabel Brightling is a London-born, Midlandsbased screenplay writer who wrote episode one of the supernatural drama series, SeaView. Annabel writes film and TV scripts that are laced with humour, regardless of the genre and explore personal relationships and mental health. She was a staff writer for a new historical dark comedy series and has completed two cycles of the EastEnders Scriptwriting
Scheme. Annabel wrote a comic book series, Winds of Change, funded by Arts Council England and National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. She also wrote an original American romcom movie for Reel One Entertainment, which starts production this year. Web: annabel.brightling.me.uk Twitter: @ACABrightling
David Chikwe The founder of Three Tables Production, David has fifteen years’ experience in scripted content. Prior to Three Tables, at Leopardrama, David developed and produced the BAFTA-nominated EVE (CBBC), co-created and script-edited BBC1’s crime drama Missing, produced music video, Do it Again by The Ting Tings, and developed and raised finance on films, Mother of Sorrows (Terence Davies) and Danny La Rue (Adrian Noble). Twitter: @dwchikwe linkedin.com/in/davidchikwe/
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Jane Commane:
Jane Commane’s first full-length 2018 collection, Assembly Lines, published by Bloodaxe, was longlisted for the 2019 Michael Murphy Memorial Prize. Her poetry has featured in Staying Human, The Guardian, The North, and Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal. She has been a poet in residence at the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth, and her poem, commissioned for the Where Light Falls project, was projected onto Coventry Cathedral. Jane is editor at Nine Arches Press, co-editor of Under the Radar magazine, and co-authored How to Be a Poet with Jo Bell. Twitter: @CommaJane
Sujana Crawford:
Sujana Crawford is a multilingual poet, playwright, and researcher. Sujana’s creative work is driven by a fascination with people, places, and folklore. Her work has been featured in various magazines and anthologies, and plays have been developed with support from BBC Radio 4, Birmingham
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Rep and Warwick Arts Centre, among others. In her day job, Sujana works as a UX Researcher, and has worked across the UK public sector helping research and design better IT services.
Rome) and the Crime Writers’ Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Most recently she was the inaugural winner of the Barcino (Barcelona) International Historical Novel Prize.
Twitter: @sujanacrawford
Isabel Galleymore: Ben Davis:
Ben Davis is an awardwinning children’s author. His first nine titles, including the Carnegie Medal-nominated, The Soup Movement, were published by OUP, and his forthcoming titles will be from Scholastic and Nosy Crow. He lives in Tamworth, Staffs. Web: bendavisauthor.com Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @bendavis_86
Lindsey Davis:
Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her novels set in Ancient Rome, including the much-loved Marcus Didius Falco series, although she has also written about the English Civil War. Her books are translated and have been dramatized on BBC Radio 4. Her many awards include the Premio Colosseo (from the city of
Isabel Galleymore is a poet whose first collection, Significant Other (Carcanet, 2019), won the John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize in 2020 and was shortlisted for the Forward Best First Collection Prize and Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize. Her work has featured in journals such as Poetry, Times Literary Supplement, and Poetry Review. Her pamphlet, Cyanic Pollens (Guillemot Press, 2020), is based on her residency in the Peruvian Amazon. She is a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Web: isabelgalleymore.com
was at specialist PR agency Four Colman Getty, working on projects across publishing and the arts, including the Booker Prize and the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Carol Harding:
Carol is an accomplished producer of film and TV currently producing My Name is Leon, a film for BBC1 based on Kit de Waal’s book adapted by Shola Amoo and directed by Kibwe Tavares. Whilst at the BBC, she worked with the Disability, Safety and Portrayal Committees, training schemes for programme trainees, new directors, and writers’ initiatives. Carol has sat on several boards for Pact. She is a life member of BAFTA and a BAFTA mentor and a fellow of the RSA.
Twitter: @Roya_Khatiblou
Kate Innes:
Kate Innes’ first novel., The Errant Hours, was a Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice and became Book One in ‘The Arrowsmith Trilogy’, followed by All the Winding World and Wild Labyrinth in 2021. Her children’s book, Greencoats, is a historical fantasy set during the Birmingham Blitz. Kate’s poetry collection, Flocks of Words, was shortlisted for The Rubery Book Award. Web: www.kateinneswriter.com Twitter: @kateinnes2 Facebook: @kateinneswriter Instagram: @mindforestbooks
Ellie Hughes:
Ellie Hughes is Head of PR at Penguin Michael Joseph, a commercial imprint of Penguin Random House. She has been publicist to established authors such as Jojo Moyes and Gillian McAllister, household names including Emily Maitlis, Daisy May Cooper, and Giovanna Fletcher, and has worked to launch the careers of many writers such as novelist Alex Pavesi and mental health advocate Jake Tyler. Prior to Penguin Random House she
membership in Room 204, Writing West Midlands’ writer development scheme. She has a Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing from University of Illinois, where she was Assistant Fiction and Assistant Nonfiction Editor of the literary journal Ninth Letter, as well as an MA in fiction writing from Northwestern University.
Roya Khatiblou:
Roya Khatiblou is an Iranianand British-American author based in Birmingham, UK. She has been the recipient of a Developing Your Creative Practice Grant from Arts Council England, a Short Story Apprenticeship from Word Factory and
Abda Khan:
Abda Khan is a lawyer-turnedwriter and author of Stained (2016) and Razia (2019). She has finished her third book and is researching a fourth. She runs creative writing courses, specialising in workshops about culturally sensitive writing and undertakes various creative projects. In ‘Sidelines to Centre Stage’ (2019), she delivered workshops to survivors of domestic violence and female ex-prisoners whose writing was anonymously shared. In 2020/21, Abda was co-creator of ‘Jumping the Middings’, capturing childhood stories from 1970’s Bradford. In 2022, she is delivering ‘Tappay Tales’, exploring traditional Pakistani folk songs. She is a Desi Blitz Arts Ambassador and was awarded British Muslim Woman of the Year in 2019. Web: abdakhan5.webnode.com Twitter: @abdakhan5
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Jessica Killingley:
Jessica spent 20 years working in Marketing for multiple divisions within Hachette UK and Penguin Random House, where she ran high-profile & awardwinning campaigns across all genres, from debuts to brand names such as John Grisham, Stephen King, David Mitchell, Michael McIntyre, and Stephen Fry. She now runs a Publishing Consultancy, where she helps coaches and consultants write and publish books to grow their business. She is the host of the award-winning (and quite sweary) podcast, The AUTHORity Show. Website: thebksagency.com/about Instagram: @jessicakillingley Twitter: @missjkill Podcast: The Authority Show
Sarah Letza:
Sarah Letza is a freelance literary translator working from French to English having completed an MA in Translation Studies at the University of Birmingham in 2017-18. She has recently been appointed as the inaugural Translator
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in Residence at Aston University, supported by Writing West Midlands and with funding from Arts Council England. Sarah is keen to raise the profile of languages and to promote the valuing of languages in in the West Midlands and wider region, developing activities such as community workshops, talks and public participation projects, some of which will form part of the Birmingham Literature Festival 2022. Web:linkedin.com/in/sarah-letza Twitter: @chetwyndxl8
Andrea Mbarushimana:
A core poet for the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival in 2021, Andrea has worked on international collaborations, local commissions and appeared on BBC 3’s The Verb. Her poems have been heard from Clonakilty to Dresden, and she has received sponsorship from The British Council, Arts Council England, and Coventry City of Culture Trust. Andrea’s latest poetry pamphlet, Fatbergs, is published by Knives Forks and Spoons Press. Andrea has also had short fiction published in lit mags and anthologies and is currently working on a novel. Twitter and Instagram: @Andymba24 Website: andrea-mbarushimana.com
Gillian McAllister:
Gillian McAllister is a former lawyer and Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling author of Everything but The Truth, Anything You Do Say, No Further Questions, The Evidence Against You, How to Disappear and That Night. She has been longlisted for a National Book award, selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, and reached number one on the Kindle store. Her latest release is Wrong Place, Wrong Time. Web: gillianmcallister.com/ Twitter and Instagram: @gillianmauthor
Hayley McKenzie:
Hayley McKenzie is the Founder and CEO of Script Angel, a professional script development and screenwriter coaching organisation for the film and tv industries. She is also the co-founder of production company Studio21. Formerly a script executive, Hayley has over twenty years’ experience in scripted development including roles at BBC
Studios, ITV Studios, and Channel 4. Hayley is an international speaker on scripted drama and talent development, including at Cannes Film Festival, Story Expo L.A, Creative Europe Media Programme, London Screenwriters’ Festival and Content London. Web: scriptangel.com Twitter: @scriptangel1
Leena Normington:
Leena Norms is a poet and YouTuber from the Midlands. Her channel has amassed over 11 million views where she uploads weekly video essays and imperfect thought experiments to promote living a shrewd and spirited life. She was named ‘BookTuber of the Year’ by London Book Fair and has collaborated with European Commission, Royal Historic Palaces, and the U.S. Embassy London among others. From the politics of ice-cream to the permission slip you didn’t know you needed, Leena’s first poetry collection, Bargain Bin RomCom, released July 2022, is a tongue-in-cheek look at living on a planet that is filled with both doom and glitter. YouTube: youtube.com/ jsutkissmyfrog Web: leenanorms.com/ Twitter & Instagram: @leenanorms
Samiir Saunders
Samiir Saunders is a mixedmedia poet based in Birmingham. Their work consists of spoken word poetry, performance art, experimental hip-hop, browserbased artworks, and poetry films. Samiir’s work examines the tension between a desire to communicate authentically and the limitations of digital technology (and of language itself). Web: samiirsaunders.com Twitter & Instagram: @smaiduskhan
George Ttoouli:
George Ttoouli is a poet, editor and writing developer based in the Midlands. His most recent poetry collection is titled from Animal Illicit (Broken Sleep, 2020). In 2021, he was a Hawthornden Fellow, a core poet for the BBC’s Contains Strong Language festival, and a Green City Poet in Residence at a Sherbourne Valley allotment managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Coventry Mind. He received a DYCP grant in 2022 to revise a novel and establish himself as a writing mentor. Web: georgettoouli.co.uk Twitter: @GeorgeTtoouli
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Notes:
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