Diary of Events 2010

Form and Fiction

• Wednesday 10 March 2010 -14.00 - 16.30
• Room WG/13, West Building, University of Huddersfield
• £5/ £4

This is a masterclass on structure in short fiction. Going back to Aristotle, up to more recent narrative structure studies, this session gives an overview of narrative structure in general before looking at what is distinct about structure in short fiction. Bringing together for the first time the links between three act structure, the seven basic plots and Charles E May’s theory of form in short fiction, this is a practical workshop

Festival Box Office: 01484 430528 Online: www.thelbt.org

• Wednesday 10 March 2010 - 18.30 - 19.30
• The Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
• FREE

Drinks, nibbles and music.This reception event will include the official award presentations for the HLF short writing competition and Ruby Honeycut Corset cellist, singer, serial killer…

• Wednesday 10 March 2010 - 20.00
• The Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
• £8/£6

An evening of Cabaret celebrating literature past and present, featuring, comedy and music, performances from Mundo Jazz, Ronald Arthur Dewhirst, a gloriously surreal and funny performance poet, with singing and comedy from hostess Peggy Lee and compere Mike Hancock.

• Thursday 11 March 2010 - Saturday 13 March 2010
• Matinee Thursday 13.30/Main Performance 19.30 Thursday - Sunday
• Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
• £14, £12, £10 + concessions £2 off all matinee tickets £10

Huck, the outcast urchin, and Jim, the runaway slave, drift through the night, carried along on their makeshift raft by the mighty Mississippi. As the river takes them away from home, the relationship between the two fugitives deepens, adventures grow wilder, stories taller, and the people they meet more outlandish. Alive with the rhythmic, driving music of a young America, one of the all-time greats of world literature is brought crashing onto the stage by award-winning theatre company Shapeshifter.

• Thursday 11 March 2010 - 16.00 -17.00
• Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield, HD1 5DL
• £5/£4

The showcase will feature readings by Anna Chilvers and Stephen Clayton and a Q&A on
independent publishing and what publishers look for in a manuscript.

Anna's new novel, Falling Through Clouds, interweaves mystery, romance and myth, while revealing a dark secret at its heart. ‘Anna’s prose is razor sharp, her dialogue pitch
perfect…. It’s a serious page-turner, moving, witty and thoroughly engrossing.’ Lesley
Glaister.

• Thursday 11 March 2010 - 18.00-19.00
• The Media Centre, Northhumberland St, Huddersfield
• £5/ £4

Regional Voices celebrates new work from three of the best poets in the region, Milner Place has had ten collections published. American poet, Todd Moore, writes of his poetry: 'His work is just simply unique, one of a kind, and in a class all by itself.’ Milner will read from his latest collection Naked Invitation, (Lapwing Publications). Nina Boyd’s poems take a wry glance at the darker side of human relationships and family life; humorous and perceptive, they are never afraid of letting blood. Jim Greenhalf’s latest collection, The Man In The Mirror, is his eleventh collection of orginal poetry. 

• Thursday 11 March 2010 - 20.00
• Phipps Concert Hall, Huddersfield University
• £12/£11

Writer, comedian and actor, Alexei Sayle with two collections of short stories and three brilliant  novels behind him, will be reading selected passages from his new as yet unfinished memoir of his teenage years. He will be telling anecdotes from his extraordinary life, and answering questions from the audience about anything from his dazzling show business career to easy stubborn stain removal.

• Friday 12 March 2010 - 13.15 - 15.15
• WG/13, West Building, Huddersfield University
• £12/£10
• Showcase Venue: THE SLEEPERS BAR, VIADUCT ST, HUDDERSFIELD, HD1 5DL -Venue change!
• 18.30 - 19.30
• Tickets: £5 / £3 Free tickets to masterclass particpants.

Calling all poets and lyricists. Come and make music history working with our team of professional song writers along with composers from the University of Huddersfield Music Department to write, compose, perform and record an album in a day! Bring your poem or lyrics to work with or simply enjoy our innovative song lyric writing exercises and write a new one. Following the workshop, our musicians, led by award-winning songsmiths Dave Gill, Hayley Gaftarnick and Benson J. Walker, will turn your lyrics into a song then perform it live at our special showcase event at the salubrious Peacock Lounge. The performance will be recorded and a CD made, with design and packaging by artists from the university. Your authorship will be registered with the Performing Rights Society (qualifying you for membership) and your name will feature prominently on the CD. Places strictly limited.

• Friday 12 March 2010 - 16.30 - 17.30
• The Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
• £5/ £4

Dorothea Smartt will be reading from her current poetry collection Ship Shape, which grew from a Lancaster Litfest commission to write a contemporary elegy for ‘Sambo’s’ Grave, on Sunderland Point. Ship Shape is a rich collection connecting past and present in a
sequence of poems that excavate history as well as contemporary poems that echo a
continuity of loss.

Event in association with The Books Project www.thebooksproject.wordpress.com

• Friday 12 March 2010 - 21.00 (+local acoustic support at 20.30)
• Bar 1:22, New Street, Huddersfield
• £12 / £11

The Scaremongers are the Huddersfield-based indie-rock band formed by non-poet laureate Simon Armitage and Shelley-born song-writer Craig Smith in 1988 and resurrected two decades later. They featured on The Culture Show, BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, contributed a track to Word Magazine's Word of Mouth CD, played sell-out local gigs and Suffolk's prestigious Latitude Festival. Never ones to be rushed, their twenty-years-in-the making debut album Born In A Barn was recorded in 2009.

Follow them at: www.thescaremongers.com www.myspace.com/thescaremongers watch one of their rare appearances at this year's festival. Not to be missed.

• Saturday 13 March 2010 - 10.30 - 11.30 (Convention 12.00 -17.30)
• Masterclass -Huddersfield Library, Manga Convention - Quayside, Huddersfield University
• £1(Masterclass)  £2 / children under 10 FREE (convvention)

The first ’How to Draw’ class for beginners. Activities will include games, stalls, a raffle, a cosplay, quiz and an art competition for all ages. So brush up on your Manga and Animé knowledge, get those pencils scribbling and pull out your best cosplay outfit because there are prizes for the winners!

• Saturday 14 March 2010 - 13.30 - 15.00
• Milton Building, Huddersfield University
• £5 / £4

Not every short story is film material, and not every literary diamond waiting to be fashioned stands out as obvious source material when first read. This workshop will explore the structures and devices that films demand of their stories, and highlight the subtle but essential dramatic changes that adaptations demand. Led by a leading industry figure  Paul Welsh. 

Paul has written shorts and features with support from Scottish Screen and the BBC, he has also developed, produced, commissioned over 40 short, medium and feature length films. In 2001, he established DigiCult, the award winning Scottish digital film project, he also runs an independent production company - Edge City Films.  www.digicult.co.uk

• Saturday 13 March 2010 -19.30
• Phipps Concert Hall, Huddersfield University
• £4/£3

Sleeping Beauty is a powerful tale of death and rebirth. In this magical performance award-winning storyteller Daniel Morden breathes new life into one of our most haunting stories. Telling Sleeping Beauty alongside the beautiful Greek myth of Alcestis, and underscoring the tales with heart-stopping live music, Daniel, Oliver Wilson-Dickson and Dylan Fowler conjure timeless images in the mind and stir deep emotions in the heart. If you've seen Daniel and Oliver with The Devil's Violin, or Oliver and Dylan with Szapora or The Ian Macmillan Orchestra, you'll know this will be a night to remember!

Suitable for adults and children aged 12+

• Saturday 13 March 2010 2008 - 20.00
• WG/13 West building, University of Huddersfield
• £7/£5

The Huddersfield Literature Festival in partnership with Comma Film have specially commissioned a new adaptation of Sara Maitland's acclaimed short story 'Moss Witch', which receives its world premiere tonight. Directed by animator Lisa Risbec, it tells of the collision between two different worlds - the language and discipline of science and the timeless mythology of fairytales.

Sara Maitland will introduce the film with a talk about the relationship between prose fiction and film. She will be joined by Lisa Risbec to talk about the process of adapting this story in particular and adaptation in general – followed by an audience Q and A.

• Sunday 14 March 2010 -11.00 - 12.30
• WG/13, West Building, Huddersfield University
• £5/£3

Mutants, gunk and exploding body parts – the perfect start to a Sunday! Keith A Charters is the author of the hilarious bestselling LEE novels for ages 9+. Attending one of his sessions is like visiting a comedy club. So what can you expect? An energetic performance, loads of laughs and an insight into how writers dream up their stories. A session full of entertainment and inspiration.
www.keithcharters.co.uk
www.stridentpublishing.co.uk
Following this will be a showcase of Mother’s Day poetry from school children in the local area, the overall winner will be presented with a prize and read out their poem about how special their mum/guardian is to them.

Boyhood Days Walk & Poetry on the Rocks

• Sunday 14 March 2010
• Boyhood Days Walk: Station Road, Mytholmroyd at 13.00 - 15.30 - FREE
• Poetry On The Rocks: St Michael’s Church, Mytholmroyd at 15.30 - 16.30 £5 / £4

A guided walk of the countryside that inspired much of Hughes’s work, led by Donald Crossley of The Elmet Trust, who will provide a commentary linking key Ted Hughes poems to the landscape. The walk will take about two to three hours. Donald was a friend of Ted Hughes and also lived on Aspinal Street, Mytholmroyd.

The Elmet Trust is a charitable company based in Mytholmroyd which celebrates and
promotes the poetry of Ted Hughes in his birthplace.

Length:  2 miles; the walk takes approx 2 hours. Difficulty Level:  Medium – mainly gentle walking with one steep ascent.  Walking shoes and waterproofs essential.

After returning and refreshments, Gaia Holmes will guide you through a series of inspiring exercises to generate new poems, drawing on the landscape of the Calder Valley and the poems of Ted Hughes

• Sunday 14 March 2010 - 15.30 -17.00
• The Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
• £5/£4 (includes refreshments)

There is a myth from both Scandinavian and Islamic origins in which truth is only experienced after a ‘sewing together’, a sharing of parts, of different views. A unique performance of spoken word poetry, soundscapes and visual art presented by AIM (Artists-in-Mind)

• Sunday 14 March 2010 - 18.00 -19.30
• Peacock Lounge, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
• FREE

Bring your own poem or someone else’s. Share your work or share the work of a favourite poet alive or dead. Alternatively, take a chance and reach deep into the potluck box. Or just come along and spectate as we celebrate the world
of verse. Prizes awarded for:
-The Strangest Poem
-The Funniest Poem
-The Best Performed Poem
-The Best Dressed Performer
and finally
-The Most Chins Stroked Award

Also includes the Mrs Sunderland prize winners

• Sunday 14 March 2010 -19.30
• Sygenta Cellar, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
• £5/£4

Storytellers Tim Ralphs and Simon Heywood have been commissioned to produce an exciting new version of ancient Sumerian epic 'Gilgamesh', to be premiered at this year’s Festival. Simon is a storyteller, songwriter, musician and folklorist. He has written music for a number of storytelling projects including The Twisting Field and The Middle Yard, based on Irish mythology. Tim was launched into Storytelling as an award winner at the 2007 Young Storyteller of the Year contest. Suitable for children aged 13 +
The storytelling events are part of 'Stories from the Tree of Life.' Supported by Kirklees Council and originally funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. For more information contact mailin.li@kirklees.gov.uk

• Sunday 14 March 2010 -20.00
• THE PEACOCK LOUNGE, VIADUCT ST, HUDDERSFIELD, HD1 5DL - Venue Change!
• £12/£11

Moniza Alvi was born in Pakistan and grew up in Hertfordshire. Her milieu has been described as ‘a place of wild energy’ and ‘fractured and partially recovered identity’. She has published six collections of poetry including The Country at My Shoulder (OUP, 1993) which was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot and Whitbread poetry prizes and Europa (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize.

Moniza will be reading from Split World: Poems 1990-2005 (Bloodaxe 2008) and Europa (Bloodaxe 2008) followed by an audience Q and A.

• Friday 12 March - Sunday 14 March 2010
• Sygenta Cellar, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield,
• £5/£4

The Write Now Festival will take place Friday - Sunday of festival week at the Lawrence Batley Theatre. Showcasing, sharing and inspiring talent Write Now!

Friday 12 March
Young Writers Showcase @ 7pm
A sharing of work by Lawrence Batley Theatre’s young writers group.
£3 / £2

Saturday 13 March
One Voice @ 6pm
Readings of monologues submitted by local writers. £3 / £2
Write Now Showcase @ 7.30pm
Performances of scripts by LBT’s adult writing group. £3 / £2

Sunday 14 March
Now I Know My ABC... @ 11am
Playwriting Workshop for young people aged 8-15. £5 / £3
Putting Drama on the Stage @ 2pm
Playwriting Workshop for adults. £5 / £3

To find out how you can submit a monologue or become part of the community cast for the Write
Now Festival, contact Madeleine on 01484 484450 or email her at madeleine@thelbt.org