New Writing North

‘Astrophel and Stella 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show’, by Sir Philip Sidney. Recorded by The Poetry Exchange at Durham Book Festival. To read and listen to more about The Poetry Exchange visit www.thepoetryexchange.co.uk.

In 1951 pitman-turned-novelist Sid Chaplin was commissioned to write The Lakes to Tyneside, one of 13 guides to the UK’s regions to mark the Festival of Britain. In 2014, Michael Chaplin was commissioned by Durham Book Festival to follow in his father’s footsteps, undertaking seven contrasting walks, starting on Holy Island and finishing in Durham. Michael's book recording his walk is available to buy from the New Writing North website at http://www.shop.newwritingnorth.com/there-is-a-green-hill-d402338.html. There is a Green Hill and Tyne View, Michael Chaplin's exploration of the River Tyne, are both available to buy in the New Writing North shop and make ideal Christmas presents for the North Easterner in your life. Buy both books for the special price of £18.

Mark Benton and Professor Simon James discuss The Wind in the Willows at Durham Book Festival 2014. The Books for Boys exhibition at Palace Green Library, Durham is open until 11 January 2015. For more information, see https://www.dur.ac.uk/palace.green/whatson/details/?id=21268. Durham Book Festival is produced by New Writing North for Durham County Council.

Rachel Joyce is the author of the bestselling The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and which earned her the Specsaver National Book Award for New Writer of the year 2013. She talked about her new novel, Perfect, set in 1972 when two seconds were added to time. This a book about misunderstandings, small acts of kindness, and the ultimately redemptive nature of time. Rachel was joined by Gavin Extence, whose novel The Universe Versus Alex Woods has been one of the most talked-about debuts of 2013. Gavin introduces his tale of unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero, and an improbable journey. Recorded on Saturday 12 October at Durham Town Hall. For more information about the festival, see http://www.durhambookfestival.com.

For a special event for members of New Writing North's book group network, we brought together Matt Haig, a former TV Book Club winner, whose novel The Humans is a funny and moving story of what happens when Professor Andrew Martin, who solves the world’s greatest mathematical riddle, disappears, and Lottie Moggach. Lottie’s debut mystery, Kiss Me First, sees teenager Leila, who lives most of her life via the internet, agreeing to assume the identity of a girl she has never met, and learning a lot about herself in the process. Chaired by Caroline Beck Recorded on Sunday 13 October at Durham Town Hall. For more information about the festival, see http://www.durhambookfestival.com.

Benjamin Myers was named winner of the inaugural Gordon Burn Prize for his book Pig Iron (Bluemoose Books) at a special event at Durham Book Festival on Saturday 19 October. Durham-born Ben will receive a £5,000 award and the opportunity to undertake a three-month writing retreat at Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire. This recording includes readings from three of the other four shortlisted writers: Anthony Cartwright reads from How I Killed Margaret Thatcher (Tindal Street Press) Duncan Hamilton reads from The Footballer Who Could Fly (Century) Jean Rafferty reads from Myra, Beyond Saddleworth (Wild Wolf Publishing) Also shortlisted but not present on the night was Richard Lloyd Parry for People Who Eat Darkness (Jonathan Cape) For more information, see www.newwritingnorth.com/news_details-benjamin-myers-wins-gordon-burn-prize-details-2606.html.

With Emma Beswetherick, editorial director at Little, Brown; publicist Maura Brickell, agent Jenny Brown and novelist Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Between them, the four speakers on this panel have experience of pretty much every aspect of publishing, from submissions, to representing an author, to selling foreign rights, the editorial process, sales and marketing and publicity. They explain each part of the publishing process and answer questions from the floor. Chaired by New Writing North’s Olivia Chapman. This event was part of Get Your Work Published, a one-day workshop held on 26 November 2011 at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland and organised by New Writing North for writers in the north east of England.

Olivia Chapman of New Writing North  talks about the benefits and support that in-depth editorial critique of your writing can bring, and explains how to work on your manuscript to get it to the best possible standard before submitting it to agents and editors. This event was part of Get Your Work Published, a one-day workshop held on 26 November 2011 at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland and organised by New Writing North for writers in the north east of England.

With Jenny Brown, agent and director of Jenny Brown Associates.

 Jenny Brown set up her literary agency in Edinburgh in 2002 and can draw on her extensive experience of literature and the publishing industry to explain what agents do, and how they can make a vital difference to a writer’s career. She was also able to offer tips on how best to submit work to agents and make your work stand out from the submissions. This event was part of Get Your Work Published, a one-day workshop held on 26 November 2011 at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland and organised by New Writing North for writers in the north east of England.

With Caroline Theobald of The Bridge Club North. Caroline Theobald runs networking sessions with people and businesses from all industries, and takes you through the best way to represent yourself and your work, and get the most out of any networking opportunities you may have. This event was part of Get Your Work Published, a one-day workshop held on 26 November 2011 at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland and organised by New Writing North for writers in the north east of England.

When he’s not being an agent at Jenny Brown Associates, Allan Guthrie is a crime novelist who won the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year in 2007 for his debut, Two-Way Split, and has been nominated for several awards, including an Edgar in the US. In the last year, he's also sold around 50,000 copies of his self-published ebooks. At this event, Allan is talking about digital publishing and how it worked for him, and explaining ways you can look to publish your work yourself on the web. This event was part of Get Your Work Published, a one-day workshop held on 26 November 2011 at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland and organised by New Writing North for writers in the north east of England.

Thomas Stamford Raffles, the charismatic founder of Singapore and Governor of Java, remains a controversial figure. His own end was sad, though his fame was immortal. In Raffles: The Man in his Moment, the first biography of him for over 40 years, Victoria Glendinning charts his prodigious rise within the social and historical contexts of his world. From the late 19th century when the Raj was at its height, many of Britain’s best and brightest young men went out to India to work. With the advent of steam travel and the opening of the Suez Canal, countless young women, suffering at the lack of eligible men in Britain, followed in their wake. In The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj, Anne de Courcy tells the untold stories of those women. Recorded on Friday 26 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see http://www.durhambookfestival.com.

In The Mara Crossing, poet Ruth Padel explores in poetry and prose the theme of home and what being native means, as our borders shift and human and animal migration moves across the globe. Where is a swallow’s real home? And what does it mean to be native if an English oak tree is an immigrant from Spain? In Strands, poet Jean Sprackland takes us on a meditative walk along the wild estuarial beaches of Ainsdale Sands between Blackpool and Liverpool. In this beachcomber’s book, the tides constantly turn up revelations: mermaid’s purses, lugworms, sea potatoes, messages in bottles, buried cars, beached whales, a perfect cup from a Cunard liner. Chaired by Caroline Beck. Recorded on Saturday 27 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.

In Live From Downing Street, the BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, tells the inside story of the ‘troubled marriage’ which has forced politicians and broadcasters to live together, rarely in harmony, for over 70 years. With unprecedented access and insight, he reveals how the key players, past and present, handle the portrayal of their role in the public eye with varying degrees of success. Coupled with an analysis of how the relationship between politics and instant broadcasting will develop further in the digital world, Live From Downing Street presents a fascinating and important story of politics and the media in our time. Recorded on Saturday 27 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.

Jack Straw MP introduces his new memoirs, Last Man Standing: Memoirs of a Political Survivor. As a small boy in Epping Forest, Jack Straw could never have imagined that one day he would become Britain’s Lord Chancellor. As one of five children of divorced parents, he was bright enough to get a scholarship to a direct-grant school, but spent his holidays as a plumbers’ mate for his uncles to bring in some much-needed extra income. His memoirs offer a unique insight into the complex, sometimes self-serving but always fascinating world of British politics. Recorded on Sunday 28 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.

Each year we work with the English Department at Durham University to bring an outstanding writer to the city for the festival and to commission a new piece of work from them. While in residence, the Laureate also undertakes special events with students from the university. We were thrilled to welcome award-winning poet Lorna Goodison to Durham as our 2012 Durham Book Festival Laureate. Born in Jamaica, where she grew up as one of nine children, Lorna Goodison is one of the most distinguished writers of her generation. She teaches in the Department of English and the Center for African and African American studies at the University of Michigan. Her many honours include the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Americas Region), the Gold Musgrave Medal from Jamaica, and the Henry Russel Award from the University of Michigan. Her work includes Goldengrove: New and Selected Poems (2006), Guinea Woman: Selected Poems (2000), Harvey River: A Memoir of my Mother and her People (2007), and most recently a collection of short

Legendary sci-fi writer Iain M Banks came to The Sage Gateshead to introduce the latest novel in his best-selling Culture series: Surface Detail. An acclaimed and best-selling writer of both mainstream fiction (as Iain Banks) and science-fiction (as Iain M Banks), Iain talked to Durham University's Simon James about his sci-fi writing and read from Surface Detail, as well as taking questions from the audience and signing copies of his books after the event.

Gillian Slovo talks about her new novel, An Honourable Man. Set in the Sudan and London of 1884, this historical epic is played out against the shambolic end of the British Empire. Slovo draws on the lives of two real men: heroic army man Charles Gordon, and WT Stead, the father of tabloid journalism, for this moving account of military mayhem and political compromise and foreign adventure doomed to failure. Gillian Slovo is a South African-born novelist and memoirist whose work has explored both the personal and political. Her novel Ice Road was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Event recorded Friday 26 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.

Three of the UK’s leading female crime writers introduce their new books and talk about their different approaches to storytelling. In her new novel, Kind of Cruel, mistress of suspense Sophie Hannah delivers an intricately plotted and pleasingly sinister story. This new novel will not disappoint the many fans who adore Hannah’s edge of the seat plotting. Dreda Say Mitchell is an award-winning crime writer whose latest novel is Hit Girls. Mitchell writes contemporary urban noir with real verve. Mari Hannah’s first novel, The Murder Wall, is set in Newcastle and launches the fictional career of Kate Daniels. Event recorded Saturday 27 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.

Cressida Cowell’s hugely popular series How to Train Your Dragon, starring Viking hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, is loved by children around the world. Hiccup even travelled to Hollywood and was turned into a successful film in 2010. Cressida talks about her best-selling books at what what was a fun-filled event for families. The event was produced in partnership with Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books, to celebrate the launch of their exhibition of Cressida’s work: A Viking’s Guide to Deadly Dragons. Event recorded Saturday 27 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.