What’s on_

Children’s story telling

John Edgar Because it’s an anthology performance, John Edgar’s Big Story World is suitable for all ages. JOHN EDGAR’S BIG STORY WORLD STORY CHEFS WORKSHOP with LINDSAY BAILEY Similarly, the length of both performance and BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM CENTRAL LIBRARY children events Sun 28th January - 12.30pm – 1.30pm Sat 27th January 10.30am – 11.30am workshops can be tailored to suit specific Tickets £4 / £3 CONCS Tickets - £5 requirements. Bring along your imagination and John Edgar’s Big Story World is a choice collection Lindsey Bailey is a writer, teacher and the founder be amazed and astounded by these big stories of favourites from John’s repertoire, taking in African, of Story Chefs – offering interactive creative writing American, European and Asian traditional tales alongside workshops for primary aged children. She has 8 years’ from the length and breadth of our small planet. John’s original bizarre ballads and riotous rhymes. It’s a experience as a class teacher in schools across , world in which mysterious beings lurk under every bush Dubai and the , and is now on a mission to and tree, and animals talk. you’ll meet such characters as share the many benefits of writing for pleasure. Lindsey Himsuka, the parrot who could really talk, the fiercesome will be popping up with all the ingredients young writers Hulak who once haunted the lakes of America (and need to cook up a SOUP-er story! may still be there!), the scratchy Fleaman, a runaway hamster, monsters lurking in the canals of ’s West CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR SLADE ROOMS Midlands, half a cockerel with ideas above his station and an ageing fox who proves to be far too clever for the hunt. Sat 27th January 11am - 4pm There’s also a song or two for good measure. And once Free Entry you’ve heard John’s rather gruesome and grotty version of Cinderella you’ll never look at this famous old fairy tale ON THE DOG WALK - Read by author DAVID J. in the same light again. ROBERTSON Because it’s an anthology performance, John Edgar’s Big CENTRAL LIBRARY (CHILDREN’S SECTION) Story World is suitable for all ages. Sat 27th January at 2pm – 3pm Free Entry ROSINA TROTMAN - THE NONSENSE OF MR. MARMA AND MR. LADE ON THE DOG WALK is local author, David J Robertson’s CENTRAL LIBRARY (CHILDREN’S SECTION) third book recounting the adventures of border collie Misty and her friends. Released at the end of 2017 it Sat 27th January at 11.30am – 12.15pm tells of how an innocent walk in the country turned into a Free Entry journey home to remember. Rosina will be reading from her book The Nonsense of Mr Marma and Mr Lade - a tale, written in rhyme about two David’s first book, DOGNAPPED! got to the final of The good natured gentlemen who decide to take a journey People’s Book Prize and his second, IN THE DOGHOUSE to White-Water-On-Sea and build a sand castle. Their was released soon after. journey is delayed by many adventures and in their Come and meet the author, some of his furry friends and excitement they overlook one very important fact – can see some of the original artwork you work out what it is before the end? An exciting read Suitable for children up to age 11 (and adults of all ages). for parents and children. Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 2 3 What’s on_ THE ADVENTURES OF ALIEN EGG- THE EGGSTRATERRESTRIAL CENTRAL LIBRARY (CHILDREN’S SECTION) Sat 27th January at 3pm – 3.45pm WRITING WEST MIDLANDS’ YOUNG WRITERS GROUP Free Entry WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Join local children’s author, Lee Benson as he introduces Sat 27th January 1.30pm – 3.30pm you to Alien Egg. Costs £5, booking required online Twelve of Lee’s Henry Egg stories have been performed on television. The stories were either out of print or new www.writingwestmidlands.org/wolverhampton-young-writersgroup and unpublished until local publisher APS decided to do Writing West Midlands present a creative writing group for young writers new editions. aged 12–16. Led Lee would also like placed on record that he is the proud by professional writer William Gallagher, the group will look at all sorts of Lee Benson - Alien Egg owner of a Blue Peter badge, presented to him on the writing to inspire creativity, expression and confidence in young people and a television programme in 1986 by Biddy Baxter. chance to make new friends.

PAULINE QUIRKE ACADEMY PRESENTS JURASSIC JEFFREY (A Tale of Dinosaurs in Wolverhampton) BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM Sun 28th January - 11am – 11.45am Free Entry In the style of strolling Medieval players meet Jurassic Jeffrey and his pals in a feel good play especially directed at a younger audience. Packed with jokes and fun join the gang as they recognise the things that make them different and discover that friendship is what binds them together… Performed by students of The Pauline Quirke Academy Pauline Quirke - Jurassic Jeffrey of Performing Arts in Wolverhampton and written by local children events playwright Ian Henery it is a fun introduction to theatre for a younger audience.

LET’S GO AN ‘AVE SOME STORIES BAB: CHILDREN’S STORY TELLING WITH BILLY SPAKEMON Great Big Children’s Story Time BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM Sun 28th January at 2pm – 3pm Tickets - £4 WOLVERHAMPTON’S GREAT BIG CHILDREN’S STORY TIME ALL LIBRARIES writer, singer & broadcaster and community Saturday 27th January 2018 11.30 am – 12 noon projects consulatant, Dr. Brian Dakin (Billy Spakemon) takes his first venture into stories and rhymes specifically Free all ages for children. They have formed the content of his CD “Let’s Participate Join in Wolverhampton’s ‘Great Big Children’s Story Time’ at any of Go An ‘Ave Some Stories Bab”, all original including “The the city’s 16 libraries. Fish That Flew” and “The Moon Lost Is Smile”. At 11.30am, every library in the city will be holding a simultaneous children’s Billy yalks about the storytellers he grew up with in ldbury story time. The whole family can listen to an exciting tale, brought to life by Billy Spakemon - Children Story telling and he may even sing as well! an expert reader at your local library. Library staff will guide children through Enjoy a magical hour spent with Black Country Radio’s 30 minutes of story time fun, promoting a love of books and celebrating the Omma & Chain host. magic of reading. For more information about your nearest local library, visit: YOUNG AUTHOR COMPETITION WINNERS AWARDS & http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/article/2293/Find-a-library PAGE TO STAGE PERFORMANCES 2018 SLADE ROOMS Sat 27th January 2pm to 4pm Tickets £2 on the door Four short plays devised by City Wolverhampton College’s Performing Arts Student from the winning entries of Wolverhampton’s Young Author Competition, a page- to-stage story writing competition for school children. Celebrating our children’s writing.

Young Author Competition

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 4 5 What’s on_

Music,Art & Specialist

TIM JARVIS - WHEN CUT, THE PRESENT YOU LEAKS CUMMINGS YOUR WAY: music, art and specialist OUT INTO THE FUTURE CUMMINGS UP FOR AIR (OR A BLACK COUNTRY- WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY CENTRIC VIEW OF REGIONAL NOSTALGIA) Sunday 28th January at 7.30pm WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Free Entry Saturday 27th January at 6.40pm – 7.25pm The haphazard has long been important in art – the Free Entry happy accident, the contingent detail that brings the The past is another county and this time - they’ve really work to life. But in the twentieth century, artists in many crossed the line. mediums began deliberately cultivating the random. Join Dan Cummings and friends as they chuck his In music, serialism and indeterminacy gave rise to walking stick in the cut, break into an old photo and walk shifting and unstable pieces composed according to unconscious or inhuman processes. around inside it for a bit gasp as they walk past doors, amble down streets and lurk in vestibules. In literature, the Surrealists, Situationists, members of OuLiPo, and Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs with Feel the pressure in your lungs as you swim toward the their cut-ups, used aleatory processes, games and dusty light of yesteryear. constraints. For Burroughs, his cut-ups had the power If you like the word vestibule, you’ll love this. of augury, for, ‘When you cut into the present the future ‘Cummings Your Way is a series of online English leaks out.’ travelogues by Dan Cummings and Lee David Harris, This performance will explore the word’s viral nature by with music by Chrome Appliance’ using analogues of chance evolution and metastatic www.youtube.com/cummingsyourway. spread to transform language into sound. The incantation of digitally randomised text will be manipulated into noise by analogue computations. READING IMAGES: SIGNS AND SYMBOLS IN DON POWELL- LOOK WHAT I DUN: MY LIFE IN SLADE The core of the sound will be created by split-second PAINTINGS WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY decisions, where the word, the timbre of the voice, WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY, FOCUS GALLERY Saturday 27th January - 5.30pm – 6.30pm becomes the soundtrack, smeared into grainy drone Sunday 28th January at 12pm – 1pm Tickets £9.50 and twisted into random melodies. It will be a sonic and Free Entry Hear the story of Slade told through the eyes of drummer Don Powell. linguistic requiem for the lost self, a vatic rite to cast Leaders of the glam rock movement, Slade were the UK’s biggest singles into the future and call up the scintillating, decoherent, For the last day of the exhibition Still Life and the Sacred band in the years 1971-74. Their many hits have become rock n roll fragmented Other, a litany to appease it. the Curator of the display Tess Radcliffe, discusses how standards, not least Merry Christmas Everybody, arguably Britain’s all-time favourite Christmas song. still life images communicate meaning through the varied For Don Powell, though, success came at a price. Lucky to survive, the use of visual signs and symbols. aftermath of his accident in 1973 included alcoholism, financial woes and a life of reckless promiscuity. Now sober and settled in Denmark with an adopted family of his own, Don Powell’s story is a no-nonsense journey to the heights and depths of the rock world.

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 6 7 What’s on_

John’s Atomic Memoir won’t write itself | Ned’s Acoustic Dustbin

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH DAN WHITEHOUSE EAST OF THE SEVERN NEWHAMPTON ARTS CENTRE FEAT LIZ BERRY, PETE WILLIAMS, MISH MAYBE Saturday 27th January 10.30am – 4.30pm & THE BLACK COUNTRY STRING BAND Tickets £10/£5 concs from the Newhampton Arts Centre SLADE ROOMS only 01902 572 090 / www.newhamptonarts.co.uk Friday 26th January at 7pm Song Writing Workshop with singer/songwriter Dan Tickets £9.50 Whitehouse, leading to a recording to take home and Artists and musicians from The Black Country and private sharing event at the end. , getting together for an evening of poetry, No previous experience necessary. stories and songs. A talented songwriter and storyteller, Dan Whitehouse Featuring:- was born in Wolverhampton. His prodigious talent making Liz Berry - Award winning Black Country poet him a sought after guitarist. Pete Williams - Singer, songwriter, storyteller and founder For Dan the songwriting is key – his observational lyrics of Dexy’s Midnight Runners and imagined stories are soundtracked by an original Mish Maybe - Singer/soungwriter with The Alternative take on modern folk /Americana – Black Country Soul Dubstep Orchestra if you will. All held together with The Black Country String Band. Between recording and touring Dan works as a community musician using music and songwriting. He JONN’S ATOMIC MEMOIR WON’T WRITE ITSELF founded the Song Writing Circle at Midlands Arts Centre FEATURING NED’S ACOUSTIC DUSTBIN (MAC) in Birmingham. SLADE ROOMS Saturday 27th January at 8.45PM (Doors 8pm) MARTIN DAVIES - THE MILLION POUND DROP: Tickets £13 HOW I ALMOST MADE IT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Hello I’m Jonn Penney, wordsmith and gobsmith for AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH MARK STANWAY Saturday 27th January - 7.35pm – 8.25pm alternative rock beat combo Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. I’ve done some stuff, seen some things, lived some life (Ex-MAGNUM) Voluntary Donation and almost survived to my 50th birthday. NEWHAMPTON ARTS CENTRE For Martin Davies, being a teenager in the 80s meant one Much of it is a blur. Lots of it I don’t remember until you Friday 26th January - 7:30PM ask me. Some of it I’m scared I might’ve imagined. thing; an obsession with popular music. Career options Tickets £9.50 from the Newhampton Arts Centre only 01902 572 090 / www. in the West Midlands were limited: flirtations with juvenile Also I’m a slacker and a procrastinator. crime and a pre-Kick Ass spell patrolling the streets of So I had this idea. How about we all meet up so that you newhamptonarts.co.uk Moxley in a Ninja suit were followed by spells as a baker can help me to get my book started? Come and spend an intimate evening with the former MAGNUM keyboard and a devil-may-care roofer. Then, the first fall: a death- My good friend Rat, guitarist of Ned, and I will play you player, as he reminisces in his natural jovial way about his long & colourful through the history of Ned with newly interpreted acoustic defying 25ft plunge that ultimately leads to his creative career as a musician and author. reinvention as a student, musician and actor. versions of our songs. The evening will include slide & video show, open mic for q&a, keyboard A chance meeting will propel him headlong into the In between songs you ask me questions - I’ll answer them international offices of the most powerful music moguls in with tales that will no doubt have a tenuous relationship demonstration, instant memorabilia raffles and a surprise or two. Fun & the world, managing a singer-songwriter of genius. How with the truth. We can pretend I researched and checked madness guaranteed. will these Black Country boys navigate the opportunities the facts. All compered and hopefully kept in order by close friend, special guesr Hard that come their way during the end days of the traditional I’ll record it all and con someone into transcribing it. Rock Hell DJ & Broadcaster Roger Fauske. music industry? The book begins... Join Martin as he tells the bitter-sweet story of a working class boy lifted by art, and daring to transcend his background by aiming for the stars. Followed by a Q&A. Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 8 9 What’s on_

Educational Workshops

Paul Dowswell educational workshops POETRY SHOTS POETRY & PLACE - with R.M. FRANCIS WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Friday 26th January 2 – 4pm. Sat 27th January 10am – 12pm Adult workshop £5 full price, £3 concessions Tickets £3 Be inspired to write by art on display in Wolverhampton Art This writing workshop aims to encourage new ways of Gallery’s exhibitions. experiencing, orientating and navigating space as a way Poetry Shots are creative writing workshops aimed at to use our local environments as sources of inspiration for capturing each individual’s personal response to artworks. creative writing. Poet, PhD Student and Visiting Lecturer Participants explore a range of poetic techniques for at the University of Wolverhampton, R. M. Francis, will interpreting, inhabiting and confronting an artwork, or introduce writers to a variety of techniques to help with ‘speaking’ to its subject or the artist. Whether new to writing writing and engaging creatively with landscape. or more experienced, you will find new ideas to invigorate your creativity; absorbed in the acts of looking and writing, SHORT FICTION MASTERCLASS - with LOUISE you discover new ways of seeing and thinking about art and PALFREYMAN language. WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY The focus will include current exhibitions in the gallery, particularly Michael Lyons’s sculpture. Sat 27th January, 10.30am – 12.45pm Workshops will be led by Dymphna Callery whose poems £7 / £5 concessions - Tickets available from Fri 24th feature in two volumes of poetry from the Walker Art November. Places limited. Gallery collection: The Poets’ View (1996) and The Poets’ Perspective (2010) as well as in her collection What She Sad Do your stories sag in the middle? Are they slow to get started or difficult to finish? Come to this two-hour workshop and What She Did (1997). with Louise Palfreyman, writer-in-residence at the University of Wolverhampton. PAPERVERSE WORKSHOP She's been published in Best British Short Stories and a BANTOCK HOUSE, TRACTOR SHED range of journals and anthologies. Sat 27th January 10am – 12.30pm Before that she worked as a journalist for Birmingham Post Tickets £9 / £7 concessions and Mail and as an editor and copywriter. Louise will help you self-edit your work and will share what PHOTOGRAPHY & POETRY with SIMON FLETCHER & DAVID BINGHAM An entertaining (2.5 hour) craft/ poetry workshop for people makes a short story a truly great short story... who want to have fun with paper and words 'Paperverse' is BANTOCK TRACTOR SHED, BANTOCK HOUSE an innovative and exciting way of creating poetry combined Sat 27th January 1.30pm - 4pm with fun craft ideas led by Jeff Phelps and Marion Cockin, Tickets £9 / £7 concessions both published poets and experienced workshop leaders. If you want to connect with your eight-year-old inner child this Explore the grounds of Bantock House on a leisurely walk in this (2.5 hour) is for you. Meet in the tractor shed. workshop to capture images and make poetry from photographs. No previous experience required. Please contact [email protected] for more details.

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 10 11 What’s on_ FACT INTO FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP WITH PAUL WRITING TO DANCE DOWSWELL FIONA LAMONT& AMARJIT NAR WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY SLADE ROOMS Sun 28th January - 10.30am – 12pm Sat 27th January 5pm – 7pm Tickets: £7.50 Tickets £3 Using photographs and painting of real life events to create Let your writing dance across the page…with Fiona Lamont fiction. This workshop will take as an example a photograph and Amarjit Nar of British soldiers about to go into action on the first day of Exploring the rhythms of dance and language, this the Somme. Please bring a pen and paper. workshop will inspire you, the writer, to create in poetry, life writing, storytelling and prose through vibrant upbeat music COMIC BOOK ILLUSTRATION WITH JOHN McCREA from several Hispanic countries. WOLVERHAMPTON CENTRAL LIBRARY Fiona from Sabroso Salsa Dancers, will be your muse and from the moment you walk in your senses will be stimulated Sat 27th January - 1.30pm – 3.30pm by music from Latin America and the Caribbean. Using Free Aged 14+ these melodies and tempos as the foundation for your Award winning illustrator and comic book artist John writing, writer Amarjit will take you through short task-based McCrea will be sharing his talents, skills and experiences exercises that will lead your work towards the next step. in an exciting workshop at Central Library. John is a highly respected graphic artist who has drawn for the likes of HYPNOTHERAPY FOR CREATIVITY Marvel and DC Comics and has illustrated iconic characters WITH ANNE-MARIE CARTER such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Hulk, WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Spider Man, Daredevil, Wolverine, Star Wars, Judge Dredd Sun 28th January 12.30pm - 1.45pm and the Simpsons, amongst others. Tickets £10

REALISE THE INNER WRITER IN YOU... WITH GULURA The session - lasting an hour and a half - will: -Promote relaxation and lower anxiety VINCENT -Deal with negative self talk and teach us work outside of the WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY limitations we place on ourselves educational workshops Sat 27th January - 3.30pm – 5pm -Provide motivation to stop procrastinating and push through Tickets £10 artistic blocks -Release creative energy and expression Through a unique set of exercises; focusing on your end -Promote confidence and free up our imagination goals Gulara’s workshop helps overcome writers’ block, Anne-Marie Carter is a qualified clinical hypnotherapist. procrastination and collating several plot lines into a clear the path for writers of all genres. WRITING GHOST STORIES with PAUL DOWSWELL She concentrates on healing unconscious fears and negative beliefs helping construct a fresh script with a new BANTOCK HOUSE PERFORMANCE SPACE direction. Her natural warmth and compassion create a safe Sat 27th January 5.30pm – 6.45pm space for writers to talk in confidence. Gulara’s work aims Tickets: £7.50 to dissolve limiting habits so that you can write with ease and clarity. How do you unsettle your readers? How to you create a spooky atmosphere and make your readers feel they are really there in your story? Please bring a pen and paper. DIALOGUE WORKSHOP with LIZ JOHN PACKAGE DEAL: Attend this event, then see John Edgar’s WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY chilling performance of Breton Tales After Dark. Both events Sun 28th January 2.15pm – 4.15pm for £10! Tickets £10 Based in the Midlands, Liz John writes for screen, radio and INDIE & SELF PUBLISHING WORKSHOP WITH ANDREW Holding your newly published book stage. Her credits include BBC Doctors and BBC Radio 4 SPARKE, ANDY CONWAY & AA ABBOTT Imagine this: The Archers, as well as award-winning and nominated short WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY in your hands with your readers thanking you for films, and multiple stage plays. Sat 27th January 1.30pm – 2.30pm She is a founding member of BOLDtext Playwrights and Big Free Entry writing this book because it was exactly what they Script Writers, and co-founded the Screenwriters Forum. Kindle and print on demand have revolutionised wanted to read. Money is pouring into your bank RAIDS: STORYTELLING & ROLE PLAYING GAMES ePublishing, so for many authors DIY is the way to go rather WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY than wasting time chasing elusive agents and even rarer account as you accept an invitation to do a Ted publishing deals. Talk. And ideas for the next project are pouring Sat 27th January 5.30pm – 7pm Indie publishing is a tool for writers to take control, e.g. Free Entry producing books for niche markets that trade in. Your stylist is picking out your dress for your Raids is an immersive storytelling tabletop roleplaying game publishers ignore. acceptance speech of Costa Book Award. in a similar vein to games such as Dungeons & Dragons. This short workshop provides an overview of what an author Join the game’s creator, Liam Thornton, for a talk on the needs to know about self-publishing as well as how to Gulara Vincent game’s creation and a live interactive game where you can become a professional, self-publishing entity. help shape the adventure. Warning: may contain adult content and scenes of a violent nature.

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 12 13 What’s on_

This critically acclaimed production comes to Tickets: £2 & £1 concession Theatre & Wolverhampton following a sold out run at the National Adults and children 8+. Theatre. Lizzy Watts plays the title role of the free-spirited Hedda Gabler, one of the greatest dramatic parts in New original play by Jefny Ashcroft & Jonathon Collings. theatre and regarded as the female Hamlet. A thirty minute dash through Wolverhampton’s. Performance amazing history. AN INSPECTOR CALLS Commisioned by WoLF for 4 exclusive festival WOLVERHAMPTON ARCHIVES performances. Jefny Ashcroft: the Sheep. Fri 26th, Sat 27th & Sun 28th Jan - 7.30pm Jonathan Collings: all the other parts!!! Tickets: £9 & £5 concession. Family Ticket: £25 (2 adults, 2 concs) – Available only from CYT 01902 572091 BROKEN SHELLS: A MEDIEVAL SEA STORY BY Late one evening the Birling Family receive an DAISY BLACK unexpected visitor who will change their lives forever... BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM Central Youth Theatre presents J.B. Priestley’s gripping drama revolving around the apparent suicide of a young Sat 27th January - 1.30pm – 2.45pm woman called Eva Smith. The unsuspecting Birling family Tickets £8 / £6 concessions are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole just as they Storyteller and academic Daisy Black brings to life are about to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Chaucer’s Man of Law’s Tale – a tale of love, fear, Sheila. Slowly their lives begin to unravel as the violence and the queer, cold seas which roil and coil

Inspector uncovers the families many hidden secrets. between naations. theatre and performance Custance, who has beauty without pride, youth without captivating storytelling and mesmerising sign language. SPOKEN WORD: THE OFFICIAL LIT FEST OPENING foolishness and strength without tyranny, finds herself “Stunning … this unique take on a classic will keep MUSIC FOR DOGS EVENT cast adrift at sea. Forced to endure hostile lands and children compelled” The Stage. LYCH GATE TAVERN LYCH GATE TAVERN people and carve paths for herself among strange Fri 25th January- 7.30pm Sat 27th January- 11.30am – 12.30pm cultures, the toughest of Chaucer’s heroines strings her Suggested Donation of £4 BOYCIE! - WITH AUTHOR AND ONLY FOOLS & Voluntary Donation strength across the oceans, telling us what it is to love HORSES ACTOR JOHN CHALLIS and to survive. A wonderful event bursting with spoken word, poetry, Written by Paul Meehan (Ireland Professor of Poetry), BANTOCK TRACTOR SHED Suitable for ages 13 and up. stories, comedy and just a little bit of music. Be a part Directed by Patricia Kessler, Performed by Carol Caffrey of the Wolverhampton Literary Festival opening night Fri 26th January- 11am On Dublin’s Burrow Beach a woman records a message a wonderful mixture of magical, bohemian, bookish, Tickets: £12 for her estranged brother and sister. Though the context HOW I CAME TO BE WHERE I NEVER WAS BY colourful, musical and more. of Janey Mac’s personal tragedy is a dark one, her JOHNNY FLUFFYPUNK Come and meet Boycie! Only Fool & Horses actor Let’s make this evening, one to remember with essential humanity and joy in life are very much to the LYCH GATE TAVERN and author John Challis talks about his career,his Wolverhampton’s hottest local talent. fore-ground. autobiography and his first novels that inspired the TV Sat 27th January 2.30pm – 3.30pm Have you ever fancied performing? Music for Dogs is absolutely riveting… The script is so Series . Voluntary Donation This is a safe happy environment to test the water. or just poetic… Carol Caffrey is brilliant. Best known for his role as Boycie from the BBC TV’s come along and be entertained. A few open mic spots Janice Forsyth Show, BBC Radio Scotland, Edinburgh Jonny Fluffypunk grew up where nothing ever happened. award-winning comedy , John will be available on the night or book your slot now by Festival. This is a story about finding yourself, when you find Challis is one of the nation’s greatest comic actors. contacting me (Debbie 07455757144) yourself somewhere you don’t belong. It’s about He has worked with some of the biggest names in MY CLOTH-EARED HEART BY MELANIE BRANTON unrequited love and the importance of a good record showbusiness and has counted among his friends The shop. it’s also about trains and memory and tiny magical LYCH GATE TAVERN MIRROR MIRROR Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Oliver Reed and moments and letting go. It’s lo-fi stand-up spoken word ARENA THEATRE George Best. Sat 27th January 1pm – 2pm theatre for anyone who has ever loved, owned a vinyl Friday 26th January - 10.30am & 1.00pm Voluntary Donation record or just been alive. Produced in partnership with Strike A Light. Saturday 27th January - 2.00pm HEDDA GABLER Melanie Branton is looking for a boyfriend. And it’s not Tickets: £5 only from Arena Box Office (01902) 321 321 GRAND THEATRE going well. In her first full-length spoken word show, My Suitable ages 5+ Tue 23rd to Sat 27th Jan - 7.30pm Cloth-Eared Heart, she charts a thirty-year epic quest that FRED & GINGER has included a brush with a psychopath, stalking various Red Earth Theatre present a new version of the classic Tickets: £12.50 - £32.50 from here 14+ LYCH GATE TAVERN strangers on the internet, and a turbulent relationship fairytale Snow White Sat 27th January 4pm – 5pm Just married. Buried alive. Hedda longs to be free… with a verb. A show about love, failure, stubbornness and When Snow White is offered a juicy red apple, by a kind Voluntary Donation Hedda and Tesman have just returned from their being single in a couple-centric world. old lady, she is sorely tempted. On the other hand, how honeymoon and the relationship is already in trouble. Taffeta, testosterone and no-talent! Who did not love the does she know it’s not poisoned? She’s nearly been Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control and annual school musical? SHEEP IN WOLF’S CLOTHING poisoned twice this week already and it’s not pleasant. manipulate those around her, only to see her own Izzy is in the chorus and wants to prove herself, as one Join Snow White, as guests at her wedding, and the world unravel. (AN ORIGINAL PLAY COMMISSIONED BY WOLF FOR day she wants to ‘goo drama college’. Carl is only here whole story – magic mirror, wicked stepmother, seven This modern production of Ibsen’s thrilling masterpiece 4 EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCES!) ‘cos he’s got a detention for allegedly selling sherbet Dib dwarfs and all – will be revealed. is brought to bold new life by Olivier Award-winning WOLVERHAMPTON ARCHIVES Dabs cut with washing powder. A mischievous take on the ever-popular Snow White, playwright Patrick Marber (Closer) and directed by Olivier Sat 27th January - 2pm & 3.30pm ‘Fred and Ginger’ is a gorgeous little piece that reminds beloved by generations of children, Red Earth’s new and Tony Award®-winner Ivo van Hove (A View from Sun 28th January - 2pm & 3.30pm us of our own halcyon days at secondary school. version of this timeless tale combines beautiful puppets, the Bridge). Wolverhampton Literature Festival 14 15 What’s on_ BRETON TALES AFTER DARK BY JOHN EDGAR BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM Sat 27th January - 7pm – 8pm £5 / £4 concessions - Available from Fri 24th November MUSIC, MAGIC COMEDY & VERSE: PACKAGE DEAL: ATTEND THIS AND A GHOST STORY THE OFFICIAL LIT FEST CLOSING PARTY WRITING WORKSHOP FOR JUST £10 WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Things used to go bump in the night all the time in Sun 28th January- 7.00pm nineteenth century Brittany. If you were really unlucky, Suggested Donation of £5 you might even meet up with who – or what – was doing Featuring four amazing acts come along and be a part of the wonderful the bumping … closing event of the Wolverhampton Literary Festival. John Edgar is a writer and storyteller working in schools This very special evening will be one to remember with Wolverhampton’s finest John Edgar - After Dark and the wider community. He has written extensively for local talent a magical, wondrous evening bursting with originality and talent the theatre and has also had two scripts produced on BBC Radio 4. In 2004 John gave his first performance of Breton Tales after Dark, an anthology of stories and folklore from 19th Century Brittany. This production has since toured throughout the UK and has attracted a range of reviews ranging from “wonderfully feral” (Raw Edge Magazine) to “the finest presentation of storytelling I have ever seen” (Marion Cockin, Wolverhampton Libraries Service).

BRENDAN HAWTHORNE & BILLY SPAKEMON SONGS, STORIES & SPOKEN WORD OF THE BLACK COUNTRY SLADE ROOMS

Sun 28th January at 4.30pm. (Doors 4pm) theatre and performance Sun 28th January at 4.30pm. (Doors 4pm) Songs, stories & spoken word of the Black Country Tickets - £5 Poet Laurete of Wednesbury and ‘100 master’, Bendan Hawthorne and Bill Spakemon entertained the recent Wolverhampton Comedy Festival as The Boonyeads. In this show, we get a broader scope of their work including spoken word, song, music and both talking about how Tony Barrett - Tat Man their work is informed ‘lived’ annd gifted experiences. The eloquence of their dialect lends itself to the musings and meanderings of the pair. Content can vary from Billy’s THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TAT MAN account of the legend that is Duncan Edwards, to Bren’s ARENA THEATRE account of his Uncle Jim. Sun 28th January - 7.30pm Come with Google translate and be entertained! Tickets - £12/ £10 concs only from Arena Theatre 01902 321321 AESOP – THE GRASSHOPPER YEARS BY JONATHON ‘The play is set in his home in the scrapyard where he weaves his tales, COLLINGS transporting the audience out of the theatre to places in his mind by means BANTOCK HOUSE MUSEUM Songs, stories & spoken word of the Black Country of tales and song. The plot leads inexorably into the real and terrifying Sun 28th January - 5.30pm – 6.30pm landscape of the First World War. The play was written by highly regarded Voluntary donation Wednesbury-born playwright, poet and novelist David Calcutt. It is performed by Wolverhampton born actor and musician, Tony Barrett and is directed By Aesop was… a philosopher, a con artist, an astute Regional Voice Theatre Company’s artistic director, Glen Buglass. politician, a prototype Jeeves, a clown, a master storyteller… Or was he? He was also a slave… Or was he? And he was certainly very ugly… Or was he? Following the success of his “Haunted Dickens” at last year’s festival, Jonathan Collings returns with a brand new show, funny, exciting, and intriguing.

Based on unreliable Classical sources, and drawing freely on the famous Fables, “Aesop – The Grasshopper Years” tells the story of a man who ducked and dived, twisted and turned, rose to fame and fortune, and could always talk his way out of a tricky situation. Jonathon Collings - Aesop - The Grasshoper years Or could he?

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 16 17 What’s on_

Literature KATIE EPSTEIN: DEATH BE BLUE WLF COLLECTIVE: ROMALYN ANTE, ABDA KHAN, WOLVERHAMPTON CENTRAL LIBRARY AMARJIT NAR, WIN SAHA & HARDISH VIRK Saturday 27th January - 12pm – 1pm WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Free Entry Sunday 28th January - 11am – 12.15pm Please join Katie Epstein, fantasy mystery writer of the SPECIALLY CURATED BILL FOR THE FESTIVAL, BY THE Terra Vane series, for a reading of her novel Death Be FESTIVAL Blue. Also on the day, Katie will be talking about book From the pens of a diverse group of writers comes poetry, two, Death Be Charmed, due out in January 2017. prose and excerpts from novels. Katie will be available to answer questions, sign any Writers draw from life experiences to bring you tales from current or previous titles and she will bring a few books to around the world. sell on the day. WRITERS’ ROOM AT THE JAMAL ST. CLAIR: IMMUNE PAUL DOWSWELL: WOLF CHILDREN TETTENHALL LIBRARY TETTENHALL LIBRARY Saturday 27th January 2.30pm – 3.30pm Saturday 27th January 12pm - 1pm Free Entry Will Self Free Entry When Chance’s best friend Alex is coaxed into dropping Wolf Children A gang of orphans fight to survive inthe out of college for a girl who introduces him to a pyramid ruins of post-war Berlin. scheme operated by Mr. Montgomery, Chance knows A timely story of refugees, ruined cities and the that something mysterious is up, which is confirmed when COACH HOUSE WRITERS Dawn’s first novel, Hard Change, was published in 2013. exploitation of the idealistic young by a fanatical ideology. he receives a call to say that Alex has been committed to WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Dawn has written and curated three books about the Best post-war children’s novel since The Silver Sword Westacres – a psychiatric hospital. future of the public service – Holding up the Mirror – True literature Friday 26th January - 12.30pm – 2pm Amanda Craig. Alex is adamant that he is not mentally ill and he can’t stories of public service in a post-truth world, remember why or how he was committed, but the next Free Entry A climactic story of truth, friendship and survival against Walk Tall –Being a 21st Century Public Servant and the odds, Wolf Children will thrill readers of Michael time Chance visits Alex hd realises that Alex is involved in Change the Ending. She has written for the Guardian and Coachhouse Writers present a medley of work, poetry Morpurgo and John Boyne more than just a pyramid scheme; he is the victim and prose including extracts from recently was the Writer-in-Residence at the Chartered Institute of of a cult. published work. Public Finance (CIPFA). Praise for Dawn Reeves’ debut Chance admits himself into Westacres as a pseudo- Coachhouse Writers is a long-established group of novel, ‘Hard Change’, includes: OLDBURY WRITING GROUP: A TALK ON THE patient, where he discovers that Dr. Montgomery is enthusiastic wordsmiths who meet weekly for mutual “Very compelling, tough but human.” The Guardian BENEFITS OF JOINING YOUR LOCAL WRITING drugging the patients and using menticide to get them support, development and entertainment. “Great descriptions of people and power. Read it!” GROUP to join his cult. Considering that everybody in Westacres Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY is mentally ill, Chance doesn’t know who he can trust, until he meets Hope – a girl who is immune to Dr. DAWN REEVES: WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE – Saturday 27th January 12.30pm – 1.30pm Montgomery’s menticide OR DO WE? Voluntary Donation THE ROMANTIC NOVELISTS IDENTITY, SELF AND MAKING CHANGE Every writer needs support and guidance from other With PHILLIPA ASHLEY, NELL DIXON & ELIZABETH ENOCH POWELL RIVERS OF BLOOD SPEECH: 50 WOLVERHAMPTON CENTRAL LIBRARY writers. This is why it is a good idea for writers to join a HANBURY YEARS ON Friday 26th January 12.30pm – 1.30pm good writing group. Our talk will help you decide whether WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY MC001 BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF Free Entry joining a writing group is for you as each member will talk Saturday 27th January 11.30am – 12.30pm to you and explain who they are, what and why they write WOLVERHAMPTON Set in the Midlands, We Know What We Are explores Free Event and how the Oldbury Writing Group has helped them in Saturday 27th January 2.30pm – 3.30pm issues of loyalty, identity, football, local government and their writing endeavours. Free Entry murder. The title of the novel comes from a well-known Born and bred in the Black Country, Nell Dixon is a football chant and a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: multi-published, best-selling author of 28 books. Winner 50 years on from the controversial speech being “We know what we are but not what we may be.” The of the UK RNA’s prestigious RONA Rose award twice LYNSEY HANLEY delivered to a Conservative Association meeting in story explores how our sense of ourselves affects our and ECataromance award in the USA, she writes WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Birmingham on April 20 1968, Express & Star welcome a ability to make change in society and in a world of contemporary romantic fiction with a pinch of humour and Saturday 27th January 1pm – 2pm fantastic panel to discuss its impact and legacy. a touch of suspense. uncertainty and changing politics, the book looks at Tickets £5 Panel includes MP Eleanor Smith, Nigel Hastilow, Dr where we find hope in our local communities. Best-selling women’s fiction author, Phillipa Ashley, is the Shirin Hirsch, Nicholas Jones, MEP Bill Etheridge. author of the Amazon Top 10 Cornish Cafe series. Before Lynsey Hanley was born in Birmingham and lives in Please note, panel is subject to change. she became a full-time writer, she studied English at Liverpool. She is the author of ESTATES: AN INTIMATE Erin Kelly, Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/ HISTORY, and RESPECTABLE: THE EXPERIENCE OF She Said and Broadchurch called it “Authentic and wise. Oxford and worked as a copywriter and and journalist. Her debut, Decent Exposure, was made into the TV CLASS. She is a regular contributor to the Guardian and We Know What We Are is proof that local politics is as the Financial Times. ruthless as anything that happens in Westminster.” movie, 12 Men of Christmas. As Pippa Croft, Phillipa also writes the Oxford Blue series published by Penguin.

Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 18 19 What’s on_

IAN BILLINGS & PAUL DOWSWELL: WRITING FOR THE ASIAN WRITER SHORT STORY PRIZE: FUN & PROFIT DIVIDING LIVES WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Sunday 28th January - 12.30pm – 1.30pm Sunday 28th January - 3.30pm Voluntary Donation A wonderful collection of stories on the theme of borders, Ian Billings and Paul Dowswell are both Wolverhampton boundaries and belonging, shortlisted for The Asian based authors who write for children and young adults. Writer Short Story Prize 2016. This anthology of short Despite working in the precarious world of publishing stories, published in April 2017, introduces 13 exciting neither of them live in an attic or have consumption. new voices and their writing. The stories cover a range of Find out how they did it and pick up tips on writing for experiences, literary styles and subjects. A few of these fun and profit.Ian Billings’ long career has taken him from writers will read from their stories and discuss their work street-entertainer to acclaimed theatre director and BBC with the audience. radio playwright. He has written episodes for the Chuckle Brothers THE BLACK COUNTRY ARTS FOUNDRY ‘Chucklevision’ TV Show, is a stand-up comedian and a WITH LOUISE PALFREYMAN children’s author. Ian has also found time to visit schools WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY all over the world. Sunday 28th January 4pm – 5.15pm Paul Dowswell writes award-winning historical fiction and is a visiting professor at Manchester Metropolitan Come and hear Louise Palfreyman, writer-in-residence at University. His 2017 Bloomsbury novel ‘Wolf Children’ has Wolverhampton University, and new regional fiction and been hailed as the best post-war children’s novel since poetry as featured at The Black Country Arts Foundry. Ian Serraillier’s 1956 classic ‘The Silver Sword’. The Arts Foundry is a place where art and writing meet, where local voices mingle with art works, prose, poetry and life writing. ANNIE MURRAY This session will showcase some of the best writing BANTOCK TRACTOR SHED emerging at the site, which runs throughout Louise’s

Sunday 28th January 2pm – 3.15pm residency and is still taking submissions. Interested? literature £4 - INCLUDES TEA & CAKE Come and see what it’s all about! Spend a delightful afternoon with Annie Murray, author of Chocolate Girls, Meet Me Under the Clock and The WILL SELF IN CONVERSATION WITH SEBASTIAN Women of Lilac Street which was shortlisted for the GROES Romantic Novelists Association Historical Novel award. WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Her first Birmingham novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Sunday 28th January 5.30pm – 6.30pm Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. Tickets £7 including glass of wine Currently writing her next novel set in 1904 then during WW1, Annie will be discussing her books and how she Wolverhampton Literature Festival has invited writer Will researches them There’ll also be a Q&A for you to put Self to visit the Black Country. On Sunday 29 January, your questions to her. Self will be in conversation with Sebastian Groes to Don’t miss this opportunity to spend an afternoon in the explore the writer’s fiction. They will explore some of company of tea, cake and Annie! the thematic strands that run throughout Self’s work, and focus on the modernist trilogy, Umbrella, Shark and MRS. ROCHESTER’S ATTIC EVENT WITH MANTLE Phone. Self has said of his writing that he does not seek to create LANE PRESS characters for his readers to identify with, or to represent WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY reality: ‘I want to astonish people.’ Sunday 28th January - 2pm – 3pm Free Entry BRIONY MARSHALL: WRITING AND THE REST NIALL GRIFFITHS Mantle Lane Press is an independent publisher, based WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY WOLVERHAMPTON CENTRAL LIBRARY in Leicestershire. Part of its remit is to support new and Sunday 28th January 5.30pm – 6.30pm Saturday 27th January 3.30pm – 4.30pm emerging writers across the Midlands. Free Entry Free Entry Mrs Rochester’s Attic is an anthology of fiction inspired After the success of her previous event Briony Marshall, by the character of the first Mrs Rochester from Jane author of Unravelled, returns to the Wolverhampton NIALL GRIFFITHS is the author of seven novels, three works of non-fiction, a Eyre: mad, dangerous and hidden away in the attic of Original Literature Festival to talk about writing, wool and collection of poetry and many non-fiction articles and short stories and radio Thornfield Hall until she burns it to the ground and dies in life after publication.This is a free event where there will plays. He held a visiting professorship in creative writing at Wolverhampton the conflagration. also be an opportunity to meet Briony and purchase university until 2017. His next novel, Broken Ghost, was written during that This event is a launch for Mrs Rochester’s Attic. her novel. professorship and features a central scene set in Wolverhampton, which he will Meet some of the writers represented in the book and read publicly for the first time in the Central Library. listen to their Gothic tinged tales of madness, secrets and doomed love. With Nick Fogg, Tim Franks, Grace Haddon, Richard Lakin, Jennifer McLean, Pascale Presumey & M. V. Williams.

20 21 What’s on_

P eter Rhodes

MEET THE MASTERS OUTSIDE/IN - WORDS OF SOUND & FURY WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY WILD BYTES CAFE Saturday 27th January 3.30pm – 5pm Sat 27th January at 7:30pm Tickets £3 Voluntary Donation 100 Masters is a campaign, produced by Creative Black Stevie Quick: writer, performer photographer; presently Country, that aims to highlight local people’s skills, annoying young people with Juniper Training in expertise and extraordinary achievements. During the Wolverhampton. summer of 2017 the public nominated people they know From a quirky, humorous, sometimes angry viewpoint who are brilliant at what they do. Hundreds of nominations he has worked with aspiring writers from Stranraer to from across the region were submitted and now the 100 Pembroke. He performs regularly in Worcester (Wolves

Masters list has been compiled. refugee status applied for) and reads his work literature The shortlisted Masters come from a dazzling breadth across the country. of backgrounds, ages and areas of the region and we Stevie worked at YOI Brinsford for five years. Tonight will are delighted to be presenting a small selection of the feature his work from behind bars; talented literary and writing Masters at Wolverhampton’s The Brinsford Poems look at the experience of being second Literature festival. For more information on the young and incarcerated. project please see 100masters.co.uk PETER RHODES: HACKING IT - Reflections on 30 MAKING THE CUT: ANTHONY CARTWRIGHT; KERRY years with the Express & Star HADLEY-PRYCE; LUKE KENNARD and R. M. FRANCIS WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Sunday 28th January - 11am – 12pm Saturday 27th January 7pm – 8.15pm Free Entry Tickets £5 How Britain’s biggest regional newspaper covered some Join celebrated novelists and poets: Anthony Cartwright; of the world’s top stories. Columnist and blogger PETER Kerry Hadley-Pryce; Luke Kennard and R. M. Francis RHODES describes how he reported a changing world - for an imaginative tour through Canals. An important and learned how to round up baby penguins marker of the Black Country landscape and heritage is in the process. the canal network – like veins, they reach out through our towns, cities, industrial sites and countryside. Making the LYCH GATE TAVERN WITH BILSTON WRITERS, Cut will be a performance that offers 4 unique, creative CODSALL WRITERS, BLAKENHALL WRITERS, responses to this cherished part of our region. BRIDGNORTH WRITERS & POETRY READERS HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER WITH MARK EDWARDS, GROUP JAY STRINGER & JENNY BLACKHURST NEW STREET AUTHORS: Andrew Sparke, Lee WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Sunday 28th January - 12pm - 5pm Benson, Andy Conway, AA Abbott and Martin Tracey Sunday 28th January - 2pm – 3pm Free Entry All Day WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Tickets £3 Saturday 27th January 7pm – 8pm On Sunday, the Lych Gate pub becomes a hub for local Local crime novelists Mark Edwards, Jenny Blackhurst and Jay Stringerhave Free Entry writers’ groups, with a series of events in the upstairs room. sold 3 million books between them and been nominated for numerous awards, New Street Authors is a collection of independent, self- Drop in and have a listen. and many of their books are around the Black Country and Shropshire. publishing writers based in and around Birmingham, Hear them talk about psychological thrillers, serial killers, gangsters and all SCHEDULE:- England. Not all of their work is about Birmingham. But things crime fiction, along with advice for aspiring authors. some of it is.. 12pm-1pm Bilston Writers 1pm-2pm Codsall Writers 2pm-3pm Blakenhall Writers 3pm-4pm Bridgnorth Writers 4pm-5pm Poetry Readers Group Wolverhampton Literature Festival 22 23 What’s on_

Poetry Reading

Tony Walsh

WRITE HEAR WRITE NOW! AFTERNOON TEA WITH BERT FLITCROFT & MARION poetry reading WILD BYTES CAFE COCKIN Wed 24th January - 7:30pm – 9pm WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Voluntary Donation Friday 26th January - 2.30pm – 4pm WRITE HEAR WRITE NOW! brings young voices into the Tickets: £4 mainstream and begs for them to be heard. Come along and enjoy a cuppa and a cake, comic poetry The writers tonight are performing for the very first time and good humour. -for most, it is the first time that they have written poetry Bert Flitcroft was Staffordshire Poet Laureate 2015-17 let alone let others hear it. Bravery and Words! during which time he curated ‘The Staffordshire Poetry Juniper Training worked with Manchester Poet ARGH Collection’, which is now available on-line. He is an KID to develop their voices offering our young people a experienced and accomplished poet who for some chance to express themselves. time has been quietly and unassumingly spreading Tonight you hear tomorrow first. the poetry word. Marion Cockin has been published widely in magazines JASVIR KANG and anthologies. Although she writes often on historical BLAKENHALL LIBRARY: or mythological subjects, her first collection is closer to home. The Nailmakersʼ Daughters, published by Offaʼs Thu 25th January - 10am Press written with Emma Purshouse and Iris Rhodes is a WHITMORE REANS LIBRARY: celebration of life in the Black Country past and present. Thu 25th January - 12pm BONES PRESENTS A LIL SOMETHING DIFFERENT... Voluntary Donations WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Heartwarming & ground-breaking poetry by renowned Fri 26th January at 6:30 PM – 9 PM writer Jasvir kang read in Punjabi by Jasvir and translated/read in English. Once again we’re coming with something a lil different Born in Punjab, North India Jasvir started writing in the to tickle, baffle and astound your senses so come along 1970s reflecting the lives of South Asian women. By and be shocked, amused, enlightened and thoroughly the 1980’s Jasvir had established herself as a strong entertained in equal measures while the artists doles out voice within the community and attracted support and their gems which are their own lil treasures. Featuring controversy towards her work which often spoke out on rappers singers and poets such including:- taboo subjects. Soloman, Christian Deveaux, Xman, Krystatic, Elefterries, Her first book of short stories ‘Geji’ was published with Luke, Steve Harrison, Emma Pursehouse, Dave Pitt, huge success and three followed. Bones – Poet, Adante, Carole Yvonne, Rhea and Tashe, She established herself as a popular presenter on Trademark & Hannah – Poet (line up subject to change) BBC WM, Radio Sangam, Radio XL and Ambur Radio, discussing challenging topics and sharing her writing.

Wolverhampton Literature Festival BONES PRESENTS A LIL SOMETHING DIFFERENT... 24 25 What’s on_ COPPERBIRD ONE WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Sunday 28th January - 12.30pm – 1.40pm Voluntary Donation A collection of poetry and prose by seven writers. The book will be available after the event.

THE INCREDIBLE FAKE TWINS Sophie Sparham PERFORMANCE POETRY WITH LEE BENSON AND ANDREW SPARKE FUNNY OR NOT? W/ SHARON ASHTON, KEITH BINGHAM & WOODALL BANTOCK TRACTOR SHED CHANDLER AND PAUL FRANCIS LIGHT HOUSE MEDIA CENTRE Sunday 28th January - 4pm – 5pm Free Entry WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Saturday 27th January at 7.15pm – 8pm Seven Writers - Copperbird one Friday 26th January at 7:30pm – 8.30pm Tickets £4 from Light House on Fri 24th November Media Join Lee Benson & Andrew Sparke for a special afternoon of performance poetry to launch Anfrew’s new book “The Voluntary Donation Centre only Tel: 01902 716055 / or light-house.co.uk Mother Lode” David Bingham and John Woodall present their “Funny or Not?” is a mixture of comic and serious verse, Lee and Andrew are two members of New Street Authors written and performed by Sharon Ashton, Keith Chandler delightfully off the wall poetry following their triumphant and Paul Francis. The relationship between comic and debut at October’s Comedy Festival. serious will vary for each poet. They’re all members of TONY WALSH: AN EVENING WITH LONGFELLA Bridgnorth Writers’ Group, who will be bringing copies of WoLF POETRY SLAM 2018 SLADE ROOMS collections and pamphlets the group have produced. ARENA THEATRE Sunday 28th January - 7pm – 9pm Saturday 27th January at 7.30pm Tickets £10 MADE IN BILSTON Tickets £12 full price / £10 concessions from Area Theatre Longfella is the new professional name for “the towering BILSTON WRITERS & FRIENDS PERFORM POETRY only: 01902 321 321 or from www.wlv.ac.uk/arena- wildfire that is Tony Walsh” - “one of the UK’s most AND SHORT STORIES theatre/ renowned performance poets”. BILSTON LIBRARY (upstairs room), Standing out from the crowd at nearly two metres

Saturday 27th January 2018 at 11am – 12pm Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists present the 2nd tall, Longfella - Tony to his friends, is humbled when poetry reading Wolverhampton Original Literature Festival Poetry Slam. described as a “colossus” and a “true giant” of the Lee Benson & Andrew Sparke - Fake Twins Audience: For adults and older children Join your MCs, Steve Pottinger, Dave Pitt and Emma performance poetry scene whilst perfoming everywhere Light refreshments provided. Purshouse for a slam-tastic Lit Fest Saturday. from The British Library to The Glastonbury Festival. From Witness 15 poets battle it out in a live poetry competition schools, universities, prisons, conferences, festivals, LICHFIELD POETS: MYTHS & LEGENDS to become slam champion for 2018. Come along and museums and theatres to the magnificent Palace of WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY be bedazzled by bardic bravery, give your vote to a Science and Culture in Warsaw, Poland as a guest of valourous versifier, whoop for a wordsmith. Sat 27th January at 2pm – 2.4pm The British Council. Tony’s poetry has been published Who wins? The audience decides. on both sides of the Atlantic as well as displayed with Free Entry an LS Lowry image at both Tate Modern and The British Performing their own poetry on the theme of Myths and POETS AGAINST RACISM Museum as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund “Best of Legends. SLADE ROOMS British” exhibition. A multiple winner and finalist in top-level poetry slam competitions, Tony is the current Sunday 28th January - 12pm (WORKSHOP 120mins) Manchester Literature Festival Comedy Slam Champion WoLF COLLECTIVE: Sunday 28th January 2pm (PERFORMANCES+OPEN and was the runner-up in “The Times” UK Allstars Slam NINA LEWIS, LAURA LIPTROT, MAURICE MALCOLM, MIC 90mins) Final at Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2008. SOPHIE SPARHAM & ROSINA TROTMAN VOLUNTARY DONATION (TO CARE 4 CALAIS) Now a full-time freelance artist based in Manchester, WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY Tony has been working to engage and empower some of Saturday 27th January 3.30pm – 5pm With Ian Henery, Manjit Sahota, Maurice Malcolm and the Uk’s most deprived communities. Kurly McGeachie. Tony Walsh - An evening with Longfella SPECIALLY CURATED BILL FOR THE FESTIVAL, BY Poets against Racism are a collective of performing poets In May 2017, he came to wider attention for delivering his THE FESTIVAL from diverse backgrounds and community, who highlight poem “This Is the Place” to the crowds gathered in Albert From the pens of a diverse group of writers comes poetry, the concern about the rise in racism and the increase in Square in central Manchester on 23 May for the public prose and excerpts from novels. hate crime. vigil following the bomb attack at the Manchester Arena. Writers draw from life experiences to bring you tales from PAR welcome poets, spoken word and rappers to His performance was described as “the perfect symbol of around the world. perform under one banner to show the range of ages and the pride, passion and defiance of Manchester’s people. styles of poetry and to bring poetry to a wider audience. They have developed workshops for young people and ”The poem had been commissioned in 2013, by the OUR BEAUTIFUL SCARS WITH JANE SEABOURNE & children to help explore poetry writing, performing. charity Forever Manchester. He later read the poem at FRIENDS PAR support a number of national campaigns involved the One Love Manchester Concert, held in benefit of the LIGHT HOUSE MEDIA CENTRE in helping refugees, migrants and victims of racism and attack’s victims and their families. Saturday 27th January at 5pm – 6.30pm Islamophobic violence. Tickets £5 from Light House Media Centre only Tel: 01902 The event will comprise of a poetry workshop preceding a 716055 / or light-house.co.uk live event which will allow students (and non-students) the Women’s poetry from Wolverhampton. Jane Seabourne chance to perform alongside established poets. & friends (Marion Cockin, Ros Woolner & Kuli Kohli) present work about women’s lives featuring Jane’s latest collection, Our Beautiful Scars. Wolverhampton Literature Festival Wolverhampton Literature Festival 26 27 What’s on_

OPENED FOR SUBMISSIONS: WLF Poetry 03/11/2017 00.00 GMT CLOSES FOR SUBMISSIONS: 31/12/2017 23.59 GMT Competition This competition is open for submissions. Visit www.writeoutloud.net/competitions for rules and more info. 2018_ In association with Wolverhampton Literature Festival, Write Out Loud is proud to organise the WoLF Poetry Competition, open to poets across the globe. The theme for this year’s competition is ‘out of darkness...’. Poets may interpret this nod to the city’s famous motto ‘Out of darkness cometh light’ as literally or figuratively as they wish.

Prizes The following prizes will be awarded: First place: £400 Second place: £150 Third place: three prizes of £25 The prize-giving will take place as part of the WoLF festival over the weekend of 26-28 January, 2018.

Fees The fee to enter is £4. If multiple poems are entered in the same submission, £10 will be charged for three poems and then £3 for each subsequent poem. A note from Emma on judging the WoLF poetry competition Poem length As a Wolverhampton poet, I’m especially Poems must be no more than 40 lines in length. delighted to have been asked to judge the WoLF poetry competition. I’m looking forward Dates to reading all the entries, and I’m very excited Prize-giving 26-28 January 2018 to see how people will tackle the theme in a Results announced 20th January 2018. variety of ways. I’m hoping that people will Deadline for submissions: use traditional poetry forms and put their 31st December 2017 contemporary stamp onto them. What I’d like Open for submissions 3rd November 2017. Results will be announced on 20th January 2018. to find in a winning poem would be acutely Shortlisted poems may be published in a WoLF well observed detail, coherence, and an anthology. The winning poets will be invited to read original voice. I will be searching for those their poems at Wolverhampton Literature Festival over poems that engage with the reader, those the weekend of 26-28 January, 2018. poems that paeople will want to read Happy writing, and good luck! again and again. Wolverhampton Literature Festival 28 29 Venues:

Arena Theatre a: Wulfruna Street, WV1 1Sea t: 01902 321321

Bantock House and Cafe a: Finchfield Road, Wv3 9LQ t: 01902 552195

Lych Gate Tavern a: 44 Queen Square t: 01902 399516

Newhampton Arts Centre a: Dunkley Street t: 01902 572090

Slade Rooms a: Broad Street, WV1 1HP t: 01902 552055

Wolverhampton Art Gallery a: Lichfield Street, WV1 1DU t: 01902 552055

Wolverhampton University Lecture Theatre a: Wulfruna Street, WV1 1SE t: 01902 321321

Wolverhampton Libraries a: www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/article/2293/Find-a-library

Box Office: Unless otherwise stated, tickets can be bought from www.wolvesliteraturefestival. co.uk, Tel: 0870 320 7000 or call into Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, WV1 1DU

Information: To keep up to date with any programme amendments, please check our website www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk Enquiries: [email protected]

Design : Joshua Grice | Logo Design: Carlene Davis | Editors : Phil Turner & Charlotte Johns

Wolverhampton Literature Festival 30