BIRMINGHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL

4–14 October 2018 birminghamliteraturefestival.org Writers Books Ideas FESTIVAL Welcome to our HIGHLIGHTS 2018 October Festival

Roy McFarlane Antonia Beck This Is Not A Safe Space, an evening with ‘the Godfather of Alternative Comedy’ Alexei Sayle and new books from well-known writers Mohammed Hanif and John Boyne.

We also continue to mark 2018 as the year of women with events featuring leading women’s rights campaigner Helen Pankhurst, musician Viv Albertine and The Inking Woman – a celebration of 250 years of women cartoonists.

We hope you feel as excited by this programme Our October programme is packed with a wide as we are, and we look forward to seeing you in range of events celebrating words, books and National Poetry Day A. C. Grayling October. Page 6 Page 21 ideas in many forms. ANTONIA BECK, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR We continue to be ambitious and work to break new ground in terms of what a Literature Festival is and can be, and this programme is certainly Festival Preview: no exception. We are delighted to present 10 days of inspiring, thought-provoking and The Guilty Feminist entertaining events which not only showcase by Deborah great books and writers from the UK and abroad, Frances-White but also create space to bring people together for great conversation and ideas. Tuesday 4 September, 7.30pm, The Glee Club Tickets: £20 including a copy of the book As part of the planning for our October festival, Available at www.waterstones.com Sali Hughes AND it has been a joy to work with writer Sathnam Viv Albertine Sanghera who has curated some very special Join Deborah Frances-White, the creator of Page 13 Page 26 events with key writers from the West Midlands. the hit comedy podcast The Guilty Feminist These events are not to be missed, and I want to as she discusses her new funny, joyful, frank thank Sathnam for all his work on the festival. and inspiring book about embracing both feminism and our imperfections. Deborah With a programme including some of the most will be in conversation with exciting up and coming writers alongside well- Literature Festival Director, Antonia Beck established names it is difficult to mention only a few, but some highlights include a National Poetry Day event featuring poems written in response to the First World War by nine Caribbean diaspora poets, a discussion on iconic beauty products and perceptions of beauty with Sali Hughes and Lauren Laverne, A Raymond Night at the Cabaret Voltaire – a celebration of Antrobus ALEXEI SAYLE JoHN BOYNE all things Dada, poet Jackie Hagen’s hit show Deborah Frances-White Page 39 Page 39 Page 42

2 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 3 Sathnam Sanghera Welcome Caitlin moran and Sali Hughes from Sathnam Page 11 Sanghera “Caitlin Moran is one of Britain’s most successful authors and one of the world’s Our guest curator most influential feminist voices, but for me she is also one of Wolverhampton's finest The West Midlands tends to get forgotten in exports. I’m thrilled this Wulfrunian has discussions of regional literature. Maybe, agreed to be in conversation with one of my because it takes in parts of Shropshire, favourite journalists, the award-winning Sali Warwickshire, the Black Country and Hughes, in her home county.” Leicestershire, it can feel more formless than Scotland or The North or Wales or The South.

But having set two books – my memoir The Boy with the Topknot and my novel Marriage Material – in my home town of Nigel Slater Wolverhampton, I do think there is a certain and Ravinder Bhogal way of thinking and writing when you are Page 41 neither from the North or the South, and when “Nigel is best known for his work as a you live in an English urban, multicultural TV chef, but for me he is also one of our setting which is not London. most brilliant writers. His memoir, Toast, describes a very different Black Country Some of the greatest names in literary childhood to mine, but the book had a history, from Shakespeare to W.H. Auden profound effect on me and to have him at to JRR Tolkien, came from here. I couldn’t, the BLF is a total dream. He will be talking unfortunately, persuade these particular to my favourite chef Ravinder Bhogal, a writers to make this year’s Birmingham brilliant food writer in her own right.” Literature Festival, but I drew up a dream list of living authors with direct links to the region, emotionally blackmailed them individually, and am delighted that most agreed to come. Jonathan Coe In my experience too many literary festivals Page 43 happen in hot tents on the outskirts of bucolic villages, away from the business of work and “Jonathan Coe has, in my view, written at mainstream life. I hope the events which I least three of the best five books ever set in have curated re-connect the diverse population the Midlands, and it’s exciting we will get a of this dynamic, creative, urban region with world-exclusive preview of his latest novel, some of the writers who have been shaped and Middle , at this event. Set in the defined by it. Midlands and London over the last eight years, it shows he remains one of the most Let me know what you think! important voices in British Literature.” SATHNAM Twitter: @sathnam

4 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 5 Thursday Liz Berry UNWRITTEN: 4 October Caribbean Poems After the First World War National Poetry Day with Liz Berry, Roy McFarlane and Jane Commane 5.30pm – 7pm, Recital Hall, Jay Bernard Malika Booker Kat Francois Jay T. John Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) Roy McFarlane Happy National Poetry Day! Join us for a fantastic evening of poetry to mark this annual celebration that inspires people throughout the UK to enjoy, discover and share poems. Ishion Hutchinson Charnell Lucien Vladimir Lucien Tanya Shirley Karen McCarthy Woolf As part of our National Poetry Day celebrations, we are delighted to present three of the best 8pm – 9.30pm, Recital Hall, Unwritten invited contemporary Caribbean contemporary poets from across the West diaspora poets to write into that vexed space. Midlands – Liz Berry, Roy McFarlane and Jane Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Exploring the nature of war and humanity – as Commane – who will be reading poetry from Tickets: £15 (to include a free copy of the book) it exists now – and at a time when Britain’s their latest collections. What does it mean to fight for a ‘mother country’ colonial ambitions were still at a peak. that refuses to accept you as one of its own? We will also be announcing our new Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After the First World War is a result of that provocation. Birmingham Poet and Young Poet Laureates Britain’s First World War poets changed the way 2018 – 2020. we view military conflict and had a deep impact Joining us this evening to share their poetry Jane Commane on the national psyche. Yet the stories of the Come and be part of our 2018 National Poetry from this new collection are Jay Bernard, 15,600 Caribbean volunteers who signed up to Day celebrations and enjoy an evening of inspiring Malika Booker, Kat Francois, Jay T. John, the British West Indian Regiment remain largely and thought-provoking poetry, from some of Ishion Hutchinson, Charnell Lucien, Vladimir unknown. Sadly, these citizens of the empire were the most exciting established and emerging Lucien and Tanya Shirley. The event will be not embraced as compatriots on an equal footing. contemporary poets from across the region. hosted by Karen McCarthy Woolf. Instead they faced prejudice, injustice and This event will be hosted by Jonathan Davidson. discrimination while being confined to menial and Unwritten Poems is co-commissioned by BBC auxiliary work, regardless of rank or status. – Contains Strong Language, 14-18 NOW – #NationalPoetryDay WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, and the Co-commissioned by BBC – Contains Strong . Language, 14-18 NOW – WW1 Centenary Art Commissions and the British Council,

6 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 7 Friday How to Be an The New 5 October Urban Birder: Nature Writing a tour with David Lindo with David Lindo and C.D. Rose Matt Merritt 4pm – 5.30pm, Cannon Hill Park (meet at the park Kate Bradbury Khavita Bhanot entrance to Midlands Arts Centre) 6.30pm – 7.30pm, The Pavilion, Martineau Gardens Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Jendella Benson How to Be an Urban Birder is the world’s Nature writing is now one of the fastest growing first guide to the art of urban birding. David genres, spanning poetry, fiction, non-fiction Lindo is passionate about encouraging a new and journalism. New generations of nature generation of urban birders – and reigniting writers are becoming chart topping best- the passion in older ones too! sellers and we are no longer just reading about Malachi McIntosh Sharon Duggal quintessential rural life and dancing with the Taking place in Cannon Hill Park, naturalist, daffodils. Self-reflective, urban, challenging writer, broadcaster and photographer David and thought-provoking, nature writing is Lindo will guide you through this urban park. The Book of providing an opportunity to not only reconnect As part of the walk, David will offer tips and with the natural world, but also ourselves. Birmingham advice on how to attract birds to your garden, Join nature writers David Lindo and Kate launch event how to identify them, and what gear you Bradbury as they discuss their latest books and need for the average urbanite to become an 6pm – 7pm, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire finding inspiration in urban settings. Hosted by accomplished urban birder. Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) workshop: Matt Merritt. David’s book also includes a brief history of Birmingham is a writer’s city with a long Connecting with urban birding in the UK and covers the best David Lindo tradition of distinctive literary subcultures. Long-established novelists such as David with places to look for birds in towns and cities. Nature Matt Lodge and Jim Crace have spent most of their Merritt Please note that this event is a walking tour writing lives here, and the city continues to 1pm – 3pm, Martineau Gardens and will take place no matter the weather. support and inspire new generations of voices. Please dress appropriately, wear sturdy shoes Tickets: £20 / £16 (concs) Bringing together fiction from some of the or boots and feel free to bring binoculars. Led by local writer and editor of Bird Watching city’s most talented writers, both established magazine Matt Merritt, this workshop will and new, The Book of Birmingham showcases provide you with time and space to explore and celebrates original and unusual writing as a way to understand, appreciate and writing, which captures various aspects and connect with wildlife and nature. Kate Bradbury experiences of the city.

Taking place in the beautiful surroundings of Hosted by editor Kavita Bhanot, this launch event Martineau Gardens, this workshop is open to will include readings from a fantastic line-up of all types of writers – journalists, poets, non- Birmingham writers including C.D. Rose, Sharon fiction, fiction and short stories. Duggal, Malachi McIntosh and Jendella Benson.

Please note that this workshop will take place Sponsored by the Greater Birmingham outside weather permitting. Please dress for Chambers of Commerce. the weather and you are welcome to bring blankets or mats to sit on.

8 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 9 BBC Radio 4’s show Any Questions? will Join Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes – two of Friday be broadcasting live from the Birmingham Caitlin Moran the UK’s most read and most outspoken writers Literature Festival. Join host Jonathan and journalists (who also happen to be very 5 October Dimbleby and a panel of personalities from and Sali Hughes good friends!) – as they discuss books, their the worlds of politics, media and elsewhere to 8pm – 9pm, Bradshaw Hall, careers and some of the things which matter discuss the topical and political events of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire most in today’s society. BBC Radio 4 week, with questions from the audience. Tickets: £15 / £12 (concs) Caitlin Moran is the eldest of eight children, Any Questions? First broadcast on 12 October 1948, Any home-educated on a council estate in has been broadcast weekly 7pm – 9pm (arrival 6.30pm for 7pm start) Questions? Wolverhampton, and raised to believe that if ever since and current chairman Jonathan she were very good, and worked very hard, she The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Dimbleby has been in the role since 1987. might one day evolve into Bill Murray. Free event, booking required The full line-up will be confirmed on the day. Caitlin published a children’s novel The Audience members will be asked to submit Chronicles of Narmo at the age of 16, and questions they wish to ask upon arrival. The became a columnist at The Times at 18. She recording will be live from 8pm till 9pm, but has gone on to be named Columnist of the Year the audience must be in their seats by 7pm. six times. At one point, she was also Interviewer The audience will not be permitted to leave or and Critic of the Year. Her multi-award-winning re-enter in that time. bestseller How to Be a Woman has been published in 28 countries and won the British Please make sure you are able to attend the Book Awards’ Book of the Year 2011. full event as tickets will be in high demand. Caitlin’s two volumes of collected journalism Age guidance: 14+ Moranthology and Moranifesto were Sunday Times bestsellers, and her novel How to Build Jonathan Dimbleby a Girl debuted at number one, and will be released as a movie in 2019. She co-wrote two series of the Rose d’Or-winning sitcom Raised by Wolves, based on her Caitlin Moran childhood with her sister, Caroline.

Sali Hughes is a resident columnist at The Pool and a regular contributing features writer, columnist and interviewer for numerous publications and broadcasters including Vogue, The Telegraph, , , and BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, where she is known for her opinionated, witty style. In 2011, she launched her own beauty column in The Guardian Weekend Magazine. She is the author of two non-fiction books:Pretty Honest: The Straight Talking Beauty Companion (2014) and Pretty Iconic: A Personal Look at the Beauty Products that Changed the World (2016).

This event will be introduced by

Sali Hughes Sathnam Sanghera.

10 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 11 Saturday Irenosen Okojie 6 October FESTIVAL MEETUP 10am – 12noon, Mezzanine, Birmingham REP Tickets: £3 Writers, readers and festival goers – come along to the first of our 2018 Festival Meetups! A great opportunity to meet and connect with local and regional writers, readers and other festival attendees over coffee, tea and a pastry.

Come and meet some new people, and share and discuss your ideas and enthusiasms. Sali Hughes Lauren Laverne As part of this event, we will also be showcasing performances from some of Join multi award-winning broadcaster, writer Writing West Midlands’ Room 204 writers. Pretty Iconic and journalist Lauren Laverne as she talks to with Sali Hughes and writer and journalist Sali Hughes about beauty, Ticket price includes a hot drink and breakfast journalism and Sali’s latest book Pretty Iconic. pastry. Lauren Laverne 12.30pm – 1.30pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Packed full of beauty wisdom, Pretty Iconic takes us from the evocative smell of Johnson’s workshop: Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) baby lotion through to Simple face wipes, Short story writing NARS Orgasm and beyond, looking at the with Irenosen Okojie formative role beauty plays in our lives.

10am – 12noon, Birmingham & Midlands Institute Considering which much-hyped beauty buys Tickets: £20 / £16 (concs) are worth the buzz, and who they might be best Led by award-winning author Irenosen Okojie, suited for, Sali Hughes uses her witty, inclusive this workshop will explore the art and magic and discerning style to look at some of the most of short story writing. significant products in beauty – from treasured classics such as Chanel No 5, to life-changers Suitable for both new and experienced such as Babyliss Big Hair, and the more recent writers, you will look at the fundamentals of a releases from Charlotte Tilbury, Sunday Riley successful short story, exploring elements of and others that are shaping the beauty industry the form and how to structure a short story for today. Delving into the products that are simply maximum impact on the reader. the best at what they do, the inventions that changed our perception of beauty and the launches that completely broke the mould, Pretty Iconic is a treasure trove of knowledge from Britain’s most trusted beauty writer.

12 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 13 Saturday Changing One-to-one And Other 6 October the Landscape fiction Stories 2018 4.30pm – 5.30pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP surgeries Showcase Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Spectacular with And Other Stories 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Birmingham & Midland Institute short fiction Irenosen Okojie Diana Evans 12noon, 12.35pm, 1.10pm, 1.45pm, 2.20pm Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Birmingham & Midland Institute Based in Sheffield, And Other Stories publish with Sarah Moss, Tickets: £30 / £24 (concs) some of the best in contemporary writing, Megan Hunter including many translations. They aim to push and Jen Campbell An opportunity for fiction writers at any stage people’s reading limits and help readers discover of their careers to book a bespoke one-to-one authors of adventurous and inspiring writing. 2.30pm – 3.30pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP surgery with an award-winning editor from the Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) publisher And Other Stories. In 2018, And Other Stories made the decision to make this year their year of publishing Sarah Moss, Megan Hunter and Jen Campbell As part of the surgeries, publisher Stefan women. This was inspired by a provocation are three of the UK’s most exciting writers. Tobler and fiction editor Anna Glendenning will written in 2015 by author and winner of the Their latest books Ghost Wall (Sarah Moss), spend time discussing any aspect of your work 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction, Kamila The End We Start From (Megan Hunter) and – be it the text itself, the driving ideas behind Shamsie. Kamila’s provocation challenged The Beginning of the World in the Middle of it or how to research agents and publishers, Jennifer the publishing industry to only publish women the Night (Jen Campbell) have been described Yvvette Edwards Nansubuga Makumbi and point you to networks, resources and in 2018 as a way to address the gender as powerful, unnerving and beautifully written. opportunities. imbalance in literature. And Other Stories were Their books have also been celebrated for One of the country’s brightest new talents the only publisher to take up the challenge. taking readers beyond what’s expected through Irenosen Okojie invites you to join this There are 10 surgeries available – 5 with their use of experimental writing and the short conversation with celebrated and award- Stefan and 5 with Anna. Each surgery will This event will showcase some of the fantastic fiction form. winning writers Diana Evans (Ordinary People), last 30 minutes and you will need to bring an UK and international writers published by Yvvette Edwards (The Mother) and debut opening page with you on the day. You will also And Other Stories in 2018, including British- We are delighted to bring these writers novelist Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Kintu). be asked to pitch your novel in 30 seconds. Canadian author Kathy Page, Chilean writer together to discuss their latest books and how Four British writers with stories to tell; of their Alia Trabucco Zerán and translator Sophie they have crafted gripping and haunting short British upbringing as well as their Nigerian, Hughes and winner of the 2018 Northern Book novels and stories that leave their readers Ugandan and Montserratian heritage. Prize Amy Arnold. wanting more. Our panel will be reading from their latest Amy Arnold Kathy Page Alia Trabucco Zerán Sophie Hughes This event will be chaired by Ceri Morgan, books, and also discussing the lack of Senior Lecturer at Keele University. diversity in the publishing industry and their experiences as female writers of colour impacting Britain’s literary landscape.

This event will be introduced by Dr. Helen Cousins, Reader in Postcolonial Literature at Newman University.

Sponsored by Newman University.

14 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 15 Saturday Sunday Hometown To create our Ursonate chorus, we would like 6 October to invite 25 members of the public (age 16+) to 7 October Tales take part in this event. This opportunity is open with Maria Whatton, to anyone interested in performing, no previous Kerry Young and experience required. For more information please The Call of email [email protected] Carolyn Sanderson the Wild 2pm – 3pm, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Abi Andrews Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) and Alys Fowler 12noon – 1pm, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Where would we be without a little adventure?

Join debut novelist Abi Andrews and award- winning writer and gardener Alys Fowler, as they discuss the life-changing impact of travelling across lesser and greater spaces.

From the Midlands to Alaska, their tales of local and international adventure showcase Hometown Tales is a new series of books pairing Da their sense of wonder for the natural world and up and coming new writers with some of the most A Night at the Da Da a fierce love for preserving it. talented and important writers at work today. Da Cabaret Voltaire Combining travelogue, memoir, and exquisite With 8 books covering Glasgow, the Midlands, Let’s Dada! nature writing, their beautifully written fiction Yorkshire, Highlands & Hebrides, Wales, and non-fiction stories chart honest, physical Birmingham, Lancashire and the South Coast, The evening will also feature other pop-up Dada 8pm – 10pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham Rep and emotional journeys that sometimes only Hometown Tales is the first initiative of its kind performances and activities. Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) come about when you embark into uncharted to focus on regional diversity. territory and answer the call of the wild. Fumms bö wö tää zää Uu, pögiff, kwii Ee … Leave all things serious at the door, put a Showcasing a range of fiction and non-fiction lampshade on your head and let’s Dada! Abi Andrews Alys Fowler Join us for a night of disruptive and provocative stories, the Hometown Tales series feature poetry, performance & music, celebrating all Optional dress code: 1920s surrealist powerful, fascinating and moving stories, things Dada! spectacular celebrating regional voices and exploring the meaning of the places we call home Showcasing the absurd and anarchic, this We are delighted to present this event in soirée will feature just some of the varied collaboration with Birmingham Contemporary We are delighted to welcome local and regional wonders and eccentricities of the Dada and Music Group. writers Maria Whatton, Kerry Young and Carolyn Merz movements. Sanderson who will be reading and discussing Sponsored by Coventry University their stories which feature in Hometown Tales: Our evening will include a special performance Birmingham and Hometown Tales: Midlands. of Kurt Schwitters’ iconic poem Ursonate performed by composer and sound poet Tomomi This event will be chaired by lecturer and author Adachi and a chorus of local performers, led Anna Lawrence Petroni. by Stephan Meier (Artistic Director of BCMG).

16 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 17 Wendy Mitchell COAT is the honest and emotional story of Sunday Coat Junior. Born in Nigeria, he leaves at the age of by Yomi Sode 9 and heads to London, leaving behind a life 7 October that he loved and was settled in. 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) During the performance, we meet Junior at Somebody I various points in his life, trying to find his way “I don’t know my grandparents’ names, whilst treading the line between what he knows Used to Know how embarrassing is that? But I can name as a Nigerian and what he is learning in Britain, all of Kanye’s albums.” by Wendy Mitchell each experience with its own life lesson. written with Picture this – Nigeria: A grandmother passes. This hit show from writer and performer AnnA Wharton London: a son cooks a pot of stew for his Yomi Sode tackles immigration, identity and mother hoping to uncover hidden stories and displacement. The story of of how the mistakes 4pm – 5pm, Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire unanswered questions. of an elder generation can impact on the Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) younger one today, COAT will move you to tears “Home is no stranger, you are an African man of both sadness and laughter. What do you lose when you lose your and you have responsibilities as the eldest memories? What do you value when this loss grandchild.” Age guidance: 14+ reframes how you’ve lived, and how you will live in the future? How do you conceive of love Written and performed by Yomi Sode when you can no longer recognise those who Directed by Thierry Lawson are supposed to mean the most to you? Supported by Arts Council England Anna Wharton Commissioned by Apples and Snakes Diagnosed with dementia at 58, Wendy

Mitchell was suddenly confronted with the Yomi Sode most profound questions about life and identity, but was determined not to be beaten. As Wendy learned to embrace her new life, she began to see her condition as a chance to experience the world with fresh eyes and to find her own way to make a difference.

In this ground-breaking book – the first memoir ever written by someone living with dementia – Wendy shares the story of her cognitive decline and how she has fought to stave it off.

Written with journalist Anna Wharton, Somebody I Used to Know offers a powerful rumination on memory, perception, and the simple pleasure of living in the moment. Philosophical, poetic, intensely personal and ultimately hopeful, this moving memoir is both a tribute to the woman Wendy used to be and a brave affirmation of the woman she has become.

18 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 19 Monday WITH THE END 8 October IN MIND:

{ Dying, Death and Democracy Wisdom in an Age of Denial SCHOOL OF ENGLISH and its Crisis 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP If you’re ambitious and creative and with A. C. Grayling Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) looking to join a vibrant community 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP of learners, then choose to study Death. Often considered to be morbid, with us. We pride ourselves on Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) ghoulish and unmentionable, but does it have to be that way? world-class teaching and research. ‘No constitutional system should allow a Visit www.bcu.ac.uk/english to partisan group to hijack the interests of the Written by Palliative Care Specialist Kathyrn fi nd out how you can join us. whole: this is happening in the UK and the Mannix, With the End in Mind is an exploration US as these words are being written… It is of the biggest taboo in our society and the only OPEN DAYS 29 SEPT AND 20 OCT therefore a matter of urgency to return our certainty we all share. After 30 years working advanced polities to their democratic roots.’ in end of life care, Kathryn is on a mission. She BCU OPEN DAYS A.C. Grayling feels passionately that it’s time to reclaim public understanding of dying and to better understand

{ Prompted by the EU referendum in the UK what the process is. It’s time to recognise that and the presidential election in the USA, A.C. despite the advances of medicine, none of us Grayling investigates why the institutions of are immortal and that dying well is a real and representative democracy seem unable to important possibility for which we can plan. hold up against forces they were designed to Literature Festival advert 127x93mm.indd 1 27/06/2018 11:25 manage, and why, crucially, it matters. Told through a series of powerful stories taken from Kathryn’s clinical practice and interwoven Join Professor A.C. Grayling – one of the with her own professional experience, this country’s most esteemed philosophers and extraordinary book sends a vital message to the Aged 8-17? public intellectuals – as he discusses some of CELEBRATE THE BICENTENNIAL OF living and answers the most urgent, intimate Learn new creative writing skills, be the most important issues of our time. MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN inspired and develop confidence at the and fascinating questions about the end-of-life with Birmingham City University’s Spark Young Writers groups. A. C. Grayling process with touching honesty and humility School of English Find out more via the Young Writers’ Joining Kathyrn for this life affirming conversation will be Palliative Medicine Consultant Dr. Anna Visual arts, original writing, short tab at writingwestmidlands.org. fi lms and fashion inspired by Booking essential. Lock and funeral director Carrie Weekes from A Frankenstein will be held throughout Natural Undertaking. They will be discussing why September and October at Birmingham we need to talk more about death and how this City University’s Parkside Gallery, the will positively impact our lives. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Library of Birmingham.

For details of the events please visit our website: WWW.BCU.AC.UK/ENGLISH

Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 21 Tuesday 9 October

School of Humanities Deeds Helen Pankhurst The School of Humanities at the University of not Words Wolverhampton offers a broad range of by challenging undergraduate and postgraduate Helen Pankhurst degrees in a range of disciplines. 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP The literatures, cultures and dialects of the Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Black Country and West Midlands are studied On the 100th anniversary of women getting the on our English Literature, English Language, vote, Helen Pankhurst – great-granddaughter and English Language and Linguistics of suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst and programmes, and at MA and PhD level. a leading women’s rights campaigner – charts Our Religious Studies and Philosophy teams offer how women’s lives have changed over the last students the opportunity to develop an understanding century and offers a powerful and positive of the deeper issues informing life in the West Midlands. argument for a new way forward.

However despite huge progress since the Apply at: wlv.ac.uk/humanities suffragette campaigns and wave after wave of Queries: [email protected] feminism, the reality is that women are still fighting for equality.

Why, at the present rate, will we have to wait in Britain until 2069 for the gender pay gap to disappear? Why, in 2015, did 11% of women lose their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination? Why, globally, has 1 in ENGLISH & 3 women experienced physical or sexual CREATIVE WRITING violence? Combining historical insight with inspiring argument, Deeds not Words reveals how far • Varied and interesting modules, women have come since the suffragettes, including the study of literature, how far we still have to go, and how we might language, creative writing, and get there. film Sponsored by the . • Excellent support from lecturers who are experts in their field

• Strong links with high-quality local arts organisations

• A close-knit community of students and staff 22 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 23 Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes And Other Stories 2018 Tuesday Friday Book launch - Once Upon Festival 8pm – 9pm, Bradshaw Hall, Royal Showcase 9 October 12 October A Time In Birmingham: Birmingham Conservatoire 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Birmingham & Midland Women Who Dared To Dream planner page 11 Institute Deeds not Words by Workshop: Crafting Gothic 2pm- 3pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP page 15 Helen Pankhurst Stories with Andrew page 36 Saturday 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Michael Hurley Thursday 6 October A Night at the Cabaret Voltaire page 23 10am – 12noon, Birmingham & Midland Poetry for Peace with 8pm – 10pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Institute Menna Elfyn, Pascale Petit 4 October and Ian Duhig Festival Meetup page 16 To Throw Away Unopened by page 30 National Poetry Day with Liz 10am – 12noon, Mezzanine, Birmingham REP Viv Albertine 4pm – 5pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Berry, Roy McFarlane and page 12 Sunday 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Workshop: Graphic Novels page 37 Jane Commane 7 October page 26 and Cartoons with Dr Nicola 5.30pm – 7pm, Recital Hall, Royal Workshop: Short story writing Streeten and Cath Tate The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus Birmingham Conservatoire with Irenosen Okojie The Call of the Wild with WEDNESDAY 6pm – 8pm, Ikon Gallery Abi Andrews and Alys Fowler 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP page 6 10am – 12noon, Birmingham & 10 October page 30 Midland Institute 12noon – 1pm, Recital Hall, Royal page 39 Unwritten: Caribbean Poems Birmingham Conservatoire Festival Meetup Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif page 12 An evening with Alexei Sayle After the First World War page 17 5pm – 7pm, Foyer, The STUDIO, 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP One-to-one fiction surgeries Birmingham REP page 31 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP 8pm – 9.30pm, Recital Hall, Royal page 39 Birmingham Conservatoire, with And Other Stories Hometown Tales with Maria page 27 Whatton, Kerry Young and page 7 12noon, 12.35pm, 1.10pm, 1.45pm, This Is Not A Safe Space by Carolyn Sanderson SUNday 2.20pm, Birmingham & Midland Institute Jackie Hagan 14 October Friday page 15 2pm – 3pm, Recital Hall, Royal 8pm – 8.55pm, The STUDIO, 5 October Birmingham Conservatoire Birmingham REP Masterclass: Writing a Novel Pretty Iconic with Sali Hughes page 17 Page 33 with Richard Skinner Workshop: Connecting with and Lauren Laverne 11.15am – 12.15pm, The STUDIO, Somebody I Used to Know by Nature with Matt Merritt 12.30pm – 1.30pm, The STUDIO, SATURday Birmingham REP 1pm – 3pm, Martineau Gardens Birmingham REP Wendy Mitchell written with Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson 13 October Anna Wharton page 40 page 8 page 13 MixTape with Nick Makoha 4pm – 5pm, Recital Hall, Royal and Roger Robinson Workshop: Writing History with Behold, America - A History How to Be an Urban Birder: Spectacular short fiction with Birmingham Conservatoire 7.30pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Kai Aareleid of America First and the a tour with David Lindo Sarah Moss, Megan Hunter page 18 page 27 10am – 12noon, Birmingham & American Dream 4pm – 5.30pm, Cannon Hill Park (meet at and Jen Campbell Midland Institute 1pm – 2pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Coat by Yomi Sode the park entrance to Midlands Arts Centre) 2.30pm – 3.30pm, The STUDIO, Thursday page 34 page 40 page 8 Birmingham REP 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP 11 October page 14 page 19 Young Writers’ workshop: Once Nigel Slater and Ravinder The Book of Birmingham Waterways with Jasper Winn Upon a Time In Birmingham: Bhogal Launch Event Changing the Landscape Monday and Nancy Campbell Women Who Dared To Dream 3.30pm – 4.30pm, Bradshaw Hall, 6pm – 7pm, Recital Hall, Royal 4.30pm – 5.30pm, The STUDIO, 8 October 11am – 12noon, Ikon Slow Boat 10am – 12noon, Suite 3, Birmingham REP Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Birmingham Conservatoire Birmingham REP page 28 page 34 page 41 Democracy and its Crisis with Page 9 page 14 A. C. Grayling Gothic Stories: Frankenstein The Inking Woman A Ladder to the Sky by The New Nature Writing with Irenosen Okojie 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP and beyond 12noon – 1pm, Ikon Gallery John Boyne David Lindo and Kate Bradbury page 21 6pm – 7pm, Birmingham & Midland Institute page 35 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP 6.30pm – 7.30pm, The Pavilion, page 29 page 42 With the End in Mind by Martineau Gardens Writing session: Kathryn Mannix Who Are We Now? page 9 Shivers: Stories from the Middle England by 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Book of Darkness & Light 1pm – 3pm, Birmingham & Midland Jonathan Coe BBC Radio 4, Any Questions? page 21 8pm – 9.15pm, The STUDIO, Institute 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP 7pm – 9pm (arrival 6.30pm for 7pm Birmingham REP page 35 page 43 start), The STUDIO, Birmingham REP page 29 page 10

24 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 25 Tuesday WEDNESDAY MixTape 9 October 10 October with Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson Every memoir is a battle between reality and To Throw Away invention – but in her follow up to Clothes, Festival Music, Boys, Viv Albertine has reinvented the Unopened genre with her unflinching honesty. Meetup by Viv Albertine 5pm – 7pm, Foyer, the STUDIO, Birmingham REP To Throw Away Unopened is a fearless Tickets: £3 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP dissection of one woman’s obsession with Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) the truth – the truth about family, power, and Come along to our second Festival Meetup her identity as a rebel and outsider. It is a and connect with local and regional writers, Viv Albertine brutal exposé of human dysfunctionality, the readers and other festival attendees. impossibility of true intimacy, and the damage wrought upon us by secrets and revelations, An opportunity to meet some new people, Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson siblings and parents. talk about events you have attended at the festival and share and discuss your ideas and 7.30pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Yet it is also a testament to how we can rebuild enthusiasms. Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) ourselves and come to face the world again. It Dub poetry stars Roger Robinson & Nick is a portrait of the love stories that constitute a As part of this event, we will also be Makoha present Mixtape – a unique evening of life, often bringing as much pain as joy. showcasing performances from some of Writing West Midlands’ Room 204 writers. poetry and music mosaics. With the inimitable blend of humour, Ticket price includes one drink. With enduring friendship at its centre, hear vulnerability, and intelligence that makes Viv poems which leap back and forth in time, Albertine one of our finest authors working giving voice to the universal struggle to today, To Throw Away Unopened smashes carve out personal and political identities. through layers of propriety and leads us into a Poems about music, poems about love, new place of savage self-discovery. poems of protest and of exile, monologues Songwriter and musician Viv Albertine was the and duet poems … all tied together through guitarist in cult, female, post punk band The an unforgettable soundtrack of songs, from Slits. She has gone on to work as a TV and film Afrobeats to hip-hop, from reggae to soul. director. In 2014, she published her first book, Through a heartfelt, humorous and honest the memoir which charts Clothes, Music, Boys exploration of two individual lives, Mixtape her role as a woman in a male-dominated music will inspire audiences to compile the definitive scene. It was a Book of the Year in The Sunday track list of their own experiences. Times, Mojo, Rough Trade and the NME and was shortlisted for the National Book Awards. This event will also include performances from local poets Casey Bailey and Jasmine Gardosi. Viv will be in conversation with writer and broadcaster Rachel New. ‘Mixtape is a sonic CV … the closest thing to understanding how we put words together’ Sponsored by Dains Accountants. Roger Robinson and Nick Makoha

Produced by Speaking Volumes, funded by Arts Council England

26 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 27 Join Canal & River Trust Writer in Residence Thursday Jasper Winn and Canal Laureate Nancy Gothic Stories Campbell on-board Ikon’s Slow Boat as they Frankenstein and 11 October share their work inspired by canals and discuss beyond their passion for Britain’s waterways. 6pm – 7pm, Birmingham & Midland Institute, Waterways Writer and slow adventurer Jasper Winn spent Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) a year exploring Britain’s waterways on foot and with Jasper Winn by bike, in a kayak and on narrowboats. His new From wild and remote landscapes, to and Nancy Campbell book Water Ways documents his journey along a dilapidated buildings, howling winds, vulnerable heroines and supernatural happenings, Gothic Thursday 11 October, 11 – 12pm, Ikon Slow Boat, thousand miles of ‘wet roads and water streets’ as he discovered a world of wildlife corridors, fiction has intrigued and unsettled readers for Brewmaster Bridge, near the National Sealife Centre underground adventures, the hardware of more than two centuries. Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) heritage and history, new boating communities, To mark the 200th anniversary of Mary endurance kayak races and remote towpaths. He Shelley’s Frankenstein (a ground breaking shared journeys with some of the last working novel that fused gothic, horror and science boat people and met the anglers, walkers, fiction), we are delighted to bring together a boaters, activists, volunteers and eccentrics who panel of experts to discuss our fascination with have made the waterways their home. The Book of Darkness & Light Gothic stories. Nancy Campbell is a poet, art critic and writer Our panel will include academic researcher of narrative non-fiction. Her books include Shivers: Franziska Kohlt and contemporary Gothic Disko Bay (shortlisted for the Forward Prize for and Horror writers Andrew Michael Hurley Stories from the Book Best First Collection 2016) and How To Say ‘I (The Loney and Devil’s Day) and Jess Kidd of Darkness & Light Love You’ In Greenlandic (winner of the Birgit (The Hoarder) who will also discuss and read Skiöld Award). Her memoir of travels in the polar 8pm – 9.15pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP from their latest books. north, The Library of Ice, will be published by Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) ScribnerUK on 1 November. Nancy is also the This event will be chaired by Dr Serena current Canal Laureate, a project setup between Three chilling tales. Two ghostly performers. Trowbridge, School of English, Birmingham One thrilling night. The Poetry Society and the Canal & River Trust. City University. This event with be chaired by poet and former Join the Storyteller and the Musician for Canal Laureate Jo Bell. an evening of spine-tingling tales set to the haunting sounds of the violin. Organised in partnership with Ikon Gallery Carried all over the land the mysterious Book of Darkness & Light contains within it For 150 years canals were the high-tech water some of the most chilling tales ever told. As machine driving the industrial revolution. the haunting sounds of the violin fill the air, Amazing feats of engineering, they carried something stirs from the pages. the rural into the city and the urban into the countryside and changed the lives of You feel a prickle on your neck, your blood everyone. And then, just when their purpose stills, you see monstrous things creep in the was extinguished by modern transport, they shadows. Is it all in your mind? Just tricks of were saved from extinction and repurposed the light? One thing is for certain: these stories as a ‘slow highways’ network, a peaceful and will give you shivers. countrywide haven from our too-busy age. Today, there are more boats on the canals than Age guidelines: 14+ in their Victorian heyday. Jasper Winn Nancy Campbell Andrew Michael Hurley Jess Kidd

28 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 29 Friday Nicola Streeten Cath Tate Red Birds 12 October by Mohammed Hanif 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Workshop: Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Dubbed ‘Pakistan’s brightest voice’, CRAFTING bestselling prize-winning author Mohammed Hannif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes and GOTHIC STORIES Our Lady of Alice Bhatti), discusses his highly with Andrew anticipated new book Red Birds – a powerful Michael Hurley novel about war, family and love. An American pilot crash lands in the desert 10am – 12noon, Birmingham & Midlands Institute, and takes refuge in the very camp he was Tickets: £20 / £16 (concs) supposed to bomb. Hallucinating palm trees Led by award winning author Andrew Michael and worrying about dehydrating to death isn’t Hurley, this workshop will introduce and guide what Major Ellie expected from this mission. you through the art of writing thrilling and Workshop: Still, it’s an improvement on the constant spine-tingling stories. Explore how to develop squabbles with his wife back home. chilling characters, create realistic conflict Graphic Novels and tension, and find the trepidation within In the camp, teenager Momo’s moneymaking the most mundane aspects of the everyday. schemes are failing. His brother left for his and Cartoons first day at work and never returned, his Andrew Michael Hurley won the Costa First with Dr Nicola Streeten parents are at each other’s throats, his dog is Novel Award with his atmospheric evocation and Cath Tate having a very bad day, and an aid worker has of horror in The Loney. His second novel shown up wanting to research him for her book Devil’s Day is a masterful tale of the lengths 6pm – 8pm, Ikon Gallery on the Teenage Muslim Mind. a community will go to hang onto the old Tickets: £20 / £16 (concs) rituals and stories that hold them together, in Written with his trademark wit and deadpan Do you have an idea but can’t draw? Have you irony, Red Birds is a moving, irreverent satire a modern world where we need monsters and already made a start on your graphic novel? devils in order to measure our own goodness. telling important truths about the absurdity of Or are you keen to present your humour in a war and the impossibility of peace. cartoon form? Join award-winning graphic “Andrew Michael Hurley is adept at making memoirist Dr Nicola Streeten and Cath Tate Mohammed will be in conversation with award- his readers’ spines tingle” The Times, of Cath Tate Cards, who will introduce you to Books of the Year winning journalist, writer and critic Anita Sethi. some approaches to the graphic novel and the cartoon, referencing their own work and others. The workshop will include some fun practical drawing exercises, so please bring something to draw with and on. This entertaining workshop is open to everyone. No experience or prior knowledge of graphic novels, cartoons or drawing is required to participate.

Organised in partnership with Ikon Gallery.

Mohammed Hanif

30 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 31 Friday 12 October

Encouraging reading and Presenting Young people take the reins creative writing at the Birmingham Literature Festival and ask writers For young people aged 12 – 19 questions they’ve always wanted to ask. They will receive training and show their skills Throughout the Festival, we will be showcasing and knowledge of the books. work by young people as part of the EU’s READ On project. READ On is an exciting project designed to increase young people’s involvement with reading and creative writing. It is funded by Creative Europe and Writing West Midlands is working with 6 other partners in Europe.

Jackie Hagan

Passports This Is Not A Safe Space Following on from a discussion by Jackie Hagan about integration with pupils in a local school, you can join in 8pm – 8.55pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP the complicated weirdness of being human. the conversation and hear the Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) Jackie weaves these narratives together with authors discussing issues of poetry and anecdotes, celebrating the weird, Benefit cuts are hitting disabled people the integration. the wonky, the unruly, and the resilient. hardest. Half of people in poverty are disabled or live with a disabled person. The future looks Expect audience interaction, DIY puppetry, grim, so how can we get people to sit up, listen poetic comedy, comedic poetry, and one and care and not keel over with empathy-fatigue? underclass amputee steering the show.

Award-winning poet and theatre maker Jackie Age guidance: 14+ Hagan’s way has been to make a new solo This performance will be BSL interpreted. show that features the real voices of proper skint disabled people she knows. Jackie has Commissioned and supported by Unlimited, conducted interviews with people from all over celebrating the work of disabled artists, with the country living on the fringes and the spaces funding from Arts Council England. Supported in between. These are not sob stories – they are with funding from BlueSCI Wellbeing, Contact well rounded lives full of the spiky humour and and Full Circle Arts. Produced by Big Feast.

32 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 33 THE INKING WOMAN ‘Like so much art, women have taken a back seat. Now they are at the forefront and THE I am SO proud!’ Sandi Toksvig Writing session: SATURday INKING This ground-breaking collection celebrates the work and talent of over 150 women cartoonists and comic artists in Britain, from the eighteenth century to the present day. WOMAN Caricatures • Jokes Editorial & Strip Cartoons 250 years of Women Comics 13 October Witty, insightful and defiant, with eyes firmly Cartoon and Comic Artists Who are we focused on the world around them, these women cartoonists are gathered together for in Britain the first time. From Mary Darly in the 1760s and Annie Harriet Fish in the First World War, to today’s new generation of cartoonists, they are here to be discovered, rediscovered, and, above all, to be enjoyed. Prints • Postcards Nicola Streeten & Cath Tate Zines • Graphic Novels Web Comics now? This glorious collection of images not only salutes the women artists who made them but reclaims the archive for posterity and stakes Workshop: its rightful place in art history. Life-writing post-

Comics / Women / Historical UK £19.99 US $24.95 Nicola Streeten & Cath Tate Writing History www.myriadeditions.com Brexit and beyond with Kai Aareleid The with Dr Katy Massey 10am – 12noon, Birmingham & Midland Institute, Inking Woman: 1pm – 3pm, Birmingham & Midland Institute Tickets: £20 / £16 (concs) celebrating 250 Tickets: £5 Led by award-winning Estonian prose writer, years of women Interested in memoir and life-writing? Do you poet and literary translator Kai Aareleid, cartoonists have a story to tell about how your life in the UK this workshop will explore the conceptual has changed since the Brexit referendum? Then challenges of writing and presenting 12noon – 1pm, Ikon Gallery this writing session is for you. contemporary history in a credible way: Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) choosing a setting, building characters, As part of this session, you’ll create a piece creating atmosphere and overcoming the traps The Inking Woman is a ground-breaking of writing based on your own experience of of language and detail. collection that celebrates the work and talent the social upheaval started by the Brexit of over 150 women cartoonists and comic referendum result and continuing to this day. With advice and tips from Kai as a translator, artists in Britain, from the eighteenth century After the session you will be invited to submit editor and publisher, this workshop will help to the present day. your work to appear in an anthology (due to be you find your voice, structure your work and published online and in print in Spring 2019). use your historical research most effectively. Witty, insightful and defiant, with eyes firmly It could also become part of a digital space focused on the world around them, these where stories will be showcased online to a women cartoonists are gathered together for global audience. Young Writers’ the first time. From Mary Darly in the 1760s, the Suffragettes and Annie Harriet Fish in the Through this session, you’ll learn how to Kai Aareleid workshop: First World War, to today’s new generation of share and craft your experience of social Once Upon a Time In cartoonists, they are here to be discovered, change, focusing on an incident or situation Birmingham: Women rediscovered and, above all, to be enjoyed. in the recent past and reflecting on how it has impacted your life and the people around you. Who Dared To Dream The collection includes caricatures, jokes, editorial and strip cartoons, on prints, Suitable for all levels of writing, no previous 10am – 12noon, Suite 3, Birmingham REP postcards, comics, zines, graphic novels and experience of life-writing required. Ideal for Tickets: £3 digital comics, covering all genres and topics. beginners, as well as fiction and poetry writers Aimed at 11 to 16-year olds, this fun creative who find themselves drawn to non-fiction by writing workshop is inspired by a new book Created by Nicola Streeten and Cath Tate, this recent events. celebrating thirty fantastic women who’ve event will introduce you to a glorious collection WHO achieved amazing things, often against the odds. of cartoon and comic art images that not only Dr Katy Massey ARE WE salute the women artists who made them but NOW? As part of the workshop you will be invited to reclaims the archive for posterity and stakes its create a new piece of writing inspired by an rightful place in art history.

amazing woman. DIVERSE WOMEN WRITERS ON BREXIT AND HOW Organised in partnership with Ikon Gallery. THEIR WORLDS WERE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN The workshop will be led by writer Maeve Clarke.

EDITED BY DR KATY MASSEY

34 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 35 SATURday Book launch Menna Elfyn 13 October Once Upon Time In Birmingham Women Who Dared To Dream. 2pm- 3pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £3, redeemable against purchase of the book on the day Pascale Petit Stories of thirty remarkable women who either lived, worked or achieved in Birmingham, are captured for this first time in a beautiful, illustrated book aimed at inspiring the city’s next generation of fearless females. These women – drawn from over 130 public nominations – were selected by a panel of young writers, based on who inspired them the most.

Created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Ian Duhig Representation of the People Act 1918, we are delighted to be launching this special book celebrating thirty inspiring women and our inspiring Draft artwork © Jan Bowman city of Birmingham.

Wilfred Owen THREE SIMPLE REASONS TO STUDY ENGLISH AT ASTON Wilfred Owen died exactly a week before the Poetry end of the First World War. His renowned Our students poems documented the horrors of war, and are happy for Peace he never actually lived to see the end of that English achieved 90% NEW, INNOVATIVE Overall Satisfaction with Menna Elfyn, bloody conflict, or the arrival of peace in (National Student Survey, Europe. But what if instead of a war poet, we 2017) Pascale Petit, ENGLISH remembered Wilfred Owen as a poet writing for We’ll make and Ian Duhig peace? LITERATURE DEGREE sure you’re 4pm – 5pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP career-ready We are delighted to welcome poets Menna Employed Aston English Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Studies graduates earn Elfyn, Pascale Petit and Ian Duhig, who will £3,300 (21%) more than be reading their poems from the Peace Poetry At Aston, the study of English Language and expected one year after pamphlet and discussing writing for peace Literature is integrated: we focus on literacy as graduating, according to the government’s over the last century. a social practice - how and why do people read Longitudinal Education and write at all levels of society - and consider Outcomes survey (LEO). This event will be chaired by Dr Gregory all its manifestations from graffiti and electronic Leadbetter (poet and Director of the MA writing practices on the one side of the spectrum Placement year to poetry, novels and theatre on the other. Integrated placement in Creative Writing at Birmingham City year enhances your University). employability after graduation.

Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 37 SATURday An evening with 13 October Alexei Sayle the Godfather of Raymond Antrobus alternative comedy 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) One of the UK’s most enduring comedians, Alexei Sayle was an integral part of the Alternative Comedy movement of the early 80s that took the art form to new edgy and controversial levels.

Alexei shot to fame as part of the Comic Strip group of comedians which also included Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Rik Mayall with whom he starred in the cult hit TV show The Young Ones.

t: 0800 298 3899 15 Colmore Row His surreal-style has also led to his own TV shows www.dains.com Birmingham B3 2BH such as Alexei Sayle’s Stuff, an autobiography, two short story collections, five novels (including a The graphic novel) a radio series spin-off book, as well as columns and stories for various publications. Perseverance He has also branched off into other art forms by Raymond Antrobus including starring in films such asIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade and he also scored a top 20 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP hit with Ullo John, Got a New Motor?. Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) Join Alexei Sayle – “the Godfather of Explore The Perseverance is the remarkable debut alternative comedy” – as he talks to comedian book by British-Jamaican poet Raymond and academic Oliver Double about his career EXHIBITIONS Antrobus. COLLECTIONS in comedy and his writing. PERFORMANCES Ranging across history and continents, these poems operate in the spaces in between; their GALLERIES haunting lyrics creating new, hybrid territories. ARCHIVES The Perseverance is a book of loss, contested GARDENS language and praise, where elegies for the MUSEUMS poet’s father sit alongside meditations on the d/Deaf experience. Oliver Double Alexei Sayle This event will be BSL interpreted. Sponsored by Aston University ‘His monologues are stunning studies of voice and substance, and his lyric poems are graceful and finely crafted.’ Kwame Dawes

Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 39 SUNday Sarah Churchwell Nigel Slater and Ravinder Bhogal 14 October 3.30pm – 4.30pm, Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tickets: £15 / £12 (concs) masterclass Nigel Slater Ravinder Bhogal Writing a Novel with Richard Skinner 11.15am – 12.15pm,The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Tickets: £10 / £8 (concs) A novel is a relationship, a place outside of time Behold, America where both reader and writer are challenged and validated, stretched and rewarded. A History of America First and the Director of the Fiction Programme at Faber American Dream Academy, Richard Skinner believes it is your Join chefs and writers Nigel Slater and Ravinder Bhogal is a British chef, food writer duty as a novelist to bring your whole self to 1pm – 2pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP Ravinder Bhogal as they discuss their love of and stylist. She rose to fame when she was the page; to find your story, not force it; to Tickets: £8 / £6.40 (concs) food and their passion for writing. named by Gordon Ramsay as his new Fanny meet your reader in a spirit of openness. ‘The American dream is dead,’ Donald Trump Craddock, on The F Word. Nigel Slater is a chef who writes. The author of As part of this masterclass, Richard will offer up said when announcing his candidacy for a collection of bestselling books and presenter Her debut book Cook in Boots (HarperCollins, frameworks, strategies and stimuli to help you president in 2015. How would he revive it? of nine BBC television series, Nigel has been 2009) won the Gourmand World Cookbook meet that duty, drawing on his deep experience By putting ‘America First’. The phrase has the food columnist for The Observer for twenty- Award for the UK’s Best First Cookbook and as one of the UK’s leading creative writing become the anthem of his presidency and is five years. was awarded the first runners-up prize of teachers. Covering essentials – narrators, adored by his supporters. the World’s Best First Cookbook at the Paris character, setting – with charm and rigour. Behold, America recounts the unknown His books include the classics Appetite, the Cookbook Fair in February 2010. history of the most contentious phrases in the two-volume Tender and The Kitchen Diaries Richard Skinner American political playbook – the ‘American trilogy. His memoir Toast – the Story of a In 2016 Ravinder opened her first restaurant, Dream’ and ‘America First’ – using the voices Boy’s Hunger won six major awards, has been JIKONI, to a rapturous reception. In 2017 that helped shape the debate from Capitol translated into five languages and became a Ravinder was named one of London’s 100 Hill to the newsroom of the New York Times, BBC film starring Helena Bonham Carter and Tastemakers in Food & Drink, as part of the students to senators, dreamers to dissenters. Freddie Highmore. Eating for England, his Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 list of collection of essays about Britain at the table, London’s most influential people. Ravinder’s As America struggles again to project a has been dramatised for BBC Radio 4. His second book, JIKONI, will be published by shared vision, to itself and to the world, Sarah latest book, The Christmas Chronicles, was Bloomsbury in 2019. Churchwell argues that only by understanding named the Food Book of the Year in the 2018 the origins and aspirations of those who first Fortnum and Mason Food Awards. This event will be introduced by Sathnam used the expressions can the true spirit of Sanghera. America be reclaimed. Be prepared to have Sponsored by Birmingham City University. everything you thought you knew about the Please note: This event is on the same day as United States of America turned on its head. the Birmingham Marathon, which finishes at Millennium Point. Please leave plenty Sarah will be in conversation with Dr Michell of time to get there, and check traffic and Chresfield, Lecturer, US History at the parking details before you set off. Richard Skinner University of Birmingham

40 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 41 One of Ireland’s finest contemporary writers, Jonathan Coe SUNday John Boyne, is the author of ten books for Middle England adults, as well as five for younger readers and 14 October a highly acclaimed short story collection. by Jonathan

His works are distinctive in their profoundly Coe A Ladder moving and deeply personal stories, often set in some of history’s darkest moments – the 8pm – 9pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP to the Sky perfect example of this being The Boy in the Tickets: £12 / £9.60 (concs) , a Number 1 Striped Pyjamas New York Times The novel for our bewildered times. by John Boyne bestseller that went on to be adapted into an 6pm – 7pm, The STUDIO, Birmingham REP award-winning Miramax feature film. Set in the Midlands and London over the last Tickets: £10 / £8 eight years, Jonathan Coe follows a brilliantly In 2012, John was awarded the Hennessy vivid cast of characters through a time of Literary ‘Hall of Fame’ Award for his body of work. immense change and disruption in Britain. His novels are published in over 50 languages. There are the early married years of Sophie and John’s latest book, A Ladder of the Sky, is Ian, who disagree about the future of Britain a novel about literary ambition, showing and, possibly, the future of their relationship; how easy it is to achieve the world if you are Sophie’s grandfather, whose final act is to send prepared to sacrifice your soul. a postal vote for the European referendum; John will be in conversation with writer Doug, the political commentator, whose young Kit de Waal. daughter despairs of his lack of political nous; and Doug’s Remainer Tory politician partner who is savaged by the crazed trolls of John Boyne Twitter. And within all these lives is the story of England itself: a story of nostalgia and irony; of friendship and rage, humour and intense bewilderment.

As acutely alert to the absurdity of the political classes as he is compassionate about those who have been left behind, this is a novel Jonathan Coe was born to write.

Jonathan Coe is the author of twelve novels, which include the highly acclaimed bestsellers What a Carve Up!, The House of Sleep, The Rotters’ Club and Number 11.

We are delighted to welcome Jonathan back to the festival, and he will be in conversation with our guest curator Sathnam Sanghera.

Sponsored by the University of Wolverhampton.

42 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 43 Part of Introducing our Reader in Residence, Nikki Bi

HELLO FELLOW BOOK LOVERs! What I hope to do as Reader in Residence is to encourage people to broaden their reading I’m delighted to be the Birmingham Literature horizons, to increase the motivation to Festival’s first Reader in Residence. As read, to disseminate a love of words and books someone who loves books, I’ve been really and further enhance the city’s reading culture. Join over lucky to incorporate this love into my work. 3,000 local I want to hear your ideas As Reader in Residence, I’ll be running and suggestions. What businesses in our reader-based activity during the festival. would you like us to do to network It might include: celebrate reading? • Facilitating reading groups in the workplace I read to switch off and Open to all sectors and sizes experience something new. • Bringing different people together to chat about books and reading over coffee and cake Books are pure escapism for me. An opportunity to immerse myself into another 0845 603 6650 • Connecting reading groups across the city world or culture, without even leaving home! together [email protected] During the festival, I’m looking forward to Connect. Support. Grow. greaterbirminghamchambers.com • Hosting book discussions in alternative reading The Book of Birmingham which has reading spaces, such as trains, narrow boats, been edited by Kavita Bhanot. The city is parks or even in a taxi across the city! bursting with creative talent and it’s always good to read Birmingham-based writers to see LITERARY CLASSICS BROUGHT their take on the city! TO THE STAGE Nikki Bi Marmalade @ What do you love about reading? Where do you 20 SEP – 6 OCT like to read? Great news! REBUS: LONG Marmalade is now under The REP’s SHADOWS Talk to me, share your ideas, tell me about management. By Ian Rankin your books and if you’re part of a book group, Adapted by Rona Munro While we’re developing our new catering offer in let me know. preparation for the autumn season, we’ll continue Ian Rankin’s legendary to provide our excellent pre-theatre menu. detective returns in a new Contact me on Twitter: 2 courses at just £18.50 and 3 courses at £23.00 story written exclusively for the stage @bhamlitfest #BLF18Reader If you’re in the mood, we also have an extensive cocktail menu starting at £4.50 See you in October! 30 OCT – 10 NOV NIKKI THE LOVELY BONES For more information, and to get involved, The stage première of see www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org. Alice Sebold’s world- famous novel adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery

Box Office 0121 245 2080 0121 236 4455 [email protected] BIRMINGHAM-REP.CO.UK

Visit birmingham-rep.co.uk (and look under Our Place) Registered in England 295910 Charity No.223660 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 45 Booking information Thank you to our funders, partners, colleagues, supporters, Board of Trustees, Booking for our events is via The Box at Birmingham Repertory Theatre unless otherwise stated. and our wonderful team of volunteers By phone: 0121 245 4455 for making this festival possible. Online: birminghamliteraturefestival.org WRITING WEST MIDLANDS TEAM In person: The Box, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EP Jonathan Davidson Chief Executive Antonia Beck Birmingham Literature Festival Director Anna Morris Festival & Projects Assistant Venues Olivia Chapman PR & Communications Manager The full addresses of our event locations are: Emma Boniwell Learning & Participation Manager Heddwen Creaney Operations Assistant The Studio & Mezzanine, Birmingham Repertory Peggy Long Finance Manager Theatre, Broad St, Birmingham B1 2EP

Cover image by Chris Fletcher, 11th October BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE, Photo credits www.cpf-photography.com Andrew Michael Hurley © Hal Shinnie Jess Kidd © Travis McBridge 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS 5th October Caitlin Moran © Mark Harrison Shivers © Barnaby Aldrick Photography Bradshaw Hall & Recital Hall, Royal Birmingham 6th October Nancy Campbell © Annie Schlechter 2018 Sophie Hughes © Alex Zucker in a canoe © Paul Preece Kathy Page © Billie Wood Conservatoire, Birmingham City University, 200 Jennens Road, 13th October Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Raymond Antrobus © Tenee Attoh Birmingham, B4 7XR © Mark Rusher Menna Elfyn © Marian Delyth Lauren Laverne © Suki Dhanda Ian Duhig © Paul Maddern 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Pascale Petit © Adrian Pope IKON Gallery, 9th October Birmingham, B1 2HS Helen Pankhurst © Virginie Naudillon Kai Aareleid © Toomas Dettenborn 10th October 14th October Ikon Slow Boat, Brewmaster Bridge, near the Mixtape © Benji Reid Richard Skinner © Christian Patracchini National Sealife Centre

Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B5 7UG

Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH

Visit our on-site Festival Bookshop www.foyles.co.uk

46 Book by phone 0121 245 4455 Book online birminghamliteraturefestival.org 47 Follow us and join the conversation online at:

/BhamLitFest @BhamLitFest @BhamLitFest birminghamliteraturefestival.org

A.C. Grayling @acgrayling Jane Commane @CommaJane Nancy Campbell @nancycampbelle Abi Andrews @abiandrews_ Jasper Winn @jasperwinn Nick Makoha @NickMakoha Adam Z. Robinson @adam_Zed Jay Bernard @brnrrd Nigel Slater @NigelSlater Alys Fowler @AlysFowler Jen Campbell @jenvcampbell Oliver Double @OliverDouble And Other Stories @andothertweets Jendella Benson @JENDELLA Rachel New @Rachel_New Anita Sethi @anitasethi Jess Kidd @JessKiddHerself Ravinder Bhogal @cookinboots Anna Wharton @whartonswords Jo Bell @Jo_Bell Raymond Antrobus @RaymondAntrobus Caitlin Moran @caitlinmoran John Boyne @john_boyne Richard Skinner @RichardNSkinner Carrie Weekes @newundertaking Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe Roger Robinson @rrobinson72 Casey Bailey @MrCaseyBailey Jonathan Dimbleby @dimbleby_jd Roy McFarlane @RoypoetryinBrum Cath Tate @CathTateCards Kat Francois @katfrancois Sali Hughes @salihughes David Lindo @urbanbirder Kate Bradbury @Kate_bradbury Sarah Churchwell @sarahchurchwell Deborah @DeborahFW Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix Sathnam Sangera @sathnam Frances-White @guiltfempod Kathy Page @kathypagebc Sharon Duggal @MsSDuggal Diana Evans @DianaEvansOP Kerry Young @KerryYoungWrite Sophie Hughes @hughes_sophie Dr Anna Lock @annalock1 Kit De Waal @kitdewaal Stefan Tobler @stefantobler Dr Karen Lauren Laverne @laurenlaverne Tanya Shirley @tanyaShirley1 McCarthy Woolf @KMcCarthyWoolf Liz Berry @misslizberry Viv Albertine @viv_albertine Dr Katy Massey @tangledroots1 Maeve Clarke @MaeveLClarke Vladimir Lucien @Vladimirlucien Dr Nicola Streeten @NicolaStreeten Malachi McIntosh @malachimcintosh Wendy Mitchell @WendyPMitchell Franziska Kohlt @frankendodo Malika Booker @malikabooker Yomi Sode @yomisode Helen Pankhurst @HelenPankhurst Maria Whatton @MariaWhatton Yvvette Edwards @YvvetteEdwards Ian Duhig @ianduhig Matt Merritt @polyolbion Irenosen Okojie @IrenosenOkojie Meghan Hunter @meganfnhunter Jackie Hagan @JackieHagan Mohammed Hanif @mohammedhanif

Birmingham Literature Festival is a project of Writing West Midlands.

Writing West Midlands is the literature development agency for the region. Charity no. 1147710. Supported by Arts Council England. www.writingwestmidlands.org.

Events are suitable for adults and children 14+ unless otherwise stated.