Banishing the winter blues this month, NCLA is launching free writing groups for the over 50s and new book groups linked into the events programme. For those interested in studying creative writing on a more formal basis, you will find information on the range of study options available. And don’t forget, the 5th March deadline to apply for one of the two AHRC awards for the study of creative writing at Newcastle University is fast approaching!
As Joan
Bakewell said in conversation with Jackie Kay at this month’s NCLA
event (in association with the Changing
Age Programme): ‘We face a really extraordinary social change….we will soon have a
society in which there is this huge percentage of older people, all of them
ready and able to live into their late 80s, 90s and towards 100, and a
dwindling birth rate among younger people. We have to face up to this huge
change and do something about it. We have to accommodate it, think about it,
prepare for it, analyse it, understand it and welcome it because there is no
defying it.’
Leading on from this fascinating talk (a video is available in the archive section of the website), NCLA is starting a free, informal writing group where authors will work alongside senior members of the community to produce writing based on their life experiences. The first two meetings will be held at Newcastle Central Library on 8th March and 15th March from 11am and 1pm.
Further details are available on the website. If you are interested in getting involved, please book a place as soon as possible by contacting Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk
NCLA is delighted to announce the launch of the redesigned SciTalk website. Originally set up in 2005 by novelist and scientist Dr Ann Lackie (aka Ann Lingard) in association with Peter Normington and with the support of National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), the database and website is now managed by the NCLA Literature & Science Fellow, Lisa Matthews.
As well as continuing with its aim of facilitating communication between scientists and writers, there is now an additional aim to encourage writers to use the site in order to create a network for delivering innovative Sci-art projects. We would encourage you to visit the site, explore the wealth of interesting material already there and, hopefully, get involved by registering as a literary contributor.
Tailor-made for primary and secondary school teachers, this six-week course provides practical training in introducing creative writing into the classroom and aims to increase the skills and confidence of teachers in this area.
For further information please contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk
Would you like to find out more about studying Creative Writing at Newcastle University? The NCLA and School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics offer a Postgraduate Certificate, MA and PhD degrees in Creative Writing, with pathways in poetry, fiction, script and screenwriting, taught by a team of internationally renowned writers.
Visit the website and contact us for further information about our courses and how to apply. And remember, there are two AHRC awards available for 2010 entrants.
After the success of our inaugural book group at Campus Coffee on Wednesday 10th February, in which Linda France led an informal discussion of poems by Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott, NCLA has arranged a new series of informal book groups based around its events programme.
The book groups take place on Wednesday evenings from 5.30pm to 7pm. There’s no need to book, simply turn up when you can and join in the discussion.
The majority of the book groups will take place in the upstairs room of The Trent House, 1-2 Leazes Lane, Newcastle. Please check the NCLA website for any changes before attending.
Confirmed groups are as follows:
24th February: Professor Bill Herbert will lead a discussion on the poetry of Yang Lian at the Trent House.
3rd March: Alex Lockwood will lead a discussion on Ian Jack’s collection of essays, The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain at the Trent House.
10th March: Viccy Adams will lead a discussion on Andrei Kurkov’s novel, Death and the Penguin at the Trent House.
17th March: Jill Clough will lead a discussion on Caryl Phillips’ novel, In the Falling Snow. *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE HELD IN THE TRENT HOUSE* Venue details will be published on the website closer to the date.
Further book groups will be held in April, May and June – details to be announced on the website.
Learn how to make words you can touch – in stone, wood, metal, glass or light – with expert tutor Linda France in 3-D Poetry: Text as Public Art, on a six-week course running from 22nd April – 27th May.
All sessions take place on Thursday evenings, 5pm to 7pm, at Newcastle University.
To book a place or for further information on any of the short courses call 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk
For the poetry lovers amongst us, exiled Chinese poet Yang Lian and his principal translator, Brian Holton, will be reading at Culture Lab on the 25th February at 7pm.
There’s a plethora of prose in March, with darkly humorous Andrei Kurkov on Thursday 18th March and lyrical Caryl Phillips on Monday 22nd March. NCLA visiting fellow, South African writer Sindiwe Magona, will read alongside Newcastle University creative writing PhD student Kachi A. Ozumba on Thursday 25th March.
You can find tickets for all of our events at our online shop. Alternatively, please contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 for further details, or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk
If you’re looking to find out a little more about books by the featured authors, please visit the reviews section of the website, which is being continually updated with new reviews of books by the authors and of past events.
There are still a couple of places available on the five-day Spring School which is running from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th March and provides the opportunity to improve your writing skills across a range of genres including poetry, fiction, memoir and script. The Writing for Television Day School on Saturday 27th March with tutors Michael Chaplin, Debbie Horsfield and John Yorke is also still taking bookings.
Congratulations to PhD candidate, Barbara Henderson, whose YA novel has been shortlisted for The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. Now on a shortlist of five from over 2,000 entries, Barbara’s historical time travel adventure aimed at 9 – 12-year-olds, The Serpent House, is being written as part of her PhD in Creative Writing under the supervision of Professor Jackie Kay.
Alumni
Siân Harris, and creative writing PhD student Jane Thomas, both have pieces
of short fiction in the forthcoming charity anthology 100 Stories for Haiti. The anthology was also
co-edited by creative writing PhD student, Viccy Adams. Now a minor
internet phenomenon through its efforts to raise money for the relief effort
in Haiti, the anthology will be published by Bridge House on 5th March. It will also be available as an e-book from Smashwords.com. All proceeds will
go to the Red Cross.
On a more sombre note, NCLA visiting fellow, Dr Jack Mapanje, reminisces in The New York Times about hearing of Nelson Mandela’s release whilst himself imprisoned in Mikuyu Prison, Malawi.
Are you a current student, member of staff or alumnus of Newcastle University with a writing success story to share? Please let us know by visiting the alumni section of the website where you can find details of how to get in touch.