NCLA
welcomes readers back to the monthly newsletter following the summer break.
There is an exciting programme of events lined up – more information on this
to come – as well as other exciting opportunities and developments.
NCLA begins its second year with a celebration of fiction and its capacity to bring people together. The One Book project, in participation with the Booker Prize Foundation, has now been launched and all new Newcastle University students have received a copy of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Wherever you go in Newcastle and the surrounding countryside you will hopefully now see people deeply engrossed in this astonishing book.
Students
from 25 universities across the UK entered the competition, launched for the
first time this year. Professor Jackie Kay, acclaimed for her recently
published memoir, Red
Dust Road, judged the competition, and the following winning entries
were announced at the end of August:
1st
PRIZE: £1000:
Day 36 by Ahnaf Abdul, Oxford University.
2nd PRIZE: £500:
Crossing the Lines by Muhammad Idzwan Husaini, Newcastle University.
Joint 3rd PRIZE: £200
Shards by David Molloy, University of East Anglia
&
Chinese Seasons in the Heart of England by Alan Islas-Cital,
University of Birmingham.
The
best of the stories will shortly be published in an anthology exploring
international students’ experience of studying in the UK in 2010. Title and
publication date are to follow but in the meantime, you may like to see the
full shortlist.
Award-winning writer Ian McEwan, whose prizes include
the 1998 Man Booker Prize for his novel Amsterdam, will be in conversation
with prize-winning science writer Matt Ridley on Thursday 30th September at 7pm in the Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle
University. They will be talking about Solar, McEwan’s most recent
novel, in which the topic of climate change is tackled with deadly
seriousness and wit. Sam Leith,
reviewing Solar for The Economist, writes, ‘Here, in a book
around a scientific theme of considerable seriousness — global warming and
renewable energy — McEwan has written the closest thing he’s ever done to a
farce.’
The rich and sometimes tricky relationship between
literature and science is also explored in an afternoon of talks and
discussions on Friday 1st October, 3pm – 6pm, in The Life Theatre,
Centre for Life, Newcastle. Scientists and writers will be reflecting on the
ways in which ideas from science continue to stimulate the creative response
of novelists. A full programme is available on the NCLA website.
Tickets are available online from the shop. Alternatively, contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk.
NCLA is very proud to have been chosen by the Booker Prize Foundation for its project to encourage and celebrate the power of fiction. In a gala event on Thursday 14th October, at Newcastle City Hall, Kazuo Ishiguro will be in conversation with Jackie Kay about his novel Never Let Me Go, which has been distributed to new students at Newcastle University . The previous night will have seen the launch of the film, starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley.
Follow One Book 2010 on Facebook to keep up to date with related events including book groups and find out how you can get a copy of the book for just £3.00.
Tickets (free for Newcastle University students although they must be booked) are available from the shop. Alternatively, contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk.
Multi-award-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon, who can
list both the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Pulitzer Prize as just two of his more
recent awards, is a must-see event on this year’s NCLA calendar. His websitegenerously provides
examples of his writing, including recordings of his work, but this is a rare
opportunity to hear the now US-based Paul Muldoon read in person. Click on the Recordings tab of
the website to hear his wonderful readings of his own poetry – and then come
to listen in person. His latest collection, Maggot, is published this
autumn, and he will be reading on Friday 22nd October, 7pm, in the
King’s Hall, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University. He will be introduced
by poet and critic Professor Sean O’Brien, who recently published his first
novel, Afterlife to critical acclaim. You can read a review of Afterlife by Fiona
Sampson on the online version of The Independent.
Tickets are available online from the shop. Alternatively, contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk.
Back to top
NCLA’s Creative Writing PhD students have successfully
bid for funding to develop an interactive website detailing their residencies
in major North-East institutions including the Centre for Life, Theatre
Royal and The Sage Gateshead. They will produce work inspired by their
experience. There will be more information forthcoming about this project as
it unfolds.
Creative writing students from NCLA have embarked on an
enterprise to establish a forum for online publication of new literary works
both regionally and nationally. Support for the new venture is being provided
by NCLA with funding from the Catherine Cookson Fund. Visit the site for further details,
including how you can submit your work.
NCLA is delighted that Kathy
Towers, one of our MA in Creative Writing graduates, has been included in
the longlist with her poetry collection The
Floating Man(the title poem of which was a Guardian Saturday poem). The
shortlist for this £10,000 award will be announced in late October with the
winner announced in December. Everyone at NCLA congratulates Katharine on her
outstanding achievement.
For further information about any of the events or
courses above, contact Melanie Birch on 0191 222 7619 or email melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk
Write around the Toon
frictionmagazine.co.uk
News from current students, staff
and alumni