Literature & Spoken Word

Jeff Kinney, the author of the global bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will be coming to Blackpool Tower Ballroom on Thursday 3 November for his only UK solo author event for 2016. Warm up your winter with this hugely entertaining family event, inspired by Jeff’s new book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down. Expect fun and games with great prizes up for grabs, plus Jeff talks about writing the books and his experience of being involved in 3 major blockbuster films. At the end of the show there will be a chance for the audience to ask Jeff…

I met Ruth at a local gathering where she told some quips and made me laugh easily. As a comedic women it is often a "mans world" so I got to know her a bit more and her upcoming project involving "lost love letters". Q. Who are you and what is your background? I am a musician, comedian, cabaret performer, writer and theatre practitioner. I have been working withing the arts for fifteen years. Starting out in a theatre company called DNA in Blackpool in 2001 and since then have toured with other companies, written for corporate clients, performed at Shakespeare's…

The Bootleg Social on Topping street is not just another down town bar, it plays host a number of different nights from movies to music. The first Sunday of every month, under the streets of Blackpool, there is a gathering in this place, a group of people known as 'The Pub Poets' It's a very welcoming evening with a couple of open mic section where anyone who wants to share their words with a very warm and encouraging audience can with ease. Organised by Lisa Bower and hosted by the very talented (and very adult themed) Ashley Lister, this night…

Blackpool Central Library is set to hold a series of writing workshops throughout November for all budding writers to attend during National Novel Writing Month, (NaNoWriMo). NaNoWriMo is an International Writing Competition for all budding writers to allow their creative talents a chance to be seen and produce a challenging and creative read. To help out the library will host a series of creative writing workshops where the ultimate accolade will be to write a fifty thousand word novel within the month of November. National Novel Writing Month workshops will take place every Saturday between 10am and 12pm throughout November where all writers will…

There are times when things are just against you. You need to be somewhere yet every set of traffic lights is on red, the traffic is moving at less that walking speed, and you've had a bad day at work that leaves you feeling lethargic, as if you can't be bothered. Well that was me on Friday night. The traffic for the fireworks was dense, traffic lights were letting 3 cars through at a time, and instead of continuing down to the Catholic Club on Queen Street for the first of a new regular Poerty/Music night, I could have quite…

Thursday 6 October marks National Poetry Day and this year the theme is Messages. Blackpool Libraries of course has a whole host of poetry themed activities taking place to help celebrate, some of which include: Vita, Live Poets and Poetry People, 1.30-4pm, Central Library Join the regular poetry group as they celebrate National Poetry Day with their Messages themed programme. Free. Refreshments £1. Lisa Bower: Poet-in-Residence, Living Room, Central Library Lisa Bower will be the new poet-in-Residence at the Living Roomin Central Library. Scribble and Shout: Intro to Poetry workshops, 4-5:30pm, Central Library Join Lisa in this creative, sociable space and try…

Award winning poet Amanda Coe is leading two Wordpool Poetry Masterclasses and four poems written during these will feature in Wordpool’s Town Centre Poetry Trail in a number of empty shop windows around the town centre. Prize-winning poet and author of six books,  Mandy Coe has been featured on BBC radio and television (Woman's Hour, Poetry Please and CBeebies) as well as the Radio Times and the Guardian. Based in the North West of England, Mandy writes poetry for adults and children and as an educationalist has been commissioned to write poems and educational material for the Barbican, the Children’s Poetry Bookshelf, National…

Everybody loves the summer festivals. The scale, the diversity, the sunny days and nights memories are made of. But there comes a point where you’ve peaked, your voice is going, there’s something akin to tinnitus going on in your head and you want to use permanent toilet facilities. Above all, it becomes desirable to be able to hear yourself think again. If that’s where you are getting to we have something that may appeal – introducing The Pub Poets’ Speakeasy. The speakeasy is oganised by Lisa Bower. Lisa may be known to some of you as the presenter of the…

Hundreds of families helped to make the tenth anniversary of the resort’s annual Festival of Words a huge success. Held in the picturesque grounds of Stanley Park, Wordpool‘s Big Friendly Family Day was packed with a variety of exciting interactive activities for children of all ages including a full-sized walking dinosaur, a bubble-breathing dragon, giant birds, tree-men, interactive workshops, animated-short screenings and even a show inside a giant pig - and all for FREE! Youngsters were also invited to go on a Bear Hunt with furry hats and growly tales, and witness poets Ashley Lister and Lisa Bower perform Roald…