Literature & Spoken Word

April 23 is a great date in the literature calendar. Not only is it Shakespeare's Birthday, it is also World Book Night. I chatted to Clancy Mason, Reader Development Manager at Blackpool Libraries, about plans for the big day. What is World Book Night? World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books which  takes place on 23 April. It sees passionate volunteers give hundreds of  thousands of books away in their communities to share their love of  reading with people who, for whatever reason, don’t read for pleasure or own books. It is run by The Reading Agency - a…

Blackpool Grand Theatre are working with Blackpool Library Service to bring Northern Ballet's  dancers from their new production Three Little Pigs to two local libraries for some fun and interactive workshops:     Moor Park Library Three Little Pigs- storytelling with music and movement with Northern Ballet. Saturday 29 March – 11am-noon Please call 478120 to book your free place. Central Library Three Little Pigs- storytelling with music and movement with Northern Ballet PLUS craft workshop with Bonker*s Clutterbucks Saturday 29 March- 2-4pm Please call 478070 to book your free place. All events are suitable for 1-6 year olds and parents must…

Robert Graham will be visiting Palatine Library on Tuesday 11 March, 1pm to 2.30pm, to deliver a novella writing workshop in advance of the MMU Novella Award.  The workshop will begin with a discussion about what the distinguishing characteristics of a novella are.  Participants attending could give that some thought before the workshop. Participants will spend most of the time in the workshop looking at specific elements of fiction-writing, which will involve writing exercises.   The workshop is for those of you who are already writing fiction, whether you see yourself as a novice or more experienced. Please take along a pen and a notebook. Robert…

  “To those at home who are sitting watching YouTube, don’t start clicking, I know this might look like some kind of extreme babysitting.” For millions of people, including me, these words were their introduction to Mark Grist. In 2011 Mr Grist, an English teacher and poet from Peterborough, was challenged by one of his ex-students to take part in Don’t Flop, an 8-Mile style UK rap battle scene, where he found himself facing-off against a 17 year-old rap prodigy from Manchester, MC Blizzard. Billed as a student versus teacher match, the battle went viral on YouTube and is currently…

There's a reason that readers return to Dickens over 140 years since his death.  The man who was a reporter, essayist, playwright, novelist, social commentator and, yes, poet created a series of humorous, well-observed characters whose fictional lives continue to entertain and inform us such as Artful Dodger, Mr Wopsle, Luke Honeythunder, Polly Toodle, Uriah Heep, Pumblechook, Miss Havisham, and the iconic Ebeneezer Scrooge. Behind much of his writing, there was a serious comment on the poverty and hardship which he observed first hand, as a twelve year old child whose father was sent to debtor's prison and later as…

Andy Holgate is visiting Central Library on Wednesday 6 November to talk about his transformation from Common Man to Iron Man. Andy is a librarian at Lancaster University who has written about his journey from sedentary librarian to Iron Man competitor.  Andy is very funny, engaging and inspiring and has written two books:  Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run and Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop.  He is a veteran of five Ironman races and numerous other triathlons. Andy's visit is part of Try Reading, a new project for public libraries. It celebrates and promotes the sporting event of the year - Rugby League World Cup 2013. Try…

A guest article by Susan Pugh, chairman of Cleveleys Writers Cleveleys Writers - Writers for Charity was formed in 1999. We are a friendly group of writers of all abilities, from published writers to beginners. We meet every second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 1.30pm in our new home of the lounge at The Park Club on West Drive, Cleveleys. We recently moved from a small room at Cleveleys Library which we had outgrown. Having more space has enabled us to re-open our Membership to more writers. Our Group Mission is to enable local people to express their…

Standing at the mic opposite a man in a Ghostbusters t-shirt, I wonder: what am I doing here? This thought runs through my mind as I quickly try to find words to rhyme with my assigned word: Tram. Can? Lamb? Sam? However, I doubt that proper nouns will be allowed. Surprisingly, they are and suddenly I am faced with a difficult decision: Pan or Fran. The man in the Ghostbusters shirt eyes me up. His attempts at ironic intimidation have failed, I have won the improv word game. I have won this battle of wits, this clash of consonants. Victorious,…

Last week saw the launch of Mathamagical's much awaited sequel, Anagramaphobia, by local children's author, Colin Davies.  The launch at Cafe Number 5, accompanied by some excellent open mic poetry based around the theme of magic, was a resounding success.  So much so it seemed rude not to catch up with the author and have a bit of a chat. So, you've written a sequel? What is it about these characters that made you want to revisit their story? I was always coming back to Ben and Adder from the moment I finished writing Mathamagical. There are so many worlds…

The long summer holiday is the perfect time to sit down and enjoy a good book. After the initial giddying excitement has died down and the inevitable boredom has kicked in, there is nothing that will quench your need for adventure and prose like a great book. For children in search of a fun read this summer, Blackpool Library has come to the rescue with this year’s Summer Reading Challenge based around the theme: Creepy House. The scheme hopes to encourage children to enjoy the activity of reading, with collectables which include bookmarks, key rings, activity sheets and more, to…