Usborne Young Writer's Competition

To celebrate five fabulous years of Usborne Fabulous Fiction, Usborne are offering young writers the chance to write a story with a real author. Five authors have started stories and they want help finishing them.

There are some great prizes too including:

• A trip to Usborne House in London to meet all 5 authors and find out how a book is made.
• £100 worth of FREE Usborne books.
• An author event at your school with the author who started your story.
• A year’s FREE subscription to Young Writer magazine.
• A year’s FREE subscription to readingzone.com.

Samsung's debut e-reader arrives

Get a sneak preview of the all new Samsung e-reader over at the Crave blog. Korean manufacturer Samsung has said it aims to overtake the Kindle and the Sony e-Reader with sales of its newly-revealed device.

According to the English language Korean Herald, the company announced it would be entering the market next year. Details of the product are expected to be revealed in January.

Inn Verse at the Sally tonight!

After being on holiday last month, Inn Verse, Manchester's most shambolic poetry night, returns to the Salutation Inn at 8.30pm this Wednesday (29th) - yes that's not a typo - it's now moved to a regular "last Wednesday of the month" slot.

Apparently the free sandwiches will still be available - so no excuses!

Is there a margin muse in your library book?

Guardian.co.uk – “Marks in library books are usually moronic scrawlings or tedious displays of ego, but just occasionally you come across something fascinating”. Great article at the Guardian books blog.

Get a life! Free biographies by email

Get a free biographies by email. Every day Oxford DNB* send out a different Life of the Day. Why not sign up? It's easy and it's free -
sign up for Life of the Day

Your email software should present you with an email; click on send. (You'll then receive an email asking you to confirm.) To cancel your subscription at any time please use this sign-off link in the same way. Any problems? Please email info-oxforddnb@oup.com.

*Access the whole Oxford Dictionary of National Biography free and from home by using the 24 Hour Library.

Rainy day reading tools

Looking for a book to read on a rainy day? Here's a quick round up of online reading tools to help you choose your next book.

WhichBook has been around for a while now and instead of starting with book titles or authors, readers start with themselves. 'I want a book that is unpredictable, very romantic and a bit sad' or 'I'd like a challenging book, with lots of sex that's also funny. WhichBook's slider system offers readers 20 million combinations of factors and then suggests titles which most closely match the reader's needs.

What Should I Read Next is my current favourite because its given me loads of new titles in one of my favourite genres - the archeo-thriller! It works by suggesting books based on ones you've just read and currently searches a database of 65,000 real readers' favourite books.

BookLamp is also worth a visit. It works like Pandora radio and aims to collect the text of novels and analyse them to form comparisons with other novels. In this way, Booklamp suggests similar books by analyzing the way the books are written - not just a comparison of subject matter and theme.

What is Booklamp? Watch the video!

We've blogged about this one before, but our final recommendation is LibraryThing's Unsuggester - a tool to get reading recommendations based on books you've disliked!

Reading Literature & Understanding Culture: Study Workshops at the Library

Manchester Central Library has teamed up with English and American Studies at the University of Manchester to establish a series of Study Workshops on Literature.

The series of ten monthly events will include workshops, seminars, and lectures led by academic members of the English and American Studies Department.


This is an opportunity to discover more about Literature and Culture in an informal and relaxed way, with sessions taken by world experts in their fields.

Each ninety-minute meeting will allow you to explore important themes, concepts and issues relating to a breathtakingly diverse range of topics and texts.

There will be a mixture of teaching: most sessions will begin with a mini-lecture, followed by group discussion.

The Study Workshops are FREE – but registration is required for the entire course and there will be a modest fee for a course booklet.

14 September Jerome de Groot William Shakespeare, Hamlet
12 October Patricia Duncker John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman
9 November Robert Spencer Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
14 December Michael Sanders Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
11 January Howard Booth Short stories by Kipling, Mansfield and Lawrence
8 February Liam Harte Seamus Heaney, Selected Poetry
8 March Malcolm Hicks Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton
12 April Anastasia Valassopoulos Keri Hulme, The Bone People
10 May Ian Scott Film Noir
14 June Kaye Mitchell Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Manchester Central Library, Committee Room, Second Floor

Classes 6-7.30pm, second Monday of the month FREE

To register please contact Libby Tempest , Cultural Services Manager, Central Library, St. Peter’s Square. Manchester M2 5PD
Telephone 0161 234 1981 Email: l.tempest@manchester .gov.uk

Geoff Ryman at Central Library - Wednesday 22 July 1pm

Famed for his Science Fiction/Science Fantasy, Canadian author Geoff Ryman has won fourteen awards for his stories & novels, including 'The Unconquered Country', (winner of the World Fantasy & British Science Fiction Association awards), 'The Child Garden', (Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell Memorial & British Science Fiction awards)and 'Air', (John W. Campbell Memorial award). His mainstream fiction includes '253', which won the Philip K. Dick Memorial award for best novel not in hardback, and 'Was'.

This event will be followed by a Q & A session.

This is a Summer in the City event with Manchester University.

WEDNESDAY 22nd JULY 1 - 2pm
Committee Room, 2nd Floor, Manchester Central Library

Free, no need to book.

Foyle Young Poets Competition - only a few more days to go

Foyle Young Poets Competition - only a few more days to go

Closes 31 July

Fifteen overall winners aged 11-17, including up to three international winners, will have their poems printed in the winners' anthology
Five 11-14 year olds will win a short residency to their school by a leading poet
Fifteen 15-17 year old winners will attend a week-long residential course at one of the prestigious Arvon Centres.

All 100 winners will receive a copy of the current issue of Young Writer magazine
Overall winners aged 11-14 will win a year's subscription to Young Writer magazine

The three schools who inspire the most entries will receive a special selection of books from Faber & Faber, Bloodaxe Books and Salt Publishing for their libraries

Judges: Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill

You'll need to be aged 11-17 on or before the closing date in order to enter.

http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/fyp/

Win free Kudos!

If you would like to win a free copy of the current issue of Kudos just send a haiku, quatrain or limerick incorporating the words Manga Jiman* to carolebaldock@hotmail.com. Kudos magazine. The the best may be considered for publication in Orbis. Last date for entries is July 31 and don't forget to put "manga" as the subject. Only one entry per person.

Kudos, formally Competitions Bulletin, is a convenient, up-to-date way to discover and enter every current UK writing competition, plus an increasing number of overseas contests. Kudos editor, Carole Baldock writes "Everybody always remembers that amazing moment they actually won a prize, but writers cannot lose, because entering competitions encourages inspiration, motivation and organisation".

The magazine is now bigger and better than ever and great value at £3 per issue. Kudos also includes news items and information about markets, outlets and opportunities for all kinds of writing. With around 200 writing competitions in every issue Kudos is a detailed source of information for writers.

*Manga Jiman means have pride in Manga. The Manga Jiman Competition is run by the Japanese Embassy in London. Open to people aged 14 years or over the closing date is Friday 25 September 2009.

World Class short stories at Central Library

MARK ANTHONY JARMAN & ZOE LAMBERT

Canadian author Mark Anthony Jarman is a prize-winning poet & short story writer, described by A.S. Byatt as author of possibly the greatest short story ever:

'The writing is extraordinary, the stories are gripping.....brilliant.'

Manchester's Comma Press herald him as one of the finest short story practioners writing today, and this event will see him read from his masterpiece, '19 Knives', for the first time in the UK.

This evening, Mark is joined by a writer-to-watch, Zoe Lambert, a Manchester-based author whose short stories explore the contemporary refugee experience and the wider impact of war in everyday contexts. Zoe's stories have previously appeared in Comma's 'Ellipsis' series.

This event is organised in partnership with COMMA PRESS

THURSDAY 16 JULY 6.30pm onwards
Committee Room, 2nd Floor, Manchester Central Library
FREE

Green Room call for emergency 09 proposals

It’s that time again and emergency 09, the Greenroom's platform for contemporary performance and live art, is calling for proposals. emergency 08 featured everything from a human recycling bin to a golden handshake; a Yeti to a whittler; a cake demonstration to a noisy protest march and saw some 42 pieces in a day and a half filling every corner of greenroom - from performance space to bar, lifts to cupboards.

This is your chance to participate in an extraordinary free marathon of the bizarre and the beautiful, the glamorous and the thought-provoking. Proposals are welcome for both short (20 minutes maximum) black-box/studio performance pieces and durational installations and interventions in the bar.

emergency this year begins Friday 2 October, 5pm - late & continues Saturday 3 October, from 12noon - late.

To get a feel for emergency check out emergency’s MySpace and take a look at last years line up: emergency 08.

For more information and to download the relevant application forms click here. The deadline for applications is 7th August.

Helen Burke and Adrian Spendlow

Helen Burke has been writing and performing for twenty years. She has won several competitions and featured in magazines from Rialto to Raindog. She has written for radio and performed all over the country.

Performance poet and community artist Adrian Spendlow used to be a psychiatric nurse. He now performs to a wide range of people, with his trademark audience involvement. His first national publication is Poemspotters (Hopscotch Educational Publishing).

Central Library Committee Room, Tuesday 14 July, 1-2 FREE

Alltop bookish news feed

Check out the Alltop bookish news feed. Alltop collects headlines of the latest news stories from the best sites and blogs that cover a topic. Then they are grouped into individual web pages. I've chosen books as my subject but topics run from adoption to zoology with photography, food, science, religion, celebrities, fashion, gaming, sports, politics and hundreds of other subjects along the way.

Designed to bring RSS to the masses, Alltop, like both Original Signal and Popurls, provides categorized selections of feeds that make it easy to scan a lot of news on a particular subject. Since its launch, Alltop has been adding new categories at such a fast pace that it has now moved from simply being yet another start page, to a valuable resource for anyone wanting to research a certain subject or industry.

See what you think...http://books.alltop.com/

Manchester book market is back . Find us there!

The Manchester Book Market is back! The popular independent book market is returning as part of the Manchester International Festival for a three-day market accompanied by back-to-back performances from the cream of Manchester's spoke word scene.

The market is running 17th-19th July in St Anns Square and will give the public the opportunity to buy books directly from the UK’s leading independent publishers, as well as sample the latest emerging talent in spoken word from the North West. The market will feature over 20 presses, with publishers coming from all over the UK to take part.

In a special café area each day, some of the north west’s leading live literature/spoken word artists will perform throughout each day. Readers so far include Joe Stretch, Tony Walsh, Julian Daniel, Mike Garry, Akiel Chinelo, Elizabeth Baines, Louise Wallwein, Conrad Williams, Ailsa Cox, Zoe Lambert, Eleanor Rees, Mike Duff, Tim Lees, Annie Clarkson, Segun Le French, Tom Fletcher, Lula Blue and many, many more.

We are pleased to announce that Manchester Libraries will be at the market. Come and visit our stand and join the library! You can join the library at the book fair and take your shiny new library card home with you straightaway. Use your card in Central Library or any of our community libraries.

You'll also be able to buy our exclusive library book bag. Carry home you book fair wares in style with our limited edition jute shopper - and it's a bargain at £2.50!

St Ann's Square. 11am-5.30pm.
Free. Readings at 2pm, 3.30pm and 5pm.

See www.literaturenorthwest.co.uk for more information.

Poem of the Month: Clocks by William McCormick

July's Poem of the Month is Clocks by William McCormick.

At work
I watch the clocks
At home
alone
I listen to them

William McCormick is a graduate of Brown University (U.S.) and was awarded an M.A. in Novel Writing from The University of Manchester. He is author of the forthcoming historical novel Red Shadows. A world traveler, William has lived in seven countries and presently resides in Ukraine where he is working on his second novel.

Are you a poet or a budding poet? send us one of your own poems (not too long!) and we'll publish the best one here each month. Send entries to litlist@libraries.manchester.gov.uk with poem of the month in the subject line.

If you love reading on your sofa, this is the furniture of your dreams! Big enough to snooze on with your favourite books comfortably within reach. The Flexform bibliophile sofa was designed in New York by Paolo Nava and Antonio Citterio.

Poetry & knitting: an official trend!

Celebrate the Poetry Society's centenary, by helping to create the world's first giant knitted poem. Knitters everywhere are invited to knit a poem one letter at a time. The final poem, in all its knitted glory will be revealed at the end of the centenary year. Visit The Poetry Society for more information...

...and don't forget on Wednesday 8 July you can take part in an evenng of poetry and knitting courtesy of Poetica and Manchester Central Library. If knitting isn't your thing you are still very welcome. Poets include Oyeyinka Akintayo, Antonionioni, Tricia Ashworth, Irene Clare Garner, Peter Hartey, Alex Humphrey, David Keyworth, Paul Knight, Andy N, Stephanie Portersmith, Mark Mace Smith, Gaetana Tripetti and Michael Wilson.

Central Library Committee Room, Wednesday 8 July, 6-7.30 FREE

Knives, forks and spoons

Manchester has a new experimental poetry publisher, currently seeking manuscripts, they can be found here.

Amis tackles the subject of suicide

Leading author Martin Amis is to investigate the difficult subject of suicide with two public figures who have been touched by the tragedy at The University of Manchester this week (July 3).

Amis, who ends his second year as Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester, subtitled his classic 1984 novel, Money, 'A suicide note' - a subject he has revisited in later novels.

He will be joined by 79-year-old poet Al Alvarez who is best known for his study of suicide, The Savage God, where he discussed the death of his friend Sylvia Plath.

Also taking part is British broadcaster and author Melvyn Bragg, whose first wife killed herself when she was 31 – ten years into their marriage.

Bragg did not realise his wife - a French vicomtesse called Lisa Roche - had a history of suicide attempts.

She went into therapy but killed herself in 1971 by jumping from a window.

"I could have done things which helped and I did things which harmed," he told The Guardian in 1998. "So yes, I feel guilt, I feel remorse."

The reading will be followed by a question and answer session.

Professor Amis is based at the University’s Centre for New Writing, which explores and researches collaboration between creative and critical writing.

Martin Amis Public Events: Literature and Suicide with Al Alvarez and Melvyn Bragg will take place at University Place, Oxford Road, Manchester at 6.30 PM.

Poem-films on BBC big screen

A selection of eight of the best poem-films commissioned by Comma Film are currently being shown on city centre Big Screens, as part of the BBC's national content. The films will show through the day on the even hour (10am, 12noon, 2pm, etc). The selected films are:
Heart Wrap (Shamshad Khan/Lisa Risbec), This Heart Disease Called Love (John Cooper Clarke/Gwendolen Osmond), Desires (Gaia Holmes/Kate Jessop), Archaeology (Gaia Holmes/Lisa Risbec), Working Metal (Kath McKay/Terry Wragg), Video Kid (Chris Woods/Charlotte Caetano), Streets (David Constantine/Sarah Eyre & James Fisher), and I Have Become a Stranger to My Own House (Helen Clare/Gwendolen Osmond).

For more information on the project and how to take part in our next film challenge, email ra.page@commapress.co.uk.

Hop over to Manchizzle for a great round up of new Manchester based blogs. Manchizzles's tasty ten include art, comics, playwriting, photo blogs and vodcasts.

Questseekers - get kids hooked on books

This summer, open up a world of imagination and adventure for your children at your local library. Join Quest Seekers – the Summer Reading Challenge 2009 – and we’ll help get your kids hooked on books!

Whether your child is just beginning to pick up books, or an avid reader already, the Summer Reading Challenge 2009 will fire up their imagination. Just sign up at your local library (it’s free!) and your children will receive a fabulous ‘moving image’ membership card and a special poster to keep track of their quest.

As a Quest Seeker, your child can take part in three tasks: Firebird Rising, Mountain Mission and Dragon’s Lair. Each task involves reading two books – they can
be any books at all, not just novels – and if they finish all three tasks they
retrieve the golden book, and their quest is complete!

The Summer Reading Challenge is great fun for everyone – but it also gives kids a real sense of achievement. What’s more, research shows children who take part get a head start in the classroom when they go back to school.

Add Summer in the Library leaflet on www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries

Questseeker website