It's back and and it’s bigger and better than ever before! For thirty-one days in July, Manchester city centre’s award-winning Lass O’Gowrie pub will become a one venue fringe festival, hosting an amazing 100+ events including Johnny Vegas and the cast and team behind Ideal plus Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer, the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, authors Ramsey Campbell and Bryan Talbot, Frank Sanazi, Diva Bliss and Kitty Couture are just some of the talent that make up this year’s Lassfest!
There's a fantastic programme of literary events (http://www.lassfest.co.uk/literature.php) featuring the amazing Warriorcon - a celebration of 30 years since the genesis of the ground-breaking comic that launched the career of Alan Moore and saw the debut amongst others, V for Vendetta (July 2nd).
You can also join Gaetana Tripetti for the When is a Sonnet not a Sonnet poetry workshop (July 5th) and you don't want to miss the return of Pub Fiction Presents - including readings and Q&A's with a range of authors including Ramsey Campbell (July 18th), John Reppion (July 19th), Tom Fletcher (July 20th), Nicholas Royle (July 21st), Al Ewing (July 22nd), Bryan Talbot (July 23rd), Stephen Gallagher (July 23rd) and Paul Magrs and George Mann (July 24th).
Details of all the 100+ July events are now online at the Lass fest website www.lassfest.co.uk, with the full programme downloadable at
Our next read is a thought-provoking post about the current state of e-Books and their limitations from Wired.com - 5 reasons why ebooks aren't there yet.
This is also an interesting read a Kindle Vs real books article from the LA Times...
Michael Waters, Professor of English at Salisbury University, Maryland, has six poetry collections and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Shoestring Press is delighted to present his Selected Poems.
In Malsom Carson's new collection, Rangi Changi, a trek to Nepal provides the background for the title sequence. His work explores the relationships between the individual and his landcape.
City Library, Becker Room
Monday 11 July 6.30 pm FREE
What a lovely way to spend an evening: knitting and listening to poetry. However, if knitting isn’t your thing, you’re still very welcome.
Poetica, invites knitters and non-knitters to come and hear varied verse reading. An eclectic Manchester-based poetry group, Poetica held their first ‘Bring Your Knitting’ event at the 2009 Not Part of Festival. It was such good fun that they’ve decided to roll it out again.
City Library
Becker Room
Wednesday 6 July 6.30 pm FREE
T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land is the top grossing iPad book app in the Apple App store this week. The app, has been on the top grossing app list since its debut in iTunes last week. The classic poem knocks Marvel's comic book app out of the No. 1 spot. The Marvel app has been dominating the list for the past few weeks. Read more at ebooknewser...
A double celebration: the launch of Hungry, the Stars and Everything, Emma Jane's debut novel and a new Manchester publisher, Hidden Gem Press.
Hungry, the Starts and Everything is a romantic comedy about whether it’s better to marry the love of your life with all the attendant passions and problems, or whether it is better to opt for someone loving and steady, if a little more predictable.
Emma Jane Unsworth’s short fiction has been published by Prospect Magazine, Comma, Nightjar Press, Redbeck Press and Channel 4 Books. She has worked as a journalist for many years and currently writes a fortnightly column for the Big Issue in the North. She lives in Manchester with her partner, the musician Guy Garvey. Hungry, The Stars and Everything is her first novel.
Reading with Emma is Maria Roberts, author of the book Single Mother on the Verge. Maria is also a successful blogger, has an MA in novel writing and has worked for City Life. She is currently working on a sitcom and a new novel. Visit Maria's blog where you can read an extract of Single Mother on the Verge...
City Library
Becker Room
Thursday 7 July
6.30 pm FREE
Thanks to Random House the Lit List has a lovely copy of Caitlin Davies' spellbinding new novel to give away.
Based on a real period from London’s rich history, The Ghost of Lily Painter is a poignant novel, one which spans the century and brings to life a shadowy truth from our past.
With a fleet of extraordinary characters, and a beautiful insight into the way we lived then, this novel explores the extraordinary power of loss and redemption.. Spanning an entire century, from the journals of an Edwardian police inspector to a doomed wartime love affair, The Ghost of Lily Painter is an engrossing and fascinating novel from a hugely talented writer.
To enter the draw, email litlist@manchester.gov.uk 5pm on Wednesday 22 June. Remember to include your contact details and a name and address so we can post the book asap! The lucky winner is also invited to an exclusive online webchat with Caitlin Davies in July.
Just having a mooch through Google Books and found this fascinating guide to Manchester and Salford by Joseph Aston written in 1804. Born in 1762, the author was the son of William Aston, a gunsmith of Deansgate and in 1803 he opened a stationer's shop at 84 Deansgate.
I wanted to know more about Joseph Aston so I logged in to the free online reference library at Manchester Libraries (of course!) and found his biography online in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography...
"Aston himself was a poet of little accomplishment, and often published his verses in his own paper. His Metrical Records of Manchester (1822) is a humorous portrayal of Manchester history in verse. Of his three dramatic pieces, Conscience, a tragedy, was performed at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, in 1815, with moderate success. He also wrote Retributive Justice, another tragedy, and A Family Story, a comedy. Of his five other published works all but one, Lancashire Gazetteer (1808), relate to Manchester. In 1826 he published a collection, Plays, Poetry and Prose. Aston died at Chadderton Hall, near Oldham, Lancashire, on 19 October 1844, and was buried at Tonge, near Middleton."
It's free to access the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography with your library card. Simply log on from our website.
Manchester’s new writing talent will gather on June 16th to celebrate and read from a new anthology of their work.
The Manchester Anthology showcases the best writing from 31 new writers who are taught by Martin Amis, Geoff Ryman, MJ Hyland and Ian McGuire as part of The University of Manchester’s prestigious Centre for New Writing.
The volume gathers a selection of the authors’ best prose, from short stories to novels in progress.
Jenn Ashworth, critically acclaimed author of Cold Light said, “The energy and diversity in the work collected here undermines the oft-quoted belief that graduates of creative writing courses produce a particular style and type of writing.
"There’s nothing ‘cookiecutter’ about this fiction – the confidence and clarity of the work here is dazzling.”
The writers are all working towards an MA in Creative Writing from what The Independent has called “one of the highest profile creative writing courses in the English speaking world.”
Ian McGuire, Co-director at the Centre for New Writing said, “The anthology is inspiring stuff. It’s a great chance for readers to sample the best new writing coming out of Manchester, and for the authors to show what they can do.”
Notes for editors
The celebration event will take place from 7.30 on June 16th at Manchester’s Deaf Institute, and include readings by the authors of their work. For more details contact:
Kathryn Pallant kpallant@hotmail.com
Laura Joyce lauraellenjoyce@hotmail.com
Alec Johnson alecijohnson@gmail.com
Copies of the anthology may be purchased from Alec Johnson – see contacts above.
A quick tweet on Tuesday about this ace 2-in-1 Coffee Table Book resulted in a flurry of Seinfeld related tweety goodness...
...@sjhuda sent us this top Seinfeld clip - remember Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables? It's USP was 'a pair of foldable wooden legs so that it could itself be turned into a coffee table. He also said that he had plans for a coaster to be built into the cover, and it is unknown if this feature was actually implemented at any point.' (Wikipedia)
We were also reminded of Jerry's (sporting a fetching orange turtleneck) attempt to straighten out his library fines and explain what happened to the Tropic of Cancer to Mr Bookman, the library investigations officer.
JERRY'S APARTMENT
JERRY: Let me speak with the head librarian. ... Because it's absurd. An overdue book
from 1971? ... This is a joke right? What are you? From a radio station?
KRAMER: enters
JERRY: Ya' got me I fell for it. Alright, OK I can be down there in like a half hour.
Bye.
KRAMER: What's the problem?
JERRY: This you're not goin' to believe. The NYPL says that I took out Tropic of Cancer
in 1971 and never returned it.
KRAMER: Do you know how much that comes to? That's a nickel a day for 20 years. It's
going to be $50,000
JERRY: It doesn't work like that.
KRAMER: If it's a dime a day it could be $100,000
JERRY: It's not going to be anything. I returned the book. I remember it very vividly
because I was with Sherry Becker. She waore this orange dress. It was the first time I
ever saw her in a dress like that. In oticed since ninth grade she was developing this
body in secret under these loose clothes for like two years. And then one day ...
FLASHBACK
JERRY: That orange dress is burned in my memory
KRAMER: Oh, memory burn.
JERRY: I wonder what ever happened to her.
KRAMER: How did they ever find you?
JERRY: Oh, computers, they're cracking down now on overdue books. The whole thing is
completely ridiculous.
JERRY: It's George. Wait 'til he hears we're going to the library
KRAMER: You know I never got a library card.
JERRY: Coming down.
KRAMER: It's all a bunch of cheapskates in there anyway. People sitting around reading
the newspaper attached to huge wooden sticks Trying to save a quarter, ooh,
JERRY: I gotta go to the library. You want to go?
KRAMER: Yeah,
LIBRARY
KRAMER: The Dewey Decimal System, what a scam that was. Boy that Dewey guy really cleaned
up on that deal.
JERRY: Where's George
READER: Shhh.
KRAMER: Tryin' to save a quarter.
JERRY: I kinda like those sticks. I'd like to get them for my house.
TURNING TO LIBRARY COUNTER
JERRY: This woman's completely ignoring me.
KRAMER: Look at her. This is a lonely woman looking for companionship.. ... Spinster. ...
Maybe a virgin. ... Maybe she got hurt a long time ago. She was a schoolgirl. There was
a boy It didn't work out. Now she needs a little tenderness. She needs a little understanding.
She needs a little Kramer.
JERRY: Eventually a little shot of penicillin
LIBRARIAN: Yes?
JERRY: Yes I called before. I got his notice in the mail.
LIBRARIAN: Oh, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller, Uh, this case has been turned over to our
library investigation officer Mr. Bookman.
KRAMER: Bookman? The library investigator's name is actually, Bookman?
LIBRARIAN: It's true.
KRAMER: That's amazing. That's like an ice cream man named, Cone.
LIBRARIAN: Lt. Bookman has been working here for 25 years so I think he's heard all the jokes.
JERRY: Can I speak with this Bookman?
LIBRARIAN: Just a second.
The 2011 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition is now open for entries! Aesthetica Magazine is inviting all artists, photographers, writers and poets to submit their work into the Creative Works Competition.
Now in its fourth year, the competition is dedicated to celebrating and championing creative talent across the disciplines and welcomes entries from poets and writers as well as artists working in any medium, including sculpture, textiles, photography, ceramics, paint, digital art and more!
The Competition has three categories, Artwork & Photography, Poetry and Fiction.
Winners and finalists are published in the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual and winners of each category receive £500 prize money plus other prizes.
It costs £10 to enter the Creative Works Competition is £10 and the fee allows the submission of 2 images, 2 poems or 2 short stories. Your deadline for submissions is 31st August 2011 and more guidelines on how to submit can be found online at http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativeworks.
All winners will be notified by 31 October 2011 and the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual will be published 1 December 2011.
What are you waiting for? Send in creative works today!
The winner of the 16th Orange Prize for Fiction will be revealed tomorrow (Wednesday 8th June) at the Southbank Centre in London. According to the Bookseller, author Emma Donoghue is 2/1 to win the prize, with Aminatta Forna's second novel, The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury) second favourite at 3/1.
This year's shortlist comprises: Emma Donoghue's Room; Aminatta Forna's The Memory of Love; Grace Williams Says it Loud, by Emma Henderson; Great House, by Nicole Krauss; The Tiger's Wife, by Téa Obreht; and Annabel, by Kathleen Winter. You can reserve all the Orange prize shortlist from the library's online catalogue.
This year's judges are: the historian Bettany Hughes; the actress and writer Helen Lederer; Liz Calder, the founder of Bloomsbury publishing; Susanna Reid, the journalist and broadcaster; and the author Tracy Chevalier. In 2008, the writer Tim Lott called the prize "a sexist con trick", asking: "Could the establishment of a men-only prize be justified?". What do you think of an all women writing competition?
Come and join us for the latest event in our series looking at issues in contemporary fiction.
Kevin Duffy founded BLUEMOOSE BOOKS in 2006 in direct response to "all the celebrity & formulaic publishing that was on offer in the High Street." Together with family & colleagues, he wanted to create a publishing business that concentrated on "stories that engage and inspire. The story is everything - no tricks, bells or whistles, just great stories beautifully told."
Kevin has strong views on mainstream publishing & bookselling, on the world of agents & promotions and how independent publishers & bookshops can survive at perhaps the most challenging time in their history - and he is not backward in expressing them! This evening's event will look at all these issues, with the help of 3 Bluemoose authors, all launching their debut novels.
MICHAEL STEWART - King Crow
Paul Cooper is an outsider. When he looks at people, he wonders what bird they are. He finds making friends difficult especially when he has to move from school to school, so he obsesses about ornithology - until he meets Ashley. Ashley is everything Paul isn't, tough & good-looking with so much street cred....
their friendship and the life-changing events that follow lead to a flight that makes national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Think 'Kes' meets 'Fight Club'.
Michael Stewart teaches Creative Writing at Huddersfield University and is Director of the Huddersfield Literature Festival.
"Michael Stewart is a fascinating new voice, & King Crow is a fine debut novel...modern fiction at its best." Melvin BURGESS
ANNA CHILVERS - Falling Through Clouds
Kat, a 22-year-old student returning home to Devon for the summer holidays, meets Gavin on the train. They spend the summer together but he has something on his mind. He is plagued with nightmares after having been held hostage in Iraq & she soon finds she is out of her depth. When he disappears, Kat & a friend, in trying to find out what's happened to him, uncover instead strange links & parallels to the old 'Sir Gawaine & the Green Knight' legend......
Anna Chilvers is the Reader Development Officer for Calderdale Libraries.
"Anna's prose is razor sharp, her dialogue pitch perfect...it's a serious page-turner, moving & witty" Lesley GLAISTER
MARK A RADCLIFFE - Gabriel's Angel
Gabriel Bell is a grumpy 44-year-old journalist, irritated by the accompanying disappointments of life. If losing his job wasn't bad enough, getting run over and waking up to find himself in a therapy group run by angels REALLY annoys him. The group struggles with the therapy - if they do well, they may be allowed to return to Earth to complete their lives - if they don't, it's Hell or worse: lots more therapy.
Mark A Radcliffe's novel was voted Best First Novel by Guardian readers in their Book of the Year survey.
"Gabriel's Angel is the perfect antidote to the glib platitudes of emotional quick-fix culture: tender, astute and very funny." Christopher BROOKMYRE
Thursday 9th June 6pm
Free, all welcome
Becker Room, First Floor,
City Library, Elliot House,
151 Deansgate
MANCHESTER M3 3WD
Come and enjoy what promises to be a most interesting (& possibly controversial!) evening.
Live/work near Manchester City Centre? Enjoy reading? The Castle Hotel is the place to be tomorrow night if you want to meet like minded people as the pub is hosting the brand new Northern Quarter Book Club.
The general theme of the group is escapism and the group intend to read mainly post war fiction, but they're open to suggestions and there'll be a vote on new books at each meeting. The next book club will be tomorrow on Tuesday 7th June at 7.30pm at the Castle on Oldham Street and the book is 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates.
Find out more at the NQ Book Club Facebook page and if you are on twitter, in the Manchester area and like books please follow @NorthernQbookclub.
