The Write Stuff

21 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, Blogging, creativity, Event, workshops, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Roundhouse, canals, canoeing, creative writing, kyaking, uk, Wildlife, writing, writing workshop

For those of you who are of a creative or aquatic bent, you may be interested to know that I will once again be leading canal based creative writing workshops. Those crazy fools at the Birmingham Literature Festival have asked me to lead dusk till dawn writing sessions as part of this year’s festival.

It really was great fun.

I don’t have a lot of details yet, but I guess that they will be similar to the ones I ran back in April as part of the pop-up festival. Back then, we started from Birmingham’s historic Roundhouse and explored the canals via canoe and kayak. It was a real eye-opener for me. There are parts of the city you can only explore from the canal. Deserted glassworks, industrial loading bays and the Victorian red brick of disused warehouses stand beside the canal, and their decaying shells now home a multitude of wildlife and their walls canvases for graffiti artists and frustrated lovers.

Come and witness my world famous invisible fish wrestling.

We will spend at least an hour on the water and then back inside the relative, although not guaranteed, warmth of the Roundhouse I’ll put you through your paces with some short, focused writing exercises that will nudge you towards creating longer pieces of work.

All photos are the property of the very talented Jana Eastwood. You can find more images from previous workshops here at her excellent blog, Escapes and Photography.

Birmingham’s Roundhouse.

One of the many incredible views along the canal.

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Wildlife in the heart of the city.

Navigating Birmingham.

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, creativity, Poetry, workshops, Writers, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Alyse Fowler, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham's canals, British Canoeing, Canal and River Trust, creative writing, Jo Bell, National Trust, The Roundhouse, uk, writing, writing workshops

Paddling and writing along Birmingham’s canals

Ever thought of combining canoeing and writing? Well, now’s your chance. On April 23rd, Jo Bell (poet,) Alyse Fowler (gardener/writer,) and I will be doing just that. We’ll be taking groups down the industrial canals of Birmingham and using this unique perspective to inspire creative writing. Check out the press release below for full details and booking info:

canoeing2

£20/£16 (concessions), children £10

Need some inspiration to get writing? Want to explore hidden Birmingham?

Look no further than our series of creative walks, bike rides and canoe trips developed in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, National Trust, Birmingham Roundhouse, British Canoeing and Big Birmingham Bikes, and delivered by five fantastic writers.

Canoe-write

Take to the waterways of Birmingham by canoe for a unique perspective on the city, returning to dry land for a writing workshop at The Roundhouse led by Alys Fowler (10am-1pm) or Jo Bell (2pm-5pm). Workshops for young people at both sessions will be led by Garrie Fletcher. Canoes and instruction supplied free of charge from British Canoeing and B-ROW.

Please dress comfortably: we advise that you don’t wear jeans, you do wear trainers, bring waterproof coat and trousers, and a complete change of clothes. The canoes have a weight restriction of 17.5 stone.
Drinks are provided free of charge but please bring a snack to sustain you.

Suitable for adults and children aged 8 and over. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Workshop 1 – 10am – 1pm (Alys Fowler)

Workshop 2 – 2pm – 5pm (Jo Bell)

Roundhouse Writers

Jo Bell is a former Canal Poet Laureate and currently appears on Nationwide’s ‘Voice of the People’ ads. Her poetry collection Kith is published by Nine Arches Press. She is co-writing a handbook for poets – How to be a Poet – and lives on a narrowboat.

Alys Fowler is an award-winning journalist, regular presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World and Guardian columnist. Her new book Hidden Nature charts her journey through the canals of Birmingham by canoe.

Garrie Fletcher writes short stories, novels and poems. His collection of short stories, Night Swimming, has just been published by Mantle Lane Press. He leads the Birmingham Young Writers’ Group for Writing West Midlands.

How to Book:
Please contact The BOX to book tickets on 0121 245 4455 or you can book online by clicking the button below.

Book Now

Kit de Waal’s book launched in Birmingham

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, Event, News, Reading, Writers, writing

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Birmingham, Book Launch, Kit de Waal, My Name Is Leon, Waterstones

Following events in London and Leamington, Kit’s wonderfully reviewed book gets a Birmingham launch at Waterstones, 5th July 2016 at 7pm. 2016.

leon

more details here.

Kit de Working Class

08 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Writers, creativity, Culture, Scholarship, Short Stories, Working Class, Writers, writing

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Kit de Waal, marginalised, Scholarship, Sleaford Mods, Stories, Working Class, Working class stories, writing

Birmingham writer, Kit de Waal, has set up a scholarship for marginalised people. She wants to give someone, who wouldn’t otherwise have it, the opportunity to write and to develop as a writer.

Kit says, ‘I really see a gap in white, working-class stories – it’s a massively neglected area. I don’t think the experience of the white working class is valued enough.’ I couldn’t agree more.

Kit

She also talks about some of the reasons for the lack of working class literature, ‘I think there are gatekeeping processes at work in publishing. First, you need an agent, and you need the time to write. That’s one way you’re going to be filtered out of the system. Maybe there is a lack of confidence in our working-class stories, in whether people want to hear them? But sometimes we have to tell them, otherwise other people do so on your behalf, and that’s no good. We have a responsibility to tell our stories, and the industry has a responsibility to hear them.’

Working class stories are really important to me. My father was a builder, a labourer and tells some incredible stories of friendship, betrayal, law breaking, violence and toe curling humour. These stories are not represented in publishing. These are the stories I write and the stories I want to read.

I think this is the reason I enjoy Sleaford Mods. They tell modern day working class stories with none of the romanticised crap that you see in shows like Call The Midwife and the like.

Please read the whole of the article on Kit and her scholarship here and if you are a working class writer apply.

How about a list of great working class books or stories?

The Brum Radio Lives!

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by fletcherski in Arts, Birmingham, Culture, Live Music, Music, News, Radio, Reading, Writers, writing

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Birmingham, Book Club, Brum Radio, Johnathan Coe, Local Bands, Local Writers, Mazzy Snape, Mixcloud, Music, Ocean Colour Scene, Steve Craddock, uk

At last, Birmingham has its very own alternative radio station, Brum Radio. The station covers local bands, including an interview with Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Craddock, and events as well as a Book Club programme that looks at the work of local authors. Their first guest was Johnathan Coe talking about his new book, Number Eleven. The show has teamed up with Waterstones to give you a £6 discount on the book when you say…….Well, to find out what the code is read the full article here on Mazzy Snape’s blog.