Karen's blog: Writers' Centre Norwich newsletter

The latest Writers' Centre Norwich newsletter has details of a special Hannah Silva event, City of Literature festival and more:

WHAT'S ON

FEATURES

SCHOOLS

WRITERS

A collision of poetry, sound and performance

Special event with Hannah Silva and renowned sound poet Tomomi Adachi

Friday 11 May, 8.30pm, Norwich Arts Centre

★★★★★ ‘ Radical, political, courageous’

WhatsonStage

A tour de force of the live literature circuit, Hannah Silva follows up on the success of her sold-out show Schlock! with a special performance of her genre-defying debut record Talk in a Bit.

Silva will perform with world-renowned Japanese sound artist Tomomi Adachi, who has designed infra-red sensor jackets that enable sound to be choreographed through the body. Prepare for a truly original experience of music, atmosphere and words.

Tomomi Adachi (c) Matthias Groebel

City of Literature festival spotlight

Our City of Literature programme is presented in partnership with Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Below, we have hand-picked our favourite events for readers, writers, thinkers and change-makers.

THE CUTTING EDGE

Jeffery Deaver

Tuesday 22 May, 7.30pm, The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich

LINCOLN RHYME IS BACK.

We welcome number-one Sunday Times bestselling author and master of suspense Jeffery Deaver to Norwich UNESCO City of Literature. The Cutting Edge sees Deaver’s most popular character, Lincoln Rhyme, at work again in NYC as he tries to catch a killer targeting couples just as they start out on their lives together.

‘The best psychological thriller writer around’ – The Times

GOING NUCLEAR

Fred Pearce

Sunday 27 May, 11.15am, Literature Tent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich

How concerned should we be about nuclear technology? What effect will radioactive waste have on generations to come? In Fallout, prize-winning science writer and environmental consultant to the New Scientist Fred Pearce takes a definitive look at humanity’s nuclear adventure. Part of the City of Literature weekend at Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

See the full line-up >>

'Read this book as if the future depended on it’ - Betsy Hartmann

Two new City of Literature shows announced

23 & 24 May, 8pm, The Birdcage, Norwich

We are thrilled to announce two new additions to the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2018: 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know' by theatre company Proteus (23 May), and 'Instagramming the Apocalypse' by poet and performer Byron Vincent (24 May).

Both shows will take place at The Birdcage pub and cost only £3 a ticket.

Free events in Norwich

Who's Afraid of Populism?

Monday 23 April, 7.30pm, The Forum, Norwich

A series of events exploring the biggest questions of our time, organised in partnership with UEA. Why are so many from, or dismayed by, their legislators and governments? Is populism a challenge or an opportunity? Pre-bookings have now closed. Any vacant seats on the night will be allocated to non-ticket-holders on a first come, first served basis. Read more >>

UEA Live: Imogen Hermes Gowar

Thursday 3 May, 6.30pm, Dragon Hall, Norwich

Our headliner for the next UEA Live is Imogen Hermes Gowar, whose debut novel The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock was longlisted for the 2018 Desmond Elliott Prize. Imogen will be joined by some of the best emerging talent from UEA's Creative Writing MA and special faculty guest reader, Rachel Hore. Free entry - no booking required. Read more >>

Last chance to apply!

Literary Translation Summer School

Only a few days remain to apply for the International Literary Translation & Creative Writing Summer School, delivered by the British Centre for Literary Translation in partnership with Writers' Centre Norwich. This one-week intensive programme of workshops is designed to encourage collaboration and peer learning between literary translators in a small group setting.

Deadline for applications: Sunday 15 April

Image (c) Anita Staff

Features & Interviews

Norwich and Nottingham to host global Cities of Literature gathering in 2019

Norwich and Nottingham, two of the UK’s four Cities of Literature, will host a global gathering of the UNESCO Cities of Literature from 28 countries in 2019. The week-long programme - Nottwich 2019 - will be the first time that the prestigious international forum has taken place in England.

Discover Norfolk's independent bookshops

Norfolk is home to bookshops of all shapes and sizes, some well-known and others far from the beaten path. To celebrate English Tourism Week in March, we explored over 30 of the region’s independent bookshops (and nearby places to visit), found in the grounds of stately homes, along the beautiful Norfolk coast and nestled within Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature.

Recommended stories for young readers under 10

Each year, International Children's Book Day is celebrated on or around the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen (2 April), to inspire a love of reading and great stories by bringing children and books together around the world. To mark the occasion, we spoke to local experts from Jarrold and Waterstones about their favourite titles that they would recommend to children who are three, six and nine years old.

Parkinson's and the Tango Effect

'Ten years ago, newly freed from a lifetime of teaching by a diagnosis of Parkinson's, I considered my options...' Former English teacher Kate Swindlehurst details her writing journey; via a Parkinson's diagnosis, winning a place on the Writers' Centre Norwich Escalator talent development scheme, and dancing the tango.

You may also be interested in...

Sustainable Societies writing competition

Deadline: 10pm, Thursday 19 April

The University of Southampton is looking for short stories of any genre – up to 3,500 words – that in some way touch upon ideas around building a sustainable society. Winners will appear in a prize anthology, and the 'best story' will also win a cash prize. Read more >>

Skulduggery in Stowmarket

26 - 30 April, Stowmarket Library

Suffolk's newest crime writers' festival features four days of talks by top crime writers, a quiz, a murder mystery to solve, workshops and a day of activities for younger readers. £5 per author talk or £20 for all of Saturday's author talks. Read more >>

OPEN Creatives - weekly workshops for young people

Every Tuesday, 5 - 6pm, OPEN Norwich, free entry

OPEN Creatives is a weekly creative writing workshop that focuses on fostering and funneling young people’s imaginative ideas into the form of writing. Each week participants are encouraged to share what they have created (within or outside of the workshop). Read more >>