A Very Literary Cake

By Inés Gregory Labarta

The very last Northwest Literary Salon of the season and I promised myself I wouldn’t cry – in front of everyone, I mean. It has been a year full of inspiring authors, a friendly audience of fellow readers and writers and the excellent company of the best hosts one could ask for: Yvonne and Naomi. And we have also been spoiled with the talent of musicians such as Noni and the culinary skills of our dear Filbert’s Bakery from Lancaster.

No wonder I have been mourning since then!  Because this was the last NWLS of the season, Yvonne and Naomi brought us three writers instead of two: Paul McVeigh, Essie Fox and Sophie Duffy.

Essie Fox is an incredibly talented author (check out Elijah’s Mermaid if you love the Victorian era!) and illustrator. I had the pleasure of discussing our mutual love of all things Gothic and how collecting books can become a question of life or death (I’m referring to the danger of bookshelves so incredibly loaded with volumes that the possibility of an avalanche  seems increasingly likely).

Many people had told me afterwards that Sophie Duffy‘s vivid descriptions brought them back to the happy days when they were students at Lancaster University during the 1970’s. As a student now, I feel very proud to know my university has made it to the world of fiction, and I’m particularly intrigued about her novel Bright Stars because it also depicts my favourite city in the world – Edinburgh!

One of the things everyone loves about the NWLS is the storytelling, the opportunity to get to know different characters whilst exploring exotic settings. And Paul McVeigh took this to another level: his performance was as good as seeing a play, as he suddenly metamorphosed into a witty twelve-year-old from Belfast – the young narrator of his novel, The Good Son.

All the writers shared advice on what to do while you’re waiting to get your work published. It seems easy to envy those who are accumulating awards and going around the country launching their books, but what many people tend to forget are all the years – sometimes even decades! – of hard work behind the scenes.Paul McVeigh explained that after his first novel was published, his strategy was to stop writing for a while and focus on promoting it as much as he could. Are we writers supposed to adopt the role of ancient minstrels and go around sharing our stories? I personally think it sounds appealing…

 

All this was topped off by a beautiful (and heavenly) cake by Filbert’s. Everyone had the chance to speak to the authors, meet new people and discuss affairs from the literary world. It is because of events like this that we, lonely creatures known as authors, leave our desks and get out the real world to get inspiration and motivation from people who understand and share our struggles.

 

This first season of NWLS was supported by Lancaster University, Lancaster Arts City’s First Friday initiative, and the lovely staff at Waterstones. It wouldn’t have been possible without the the effort and dedication from its founders, Naomi and Yvonne along with the support and talent of many musicians as well as Filbert’s Bakery. A lovely group of volunteers helped every single month to receive people at the door, set up and distribute food and beverages, and, the loyal audience brought warmth and curiosity. We rarely had an empty seat!

Have you enjoyed the NWLS with us? Are you – like me – still mourning the end of this season? Let’s keep promoting it so a second season arrives soon!

Three Authors for the North West Literary Salon Anniversary!

by Inés Gregory Labarta

The North West Literary Salon has been bringing you stories, writers, music, food and the best literary company for almost a year now. As all the good things in life, our first season comes to an end, but our lovely hostesses, Yvonne Battle-Felton and Naomi Kruger don’t want to go without launching one last great literary party. Victorian mysteries, the possibility of learning why Creative Writing matters, and a writer who can use twitter to tell stories: all this on Friday 6th May, 7pm at Waterstones, Lancaster. Want to join us?

Paul McVeigh has written plays and short stories, but his first novel, The Good Son, came out in 2015. This story is set in the author’s hometown of Belfast during the troubles, and it has been said that it ‘envelops the reader with humanity and its down-to-earth humour leaves you laughing’. Paul is involved in several projects such as The Word Factory and the London Short Story Festival and shares writing tips and interesting news on his blog. Curious about him? Listen to his short story Tickles!

 

 

Sophie Duffy was bored so she decided to take a Creative Writing evening class in Sussex. Now she has three novels published and has received several prizes such as the Luke Bitmead Award for The Generation Game. We’re proud to say she’s also a graduate from the Lancaster University Creative Writing MA. Wish you could ask her how to achieve success in writing and publishing? Sophie shares her knowledge through Creative Writing Matters, a writing school of international reach.

 

Essie Fox started working in the publishing industry as an illustrator, and finally as a writer. All her gothic stories are inspired by the fascinating Victorian Era, so if you’re a fan of Penny Dreadfuls, corsets or spiritualism you probably want to read her novels. Her blog, The Virtual Victorian, will also bring you an insight into this period of contrasts. For example, did you know that mermaids liked to swim around Herefordshire? Elijah’s Mermaid is inspired by this belief…

 

 

If writing is your path, come to the final literary salon of the season to share experiences with people who have taken the same route. If you’re an avid reader, what could be better than having the author by your side, reading you her or his own words? Add delicious food from Lancaster’s local – and loved – bakery, Filberts, as well as live music and the best company – students, artists and book lovers.

Sound like a good Friday plan?

Check out our free tickets and bring along friends to celebrate the North West Literary Salon’s Anniversary!

April’s salon: Falling for two debut writers

April’s First Friday falls on the very first day of the month, and in the spirit of fresh beginnings, we will be welcoming two talented debut writers to the North West Literary Salon.

Deborah Andrews’ first novel Walking the Lights will be published by Freight in June 2016. Described as a ‘feminist Withnail & I’, the story centres on Maddy, a young actor finding her way and facing her past in mid-90’s Glasgow. Deborah will be giving us a sneak preview of what’s in store and answering questions about her journey as a writer.

 

 

 

Society of Authors Awards June 2011 Kim Moore Eric Gregory Awards

Kim Moore’s first collection The Art of Falling includes poems steeped in realism and the language of the North. They touch on diverse themes including relationships, music, wolves and the people and places of Kim’s native Cumbria. Described as ‘vigourously alive’, ‘direct and compelling’ the poems seem like an appropriate way to welcome in the cruelest month, waking us up as the nights get lighter, ‘not designed to soothe or beguile’.

 

Order your FREE tickets, and join us on Friday April 1st at Waterstones, King Street, Lancaster for an evening of words, discovery, beginnings, food, discussion and music. We’d love to see you there!

The Intangible Line Between Reality and Fiction: Literary Talks

By Shona Jackson

It’s Friday evening, dusk has settled and the North West Literary Salon is humming with conversation and the lilting acoustics of local musician Noni. As our writers take their seats, an evening of fantastical worlds and candid realities unfolds.

Writer and journalist Kirsty Logan begins the evening with a reading of the title short story from her award-winning collection The Rental Heart. She effortlessly marries an urban, contemporary landscape with fairy-tale whimsy. As the ebb and flow of lovers passes through the narrator’s life, they rent and subsequently return clockwork hearts. It’s poignant, enchanting, but also strikingly raw. Kirsty quips about being twenty-four and melodramatic when she wrote the piece following a break-up, of wanting to take out her heart and buy a new one. The second piece she shares is ‘The Elephant Dance’ from her short story collection The Portable Shelter. In it, she invokes a familiar trope, that of running away with the circus. But rather than escaping past wrongs, the protagonist embraces her mistakes, gleeful to see them bound in tight ropes and glittering. Logan uses fairy-tales and the fantastical as a lens through which to examine human realities, framing the familiar in an enchanting new light.

Next, acclaimed novelist Charles Lambert reads excerpts from his book, With a Zero at its Heart, a collection of prose fragments. Twenty-four chapters, with ten paragraphs, each 120 words. There’s something inherently satisfying about the exactness. The sections frame fleeting memories like photographs, they’re ephemeral, but intense, vivid. Charles was half way through writing the book when his mother died. The knowledge adds a certain urgency to his words, a necessity to pin down and preserve memories. As he reads, we fall through playful childhood recollections, spelling sex in wooden blocks while his mother watched Emergency Ward 10, drifting into meditations on words: some are silky smooth like blancmange. The most striking section draws on Lambert’s expatriate life in Italy. It depicts a nightmare of waking up in the country he was born to find he can no longer speak the language, reduced instead to babyish murmurs. The collection is exquisite, resonant; delving into the capacities of memory and imagination.

Both of our writers blur the line between fiction and reality. Kirsty’s stories are otherworldly, yet at their core lies raw human experience, and while Charles’s writings seem biographically rooted, narrating memory feels an awful lot like creating fiction too. Join us next month for more literary wonder.

North West Literary Salon 4th March: Spring Awakening

By Shona Jackson

With spring lingering on the horizon, and a long catalogue of alphabetised storms (hopefully) behind us, the grey skies and icy northern winds are beginning to mellow. If you’re still thawing from the winter months, then get your FREE tickets and wander along to the North West Literary Salon on Friday 4^th March at 7pm, for a restorative bout of literary sunshine with our esteemed writers. As always, there’ll be music, nibbles and an abundance of engaging conversation.

Novelist Charles Lambert lives and writes in the central Italian town of Fondi. His debut novel Little Monsters is a bildungsroman, bridging the landscapes of WWII Britain, and post-war Italy. Beautifully written and intensely thrilling, we follow the protagonist’s journey through time, as sinister threads from the past threaten to unfurl once again in the present. His most recent book, The Children’s Home, is a gripping neo-gothic fairy tale, described by Kirkus Reviews as a ‘one-of-a-kind literary horror story’. Lambert follows in the vein of greats such as Nail Gaiman and Roald Dahl, yet with psychological unease, palpitating suspense and surprising glimmers of hope, Lambert’s work promises a refreshing twist on classic genres.

Writer and journalist Kirsty Logan resides in Glasgow with her fiancé and rescue dog. Her enchanting short story collection The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, takes an age-old form and reshapes it with the lick of modernity. Adorned with fantastical imagery, her short stories navigate clockwork hearts, paper men, lascivious queens and a floating circus. The collection was the acclaimed winner of the Saboteur Award for Best Short Story Collection, among numerous other accolades. Her debut novel The Gracekeepers features the dreamy yet tumultuous seascapes of a flooded world, and traces the journeys of two women fighting against an encroaching tide.

For a little spring awakening this month, join us at the North West Literary Salon on the 4^th March for thrillers, fairy tales and thought-provoking discussion.

February Literary Salon: A Master Class in Death and Destruction

 

by Shona Jackson

 

On Friday 5^th, Lancaster is dark and dank, streetlights glare, and the wind moans as I make my way along King Street. Inside the salon the brooding atmosphere continues, with gripping readings of a slightly sinister nature from our esteemed writers.

Acclaimed novelist, poet and playwright Dennison Smith kicks off the evening with a reading from her latest book, Eye of the Day. Her lilting drawl takes us to 1930’s Vermont, on a night guttering with fire and rain. In the dark, a locomotive crashes and a man is impaled, in a gripping scene of tragedy and violence, pitted in the wilderness. An extract from a further chapter brings us back within the safety of four walls, though domestic space in the novel proves equally as disconcerting. A faded woman sucks martini olives, trading uncomfortable truths with her nephew who lingers uneasily. Dennison is an expert at painting subtle shades of violence- from external, explosive events within the earthy landscape to internalised trauma framed within domestic walls. As she reads, she enthrals her audience. She seems to be speaking from inside the novel, within the shoes of her characters. Later, in the Q & A, Smith speaks about the personal threads of the narrative, her familiarity with the landscape and the intertwined strands of her own family history.

Writer and lecturer Sarah Dobbs reads the first chapter of her debut novel Killing Daniel. We enter the narrative in a submersion, as a thrashing body is plunged into a lake and held down. It’s a gripping, nightmarish montage, rich in textures: worn brown leather, a glimpsed tattoo, purpled lips and water-pooled eyes. The scene is vivid, arresting, with almost lyrical descriptions balancing the grotesqueness of the murder. After, as though for light relief, Sarah reads a commissioned short story, Bone in the Ant. She takes us inside a bustling café, loud with chatter and the slurp of drinks. Cutting through the chaos with chilling clarity are the absentminded thoughts of an adolescent girl, pondering how to kill her twin, who suffers from locked-in syndrome. Not so light relief. Sarah is endearing as she reads, re-writing her work as she goes, I’m going to change that bit. Yet, as it is, her work is startling, poignant, and effortlessly evocative. A further string is added to her bow with the reading of a poem, I Will Repeat You– a heart-wrenching conversation with grief.

Both writers are experts at extremes- crafting intricate scenes of violence, trauma and pain. Their work is a testament to their talent as writers, and their ability to imagine beyond their own parameters. As Dennison Smith macabrely remarks in the Q and A, it only takes killing a fly to experience, albeit on a minute scale, the act of murder.

Escaping the February Blues

by Shona Jackson

February is a liminal month, caught somewhere in the limbo between winter and spring, biting cold winds and occasional bouts of sunshine. If the temperamental weather is leaving you distinctly blue, the North West Literary Salon is the perfect antidote. Join us on Friday 5^th February at Waterstones, King Street, for an evening of escapism with our esteemed writers.

Dennison Smith, a novelist, poet and award-winning playwright, lives between a small island in Canada and London. Her first novel, Scavenger, adapted for the stage as Desert Story, is a cross-cultural work caught between the artifice of the American suburbs and the earthy spiritualism of a Navajo reservation. Lyrical and potent, Smith refers to it as her ‘most autobiographical novel’. Eye of the Day, her latest book, tracks the journey of two protagonists, divided by class, across 1930’s America during World War Two. Dennison Smith handles the historical novel delicately, carving new narrative terrain from the familiar pages of history.

Sarah Dobbs is a writer and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Sunderland. Her first novel, Killing Daniel, is a cross-cultural thriller, charting the parallel stories of Fleur in Manchester, and Chinatsu in Japan, and their possibility of reconnection. It’s a novel of tightly held secrets, cutting betrayals and bold, engaging characters. Dobbs is also the author and co-editor of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing: A practical guide for students. She is currently launching the University of Sunderland’s inaugural short story award, and working on her second novel, Death Day.

On the 5^th February, come in from the cold and warm yourself with live music, refreshments and engaging conversation. Order your free tickets here. Escape the bitter northern wind and drift across decades and continents with tales of warmer climates from our accomplished writers.

Throwing out the Rulebook

By Shona Jackson

On the 8^th January the Literary Salon is a chattering lull of scarves and overcoats. While layers are unpeeled, local musician Noni opens the evening with acoustic songs – original laments of love and haunting covers of contemporary lyrics.

Young Adult fiction writer Phillip Caveney shares a chapter from his novel The Piper. He paints an enigmatic scene- ghostly music drifting through a darkened house, frozen-faced china dolls, whispered voices. Beyond a window spectral girls dance, beckoning to the novel’s unwitting protagonist. The landscape is darkly gothic and brooding, with the drama oscillating between eerie and grotesque. Phillip is a master of tension. His voice rises and falls in crescendos as he reads, frantic, emphatic, then fading to a lull, drawing out each syllable, relishing the audience hunched in anticipation.

Caveney is a man of many faces. ‘The Piper’, labelled by his publisher as too dark, too sinister for his already established young fan-base, was published under the pseudonym Danny Weston, giving him the freedom to write for older readers. The two readily engage in Facebook feuds he jokes later in the Q & A. More scandalously, we’re teased with the suggestion of a series of teen romance novels he’s written too, under a female pseudonym. He’s tight-lipped about specifics. It’s a lingering reminder however that a writer needn’t feel confined to a single genre or audience, that creativity, by its very definition, disregards boundaries.

Poet and climate scientist Rachel McCarthy reads from her debut collection Element. Her poetry is vivid, poignant, anchored in landscapes and histories. She has a scrupulous scientific gaze that seems to tease the poetic and the profound out of the everyday. The collection is shaped around the transition metals, with each poem attributed to one in particular. Osmium, an element used as a catalyst for detonations, inspired ‘The Second Before Disaster’. The poem’s stanzas are suspended in the moment before action, aware of a loss, anticipating an absence.

Rachel’s poetry seems to close the all too present void between the arts and science. She recalls the periodic table on a classroom wall, how the symbols in square boxes were named after lovers, wars and gods, that they hide their own poetic stories. Later, in the Q & A, she berates the loss of the Renaissance man or woman, who valued the arts and science in equal measure- an individual capable both of making scientific discoveries and then writing a sonnet about it. McCarthy’s work is an exercise in breaking down binaries, revealing two carefully delineated areas as one in the same.

What better way to begin the New Year than with writers who defy boundaries and nonchalantly disregard the norm. The next time you pick up your pen, consider the many literary faces of Phillip Caveney, and the interdisciplinary poetics of Rachel McCarthy. Rules can always be rewritten.

 

New Year, New Stories

By Shona Jackson

New beginnings are auspicious. There’s something cathartic about drawing a line, wiping the proverbial slate clean, firmly penning a full stop before a new sentence begins. It’s a time when possibilities seem to unfurl, and the mundanity of the everyday thaws, leaving in its wake a bright new landscape brimming with ‘what if’s’. A new year is a new chapter. It’s a creative threshold of transition, redefinition. And what better way to welcome in a new beginning than with new stories?

On the 8^th of January meander along King Street at say, 7pm, and ease open the door of Waterstones. Follow the soft lull of voices amidst the bookshelves, take a drink, take a seat and prepare for an engaging literary evening with our accomplished writers…

Born and raised in the North West, Rachel McCarthy is an esteemed poet, whose recent collection Element was awarded the Laureate’s Choice 2015. Alice Oswald describes her work as ‘strong interesting poems, full of tension and symmetry. They are alive.’ A senior climate scientist with the Met Office, Rachel’s poetry uses the lens of science to examine human life with poignant clarity. Her work is an intriguing intersection, blurring the all too prevalent binary between the arts and science.

Philip Caveney holds a cherished place in many family bookshelves as author of the Sebastian Darke adventure series and the Alex Devlin mysteries. His book ‘A Night On Terror Island’ won the Oldham Schools Brilliant Book Award. Philip’s novels are favourites among children and adults alike, with their innovative narratives and high-octane drama. His writing is diverse, charting the adventures of a failed jester, a young archeologist in 1920’s Egypt and a time travelling encounter with Robert Louis Stevenson.

Welcome in the New Year with a creative kick-start at the North West Literary Salon on the 8^th of January at 7pm. Expect a night of live music, engaging readings, Q and A, and of course beverages and snacks. Reserve your free tickets here.

 

Lancaster Blues: A snapshot of December’s Salon

By Walker Zupp

We’re surrounded by books. I’m in the ‘N’ section sitting next to Nabokov and Nesbo. We’ve pulled out a few extra chairs – the salon is so packed people are standing at the back. The chatter ensues. We’re all a little early. Graham Mort listens attentively to Fumina Hamasaki playing her guitar while we wait for the clock to strike seven.

‘That’s Chicago Blues?’ he asks in between songs.

‘You know it?’

He nods and smiles. Fumina carries on playing and Alison Moore arrives. She makes her way to the front with Graham, Yvonne and Naomi.

‘I’d like to apologize for the lack of chairs,’ Yvonne says.

‘Having too many people here is a lovely problem to have,’ Naomi continues.

I think we all agree – we’ve seen this event grow. And tonight, it’s the busiest we’ve ever seen.

Alison reads us the first chapter of her second novel, He Wants

‘It’s about opportunities we didn’t take,’ she says. The chapter seems to draw an enormous amount from everyday activities.

Graham reads some poems from his upcoming collection, Black Shiver Moss. He likens the audience to a dream where he was confronted by crows. In between poems he shares anecdotes about everything from a walk in the fells to his admiration of the miniature bottles handed out on planes. He ruffles some pages, looking for the right poem; ‘I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’m gonna get there, which is a migratory thing.’

Later on, Yvonne asks Alison about writing as a career. Alison says that she just sent things off in the beginning – her stories appeared in journals, magazines and she kept entering competitions. And of course, you can’t send off the same piece twice. ‘That’s what kept me writing,’ she says. She met her agent through a publisher, but being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize made all the difference: ‘If I hadn’t cut in to the literature world, I would’ve gone back to work.’ But she did, and now she’s writing full-time.

Another question comes from a writer in the audience; ‘Is it a problem if the main character is male, but the author is female?’

Alison laughs and says, ‘Well, my publisher doesn’t fret about marketing so much. It’s more about “does the book work?” and so on.’

‘It’s just that I sent off my manuscript to a publisher and they said that readers would find it confusing,’ she says.

There’s an audible gasp from the audience.

‘That just makes me cringe,’ Alison remarks, ‘I think that’s just underestimating readers.’

More questions, another blast of the Chicago Blues and it’s time to wrap things up for 2015. Readers and writers mingle, get books signed and linger until it’s time to head out into the cold. This isn’t the end, though. The Salon will be back in January for more stories, music and conversation. What better way to welcome in the new year?