programme - York Literature Festival

Polly Toynbee

John Hegley

The Knife That Killed Me

David Starkey

Blackbeard’s Tea Party

Union Jill / Kate Fox

Jenni Murray

An Evening With The Minster Men

Virginia Woolf

PROGRAMME

19th - 29th March 2015

www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk

@YorkLitFest

Welcome to the 2015 York Literature Festival Programme

Sponsors & Partners

The festival moves on… we’re experimenting a bit this year, with more music and comedy, and some new venues and partners. We’ve taken inspiration from history and considered the imminent general election in May 2015. Please tell a friend about the festival, and give them a programme! We’ll see you in March for an inspiring eleven days of words, performances, Festival Committee: L - R: Nick David, Dave Gough, Jenny stories and debate. As ever, thanks to the Sunman, Terry Kay, Rob O’Connor, Sally O’Connor, Miles Salter committee for their hard work, and to our partners and funders for all their support and enthusiasm, especially York St John University, St Peter’s School, City of York Council, YorkMix, Visit York and York Theatre Royal. Enjoy! Miles Salter, Festival Director

Friargate Quaker Meeting

York Literature Festival / YorkMix Poetry Competition 2015

Win £400 for your poem!

York

In Association with YorkMix, York Literature Festival’s poetry competition returns. First prize: £400 Second Prize: £100 Third Prize: £50. The York prize (£40) will be awarded to an excellent poem from an entrant with a York postcode. 10 Highly Commended, and 20 Commended poems will each win their writer a certificate. The competition will be judged by award-winning poet Carole Bromley. Prizes will be awarded at a gala prize-giving event at York St John University on Saturday March 28, 2015.

York The festival committee wish to thank the following for their help in making this year’s festival come to life: Duncan Beal, Paul Birch, Carole Bromley, Warwick Burton, BBC Radio York, John McGhee and the Directors of York City Football Club, Lesley Booth, Abi Curtis, Nick David, Rose Drew, Kersten England, Ben Fuller, Sarah Garbacz, Jane Gibson, Hannah Hamilton, Andy Humphrey, Jenny Kent, Gaby Lees, Stephen Lewis, Lizzi Linklater, Steve Nash, Rachel Naylor, Dave Nicholson, James Rennoldson, Vanessa Simmons, Leo Winkley, St Peter’s School staff, Dave Taylor, Simon Town, Sarah Lawson Welsh, Gweno Williams, Community York Fund and everybody else who has helped! THANKS!

York Literature Festival 2015

1. Poems may be on any subject. 2. Poems must be original work and not previously published or broadcast in any form. 3. Poems must not be longer than 40 lines, and must fit on a single A4 page. Poems must be in English. Poems must show the title and poem only. The poet’s name must not appear on the poem. 4. Poems must be submitted via the form on the YorkMix web - www.yorkmix.com. Attachments are preferred in Word (.doc or .docx format) or PDF. 5. Poets may enter as many poems as they wish. The minimum entry fee is £5 for a single poem. For an entry fee of £10, poets may enter up to five poems. Poems may not be amended or edited after submission. 6. No poet may win more than one cash prize. 7. Closing date: Deadline is midnight on Saturday, February 28, 2015. 8. The competition is open to anybody resident in the UK aged 18 or over. Entries from outside the UK will not be eligible. Non-UK citizens currently residing in the UK are eligible to enter (e.g. overseas students attending a UK educational establishment). 9. Copyright in submitted poems remains with the author. Entrants agree to allow their poems to be featured fee-free on YorkMix.com, and the website of York Literature Festival. Poems may not be published elsewhere before December 31, 2015, without the permission of York Literature Festival. 10. York Literature Festival Committee members are not eligible to enter. 11. Winners will receive payment by cheque. 12. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 13. Entrants agree to have their email address added to the York Literature Festival and YorkMix.com mailing list, but can unsubscribe at any time. 14. Judge Carole Bromley will read all entries; all entries will be presented to the judge anonymously. 15. Entry implies acceptance of all rules. 16. Prizewinners and commended poets will be contacted (by email or phone) 14 days before the prize-giving event. 17. Poets entering more than five poems will have to make a separate entry. To pay by PayPal you do not need a PayPal account. All major credit cards are accepted.

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Cameron’s Coup: How The Tories Took Britain To The Brink

‘Mayhem of the Creative Mind’ - Writing workshop with Lizzi Linklater

Thursday 19th March | 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Friday 20th March | 1.30pm - 3.30pm

Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX In their new book, Polly Toynbee and David Walker present an incisive and detailed journey around the country to see first-hand the effects of the coalition on Britain. Writing with their trademark incisiveness and wit, Toynbee and Walker tell the story of how in four short years a government with no overall majority party has been remarkably effective. Blending analysis and numbers with Polly Toynbee moving human stories from Sydenham to Sheffield, Cameron’s Coup asks if the government’s changes to the welfare system and the NHS has created a harsher, meaner Britain. Toynbee and Walker say that we must ask the pressing question at the 2015 General Election - are these changes irrevocable? There will be time for a discussion with questions from the floor at the end. Polly Toynbee and David Walker have coauthored Dogma and Disarray: Cameron at Half-Time, Unjust Rewards: Exposing Greed and Inequality in Britain Today, The Verdict: Did Labour Change Britain? and Better or Worse: Has Labour Delivered? Polly Toynbee is a columnist for Guardian. David Walker is a contributing editor to Guardian Public and former director of public reporting at the Audit Commission. £10 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

King’s Manor: Room KG33, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EP

‘It’s in the Details’: Crafting Plot and Creating Tension in Fiction Writing workshop with Rob O’Connor Friday 20th March | 10.00am - 12.00 noon

King’s Manor: Room KG33, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EP ‘The King died and then the Queen died of grief’. (D H Lawrence) The Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of York is pleased to invite you to this exciting workshop. What is the difference between plot and story? How do you move your plot forward from point A to point B? How are authors able to create tension within their work? Plot and tension are quite often the most difficult elements of writing and this workshop will provide you with the Rob O’Connor tools you need to develop plot ideas and make your fiction writing feel more dramatic. Suitable for writers of any level. The workshop is led by Rob O’Connor, who teaches creative writing and literature for The Centre for Lifelong Learning, at the University of York. Early booking is advised. £8 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

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York Literature Festival 2015

‘I will put Chaos into fourteen lines / And keep him there… ‘ (Edna St Vincent Millay) The Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of York is pleased to invite you to this exciting workshop. Thoughts on creativity, chaos, disorder and order will abound, inspiring creative writers to respond with unique pieces of writing. If you like coming at things Lizzi Linklater from an unexpected angle, where ideas buzz, bristle and teem, then this is the workshop for you. Lizzi Linklater leads. She is a performing poet and an award-winning tutor. She is also Creative Writing Fellow at The Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of York. Book early. These tickets will go fast. £8 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

Matthew d’Ancona - ‘Coalition - past and future’ Friday 20th March | 7.00pm - 8.20pm

St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Matthew d’Ancona has produced the definitive account of the Liberal Democrat - Conservative coalition. In It Together is available now in paperback. With exclusive, unprecedented access to all the major senior figures, from David Cameron to George Osborne, Boris Johnson to Nick Clegg, he’ll tell us the truth behind key relationships, the U-turns and the dramatic fights and arguments. Matthew d’Ancona photo: Alistair Richardson Matthew will take us to the heart of the struggles within the Coalition as these are played out in the General Election campaign and will look ahead to the murky political world immediately after the election on May 7th. Will there be another Coalition – who would be in it and how would it work? Matthew d’Ancona is an award-winning political columnist for the Evening Standard, was the star columnist on The Sunday Telegraph for 19 years and is a former editor of The Spectator. FREE refreshments and book signing afterwards. £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

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Poetry Doubles: Paul Farley and Tara Bergin

An Audience with Dame Jenni Murray Saturday 21st March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Friday 20th March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm York St John University: Quad South Hall, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Poetry Doubles began at Friargate Theatre in York in 2003 and since then has featured some of the UK’s finest poets. A well known poet chooses their ‘double’ (usually an up-and-coming writer) for an evening of lyrical fireworks. Previous guests have included Andrew Motion, Jackie Kay and Wendy Cope. Paul Farley is a highly regarded poet, with several Picador published collections since 1998, when The Boy From The Chemist Is Here To See You won the Forward Poetry Prize for first collection. His other collections have included The Ice Age, Tramp In Flames and The Dark Film. Tara Bergin’s debut collection This Is Yarrow has been well received and she was named as one of the Next Generation Poets in 2014. £8 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Paul Farley

Tara Bergin

Literary Tour of York Saturday 21st March | 10.30am - 12.00pm Museum Garden Gates, York, YO1 7FR A guided walk around York’s sites of literary merit. Discover the city where Robinson Crusoe came from, where W H Auden was born, and inspired writers as diverse as Wilkie Collins and Kate Atkinson. A perennial festival favourite: we run this tour every year and it is always popular. In association with Yorkwalk. This tour also takes place on 23rd and 25th March. £6 adults, £5 for York Card and students. Just turn up and pay the guide 

York Museums Trust Book Club: Life after Life Saturday 21st March | 3.00pm - 4.30pm

York Castle Museum, The Eye of York, York YO1 9RY Join York Museums Trust for a book club with a difference - everyone contributes to a lively discussion about the book and then each meeting concludes with the opportunity to find out more about real, museum objects which relate to the book, often through a handling session. Kate Atkinson’s Costa Award winning novel Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. The session will go on to explore the new exhibition at York Castle Museum, 1914: When the World Changed Forever.

St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB For the past 26 years Dame Jenni Murray OBE has been a leading presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. The programme has never been afraid to tackle controversial issues and was the first radio programme to discuss subjects like the menopause, homosexuality and cohabitation. Jenni began her broadcasting career in local radio and regional TV before joining BBC 2’s Newsnight and the Today programme on BBC Dame Jenni Murray Radio 4. She started working on Woman’s Hour in 1987 and received an OBE for her services to radio broadcasting in 1999, subsequently being made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Jenni regularly writes for newspapers and magazines and has penned a number of books. This event finds her talking about her fascinating life and career. FREE refreshments and book signing afterwards £10 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

Music and comedy special: John Hegley and Blackbeard’s Tea Party Sunday 22nd March | 2.30pm - 5.00pm

Grand Opera House, Cumberland Street, York, Y01 9SW John Hegley’s deadpan poems and sardonic delivery have won him legions of fans throughout the UK. John is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 and a favourite with festival audiences everywhere. He has produced ten books of verse and prose pieces, two CDs and one mug; but his largest source of income is from stage appearances. An Edinburgh Festival regular, he is noted for his exploration of such diverse topics as dog hair, potatoes, handkerchieves and the misery of human existence.

John Hegley

Blackbeard’s Tea Party have taken the world of folk music by storm since busking on York’s streets in 2009. The band mix fiddles, squeezeboxes, guitar noise, synth bass, and a feast of international Blackbeard’s Tea Party hand percussion to bring you an unrivalled folk-rock extravaganza that is grounded in English traditions but is never afraid to explore more exotic musical avenues. This is the band’s first ever gig at York Grand Opera House and it will be something special. Don’t miss a great afternoon of laughter and music! £15.90 plus booking fees from 0844 871 3024 or online: www.atgtickets.com 

Booking essential: York Museums Trust on 01904 687633. Entry to the Castle Museum if FREE with a York Card, otherwise normal museum entry applies: £9.50, £8.50 concessions

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York Literature Festival 2015

www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk

@YorkLitFest

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Dr David Starkey: York’s Place in History

Arts Against Homelessness - Cabaret Evening

Sunday 22nd March | 7.00pm - 10.00pm

Monday 23rd March | 8.00pm - 11.00pm

Grand Opera House, Cumberland Street, York, Y01 9SW Known for his forthright views Dr David Starkey, the UK’s leading constitutional historian, talks about York and its unique place in English history and provides a riveting insight into how York came to be one of the most important cities in England. Dr Starkey was educated at Cambridge after leaving grammar school. He became a respected London School of Economics lecturer, a uniquely abrasive debater on BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze, and a controversial Dr David Starkey contributor to Question Time. He has written and presented many popular historical TV series, including work on Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, the Monarchy, the Churchills and more.. There are few more stimulating thinkers at work in the UK today, and few who understand better the way the most powerful have thought and behaved throughout our history. In the first half, Dr Starkey will deliver his talk about York. The second half will comprise of an interview with Robert Powell, followed by questions from the floor. £15.90 plus booking fees from 0844 871 3024 or online: www.atgtickets.com 

Basement Bar, City Screen Picturehouse, 13-17, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL An evening of quality spoken word, music and visual art, brought together by a partnership of York’s grassroots arts organisations, to raise money and support for local charities fighting homelessness and poverty in York. Compered by Andy Humphrey of The Speakers’ Corner, whose fundraising poetry pamphlet Satires (published by Stairwell Books) will be launched on the night. Money raised at this event will go to the charities SASH, Keyhouse and the York Foodbank. £5 from City Screen York Tel. 0871 902 5726 

Literary Tour of York

Monday 23rd March | 2.15pm - 4.15pm Museum Garden Gates, York, YO1 7FR A guided walk around York’s sites of literary merit. Discover the city where Robinson Crusoe came from, where W H Auden was born, and inspired writers as diverse as Wilkie Collins and Kate Atkinson. A perennial festival favourite: we run this tour every year and it is always popular. In association with Yorkwalk. This tour also takes place on 21st and 25th March. £6  adults, £5 for York Card and students. Just turn up and pay the guide

Matt Haig: Reasons to stay alive

Andy Humphrey, Arts Against Homelessness

Ovid’s Heroines featuring Clare Pollard Monday 23rd March | 8.00pm - 10.00pm

York St John University: Quad South Hall, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Ovid’s Heroines, written in Rome some time around 20 BC, is a series of poems in the voices of women from Greek and Roman myth. Fifteen women - including Dido, Medea, Penelope and Ariadne - address the men they love. Poet Clare Pollard’s new free verse translation (recently published by Bloodaxe Books) rediscovers Ovid’s Heroines for the 21st Century, bringing to life a cast of Clare Pollard women who are brave, bitchy, sexy, horrifying, heartbreaking and surprisingly modern. Jaybird Live Literature brings the Heroines to the stage in a new production. Clare reads, recites and performs her astonishing poems against a backdrop of Mediterranean light and sound. Love letters fly back and forth between the poet and the audience, the ancient world and modern Britain - the messages of longing, suffering and beauty they bear are universal and timeless. FREE entry - please book via  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ovids-heroines-tickets-14371967943 Please note seats are very limited for this event! Book early!

Monday 23rd March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm Waterstones, 15, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL When he was 24 Matt Haig nearly killed himself. He was later diagnosed with panic disorder, and eventually recovered. In this book Matt explores the nature of his mental illness, and discusses depression and anxiety in general. Full of lists, autobiographical anecdotes, and actual advice, conversations between the author and his younger self, short Matt Haig contributions from fifty of Matt’s readers, this book is not your average self-help book. Matt’s books include The Radleys and The Humans. His books have been translated into 30 languages. All his novels for adults have been optioned for film, and his children’s novels have won the Smarties Gold Medal, the Blue Peter Book of the Year, been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and nominated for the Carnegie Medal three times. £3.00 from Waterstones York 01904 620784

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York Literature Festival 2015

www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk

@YorkLitFest

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An Evening With The Minster Men

York Stanza Group: Off The Page

Monday 23rd March | 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Tuesday 24th March | 8.00pm - 10.30pm

Quaker Meeting House , Friargate, York, YO1 9RL A celebration of the life of York City Football Club with Chris Jones, Dave Flett, David Ward and Sharon Shortle. In this special event (the first collaboration between the football club and the Literature Festival) a panel of York City experts and broadcasters join to discuss the club’s history, present and future and how it is reported. The evening will also be the official launch of Chris Jones’ eagerly awaited autobiography A Tale of Two Cities. Chris, who began his professional career at Manchester City in 1964, played for York City between 1973 and 1976 and is now an expert football summariser on BBC Radio York. His book reflects his lifetime’s passion for football and sets his career against the backdrop of social historical change and events. Dave Flett writes about York City for The York Press. David Ward presents Match Day / Match Night for BBC Radio York. Sharon Shortle, who will be chairing the evening, is BBC Radio York’s Sports Presenter. £2 from each ticket sold will go to the York City Foundation Charity. £7 (£2 from each ticket will go to York City’s Foundation)  from York Theatre Royal Box Office 01904 623568 or online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

City Screen Basement Bar, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL Stanza Poetry Groups exist in towns throughout the UK, and the York group, led by Carole Bromley, is the amongst the most successful groups in the UK, with numerous published and prize winning poets attending the group to discuss how great poetry works. This event will see the group perform their poems, introduced by Carole. Come along to hear poems with varying moods, voices and subjects from some highly skilled Yorkshire writers. £5 from City Screen York Tel 0871 902 5726 

Dave Flett

Chris Jones

Out Of Character Theatre Company presents ‘Disturbing Shakespeare’ Tuesday 24th March | 7.45pm - 9.00pm

Sharon Shortle

PEN and Poetry: York PEN Society present John Siddique and Tim Liardet Tuesday 24th March | 12.00 noon - 2.00pm Bowland Auditorium, Berrick Saul Building, University of York, York, YO10 5DD A poetry reading event featuring two acclaimed poets. Jon Siddique is well known to Yorkshire audiences: his popular poetry has won him many readings, residencies and festival appearances. His books include Full Blood, Recital and Poems From A Northern Soul. He is currently writer in residence at York St John University. Tim Liardet has published nine collections of poetry, including Competing with the Piano Tuner, a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation. Tim is Professor of Poetry and the Co-Chair of the Bath Spa University Research Centre for Contemporary Writing. Tickets £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or  online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

York Stanza Group

Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, YO1 9SL Following the success of More Tales From Kafka, Out of Character once more explore perceptions of mental illness through a great writer. Set in the notorious psychiatric hospital ‘Bedlam’ the ensemble takes the audience on a journey through some of The Bard’s plays. The award-winning company, whose members all access mental health services, bring you this comic and ‘disturbing’ reworking of some classic scenes with a contemporary twist in this dynamic one-act play. £5 from Friargate Theatre 01904 613 000 or online:  www.ridinglights.org/friargate

Literary Tour of York Wednesday 25th March | 10.30am - 12.30pm Tim Liardet

Museum Garden Gates, York, YO1 7FR A guided walk around York’s sites of literary merit. Discover the city where Robinson Crusoe came from, where W H Auden was born, and inspired writers as diverse as Wilkie Collins and Kate Atkinson. A perennial festival favourite: we run this tour every year and it is always popular. In association with Yorkwalk. This tour also takes place on 21st and 23rd March. £6 adults, £5 for York Card and students. Just turn up and pay the guide 

Jon Siddique

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York Literature Festival 2015

www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk

@YorkLitFest

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Literary Lunch: Inspiration Eboracum Café

Stairwell Books: Meet the Authors

Wednesday 25th March | 12.00 noon - 2.00pm

Wednesday 25th March | 7.30pm - 10.30pm

Bedern Hall, Bartle Garth, St Andrewgate, York, YO1 7AL Enjoy a tapas-style light lunch in the beautiful 14th Century Bedern Hall with published authors and poets who have been inspired by the City of York. Clara Challoner Walker’s novel, A Tapestry of Vice and Virtue is set in Middle East and Africa. The story is based on real events and confronts Clara Challoner Walker, Jean Harrod, contemporary issues including injustice, misogyny and religious Kate Henderson Nichol, Yvie Holder, Sally Corrie, Phil Batman extremism. Kate Henderson Nichol’s experience in nursing and counselling underpins tales that encourage children to relax and learn key skills to develop confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Hilary Robinson is an award winning radio producer, broadcaster and author of over 50 picture books for children. Her book Where The Poppies Now Grow has been nominated for the 2015 Carnegie Medal. Yvie Holder is a writer of mixed UK and Caribbean heritage whose poems are often underpinned by an upbeat element drawn from family, community and professional life. Jean Harrod has travelled extensively, while working as a British diplomat. Deadly Diplomacy, her diplomatic crime novel, was published in September 2014. Sally Corrie is a former archaeologist who has recently published her first novel. She has lived in York for over 30 years and draws inspiration in the history and people of the city. Phil Batman was born and raised in York. He has recently published the history of his family: Four Faces: The Batman Family of York. The Literature Festival is grateful to York Publishing Services who have generously provided a donation towards the cost of holding this event. Tickets £11.50 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online: www.  yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Basement Bar, City Screen Picturehouse, 13-17, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL Andy Michaels Join an eclectic mix of recent authors from York-based publisher Stairwell Books as we discuss what makes a great novel: Fantasy? Sex? Realism? Crime? Hear our authors and see if you agree. Stairwell Books has a growing list of novelists representing a wide range of genres from police procedurals to hard hitting young adult Pauline Kirk novels addressing difficult issues of abuse; from prophetic science fiction and fantasy to multi-layered crime and drama. Featuring AL Michaels, Clint Wastling, Pauline Kirk, Paul Worsley, and Shaunna Harper. The event will be compered by Stairwell Books. For more information about Stairwell Books please visit www.stairwellbooks.co.uk £5 from City Screen York Tel 0871 902 5726

Writing Childhood: How the Edwardians (almost) invented children’s literature Wednesday 25th March | 2.30pm - 4.00pm York St John University, De Grey Lecture Theatre, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX The Edwardian era set the tone for children’s literature: The Railway Children (1906), Wind In The Willows (1908) The Secret Garden (1910) and Peter Pan (1911) were published within five years of each other. What impact did Edwardian ideas about childhood have on how children’s literature was shaped? And what has been the legacy of these famous books? Three writers and academics - writer and academic Sarah Lawson Welsh, York-based playwright Mike Kenny (who adapted The Railway Children for Damien Cruden’s acclaimed theatre production) and poet and academic Steve Nash reflect on the era and its lasting impact on children’s literature. Tickets £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or  book online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

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York Literature Festival 2015

Sarah Lawson Welsh

Steve Nash

Mike Kenny

Clint Wastling

Paul Worsley

Shaunna Harper

Emergent Writers: Emma Jane Unsworth, Evie Wyld, Jenn Ashworth Wednesday 25th March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm York St John University, Temple Hall, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX York St John University are pleased to welcome three of the UK’s most exciting young writers: Emma Jane Unsworth, Evie Wylde and Jenn Ashworth. Jenn Ashworth has been named as one of the UK’s twelve best new writers by the BBC’s The Culture Show. Her novels Emma Jane Unsworth include Cold Light (Sceptre, 2011) and The Friday Gospels (2013). She lives in Lancashire and teaches Creative Writing at Lancaster University. Evie Wyld was born in London and grew up in Australia and South London. She studied creative writing at Bath Spa and Goldsmiths University. Her first novel, After the Fire, a Still Small Evie Wylde Voice, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers, the Commonwealth Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin literary award. In 2013 she was included on Granta Magazine’s Best of Young British Novelists list. Her second novel All the Birds, Singing won The European Prize For Literature. Emma Jane Unsworth’s first novel Hungry, the Stars and Everything (Hidden Gem) won a Betty Trask Award from the Society of Authors Jenn Ashworth and was shortlisted for the Portico Prize 2012. Her short story ‘I Arrive First’ was included in The Best British Short Stories 2012 (Salt). She has worked as a journalist, a columnist for The Big Issue, and a barmaid. Her second novel Animals was published by Canongate in May 2014 and is being made into a film. FREE: please book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emergent-writers-three  novelists-event-at-york-st-john-university-tickets-14372244771

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Shash Trevett: Civil War and Aftermath

A Play in 24 Hours

Wednesday 25th March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Thursday 26th March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm

The Library, St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Poet Shash Trevett is a survivor of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Her poetry reflects the story of the Tamil people caught in a war which destroyed much of their land and many of their lives. Reading in English and Tamil from a selection of her work, she touches on the simplicity of life before the war, the events of the war itself, on exile Shash Trevett and dislocation, and the lasting effects of conflict. Shash has been published in poetry magazines, most notably Modern Poetry in Translation. Her work has featured in English PEN’s Poetry Postcard series. She has given various readings of her work, most recently at the Ilkley Literature Festival. Her poetry has been recorded by the British Library for its Poetry Archive FREE - please book online http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/st-peters-school  york-7300489187 Email [email protected] or call us on 01904 527300

Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX York St John University students have accepted the challenge to write and perform a play, from scratch, in just 24 hours! Come to this event and see what they have come up with - tragedy, comedy, satire, soap opera or a strange brew of different elements? Check out the results after a day and night of intense creativity! FREE please book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/24-hour-play  tickets-14448340375

Virginia Woolf: One Hundred Years On Thursday 26th March | 11.00am - 1.00pm Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX On March 26th 1915, a young woman published her first novel The Voyage Out. It was the start of Virginia Woolf’s hugely influential career, which includes the groundbreaking works Orlando, To The Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway. This event celebrates the writer’s life and achievement as one of the great authors of modernist literature. A panel of experts discuss Woolf’s remarkable life and Virginia Woolf work: Rev’d Dr Jane De Gay is associate principal lecturer at Leeds Trinity University and has written extensively on Virginia Woolf. Linda Marshall Griffiths writes for radio and theatre and has adapted To The Lighthouse for radio. Olivia Laing’s books include To The River, about the River Ouse, where Woolf drowned in 1941. Tickets £7 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII’s right hand man Thursday 26th March | 2.00pm - 3.45pm Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Tracy Borman’s recent biography of Thomas Cromwell has won acclaim for her thorough portrayal of Henry VIII’s right hand man and the hero of Hilary Mantel’s trilogy. But what was Cromwell Tracy Borman really like? Was he a man of the people or a machiavellian schemer, capable of calculating ruthlessness? Tracy will talk about the book and her search to find out the man who was at the centre of one of the most infamous courts in English History. The compere will be Robert Powell, the prize-winning poet and Wakefield Literature Festival organiser. Tickets £7 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or book online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

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York Literature Festival 2015

Letting Off Steam: Union Jill and Kate Fox Thursday 26th March | 7.30pm - 10.00pm The National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York YO1 9TL York-based duo Union Jill have toured the UK for the last couple of years, playing folk clubs and festivals in every corner of the land. Their stories blend harmony vocals with stories of women from the past and present. Kate Fox’s brand of comedy and poetry is smart and witty and deals with the travails of the modern woman. Kate Union Jill and Kate Fox has recently recorded programmes for BBC Radio 4. The two acts join forces for ‘Letting Off Steam’, a chance to laugh and cry about the travails of the modern woman. Prepare for great songs and some hilarious poems. Tickets £10 (includes booking fee) from National Centre for Early Music Box Office:  01904 658338 or online: www.ncem.co.uk

Falco & Flavia Albia – Crime & Detective Work in the Roman Empire Thursday 26th March | 7.00pm - 8.45pm St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is known for The Course of Honour, the true story of the Emperor Vespasian and his mistress Caenis, and for her long running mystery series featuring Roman detective, Falco.’ Lindsey will talk about her latest book Enemies At Home, and life in the Roman Empire. She has won several Crime Writers Association (CWA) awards Lindsey Davis including a Sherlock for Falco as Best Detective and the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Lindsey has been Honorary President of the Classical Association, Chair of the Crimewriters’ Association and Chair of the Society of Authors. Free refreshments and book signing afterwards. £7 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

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Festival Book Club: After Me Comes The Flood

Creative and Critical Writing: Professor Nicholas Royle and Vicky Blunden

Friday 27th March | 11.30am - 12.30pm Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Sarah Perry’s debut After Me Comes The Flood was critically acclaimed in 2013. The story tells a strange, unsettling tale of a man, who is given shelter by a group of strangers. The book’s haunting quality has been praised by critics. Join Sarah Perry and Miles Salter as they discuss the book and its rapturous critical reception. ‘What makes this novel truly remarkable is its unique Sarah Perry vision, its skilful and sophisticated characterisations, and the creation, without unseemly effects, of an atmosphere that will haunt readers long after the final page.’ - John Burnside, The Guardian ‘A dark, marvellous novel… Perry evokes the oppressive atmosphere in precise, elegant prose… This mesmeric quality recalls Sebald’s writing, but Gothic-smudged… It is not good for a first novel, just very good full stop.’ - Catherine Blyth, Sunday Telegraph Free entry - no need to pre-book 

The Houses In Between: Two York writers read from their novels for young adults Friday 27th March | 2.30pm - 4.00pm Marriott Room, York Explore, Library Square, York, YO1 7DS Joanna Ezekiel has been living in York since 2010. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Sussex University, and works as a creative writing tutor for the Open University and for the Open College of the Arts. In 2014 Indigo Dreams Publishing brought out Joanna’s young adult novel The Inside-Out House, described as ‘a poignant coming-of-age story, moving and beautifully told’ (Helen Cadbury). Joanna has also had three poetry pamphlets published, along with a full collection Centuries of Skin (Ragged Raven, 2010). York-based Toni Bunnell is a musician, a wildlife biologist, a broadcaster and a writer of songs and stories in the genre of fantasy, faery and time travel. The Fidgit, an illustrated book of faery stories, and Samuel and the Stolen Words have been well received. £3 from York Explore Library 01904 552828 or email  [email protected]

York Literature Festival 2015

Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Professor Nicholas Royle reads from his remarkable novel Quilt. This will be followed by a discussion by a discussion with Senior Fiction Editor Vicky Blunden from the publisher Myriad Editions. Nicholas Royle lives in Seaford and is Professor of English at the Professor Nicholas Royle University of Sussex and his novels include Quilt, an exploration of grief and isolation. He is also the author of several academic books, including The Uncanny. His latest academic work, Veering: A Theory of Literature also contains numerous embedded fictions and indeed argues for a new conception of the relations between creative and critical writing. ‘An intense study of grief and mental disintegration… Royle explores loss and alienation perceptively and inventively.’ The Guardian Vicky Blunden Vicky Blunden is Senior Fiction Editor at Myriad Editions and winner of the IPG Young Independent Publisher of the Year Award in 2013. Myriad is an independent publisher based in Brighton, committed to nurturing new talent and publishing prize-winning fiction. FREE entry, please book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-and-critical  writing-professor-nicholas-royle-reading-event-tickets-14373885679

Quick Fictions Friday 27th March | 6.30pm - 8.30pm Joanna Ezekiel

Toni Bunnell

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Friday 27th March | 3.00pm - 5.00pm

Temple Hall, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Quick Fictions looks at the writing of our time. Is it possible to combine inventive and memorable ideas in the age of the short attention span? Recent years have seen a huge growth in ‘Flash Fiction’ and stories that can be consumed quickly. Professor Nicholas Royle and Vicky Blunden explore the world of quick fictions, and want your contributions! We will select approximately 20 of the pieces submitted and ask the authors to read their pieces on the day. Selected work will appear on the Quick Fictions app. Write a (very) short piece (300 words at the most, but 50 words or fewer would be fine too!) and email it to [email protected] by 5.00pm on Friday 13th March 2015 at the latest. There is no submission fee. Please ensure your submission is accompanied by a name and contact details (tel. no and/or email address) and remember to provide a title for the fiction(s) you submit. If your story is selected, you will be asked to read at the event on Friday 27th March 2015, in Temple Hall at York St John University. You may ask a substitute to read it for you. FREE entry, please book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/quick-fictions  tickets-14374371131

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Right Here, Write Now

York Writers present: Breakfast with Tracy Rees

Friday 27th March | 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Saturday 28th March | 10.30am - 12.00 noon

Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, YO1 9SL York’s regular improv night makes its York Literature Festival debut with its usual mix of ridiculous games and comedic chaos. Chase away Sterne faces by Swiftly booking tickets for this Wilde evening - we promise nothing will be Amis with this load of old Trollope. Please save us from more bad puns and ruining some jolly good books by coming along and throwing your Hardy suggestions at our improvisers who will instantly create and perform comic scenes with a literary twist. £5 from Friargate Theatre 01904 613 000 or online:  www.ridinglights.org/friargate

Quaker Meeting House , Friargate, York, YO1 9RL. York Writers are pleased to welcome back Tracy Rees, winner of the inaugural Richard and Judy Book Club ‘Search for a Bestseller’ competition. A Cambridge graduate, she has a degree in modern and medieval languages and worked for eight years in non-fiction publishing. Tracy lived for many years in London and has now Tracy Rees returned to her native Swansea. She recently spent a year in York where she became an active member of York Writers. Still a member of the group, Tracy’s winning competition entry, Amy Snow, is set in early Victorian England and will be published by Quercus later this year. The event will be compered by novelist N.E.David, also from York Writers. To find out more about York Writers, visit http://yorkwriters.webs.com Tickets £5 from York Theatre Royal (includes coffee and a croissant) 01904 623568 or  online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Watching Prime Ministers with Professor Peter Hennessy Friday 27th March | 6.00pm - 8.00pm St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Professor Peter Hennessy has had a stellar career as a historian and author, as well as a journalist. He is the foremost chronicler of the political scene of his generation, able to convey the subtleties of any situation with a depth of understanding and a well turned story. Listening to him is always a pleasure and there could be no one better to put Cameron’s time as Prime Minister in context and to help Professor Peter Hennessy us look ahead to what might happen after the General Election. Peter Hennessy is Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London and a cross bench member of the House of Lords. Among many other books, he is the author of The Secret State: Whitehall and the Cold War, The Hidden Wiring: Unearthing The British Constitution and The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders since 1945. Free refreshments and book signing afterwards. FREE - please book online http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/st-peters-school  york-7300489187 Email [email protected] or call us on 01904 527300

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York Literature Festival 2015

The Submission Process: Literary Agents in discussion Saturday 28th March | 11.00am - 1.00pm Temple Hall,York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Written a book but not sure how to get it published? This seminar, delivered in association with Writers and Artists, provides invaluable advice from three respected literary agents: Jo Unwin, Julia Churchill and Oliver Munson. They will guide the audience through the process Jo Unwin of how to submit work to literary agents - priceless information for writers who are serious about developing their careers. Everybody who purchases a ticket will receive a complimentary copy of The Writers and Artists Yearbook, containing a wealth of valuable information including contact details for agencies and publishers. Julia Churchill joined AM Heath in 2013 as Children’s Agent, after four years with the Greenhouse Literary Agency and six years at the Darley Julia Churchill Anderson Agency. Julia is looking for new and established authors with storytelling magic, from picture books up to Young Adult fiction. Jo Unwin became a literary agent in 2008, after a successful career as an actress, screenwriter and film scout. In 2013 she set up her own agency JULA. Jo represents authors of literary fiction, commercial women’s fiction, Young Adult and children’s books. Oliver Munson After nine years at the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, Oliver Munson joined AM Heath in 2012. His clients include bestselling authors of crime and speculative fiction. He loves novels with high concept plots, compelling characters and interesting locations. Oliver has given many talks for writers’ groups, university courses and international book fairs and was a Frankfurt Book Fair Fellow in 2010. £27.95 online from Bloomsbury: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events/ Tickets  the-submission-process-literary-agents-in-discussion Ticket price includes complimentary copy of Writers and Artists Yearbook

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Writing Motherhood

Helen Lederer - Losing It

Saturday 28th March | 2.00pm - 3.30pm

Saturday 28th March | 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Temple Hall,York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX ‘There is no more sombre enemy of good art,’ said Cyril Connolly, ‘than the pram in the hallway.’ How does motherhood really affect a writer’s work? What impact does it have on how and what they write? And can creativity survive an extended period of sleep deprivation…? Writers CL Taylor, Nuala Casey and Carolyn Jess-Cooke discuss issues impacting female writers and the ways they combine writing with motherhood. Carolyn Jess-Cooke is an award-winning poet and novelist. Her latest novel, The Boy Who Could See Demons, is being made into a film. CL Taylor’s novel The Accident sold 100,000 copies in three months. Last Girl Standing, her new novel, is out in April 2015. Nuala Casey is a York-based novelist with two novels published since 2012: Soho 4A.M. and Summer Lies Bleeding. The discussion will be chaired by York novelist Helen Cadbury, whose books include To Catch a Rabbit and Bones in the Nest (July 2015). This event is partly funded by Arts Council England. Tickets £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or  online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Helen Lederer, comedienne, actor and presenter, talks about her new novel, Losing It. The book tells the story of Millie, who has too many pounds around her middle, and not enough pounds in the bank, and the desperate measures she endures to reverse this situation. Helen Helen Lederer has starred in BBC TV’s Absolutely Fabulous and The Young Ones. Other appearances have included French and Saunders, Girls On Top, Horrid Henry: The Movie and Splash. She will be in conversation with BBC Radio York’s Elly Fiorentini. FREE refreshments and book signing afterwards £6 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

CL Taylor

Nuala Casey

Sunday 29th March | 11am - 1pm

Carolyn Jess-Cooke

Poetry Competition Results Saturday 28th March | 4.00pm Temple Hall,York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX Hear the winning entries in the 2015 York Literature Festival / York Mix Poetry Competition, judged by poet and tutor Carole Bromley. The winning and commended poems will be performed and prizes awarded to the winners, with comments by Carole, who will also give a reading. Carole Bromley lives in York. She published a collection of poetry, A Guided Tour Of The Ice House, with Smith / Doorstop, in 2011 and has won many prizes for her poems and been widely published. Free entry - no need to pre-book 

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York Literature Festival 2015

The Bletchley Girls – women & code breaking in WWII

York

St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, YO30 6AB Historian and broadcaster Tessa Dunlop will tell us the story of the women of Bletchley Park having had exclusive and unprecedented access to the women themselves for her recent book. Tessa will reveal the work of The Bletchley Girls, who helped to break the German and Japanese codes in the Second World War, through the Tessa Dunlop lives of fifteen women selected to work for the organisation. She will tell how life at ‘The Park’ was far removed from the glamorous existence usually portrayed and how the women - sworn to secrecy about their vital war work found re-entry into civilian life difficult after the war. Tessa Dunlop, an award-winning broadcaster and historian, has appeared on Thames Shipwrecks, Coast and Inside Out. She received the Gertrude Easton History prize whilst at Oxford University, got a 1st in her MA: Imperialism and Culture and has been awarded a PhD scholarship at Sheffield Hallam University. FREE refreshments and book signing afterwards. £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 

Carole Bromley

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Alom Shaha - the Young Atheist’s Handbook Sunday 29th March | 3.00pm - 4.30pm Millthorpe School, Nunthorpe Avenue, York, YO23 1WF Alom Shaha grew up in a strict Bangladeshi Muslim community in South-East London in the 1970s and 80s. Alom spent his teenage years juggling two utterly different worlds: a chaotic, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic family life on a council estate, and that of a student at a privileged private school set amongst the idyllic green Alom Shaha playing fields of Dulwich. In a charming blend of memoir, philosophy, and science, Alom explores the questions about faith and the afterlife that we all ponder. Through a series of loose ‘lessons’, he tells his own compelling story, drawing on the theories of some of history’s greatest thinkers and interrogating the fallacies that have impeded humanity for centuries. Alom recounts how his education and formative experiences led him to question how to live without being tied to what his parents, priests, or teachers told him to believe, and offers insights so that others may do the same. ‘A very special book’ - Stephen Fry £5 from York Theatre Royal 01904 623568 or online:  www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Festival Team: Miles Salter (Festival Director) Terry Kay (Treasurer) Jenny Sunman (Website) Rob O’Connor (Book sales and committee chairman) Dave Gough (Events assistant), Nick David (Events assistant), Sally O’Connor (Volunteer co-ordinator) Richard McDougall (Brochure Design) Chris Titley (York Mix Editor) Dave Nicholson (York Mix - Poetry Competition) Lucy Bellerby (Digital Promotion) Carole Bromley (Poetry Competition) Abi Curtis (York St John University) Juliet Forster (York Theatre Royal) Vanessa Simmons (York St John University) JT Welsch (York St John University) Liesl King (York St John University) Fiona Thompson and Stuart Page (York St John University) Ben Fuller (St Peter’s School) Dave Taylor (City Screen Cinema) Jane Gibson (Visit York) Kay Hyde (Visit York) Poppy Williamson (Visit York)

The Knife That Killed Me - Film and Discussion Sunday 29th March | 5.45pm City Screen Picturehouse, 13-17, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL Anthony McGowan’s The Knife That Killed Me was published in 2008, and won acclaim for its gritty, no-holds-barred portrayal of teenage gangs, bullying and violence. The book’s themes gained a chilling resonance when, in April 2014, Anne MacGuire, a popular teacher, was stabbed to death at Corpus Christi Catholic College, the school that Anthony had attended, and which inspired the book. (Anne had taught Anthony in the 1970s.) The 2014 film of the book was shot in York and directed by Marcus Romer of York’s Pilot Theatre. In this event, audiences will get an opportunity to watch the film and to hear Marcus and Anthony discuss the book and how the film was made. In association with York City Screen Cinema. Adult £10 / Concs. £9 / Members £8 from City Screen  York, 13 - 17 Coney Street, York Tel 0871 902 5726

Festival wrap party, with special guests. Sunday 29th March | 8.00pm The Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PR Join the festival team for a drink to celebrate the end of the 2015 festival. Dai Parsons, MC of York’s regular ‘Spokes’ literary night, will compere some specially chosen guests in the upstairs room. Everyone Welcome. £2 on the door

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York Literature Festival 2015

Who’s coming in 2016?

Join our mailing list! Join our mailing list for free updates on future festival events. Send an email to [email protected] with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject heading. Remember to include your name and address for a complimentary copy of the 2016 Festival Programme

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Exciting MA courses at York St John University

Study for an MA in Creative Writing or Contemporary Literature at our beautiful city centre campus in the heart of York. Flexible evening study, part-time or full-time. Courses are taught by published writers and experienced academics and enhanced by a range of visiting writers and industry professionals. We offer a vibrant literary community and the opportunity to develop your creative writing and critical thinking skills. Visit our website for more information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/creativewritingma www.yorksj.ac.uk/macontemporaryliterature