Sunday

Guest Post: Left Lion Literature Editor

LeftLion Kickstarter Campaign
 

For the past ten years I’ve given my blood and guts to LeftLion magazine for free because it is such an important publication in helping to change perceptions about Nottingham. The magazine was created for two reasons: Partly to offer an alternative to the journalism of traditional publications such as the Evening Post and secondly to counteract the negative branding of Nottingham as ‘Shottingham’ after a spate of random shootings in the early noughties. My proudest moment was when we had the balls to run with the front cover ‘Another Shooting in Nottingham’ – referring, instead, to our thriving film industry.   

As the Literature Editor I have hosted spoken word events such as Scribal Gathering at the Nottingham Contemporary, literature podcasts and created and developed the WriteLion brand which at present gives two pages to poetry and literature. With a readership of around 40,000 we easily offer more exposure to poetry than the most established magazines on the market.

I have strived over the years to offer a space for self-published authors, ensuring a minimum of one review every issue. Online we have run interviews as well as extracts from books. Knowing that certain bookshops refuse to even stock self-published novels and most magazines won’t even entertain reviews, we have become a vital platform for a new generation of writer prepared to go it alone.

Now we need your support. To celebrate our tenth anniversary we are running a Kickstarter campaign to help raise £10,000 so that we can go monthly. This will mean even more reviews for self-published writers and space for new presses daring to offer an alternative to mainstream fiction. Not one penny of this campaign will go into my pocket. It is all for the additional cost of printing and distribution, as we aim to broaden our circulation by delivering to towns on the wider outskirts of the city.

This now all boils down to a very simple equation. If you support us we can support you.


James Walker is the Literature Editor of LeftLion magazine, Chair of the Nottingham Writers’ Studio, co-Director of the Festival of Words and a Board member of Nottingham: City of Literature. He is currently editing together the graphic novel Dawn of the Unread

Saturday

Readers' Resource via The Booktrap

The Booktrap is a blog worth checking out. Included is a resource for readers who want to read about books and writers and writing. It includes brief introductions to different websites and the blogs worth wisiting, together with links so that you can fly straight there through the miracle of the Internet. Here's the link Readers' Resource

Wednesday

Gedling Book Festival June 20-22



GEDLING BOOK FESTIVAL II 

Details    Programme

CRIME & HISTORY DAY

Friday June 20, 10am-5pm

Richard Bonington Theatre, Arnold, Notts NG5 7EE

Gedling Book Festival’s Day One - Crime & History Day

HELEN HOLLICK 10.30am
A talk by Helen Hollick on ‘Getting  good reviews by getting your novel right’. Helen is an author & the Managing Editor for Historical Novel Society’s Indie Reviews.


ELIZABETH CHADWICK 11.30am
Elizabeth Chadwick talks about ‘Research and Preconceptions’. Elizabeth is a best-selling historical fiction author.

STEPHEN BOOTH 1.30pm
Stephen is a best-selling crime writer. His talk and Q&A will focus on the new book in his Cooper & Fry series, ‘The Corpse Bridge’

PENNY LUITHLEN 2.30pm
Penny Luithlen is a Literary Agent so this is a great opportunity for writers to ask questions.

STEVE MOSBY 3pm
Steve Mosby is an award winning Crime Writer. His talk is entitled ‘Nightmare Places: Ideas’

Free (no booking required, just turn up to any of the talks)


CHILDREN’S DAY

Saturday June 21, 10am-5pm

Gedling Borough Council Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 6LU

For adults and children!

PETE JOHNSON 10.15am and 11.45am, Creative writing

JEREMY LEWIS 11am, Writing the news (for all ages)

RAJ PATHAK 12.30pm, Scriptwriting and film direction (for all ages)

JOHN STIRLAND 2.30PM, The BBC Gardener talks about ‘Growing for Victory’

KATY PERRY TRIBUTE ACT 3.30pm

Plus storytelling with Cherie Zamazing, sticker fun, face painting, pebble painting, science for children, magic, creative writing competition, puppets, book stalls, refreshments.

Free admission (no booking required, just turn up to any of the talks).


SCI FI/FANTASY DAY

Sunday June 22, 10am-5pm

Gedling Borough Council Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 6LU

ALEX DAVIS 10.30am
A creative writing workshop with Alex Davis, events’ organiser, author and Edge-Lit Coordinator.

DAVID HOWE 12.45pm
David is a writer and researcher for Dr Who and the Director of Telos Publishing. David’s contribution to the range of factual books published about Doctor Who is staggering. He is undisputedly the most prolific author of Doctor Who non-fiction ever.

ADAM DALTON 2pm
A creative writing workshop and advice on ‘How to Approach Publishers’ from the acclaimed dark fantasy author.

Plus STEVE DEAN (Nottingham Fantasy Writer)

SAM STONE (Commissioning Editor, gothic, horror and fantasy fiction)

Shadow Games Gaming Store, Book Stalls Refreshments

PANEL Q&A 3.45pm

Cost? Free (no booking required, just turn up to any of the talks or activities).

Saturday

Gedling Book Festival 2014, programme


Gedling Book Festival II - June 20-22, 2014



The Gedling Book Festival II June 2014, Friday 20th, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd
Arnot Hill Park & Richard Bonington Theatre



Day One

Friday 20th June

Theme:  History and Crime Day
Venue: Richard Bonington Theatre, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 7EE

10.00am Opening by Cllr. Jenny Hollingsworth, Mayor of Gedling

10.30am Helen Hollick:  Historical Novel Review Society and Discovering the Diamond

11.30am Elizabeth Chadwick, Best-selling Historical Author: Research and Preconceptions

1.30pm Stephen Booth, Best-selling Crime Writer: The new Cooper & Fry novel ‘The Corpse Bridge’

2.30pm Penny Luithlen Literary Agent

3.00pm Steve Mosby, Award winning Crime Writer: Nightmare Places: Ideas

Day Two of the Gedling Book Festival

Saturday 21st June


Theme:  Children's Day
Venue: Gedling Borough Council Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 6LU

10.00am Open

10.00-11.00am Sticker fun (for young children)

10.15-11.00am Creative Writing with Pete Johnson

10.30am-12.00noon Face Painting

11.00am Jeremy Lewis: Writing the News (for all ages)

11.00am Storytelling with Cherie Zamazing plus Pebble Painting (for young children)

11.45am-12.30pm Creative Writing with Pete Johnson

12.00 Noon Science for Children

12.30-1.15 Raj Pathak - Scriptwriting and film direction (for all ages)

1.00-4.00pm Face Painting

1.00-1.45 Magic (for young children)

2.00pm  Launch of the Sixth Annual Creative Writing Competition for Children and Young People of Nottinghamshire

2.15-3.00pm Puppets (for young children)

2.30-3.30pm John Stirland BBC Gardener ‘Growing for Victory’

3.30-4.15pm Katy Perry Tribute Act

5.00pm Close

 
Day Three of the Gedling Book Festival

Sunday 22nd June

Theme:  Sci-Fi/Fantasy Day
Venue: Gedling Borough Council Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 6LU

10.00am Open

10.30-11.30am Alex Davis, creative writing tutor, events organiser, author and Edge-Lit Coordinator - Creative Writing Workshop

12.45-1.45pm David Howe, Writer and researcher for Dr Who and Director of Telos Publishing. David’s contribution to the range of factual books published about Doctor Who is staggering. He is undisputedly the most prolific author of Doctor Who non-fiction ever.

2.00-3.30pm Adam Dalton, Acclaimed dark fantasy author - Workshop Creative Writing and How to Approach Publishers. His latest novel is Tithe of the Saviours

Time to be confirmed: 

Participating: Steve Dean (Nottingham’s Fantasy Writer)

Sam Stone: British author of gothic, horror and fantasy fiction and commissioning editor of Telos Publishing imprint Telos Moonrise.

Shadow Games Gaming Store

3.45-4.30pm Panel

More details to be announced





Please note: This programme may be subject to change at short notice.
 

Friday

Find your local bookshops

If you have a book out, it's well worth contacting your local independent bookshops, to make sure they are stocking it. Local stores usually like to support local authors, especially if the book is set in the area.

Here is a great link - courtesy of Marilyn Rice - where you can find a list of the local book stores in your area, just click on the link below and type in your postcode.  

Local Bookshops