Interest area: Literature

In 1984, John Stalker, Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, was appointed to investigate a series of killings in Northern Ireland by the Royal Ulster Constabulary, where it was alleged that a secret shoot-to-kill policy was in operation.

Shortly after making demands for intelligence files belonging to the RUC and MI5, he was removed from post. In his subsequent memoir published in 1987, Stalker went on to expose a conspiracy behind his sacking that would see additional mystery surround the events that he had set out to investigate.

Two years later, another killing raised further allegations of the British state’s involvement in murder. On 12 February 1989, the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association shot dead the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane in front of his family, including his young son John. Subsequent inquiries by John Stevens, Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, got close to the truth, despite shadowy forces attempting to burn down his incident room. In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to apologise to both Patrick Finucane’s family and Parliament for the ‘shocking levels of collusion’ where state agents played key roles in the solicitor’s murder. More recently, the Labour government has announced that they will, finally, set up a Public Inquiry into the case.

This event sees John Finucane MP, in conversation with Prof Paddy Hillyard of Queens University, Belfast to discuss the impact of MI5’s secret intelligence-led counter-insurgency strategy in the context of both the Stalker investigation and the killing of John’s father Patrick.

Paddy Hillyard is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Queens University, Belfast and author of Decades of Deceit: The Stalker Affair and its Legacy.

John Finucane is a solicitor, a former Lord Mayor and since 2017, the MP for Belfast North. John is a long-term campaigner for a public inquiry into the killing of his father.

Brian Bilston and Henry Normal appear together for the first time in a show which one critic has described as “two people reading some poems.”

Along the way, they will be drawing on their vast catalogue of crowd favourites – and throwing in new poems to prevent becoming their own tribute bands.

Not ones to overpromise, Brian and Henry are prepared to commit to delivering the greatest poetry show in the history of the world, or their names aren’t Brian Bilston and Henry Normal. An evening of poems to be enjoyed, not endured.

Brian Bilston has been described as the Banksy of poetry and Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate; with over 400,000 followers on social media, Brian has become truly beloved by the online community. He has published several collections of poetry, including You Took the Last Bus Home and Alexa, What Is There to Know About Love?, described by one reviewer as ‘the funniest collection of humorous verse I have seen in a long time’. His novel Diary of a Somebody was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. He has also written poetry for children, including a collection of football poems, 50 Ways to Score a Goal, while his acclaimed poem Refugees was set to music by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and turned into a picture book.

Henry is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature Festival), and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017, he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to television. He co-wrote and script-edited the multi-award-winning Mrs Merton Show and the spin-off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1990, Henry executive produced all and script-edited many of the shows during its 17-and-a-half-year output. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar-nominated film Philomena, I Believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geof, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping, and Alan Partridge.

Presented with the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Not only is Kit de Waal an incredibly talented writer and storyteller, she is also a champion for elevating the voices and opportunities for diverse, working class writers, putting her money where her mouth is by creating the Kit de Waal Creative Writing Scholarship to help improve working-class representation in the arts.

It’s a pleasure to welcome her back to WoWFEST for this online event discussing her latest novel, The Best of Everything, described by Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo as ‘A profoundly compassionate novel of devastating power’. The Best of Everything follows Paulette’s planning for her future perfect wedding, honeymoon, perfect life. But life has other plans for her. Denton disappears without a goodbye, his friend Garfield steps in—and soon, there’s a baby, and Paulette finds purpose raising her son. But it isn’t enough, and Paulette finds can’t she stop thinking about Nellie, a little boy growing up nearby with no mother in sight? A moving tale of unexpected love and the ties that pull us in, no matter our plans. Pull up a chair and get your hankies ready.

British/Irish writer Kit de Waal is the author of multiple novels. My Name Is Leon was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and was adapted for BBC2; The Trick to Time was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction; her acclaimed biography Without Warning and Only Sometimes was Radio 4 Book of the Week, and shortlisted for Biography of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. She has written extensively about the need for the publishing industry to be more inclusive, was editor of Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers. and presented the BBC Radio 4 programme Where Are All the Working Class Writers?

Beyond Black America: Insights from Brazilian History is the focus of this compelling online talk by friend of WoW Professor Stephen Small, urging us to look beyond familiar narratives of the Black experience. While Black America has profoundly shaped global Black identity, the Black experience across the Americas is far more diverse.

Join us for this insightful online talk as Professor Small explores the rich and often overlooked history of Black Brazilians, relevant to Liverpool. He will illuminate key differences: Brazil has twice the Black population of the US, primarily Portuguese-speaking, with a slavery history beginning centuries earlier and tragically involving ten times more enslaved Africans. Brazil was the last independent nation in the Americas to abolish slavery in 1888.

Crucially, the talk will highlight the remarkable resistance of enslaved people in Brazil, where larger, sustained rebellions led to extensive Maroon communities – a vital, often overlooked history. As a Guest Curator at Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum, Professor Small will also touch upon Liverpool’s historical trade and political relations with Brazil.

Professor Stephen Small taught at the Department of African Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1995-2024. He is Director of the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues since 2020. Born in Toxteth, he earned his PhD in Sociology at the Unversity of California, Berkeley in 1989 and has held visiting positions at universities in the UK, Netherlands, France, Spain, Brazil, Japan and Zimbabwe.

Acclaimed poet Anthony Anaxagorou, and writer and performer lisa luxx, gather for an evening of poetry, discussion, and critical engagement with the ongoing crisis in Palestine.

In keeping with Writing on the Wall’s commitment to freedom, social justice, equality, and universal human rights, the event seeks to amplify marginalised voices while fostering deeper understanding and solidarity. Through powerful literary expression and lived testimony, the speakers will explore the cultural, political, and humanitarian dimensions of the Palestinian experience. This gathering offers a space for reflection, unity, and resistance, and affirms the call for a just and peaceful resolution that upholds the rights and dignity of all people in the region.

Anthony Anaxagorou is a British-born Cypriot poet, writer, and publisher. His books include How To Write It (2020), After the Formalities (2019), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, and Heritage Aesthetics (2022), which won the RSL Ondaatje Prize. He is the artistic director of Out-Spoken, a poetry and music night at London’s Southbank Centre, and publisher of Out-Spoken Press. He also edits Propel Magazine, which features emerging poets, and curates WriteBack, a British Library literary series. During the lockdown, he was a Writer in Residence for WoW’s online centre, The Writer’s Bloc. In recognition of his contributions to literature, he was made an honorary fellow at the University of Roehampton in 2019 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023.

lisa luxx is a writer, poet, and performer known for her powerful explorations of identity, feminism, and activism. Her work has been featured on BBC Radio 4, in The Guardian, and at international literary festivals. As a spoken word artist, she has performed across the UK and beyond, using poetry as a tool for social change.

Proceeds will be donated to MAP (Medical Aid for Palestine).

Join the team for an insightful conversation as Sam Wetherell discusses his critically acclaimed work Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain, a profound exploration of the city’s role in shaping the narrative of modern Britain. Sam will be interviewed by Janaya Pickett in the magnificent Concert Room of St George’s Hall, Liverpool, as part of the Writing on the Wall Festival 2025.

Expect an engaging dialogue that delves deep into themes of history, identity, and the radical rethinking of Britain’s story, all set against the backdrop of one of the most storied cities in the UK. This event promises to be a thought-provoking evening for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of Liverpool’s past and its far-reaching impact on the present.

This is an unmissable event for lovers of history, literature, and the evolution of British identity. Book your tickets now and join us for a conversation that will challenge and inspire.