Interest area: Literature

Writing for TV course – Writing ...

Are you economically inactive and interested in joining a creative community where you can further your skills as a writer, develop your confidence, and have your stories heard?

Then a FREE creative writing course could be perfect for you. Most courses will be in person in the Liverpool area, and a small number will be scheduled online for those with access issues.

The Writing On The Wall courses are for all levels of writing ability, so no experience is necessary. They offer a chance to work with professional writers, and everyone who attends will be able to submit their work for publication in a printed anthology available to buy online and in bookshops across the city.

After course completion, they continue to offer regular opportunities to our participants, including practicing and developing writing skills, engaging with our community and connecting you with educational, volunteering or career opportunities. This will happen through the Writer’s Bloc, which are regular community meet ups with professional writers and representatives from educational and career organisations, aimed at further development your skills and prospects.

Writing for TV course

Are you addicted to soaps? Do you love an exciting new drama series?  Want to learn how these shows are created from the people who write them?  Then this course is right up your street.  It will be led by their Write to Work project coordinator, Lyn Papadopoulos – an industry professional with years of soap writing experience, who will share her knowledge and prepare you for the real world of screen writing.  There will also be a chance to gain expert insights from other professional writers, Tony Schumacher (The Responder) and Sally Abbott (The Coroner, Vera, Call the Midwife)

Head along and find out what makes Chris Carson tick.  How Vera stays fresh and exciting for several series and what really happens in a day in the life of a screenwriter.

Every Wednesday morning from 13th November – 4th December

Spaces on this course will be limited – they will be in touch to confirm your place.

This course will be suitable for anyone who has a passion for script writing on the big or small screen.

Taking part in Write to Work courses and related activities will not impact your benefit status

Applicants must read full eligibility criteria below before applying

Eligibility:  

  • You must be 18+ 
  • You must be economically inactive: this means you are not employed or self-employed, not actively looking for work at the moment, not waiting to start a job. Please note that if you are retired, you may be eligible, depending on your future plans (they will call you).
  • You must be living in Liverpool City Region, including the parts of the Wirral listed as Merseyside, Liverpool, Sefton, Halton, St Helens, Knowsley
  • You must have the legal right to live and work in the UK
  • You cannot have already completed a Write to Work course in 2024 (it is fine if you did a course with them before 2024)
  • You cannot be currently participating on any other UKSPF funded course related to careers development

Important: if you are receiving standard Universal Credit payments and are expected to search for work as part of your commitments, you are classified as unemployed, not economically inactive, and you will not be eligible for the course. The only exception to this is when you have been signed off work by a Doctor and/or are currently being assessed for health related benefits by DWP. If you have been signed off with ill health, you can be classified as economically inactive. Feel free to contact them if you are unsure of your classification.

Please also note that you should not turn up to a course without receiving a confirmation from us first. Registering for the course does not guarantee acceptance as they need to determine eligibility before they can offer a place, and numbers are limited. If you turn up on the day without having been accepted onto the course they won’t be able to allow entry.

If you have any queries please email at write2work@writingonthewall.org.uk   

To apply, visit here

Lowry Lounge 2024

Bluecoat’s annual celebration of Merseyside-born writer Malcolm Lowry this year falls on the Mexican Day of the Dead, the setting for his famous novel, Under the Volcano. Taking this theme, their programme includes talks, films and a participatory Day of the Dead altar dedicated to Lowry.

Visit their Library to find out more about Malcolm Lowry and past Lowry Lounge celebrations at the Bluecoat.

Sat 2 Nov, 11am-4.30pm

A Woman Like Me: Diane Abbott In Conve...

Diane Abbott, the UK’s first Black female MP, has been a dedicated advocate for social justice and equality throughout her distinguished political career. In her memoir, A Woman Like Me, she shares an honest, powerful and inspiring reflection on her life, her groundbreaking path in Parliament, and the persistent challenges she’s faced as a Black woman in politics.

A powerful and moving memoir by the woman who made history as Britain’s first black female MP, telling the story of our nation through her eyes.
Diane will be in conversation with award-winning author, broadcaster and professor of sociology Gary Younge.

Diane Abbott was born in London in 1953, to parents who were part of the Windrush generation. She has been the Member of Parliament for Hackney and Stoke Newington for more than 35 years. The first Black woman elected to Parliament; she is also the longest-serving Black MP in the House of Commons. She is the founder of several initiatives, including London Schools and the Black Child and Black Women Mean Business. For 12 years, she appeared as a regular contributor on the BBC’s political digest show This Week. A Woman Like Me is her first book.
Gary Younge is an award-winning author, broadcaster and a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester in England.

He has written six books: Dispatches From the Diaspora, From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter; Another Day in the Death of America, A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives; The Speech, The Story Behind Martin Luther King’s Dream; Who Are We?, And Should it Matter in the 21st century; Stranger in a Strange Land, Travels in the Disunited States and No Place Like Home, A Black Briton’s Journey Through the Deep South. He has also written for The New York Review of Books. Granta, GQ, The Financial Times and The New Statesman and made several radio and television documentaries on subjects ranging from gay marriage to Brexit.

A Woman Like Me is available in all good bookshops!

October Writing Advice Desk

The Writing Advice Desk is back!

The Windows Project Writing Advice Desk service is returning to the Liverpool Central Library to offer help for any and all writers!

The Advice Desk will be conducted on the FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month

October’s writing advice desk will be run by Dave Ward and Alison Down from The Windows Project

For more details, contact them at windowsproject@btinternet.com or 07710644325.

Liverpool Artists’ Book Fair

Liverpool Book Art is excited to announce that the next Liverpool Artists’ Book Fair will be held at The Bluecoat (Arts Centre) on Saturday 5th October and Sunday 6th October 2024. There will be work by over 30 artists for sale. Entry to the public will be free. 

An opportunity to meet book artists from across the UK, and buy their work. A range of works will be for sale, including unique hand-made works, limited edition books, fine bindings and notebooks to treasure. Prices from around £5. 

Participating Artists include B K Stationery, The Bookband, celesteeni, Celine Siani Djiakoua, Julie Dodd, Fistful of Books, Gnobilis Press, Pat Hodson, Michelle Holland, Less Than 500 Press, Andrew Morrison Books, North West Book Artists, Heather Prescott, Rock-Tree-Landscape, SALT + SHAW, June Shapter, Serena Smith, Amy Sterly, SU41P, and Verso Press.

The Bluecoat is the country’s oldest arts centre, housed in a beautiful 300-year old building, and home to exhibitions of contemporary art, a print studio, as well as many other art activities. The Bluecoat is at the heart of Liverpool city centre, and is open Saturday 10.00-17.00; Sunday 11.00-17.00.  

The Liverpool Artists’ Book Fair will be open to the public from 11.00 on both days.

On Sunday 6th October there will be complementary activities at Cass Art, School Lane. At 14.00 there will be a performance of the ‘Sound Book Project’ plus a series of artist talks from 12.00 to 15.30.

More details on websites, Facebook and Instagram.

The Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BX

 

 

The Merchant of Venice 1936

Ambition, power and political unrest explode onto the stage in The Merchant of Venice 1936, direct from selling out the RSC and London’s West End.

Starring Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who) as Shylock, Shakespeare’s classic is transported to 1930s Britain in this “striking and impactful” (Guardian) new production that “makes theatre history” (The Telegraph). It is adapted by Brigid Larmour and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Tensions in London’s East End are rising and Shylock, a resilient single mother and hard-working businesswoman, is desperate to protect her daughter’s future. When the charismatic merchant Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck. Will Shylock take her revenge, and who will pay the ultimate price?

Don’t miss this unforgettable, electrifying new production of The Merchant of Venice, a “fascinating and timely” (Daily Mail) reminder of a key moment in British history.

Liverpool Book Market

The legendary Liverpool Book Market returns to the Garden Room in the Bluecoat.

Browse a fantastic selection of books from a range of local booksellers, including ‘still Out of Print’ of Smithdown Rd, and the ‘Bolshie Bargain Bookstall’.

Bargains, rarities and a cornucopia of subjects for the literary mind!

Enquiries: ‘still Out of Print’ Antiquarian and Secondhand Bookshop 07440 501099

Cath Holland – Sound and Vision

Birkenhead writer Cath Holland has a poem ‘Lucky Dip’ and flash fiction short story ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’ featured as part of the Sound and Vision exhibition, alongside paintings and drawings from local artists on the theme.

Cath is published by Dead Ink Books, Arachne Press, National Flash Fiction Day. Her work is broadcast regularly by the BBC, and she appeared on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about her writing.

Cath has performed spoken word and poetry at Chester Literature Festival, Liverpool Everyman, The Reader at Calderstones, Shakespeare North Playhouse, Royal Society of Arts.

& Juliet

Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as Juliet ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.

Created by the Emmy-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks, what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?

Children’s Storytelling in Green...

Smithdown Litfest 2024 invite children and grown-ups to this magical storytelling session with local author Patrick Graham. Patrick, author of “The Three Little Jamaicans: English Adventure” will be reading from his latest work-in-progress, a children’s fantasy adventure called “House of Almost All Known Things”. Ideal for children in Years 4 to 6 but all welcome!

Anokosha and her brother Tanaka live in rural Zimbabwe. Little do they know their whole world will be turned upside down. The fairy tales they used to listen to are about to become reality. Anokosha is worried about Tanaka and his strange whispering.

She follows him and learns he’s befriended a creature they thought was the thing of bedtime stories. And, the creature needs their help. Driven by the promise of magic, the reluctant Anokosha and eager Tanaka set off on a quest to find the House Of Almost All Known Things. Along the way they encounter giants, trolls, extremely dangerous Tree Dwellers, envious parents and imaginary beasts. Can Tanaka’s friend be trusted to keep them safe? And, will the house have the answers they need?

This is a free event but please book your free places so they know how many people to expect and can contact you if the weather means they need to move to an indoor venue! The event will take place by the large tree near the Beechbank Road part of the park. Bring along a blanket or chair to sit on.