Authors ~ Storytellers ~ Poets ~ Musicians ~ Acrobats
Discussions ~ Readings ~ Talks ~ Performances
SATURDAY 9th MAY
Poetry Mentoring – one-to-one with SARA-JANE ARBURY and YOU!
Lower Shaw Farm, West Swindon SN5 5PJ
Tel 01793 771080
10am - 5pm ~ 9th May ~ £30
One-hour one-to-one sessions available at 10am, 12midday, 2pm, and 4pm
Please book your session in advance at swindonlitfest@lowershawfarm.co.uk
This is an opportunity for you, just you, to spend an entire hour with an experienced poetry practitioner, to talk solely about the poems you write.
Supportive poetry surgery sessions offering detailed and in-depth feedback on your poems and/or your wish to write poems. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced poet, this is a one-hour session just for you.
Sara-Jane Arbury is a writer, poet, performer, and tutor. In this capacity, Sara-Jane has collaborated with numerous organisations, including the BBC, Oxford University Press, the National Literacy Trust, and Ledbury Poetry Festival.
A Day in the Life of 100 Women – with Dr ROSA MATHESON
Reading Room, Central Library, Swindon SN1 1QG
Tel 01793 463238
1.30pm ~ 9th May ~ Entry by donation
A chance to hear about a book authored by 100 everyday women.
Funny, feisty, sometimes chokingly sad, it is honest, brave, and inspirational.
Hear about the remarkable things this book has made happen; and meet some of its authors.
Writing Workshop and Writers’ Lunch – with ALICE JOLLY
12.30pm – 1.30pm WRITERS’ LUNCH - where healthy homemade food will nourish you and meeting
other writers at table may inspire you!
1.30pm – 4.30pm WRITING WORKSHOP with Alice Jolly.
Lower Shaw Farm, West Swindon SN5 5PJ
Tel 01793 771080
swindonlitfest@lowershawfarm.co.uk
12noon - 4.30pm ~ 9th May ~ Tickets: £40
Please book in advance at swindonlitfest@lowershawfarm.co.uk
Writing is a solitary business. Writing well is a tricky one. Writing good prose, fact or fiction, for others
to read, is even harder. How can we do it better?
We will look at the reality of being a writer, of getting down to writing, of taking the craft seriously, and
how to live a writing life.
This workshop is aimed at writers of fiction, short stories, novels, plays, or memoirs.
There will be inspiring writing exercises, plus time for discussions and individual questions.
Experienced writers will gain more experience and newcomers will discover helpful ways into writing. In other words, anyone interested in improving their writing skills, receiving good guidance, meeting other writers, and even gaining knowledge about being published, is welcome.
Bring your laptops, if you wish; and favoured writing instruments and materials too. Paper and pens will be provided.
Workshop leader Alice Jolly is the author of a prize-winning memoir, three novels, and the locally-sourced novella A Saint in Swindon. She is a commissioned playwright and a tutor of creative writing on the MSt course at the University of Oxford.
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Reading, writing, and good books– with LUCY MANGAN and ALICE JOLLY
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534
6.30pm ~ 9th May ~ £10 (£9)
Might you be someone who comes alive when you pull a new book off the shelf, stays up late reading just one more page, and packs their suitcases with clothes wedged between books instead of the other way around? Do you think fiction can get closer to the truth than so called facts? Do you get lost in a good book? If the answer is yes, then Bookish is a love letter to you!
Broadcaster, columnist, features writer, and TV critic, Lucy Mangan is the author of Bookish, which brims with literary insights, wry observations, and brilliant recommendations. Lucy’s other books include Bookworm, My Family and other Disasters, and Hopscotch & Handbags.
Why would a child not speak but instead, write, draw, keep a pet rat, hide in a cupboard, and have an ambition to own a thousand matchboxes? Should she trust a doctor, who, in his Viennese clinic, lets children play all day and values matchboxes?
In her latest book, The Matchbox Girl, prizewinning novelist, playwright, and creative writing tutor, Alice Jolly, tells a story that needed to be told, of a generation of lost children, and asks big questions that need honest answers.
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FLASH FICTION SLAM – hosted by Sara-Jane Arbury, aided by Matt Holland, and enjoyed by YOU!
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534
8pm ~ 9th May ~ £8 (£7)
Can you tell a story or convey an idea that can be read or spoken in three minutes or fewer? In less time than it takes to boil an egg, could you plant a new idea or story in a listener’s heart or head?
Note. Flash Fiction is a very short piece of writing. To read or speak it aloud in three minutes or fewer, it would need to be between 300 and 500 words in length, depending on the pace at which you choose to read or speak.
This is what will happen at the fourth Swindon Flash Fiction Slam.
A running order will be established and competitors will have 3 minutes to present – read out or recite – their flash fiction offering.
From then on, it’s a knockout! Keen but kindly judges, chosen from among the keen and kindly audience, and including Alice Jolly and Lucy Mangan as judge-supremos, will decide who pleases the parts that others cannot reach, who entertains or informs, and who does not.
Just as in all good sporting competitions, there will be a first round, a semi-final, and a final! Though there may well be moments of seriousness, nervousness, and puzzlement, a spirit of wonder, wit, kindness, and good cheer will prevail!
The winner will be crowned fourth Swindon Flash Fiction Slam Champion and will receive rapturous applause, a shiny cup, a cash prize, a bottle of bubbly, and words of congratulation from our guest judge supremos.
Cool compere, thinker, and writer in her own right, Sara-Jane Arbury, will maintain good Flash Fiction Slam order, with clear instructions, firm hand, and thoughtful slam smile; and will be ably aided if not abetted by sensible scorer, terrifying timekeeper, and crowd-pleasing prizes-provider Matt Holland.
HOW TO ENTER. Anyone brave, creative, and thoughtful enough, by their own standards, can apply to enter. Please contact the Festival on 01793 771080 or at swindonlitfest@lowershawfarm.co.uk
NOTES. 1. Maximum number of entrants will be eight, so, in case of a flood of entries, a pre-event sifting procedure may be necessary. 2. Closing date for entries is 30th April.
The Prophecy of Merlin: a storytelling show– with MIKE O'CONNOR and BARBARA GRIGGS
Presented by Forging Fantasticals
Lydiard Millicent Village Hall, 1 The Butts, Swindon SN5 3LS
6.30pm ~ 9th May ~ £7
Set against the real-life event of Saxon King Athelstan purging Exeter of the Cornish in the 930s, here is an epic adventure story with a message for today.
Inspired by true historical events, this fast-moving oral storytelling show, which includes achingly beautiful live harp music, is performed by bard and storyteller Mike O’Connor OBE and celebrated harpist Barbara Griggs.
