If you weren’t aware that February 2013 saw the first city-wide literature festival in Nottingham since the 70s then you’re a complete numpty who needs to be thrashed with a copy of Philip James Bailey’s Festus. If you’ve never heard of Festus, or this prolific Nottingham poet, then you need to make sure you come to the Festival of Words next year. Of course the reason you might not have heard of the festival is because the slabs of Market Square are so beautiful you never considered looking up at the Council House where a 21m banner advertised the event, or you forgot to pick up a copy of LeftLion which ran with a double page feature, or perhaps the emails from our two universities, the City Council and WEM simply slipped down your inbox and out of sight. Whatever the reason, all is forgiven and forgotten.

Plans are currently underway for the second festival and for this to happen we need your help. This could mean pitching an idea for a performance or it could be something more pragmatic like offering help with marketing so that everybody knows when and where it’s happening this time around (note to self: advertise the festival on the slabs of Market Square).

The Festival of Words is not owned by anyone in particular, despite being underwritten by the Nottingham Writers’ Studio. Instead it’s a collaboration of various local organisations who simply think that Nottnum town should celebrate its rich literary history and offer up various cultural distractions to help us get through the year. And because a £1.70 bus ticket into town is a lot cheaper than a train down to London, where, apparently, everything happens.

If you’re not one of the current partner organisations then here’s your chance to become one. If you think the event last year was too expensive, too diverse, or too ambitious, now’s your chance to get involved and help shape, plan, and run the next festival. We need people to join the steering group, we need fundraisers, we need local venues to show a bit of civic pride and put themselves forward to host events. We also need a lot of volunteers who will be rewarded with a big red T-Shirt, some free sarnies and a credit to go on that CV. We basically need you, whatever that may mean.

On 8 May at 6pm there will be an open meeting at the Nottingham Writers’ Studio to discuss such issues. So don’t sit on your arse at home moaning that we should have done this or we should have done that. Come down and share your ideas. We don’t bite. That only happens in football matches…

Nottingham Writers’ Studio, 3rd floor, Broadway Business Centre, 32a Stoney Street, Nottingham NG1 1LL. Tel. 0115 959 7947 Email: admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk

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Recently I’ve made more space in the reviews section of WriteLion for self-published authors. It fits with the LeftLion ethos to support the underdog, although the underdog does bark a little too much for my liking. Increasingly I find self-published authors find it very difficult to take criticism which can lead to endless streams of emails conversations that I simply can’t be arsed with.

In Issue 52 of LeftLion we reviewed Anthony Scott’s On Ashover Hill. Anthony was a little disappointed with the review but fortunately he dealt with it in a professional manner, sharing his thoughts via his website and Twitter. This has created a constructive dialogue and has made me think about the process of reviewing for self-published authors.

Unfortunately for Anthony his book was given to the best read reviewer I have and so any faults in his text were likely to be magnified due to the sheer breadth and scope of her reading. This has raised a difficult ethical question: should I have matched his book up with someone who mostly reads self-published work or should all books be judged purely on the merit of their words? And is it fair to clump all self-published novels under one banner alongside the likes of Amanda Hocking?

Wherever possible I find the most appropriate person to review specific genres. In this instance I went for a reviewer who could deal with a non-linear narrative and had no problem gobbling up 385 pages without breaking sweat as another realistic concern is ensuring reviewers meet copy deadlines.

Image by Michael Hawthorne. Taken from www.litjournal.com

One thing self-published authors should bear in mind is that they’ve completed and published a book. Without wishing to sound patronising, that’s an achievement in itself. It’s not our intention at LeftLion to ruin people’s lives. If a reviewer completely slagged off a book I simply wouldn’t run with it. There’s only enough room on this planet for one Julie Burchill.

As it happens I felt Anthony’s review was fair as it pointed out what the reviewer disliked as well as an awareness of what other readers may enjoy. Take this line: ‘Each chapter led up to a climax that was left unanswered, which frustrated rather than intrigued this reader, though the romantic fiction audience it targets will no doubt be more forgiving.’ That’s a pretty succinct précis as far as I’m concerned.

At the end of the day if a book gets reviewed in the magazine it means it has done something right. It is also worth noting that ultimately all reviews are subjective. When authors are unhappy with a review all I can do is offer to include an extract of their book online. This way the reader can judge whether the book is worth purchasing. I’m sure Anthony will take me up on this offer. I just wish other self-published authors were equally professional.

LeftLion has been homeless for a fair few years now, living in and out of various bedrooms in the Carrington/Sherwood area of Nottingham and surviving on discarded chip wrappers for sustenance and warmth. But finally we have our very own offices in The Corner which we lovingly share with I’m not from London, a Spanish language school and a Pole Dancing Club. This means we now have a place to store the mag so that anyone can pop by and grab a copy. Although this is more convenient for punters it will inevitably remove some of the aura associated with the magazine. Part of our self-created mythology is the fact that nobody can ever find the damn thing as it goes as quickly as it’s plonked down. Another significant effect of having our own gaff is we no longer need to meet up in the Orange Tree and complain about how ridiculously expensive the beer is. Instead we can have a full-on Blow Out mag launch for every issue and use the occasion as an excuse to draw the local creative community together. Surviving ten years without any funding is something we should be celebrating at every opportunity, particularly given it’s only a matter of time before digital technology rips the heart out of print media and a video of the event is posted on YouTube. As it happens I didn’t make it to the mag launch but that’s just because I’m boring.

If you pick up a copy of issue 52 you’ll find an interview with the girl with the Byron Tattoo, Christy Fearn. Her debut book Framed is just out and explores the frame breakers of 1811/2. I commissioned Christy to explore some of these issues for the Sillitoe Trail on The Space so it’s great to see her talks and research materialise into a book. I was disappointed with the page layout, though, as you can’t really make out her tattoo. We should have shot her doing an arm wrestle or something. The lesson here is to give more specific art direction, particularly as we knew the headline in advance of the shoot. There was an absolute blizzard on the day of the shoot so most of our plans quickly went out the window. I also squeezed in an interview with scriptwriter Adrian Reynolds and director Jack Delaney who’ve just produced Making Sparks, the world’s first serial-based drama for mobile phones. So a nice scoop. I’m about to embark on a new project called Dawn of the Unread and Adrian will definitely feature in some capacity…

Katie Half-Price developed a little bit more with the creation of ‘Six Degrees of Strelley(ation)’ in which I hope to tenuously link every great writer to this relatively ignored and shabby quarter of Nottingham. A big thanks goes to Katrine Brosnan for the illustration.

In the world of WriteLion there was a good balance of book reviews, featuring four debuts. These were two self-published titles (On Ashover Hill and An Engineer Abroad), Miggy Angel’s poetry collection, and Post journo Mhairi McFarlane’s romcom You Had Me At Hello. We covered sport through The Glory of Forest by LTLF creator Alex Walker and a digital version of Zoe Fairbairns feminist classic Benefits. There’s a tonne of other books desperate to get on the page. Please be patient. You’ll get there eventually. And if we’re really lucky, the book reviews from the last issue might even get uploaded to the website as well. Anyone fancy being an online editor?

LeftLion 52 is out now

Every year in Hay-on-Wye, arty farty folk meet in a tented village on the edge of the glorious Brecon Beacons National Park and quaff champagne while discussing books. So esteemed are these debates that Bill Clinton once described it as the ‘woodstock of the mind’. Now, thanks to New Writers UK, Nottingham is going to host its very own version in the luscious surroundings of Bartons bus depot, Chilwell.

The six hour literary marathon starts at 10am with a strong focus on local history. First up is Maureen Rushton whose talk ‘Canary Girls of Chilwell’ tells the story of those who worked at the National Shell Filling Factory during WWI. Then later on you can catch Alan Oxley’s fascinating talk ‘Gasbags and Gliders’, which explores the history of Bartons Transport from 1908 up to 1989. To get you in the mood there will be a selection of old buses on display, so bring your camera along but make sure Blakey doesn’t catch you.

For those looking for technical tips on the writing process, make sure you arrive at 11.20am for Gloria Morgan’s discussion on the role of character in fiction. This is followed at 12 noon by Philip Baker’s talk on the creative process and where ideas come from. The headline act is crime author Stephen Booth who will be discussing a sense of place and the use of location in his novels, though as far as we are aware, he’s yet to set any of his Cooper and Fry novels in a disused bus depot.

Bartons has hosted film, music and comedy festivals in the past so it’s great to see literature finally getting a turn. But if books and buses aren’t your thing, don’t worry. Running concurrently is the monthly ‘NOT the Camden Market’ with over 50 stalls from local crafters and foodie folk with a bit of music thrown in. You won’t even need your wellies.

Barton House, 61 High Road, Chilwell, Nottingham, NG9 4AJ For more details on this and other NOT events, please see the Bartons website

Published in Issue 52 Leftlion

When people ask why they should cough up £60 to become a member of the Nottingham Writers Studio my answer is always the same: the monthly social. Over the years I’ve seen our patron Jon McGregor read early extracts from Even the Dogs before it went on to win the IMPAC award, listened to Alan Mahar of Tindal Street Press explain what it is he looks for in a book (and he knows having seen 12 of his first 48 books nominated for prizes), taken part in a live creation of a plot for a computer game, listened to various debates across genres and drank a fair bit of wine. This Thursday is one of the most important socials in the calendar as it’s the one where you do all the talking.

With such a diverse membership of writers it’s difficult to know whether everyone is getting what they need out of the Studio and so we need a session like this to ensure nobody is left out on the margins. Typical areas to be discussed are:

Are you happy with the location and actual space of the studio?

If you could see any author at a Word of Mouth event, who would it be?

What kind of mentoring schemes would you like to see?

Should we be working more actively to get you published?

Is membership too expensive/cheap?

Should we become more digital?

What changes could we make to the studio to improve your writing career?

Do you require more practical help, such as getting an agent?

The Studio is unique in that it is run by writers for writers. Your input in the session on Thursday could determine not only what happens in the future but how it happens. The recent Festival of Words was born out of a discussion with members at an AGM two years ago, so we’re not joking when we say your view is valued. Your wine is also important as well, as are your crisps and peanuts. So bring a few nibbles and refreshments along with you and together we’ll dare to make the Studio even better.

This is the Chair’s Blog and was originally published on the Nottingham Writers’ Studio website 

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