At Last, Finally, and Etcetera: Write Now Sound Bytes!

Hello, everyone. I know it has been a bit longer than anticipated, but here's the link to listen to readings from the CCA post-Write Now evening on 3rd of June. You can hear:

--Valve Journal contributors Lynsey Cameron, Katrina Patrick, Gabriella Bennett, and Craig Lamont. Valve Literary Journal is now available from Waterstone's on Sauchiehall Street (Glasgow);

-- Rodge Glass reading from his as-yet-unpublished Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs (which has now become slightly more topical than Rodge intended it to be);

Jamie Jauncey, reading from Room 121, co-authored by John Simmons (26 founder, can often be found at http://www.thewriter.com/)

--David Kinloch, reading from Finger of A Frenchman and other works;

--Alexander (but really Sandy) Hutchison, reading and singing The Herring's Song;

-- J L Williams, reading from Condition of Fire;

--Sam Best (another of the Valvians);

and Helen FitzGerald, reading from her imminent arrival, The Donor.


http://soundcloud.com/writenow/sets

I had a fantastic time, and enjoyed The Herring Song just as much the second time around (Tristan has refused to let anyone see a picture or video of the dance he has choreographed to go with it).

We are now starting to plan for next year; any ideas and offers of help welcome.

After the Conference-y bit of Write Now is Over, There's More

Tah-Dah!
The evening lineup, ladies and gentlemen (and Rodge, Helen, who are seriously misbehaving on Twitter today...tsk tsk. We want this CLASSY, people!).

Kicking off will be Rodge Glass and his quartet of Valve-ians:
Lynsey Cameron
Gabriella Bennett
Katrina Patrick
Craig Lamont

We will have a short break, with a musical interlude courtesy of Jamie Jauncey, who'll be bringing the Birnam Quartet CD (he's the keyboard man) of the music of Burns. It is utterly gorgeous and heart-breaking, and will lead nicely into the poetry bit of the evening.
 The poets:
David Kinloch
JL Williams
Sandy Hutchison
(and, hopefully, Nick e Melville, if I can keep everyone to time...)

Another short break/trip down to the bar/more music, and then we'll have:

Jamie Jauncey
Samuel Best
and
Helen Fitzgerald.

I can't wait. See you at the CCA at 7, up in the club room.

Write Now: Evening Event at CCA

On the 3rd of June, following the conference, we are having an evening of readings at the CCA in the Club Room. The event is free and unticketed, and the more people we can squeeze in the happier we'll be. J L Williams and, hopefully, Jamie Jauncey will also be reading. Craig Lamont of Valve Literary Journal has designed the poster and logo for us-- thanks, Craig!

Here's a map to the CCA; it is approximately 15 minutes' walk from Central Station, and is also an easy bus or Underground ride from the centre of Glasgow:

(Map courtesy of the CCA website, http://www.cca-glasgow.com/home ) 

Another Rallying Call: deadline for abstracts 8/4/11

‘Write Now!’
1 Day Post Graduate Creative Writing Conference
Strathclyde University, Glasgow
Friday 3rd June 2011

Critical papers and practice based presentations (a reading balanced by a critical element) are invited for the one day creative writing conference to be held in the heart of Glasgow.  Topics for presentations may include, but are not limited to:
• Language: found, reinvented or rediscovered
• Dialects: historical or modern
• Genre Fiction
• Emerging trends in fiction, poetry, drama and journalism

Creative Writing, Journalism and English postgraduates and scholars are invited to explore creative writing in the broadest possible terms considering genre, technique, language, historical development, impact and performance.  This conference aims to allow postgraduates and scholars to share their research and creative output but also to foster a community of writers and researchers interested in the many facets of creative writing.

               © Steve Lindridge
Keynote speaker Louise Welsh is the award winning author of The Cutting Room (2002) and most recently Naming the Bones (2010). She is also a successful playwright and is currently writer in residence for The University of Glasgow & Glasgow School of Art.

Readings may consist of a number of poems or 1-2 short works of fiction / literary journalism and may be on any topic and in any style.

Confirmed readers include:  Poet, linguist and Reader in English Studies David Kinloch who will read from his forthcoming collection Finger of a Frenchman (April 2011).  Somerset Maugham Award winning novelist and Creative Writing lecturer Rodge Glass will perform new work.  Award winning investigative journalist and Director of the Strathclyde University Innocence Project Eamonn O’Neill will give us an exclusive sneak peek into his forthcoming novel The Last Court of Appeal. Helen Fitzgerald (Aussie now living as a Weegie, novelist, ex-Social Worker, and many other things besides) will read from The Donor (July 2011), her latest novel.

Presentations 20 minutes
Readings 10 minutes (maximum)

Send proposal abstracts of not more than 300 words and creative pieces accompanied by a brief bio to: bryony.stocker@strath.ac.uk

Closing Date for Submissions: Friday 8th April 2011

Applications can be made via our online shop at http://onlineshop.strath.ac.uk click on the Humanities and Social Sciences link under Conferences and Events.  You will find our conference here with an online application.  Alternatively, please complete the application form available on our website http://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/conferences and return with the fee of £10 per delegate.
The closing date for applications to attend is the 20th of May.

Organiser: Bryony Stocker, University of Strathclyde - bryony.stocker@strath.ac.uk
Promoter: Mary McDonough, University of Strathclyde - maryfmcdonough@me.com
Find us on the web at - http://flavors.me/writenow and follow us on Twitter

Unashamed Plugging

On the 21st of April, my loyalties and attention are going to be a bit...divided, let's just say. At 7 p.m., at the CCA on Sauchiehall Street, David Kinloch's poetry collection Finger of a Frenchman will officially be launched by Carcanet Press. Copies can be ordered via the usual outlets, or direct from Carcanet: http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781847770745. The blurb says that the book "explores looking, and writing about looking." I'm looking (ha ha!)  forward to hearing and reading Finger of A Frenchman. I'm also glad I don't have to wait until June 3rd at the Write Now Conference, because I'm actually pretty impatient and not keen on delayed gratification (sometimes an awkward thing for a poet to be). 


At 7:30, at the Mono bar about a mile and a half away from the CCA, a group of truly talented and enterprising 4th year students at Strathcyde are launching a new literary magazine, Valve, with a program of acoustic music and readings. For further information, or to try to snaffle and invitation, check out valvejournal.co.uk. I haven't read any of it, but have heard some of the contributors read before, and it will be well worth the trip to the launch or Waterstone's to buy Valve.


One of the things I love most about living in Glasgow is that people DO things. Having an embarrassment of riches to choose from, bookily speaking, is a great diary conflict to have. Come sprint, lurch, stagger, run, saunter with me on the 21st of April; we've got a lot of listening to do.