Something for the Weekend

Thanks to all who joined us online this week.

We'll be back on Tuesday, April 21 6 - 7.30pm

look out for the Google Hangouts calendar invite.

INSPIRATION

The Literary Consultancy have contacted their friends and allies to put together this resource for writers across all genres

POETRY

The brilliant writer and Hackney resident Joe Dunthorne hosts a fiendish poetry challenge Stress Test on Soho Radio. Poets (and listeners) are invited to write new work under timed conditions, read it aloud and talk about what went wrong.
This week's guest is Holly Pester. You can catch up and write along here

THEATRE

For nightowls check out Sunday's online performance of Buyer and Cellar about one man trapped in Barbra Streisand's basement streaming live from Michael Urie's front room. 8pm ET

BOOKBOUND 2020

Recent writer's group guest Georgie Codd curates Bookbound, an online festival, with a wide range of fiction and non fiction writers, including Nikesh Shukla, Patience Agbabi and Max Porter. More information here

Dalston Writers Group... But not as we know it

Hello Writers (and anyone else who stumbles across this page - hello to you too!)

As we won't be meeting IRL for now, there's an opportunity to join an online group. The sessions will be offered weekly starting tonight! Tuesday April 14th and will vary in format.

It will likely be a shaky affair to start off with, but the chance to chat with other writers is there, if you feel you'd like it. 

For continuity, these will run in the regular slot Tuesday 6-7.30pm.

If you have any questions or suggestions about how to join, please get in touch by emailing Zoe.ranson@hackney.gov.uk

Technical issues not withstanding, we look forward to virtually writing with some of you, soon.

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Words Aloud!

Poetry can often become more accessible in performance and Hackney has some great venues for it.

Burley Fisher books is a few minutes from the library along Kingsland Road, towards Haggerston

SET is even closer - a few steps away on Dalston Lane (an upcoming highlight is the launch of polymath Jen Kalleja's new collection on Mar 24).

Both have a regular programme of events and readings, with a focus on small presses. You can check them out here

Pages of Hackney and their sister shop  Pages of Cheshire Street also have readings, details here

Jawdance in Rich Mix is one of the boldest spoken word nights in London with a brilliant varied programme and cheap entry. Next up on Mar 18th is a Women's History Month special with Malika Booker and special guests.

I wanted to alert you to brilliant poet Danez Smith, who will be reading and chatting with Travis Alabanza at Sutton House in Homerton on Monday March 9th.
On stage they are a tour de force, and highly recommended.

Next Meeting: Tues 10 Mar

Dalston Writers Group will meet on Tues 10 Mar, 6.00 to 7.30pm in the archives.

It will be an introductory session with Zoe, looking at Point of View.

n.b. there will be no session on Tue 26 Mar.

Upcoming dates for your diary:

Tue 31 Mar 
Tue 14 Apr 
Tue 28 AprTue 12 May
Tue 26 May

Swimming to the Shark: Writing to Boost Wellbeing and Face Fear - Tues 25 Feb

Delighted to be welcoming Hackney-based author Georgie Codd to Dalston Writing Group on Tues 25 Feb (6.00 to 7.30pm) for a session focused on writing and wellbeing.

Georgie's brilliant new book We Swim to the Shark (published by Fleet Books) describes how she confronted her [stand back, new word alert] ichthyophobia, or fear of fish, by swimming with the biggest, baddest ones she could find: sharks. 

Georgie will discuss her book, the journey it entailed, and present some exercises to demonstrate how creative writing can help us confront our own insecurities and fears. There'll be some copies to buy on the night.

You can hear Georgie talking about her book on Radio 4's Woman's Hour here.

Register to attend at the Eventbrite page here.

Next Meeting: Tues 11 Feb

We got the new year off to an extraordinarily fertile start this week with our freewriting session, which generated pieces on everything from the Dolly Parton Challenge (Google it!) to Nicholas Parsons and the secret life of the dystopian organic city. Some truly amazing stuff. More on freewriting here.

Next meeting will be Tues 11 Feb, 6.00 to 7.30pm. And as a quick heads up, on Tues 25 Feb we'll be running a special session on writing and mental health with Georgie Codd, author of We Swim to the Shark, which is published by Fleet this week. More on that soon.

Next Meeting: Tues 28 Jan - Freewriting

We'll be easing our way into the new year with a session on 'freewriting' on Tues 28 Jan. For more on what that's all about, go here.