Monthly Archives: September 2023

Writing prompt – red

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Tile at Ethographic Museum, Antalya_Photo by Judy Darley

While visiting Antalya, Turkey, in September, we explored the excellent Ethnographic Museum. One of the displays shows a series of ceramics, including the 17th century tile shown in my photo.

The reason this is remarkable is because of secrecy. An information plaque beside the tiles mentions that the craftsmen kept their ways of creating and obtaining colours a closely guarded secret, to the extent that the knowledge about how to make the lovely coral reds has now gone forever.

Imagine if a crucial piece of contemporary knowledge was lost in this way. What aspect of cultural or comfortable modern life would impact you most if it disappeared? Can you use this perturbing thought in a work of fiction?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Celebrate writing at Manchester Literature Festival

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The-Royal-Exchange-Manchester-cr-Judy-Darley

This year’s Manchester Literature Festival promises a programme of buzzing, thought-provoking events celebrating writing in all its forms from 7th-22nd October.

Curated by Manchester Literature Festival Co-Directors Cathy Bolton & Sarah-Jane Roberts, this year’s programme aims to revel in imagination, creativity and ideas, offering new perspectives from which to view a fast-paced and shifting world. 

Taking place at an array of Manchester venues, from Manchester Art Gallery and International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Central Library to Contact, HOME and The Lowry, the line-up this year includes Zadie Smith, Jeanette Winterson, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Simon Armitage, Natalie Haynes, Annie Macmanus, Afua Hirsch, George Monbiot, Gaia Vince, Lemn Sissay, Lisa Nandy and artist Jeremy Deller. 

Author and founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Kate Mosse will hold a special ‘How to Write Historical Fiction’ Masterclass for the festival,l sharing what drew her to the genre, the inspiration behind her bestselling novels like Labyrinth, Sepulchre and The Burning Chambers, how she evokes convincing historical details and how to balance factual research with compelling characters and storytelling. 

Kate will also discuss her new novel, The Ghost Ship, and the real 18th century female pirates that inspired her in an In Conversation hosted by novelist Beth Underdown (The Key in the Lock). 

Novelist and memoirist Deborah Levy (The Cost of Living, The Man Who Saw Everything, Hot Milk) will be in conversation about her forthcoming novel, August Blue. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing & Creative Manchester. 

Author Max Porter (Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Lanny) will perform a dramatic abridged reading from his new novel Shy with a live electronic score by musician Roly Porter. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing & Creative Manchester. 

Turkish-British novelist Elif Shafak (The Island of Missing Trees)will discuss some of the writers and poets that have influenced and inspired her, some of the books she returns to regularly for pleasure or guidance and her own life-long passion for reading, writing and storytelling. 

There will also be new commissions to experience.

To mark Manchester Art Gallery’s 200th anniversary, MLF and the gallery have co-commissioned award-winning poet Jason Allen-Paisant (Thinking with Trees, Self-Portrait as Othello) to create a new trio of playful and sensual poems inspired by paintings and garments in the gallery’s collection. 

Icelandic novelist, poet and lyricist Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (Animal Life, Hotel Silence, Miss Iceland) returns to the city to share new fiction inspired by her recent Writer’s Residency in Manchester. Presented in partnership with Manchester UNESCO City of Literature, John Rylands Research Institute and Library and Creative Manchester. 

Talented young writers from Manchester, Aalborg and Aarhus, Billie Meredith, SAF-S2E, Cassandra Marie Geyti, Silas Toft, Marie Laurberg Nielsen and Selina Rom Andersen, will present new poetry inspired by explorations of each other’s cities as part of the Cities Untold residency project. 

Find the full MLF line-up and download the brochure at manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – tense

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Tents by Judy Darley

The rising cost of living in my home city is pricing people out of their houses and into tent villages. It’s a phenomenon I’ve seen before, both here and abroad, but never on this growing scale. Local parks are becoming homes for residents with few other options.

These are often people with jobs forced out by rocketing rents.

Can you write a tale that examines this problem and finds some kind of solution? How would it feel to be in this position? How would you retain your equilibrium in this situation?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Brooklyn Book Festival celebrates literature city-wide

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Brooklyn. Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis on UnsplashBrooklyn Book Festival (BKBF) returns with a hybrid offering in 2022, with online and real world events to choose between from 24th September to 2nd October.

The Brooklyn Book Festival was launched in 2006 as a one-day event to address the need for a free, major literary event that embraced the diverse constituencies of New York City. It has since grown to include city-wide Bookend events, its flagship Festival Day with 300 authors and a Literary Marketplace with 250 independent and major publishers, and the BKBF Children’s Day that celebrates childhood reading. The Festival’s credo is “hip, smart and diverse”.

There are three elements to the festival. Citywide Bookend events bring poetry, film, performances and more to all five New York City boroughs – the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

On September 24th, Virtual Festival Day welcomes authors and audiences who can’t attend in person to get involved from around the world and enjoy compelling author conversations.

On Saturday, September 30 at Brooklyn Commons, Metrotech, Children’s Day celebrates childhood reading with workshops, performances, readings from popular and emerging authors, and more.

They say: “The mission of the Brooklyn Book Festival is to celebrate published literature and nurture a literary cultural community through programming that cultivates and connects readers of diverse ages and backgrounds with local, national and international authors, publishers and booksellers.”

They add: “The Brooklyn Book Festival is New York City’s largest free literary festival and connects readers with local, national and international authors and publishers.”

Find the full line up here.

Sign up for their newsletter to discover information on highlights as it becomes available.

Find full details here: brooklynbookfestival.org.

Photo of Brooklyn Bridge by Miltiadis Fragkidis on Unsplash.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – yellow

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Brush cr Judy Darley

On one of the sunniest mornings of the season, I saw this paintbrush on a wall.

Nothing I could see nearby had been painted yellow. It’s a shade that reminds me of butter, lemon curd, sandy beaches and the sun.

Could this brush have been used to paint summer?

Can you turn this into an intriguing tale that veers away from the saccharine sweet to explore something about childhood or growing up?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Dive into Bath Children’s Literature Festival

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Child reading cr Julian Foxon Photography

© Julian Foxon Photography

Hungry for writing inspiration or simply got young book-worms to entertain? Bath Children’s Literature Festival returns this autumn with ten days of fantastic, imagination-stirring events.

The festival runs from Friday 29 September – Sunday 8 October, with events for all ages.

Look out for workshops, talks and performances with exceptional authors and illustrators including Katherine Rundell, Sir Lenny Henry, Cressida Cowell, Robin Stevens, Rob Biddulph, Holly Jackson, Dapo Adeola and Nathan Bryon, Nikita Gill, Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet, Holly Bourne, Chris Riddell, Tom Holland and Tracy Darnton.

Not sure what to book your spot at? The team at the Festival have created a trailer to whet your appetite. Click here to view it,

Image supplied by Bath Festivals. Photo by Julian-Foxon-Photography.

Find details at bathfestivals.org.uk/childrens-literature.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – pasture

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Staden Grange, our home in Buxton, VW Beetle car in green field. Photo by Judy Darley

I spotted this vintage VW Beetle resting in a field near Burton. I rather like the way looks like it’s been put out to pasture after a hard working life. It certainly has views worth pausing to soak up now. I can envision it trundling around on the grass admiring bumblebees nosing in buttercups and generally enjoying some relaxation.

Imagine the people who might have driven or ridden in this vehicle. You could put a sinister twist on a tale by imagining they travelled here for a picnic. What occurred that led to them abandoning their car? Bucolic scenes like this are ripe for uncanny happenings!

Whether you choose to go dreamy, comic or scary, turn this scene into a tale.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.