2014 events

Inaugural Readings: New Work Commissioned by the Centre for New Writing

Thursday 13 November
This year, the Centre for New Writing commissioned 39 pieces of creative writing for two of its research projects. The first was 'Affective Digital Histories' (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council), which granted writers early access to new digital archives about the de-industrialised Cultural Quarter in Leicester and disused factories in Glossop. The second project, 'Sole2Soul', was funded by the Arts Council and Leicester County Council. Sole2Soul commissioned new writing to stimulate public interest in the Falkner Boot and Shoe exhibit at Harborough Museum. Four of these commissioned writers - Divya Ghalani, Kate Ruse, Helen Jayne Gunn and Mark Goodwin - read from their work, which is both touching and atmospheric.

Andrew Mitchell: Darwin and the Voyage of HMS Beagle 

Wednesday 12 November
A multi-media performance including poetry, illustrations and sea shanties. Watch the performance on YouTube.

Matthew Sweeney: Poetry and Poetics

Wednesday 12 November
Matthew is an award-winning poet, and author of various collections, including Black Moon, which was shortlisted for the T S Eliot prize in 2007.

George Green: Writing Historical Fiction

Monday 10 November
Novelist and academic George Green read from his forthcoming work and discussed the process, problems and pleasures of writing historical fiction.

Kadija Sesay

Monday 20 October
Kadija Sesay is the founder/publisher of SABLE LitMag and editor of several anthologies of work by writers of African and Asian descent.

Dalit Literature event

Wednesday 25 June
Hosted by the Centre for New Writing.

CPD Course: Teaching Creative Writing at Post-16

Thursday 12 - Friday 13 June
Our first ever teacher training course was very well received by the participants. The course covered four literary forms and was taught using workshops, writers' talks and face-to-face feedback for teachers who write.

Michael Bucknor: Performing Masculinities in Global Black Diasporas - Romantic Gender Revolutions and Jamaican Popular Culture

Tuesday 3 June
Michael's talk focused on novels by Jamaican-American writer Colin Channer and British-Jamaican writer Patrick Augustus. He argued that, among other things, despite taking to romance writing, both writers reiterate and promote established stereotypes about women.

John Schad reading and question and answer session

Thursday 29 May
Listen to our event with John Schad.

Jonathan Coe: 3rd Annual Creative Writing Lecture

Wednesday 5 March
Introduced by Dr Emma Parker.

Fernando Sorrentino

Tuesday 4 March
A reading by Argentinian writer Fernando Sorrentino. Listen to Fernando read from his work.

Thomas Glave

Thursday 27 February
Fiction masterclass and talk. Listen to our event with Thomas Glave.