A busy Autumn...

I've got a busy Autumn in the works: I'm teaching, talking, and appearing all over the shop, it seems. This October marks the launch of the Liminal Residency Alton Towers book, and I'll also be appearing at Morecambe & Vice Crime Festival, talking about organising small festivals in the North of England. Most exciting of all, I'll be speaking to the legendary David Constantine, one of the country's greatest living short story writers, and introducing his new collection The Dressing-Up Box, at Halifax Square Chapel.

September 23rd. An Evening With David Constantine. Square Chapel, Halifax. £5.
An evening celebrating a new collection of stories by David Constantine, the author of the short story behind the Oscar-nominated film 45 YEARS, who has been hailed as one of the greatest writers of the short story form. David has previously been awarded the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award. Tickets here.

Sunday September 29th. A Festival Of Festivals, Morecambe & Vice, The Midland Hotel, 9.30 am.
"Festival organisers discuss what led them to partake in such insanity", it says here. Full programme for the M&V weekend here. 

Saturday October 5th. Alton Towers Liminal Resident Book Launch, North Stafford Hotel, Stoke.
Encompassing a waterpark, two hotels, an 'extraordinary' golf course, and a range of peripheral attractions, Alton Towers is the oldest theme park in the UK. This is the launch of the resulting 90-page book from our writing residency at Alton Towers, and features work by Julia Deakins, Claire Fuller, Gaynor Jones, Alison Powell, Eloise CC Shephard, and Krishan Coupland. Book tickets here.

Saturday October 26th. Write A Horror Story in An Hour at FRIGHTFEST, The Leeds Library, 2.00, £6.
I'll be teaching a mini-workshop as part of FRIGHTFEST, where you can use prompts to create your own scary story super-fast. FRIGHTFEST is a one-day minifestival of horror writing all taking part at The Leeds Library, which is the city's oldest and most haunted surviving subscription library, and there's also an event with Alison Littlewood & Lucie McKnight Hardy. More info & book here. 

Wednesday October 30th. RESIST! book launch with Gaia Holmes, Hyde Park Book Club, free.
After a long wait, I'm really pleased to see the launch of this book, part of Comma Press' acclaimed Protest series, which pairs authors with historians and activists who were actually there, to write stories about key moments in British protest. Come along to this FREE event to hear myself and Gaia Holmes talk about our respective stories.

On the whole, I think I might be doing one too many things, but never mind, I can always dose up on Lemsip.

Currently reading
The Arabian Nights
The Barbarous Coast Ross MacDonald

Alton Towers Liminal Resident

Me and Gaynor Jones in the titular Towers. That's me in an Alton Towers branded cape. It was raining. A lot. Photo by Alison Powell.

"Alton Towers is the oldest theme park in the UK, situated on the border of the village of Alton in the middle of the Staffordshire countryside. The resort encompasses the park itself, a waterpark, two hotels, an “extraordinary” golf course and a range of peripheral attractions. At the centre of the complex stands the neglected remains of a once-magnificent stately home, which has fallen into disprepair even as the modern park has developed around it." [Liminal Resident website].

I recently spent several weird, and deeply enjoyable, days at Alton Towers as part of the Liminal Residency. It was a wonderful and extremely strange weekend, and it was great to spend time in the company of a bunch of extremely talented writers.

Julia Deakin, Alison Powell, Krishan Coupland, Eloise CC Shepherd, Claire Fuller, Gaynor Jones

We stayed in the Alton Towers Hotel (where the lifts play music!) explored the original Towers in the rain, looked at starfish in the Aquarium (it was raining - the rollercoasters were closed) ate expensive, terrible food in a restaurant with FAKE CURTAINS. It was a brilliant weekend of oddness and beauty, and I'm incredibly grateful to have had the chance to go on it. Many thanks to Elly and Krishan for organising.

Krishan Coupland & Eloise CC Shepherd of the Liminal Residency

"I often say that I like to write about real things. I suppose by that I mean things that actually happened, stories that are little told, or that other people don’t think about or write about." You can read my interview about the experience here.



The writers who took part in the residency - Alison Powell, Gaynor Jones, Julia Deakin, Eloise CC Shepherd, Krishan Coupland, and Claire Fuller - have each contributed a story or poem inspired by the workshops and experiences of the weekend, It also features a story by me, but don't let that put you off. Pre-order your copy here.

Currently Reading

Theft By Finding: Diaries by David Sedaris
Nudibranch Irenosen Okojie