The past year has been an exciting one for Nottingham’s literary scene with the city being named a UNESCO City of Literature back in December 2015. And next month sees the arrival of the Nottingham Festival of Literature, a festival which promises an exciting, diverse array of events to inform and inspire. Between the 8th and 13th November there will be numerous events, activities and workshops taking place throughout the city, with readers and speakers from around the UK and beyond taking part.
The list below features just a few of the forthcoming events, for further details on all the events and how to book you can view a full festival brochure on the Nottingham Festival Of Literature website.
Tuesday 8th November
Sheila Rowbotham: Rebel Crossings – Known as a historian of feminism, Sheila Rowbotham discusses her book, Rebel Crossings, which provides fascinating insight into feminism and socialism
Michael Symmons Roberts with Alison Moore – Michael Symmons Roberts’ latest collection Selected Poems features work from six of his remarkable collections. He is joined by Alison Moore who has recently published her latest novel Death and the Seaside.
Wednesday 9th November
Joanna Cannon and Cathy Rentzenbrink in conversation – Joanna Cannon, author of wonderful debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep in conversation with Cathy Rentzenbrink whose memoir The Last Act of Love, is a moving story of loss and survival.
John Agard: Roll over Atlantic – Caribbean-British poet John Agard performs a reimagining of Christopher Columbus’ New World Enterprise.
Thursday 10th November
Ovid’s Heroines with Clare Pollard – Clare Pollard reads a series of letter-poems of women from Greek and Roman mythology.
Jenn Ashworth and Jon McGregor in conversation – Writers Jenn Ashworth and Jon McGregor discuss their writing careers and the process of developing a novel.
Friday 11th November
Kerry Young and Hannah Lowe in conversation – Kerry Young and Hannah Lowe read fiction and poetry on memory and migration.
Dawn of the Unread: The book launch – Launch of this innovative graphic novel featuring the work of more than thirty writers and artists.
Saturday 12th November
On the edge: Three playwrights in conversation – Playwrights Kefi Chadwick, Mufaro Makubika and Daniel Hoffman-Gill discuss writing plays that expose the lives of people living on the fringe of society.
An evening with Amit Chaudhuri – An evening of readings and discussion with Amit Chaudhuri, one of India’s most highly regarded writers.
Sunday 13th November
Jack Monroe: Queer, austere and here – Jack Monroe brings a new wave of understanding surrounding gender, identity and conforming to society.
The culture of welcome: Writers working with refugees – Writer Rich Goodson, Victoria Mponde, Henderson Mullin and others discuss how sharing stories can change minds.
The above are just some of the highlights of the festival and I hope to attend, and blog about, some of these events. This diverse programme features writers of many genres, novelists, poets, playwrights and much more. In addition the festival hopes to encourage discussion, and to look at life in a modern city and how it is represented through literature in all its forms. This includes issues surrounding identity, migration and humanity so the festival promises to be an interesting and thought provoking series of events. I am very excited to get involved!
Also taking place during the festival will be a series of digital encounters with Omar El Hazek, a novelist, poet and activist who is unable to travel to the festival. The festival are running a Crowdfunding campaign to secure Omar as their writer in residence, in association with English Penn, whose aim is to support writers who are imprisoned or oppressed around the world. You can find out more about how to support Omar by visiting the Nottingham Festival of Literature website and by checking out their Crowdfunding page.
To keep up to date on the festival, you can follow events on the below social media sites:
https://www.facebook.com/NottinghamFestivalOfLiterature/
https://twitter.com/NottsFoL
https://www.instagram.com/nottsfol/
the owl on the bookshelf 
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