Join us on Wednesday 8 March for the Leeds Trinity University annual Writers’ Festival, where you’ll have the opportunity to work with professional writers, attend writing workshops and hear readings from our featured writers.
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What’s happening?
The Leeds Trinity Writers’ Festival draws together students, staff and members of local writers' groups to participate in workshops with eight writers. You’ll have the opportunity to work with published authors, poets and creative writing staff in the form of workshops as well as readings and the opportunity for networking.
When
Wednesday 8 March 2023, 10.00am - 5.00pm
Where
Leeds Trinity University, Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5HD
Format
We will open for registration at 10.00am and writers will run their two-hour workshop (different participants each time) once in the morning (11.00am – 1.00pm) and once in the afternoon (2.00 – 4.00pm), and we will finish the afternoon with readings by those of our writers who wish to do so (4.00 – 5.00pm).
10.00am: Registration and networking
11.00am – 1.00pm: Morning session
1.00 – 2.00pm: Lunch (available to purchase from Starbucks in the Atrium or our Dining Room, or delegates may bring their own)
2.00 – 4.00pm: Afternoon session
4.00 – 5.00pm: Afternoon reading
5.00pm: Close
Cost and how to book
Leeds Trinity University Writers' Festival is free for University employees, students and alumni. It costs £15 for the whole day for external guests.
When booking your place, please indicate your preference of workshop for the morning and afternoon sessions. Every effort will be made to accommodate this.
Booking for this event is now closed.
Who should attend?
Staff, students, alumni, members of the local community, and emerging and established writers.
Further information
If you have any queries, please contact f.khatun@leedstrinity.ac.uk.
Workshops
Each workshop will run in both the morning (11.00am – 1.00pm) and afternoon (2.00 – 4.00pm) sessions.
Hannah Stone: Make Some Noise for the Oxymoron – Writing Prose Poetry from Prompts
Today’s workshop will present prompts from published prose poems and other contemporary sources to encourage participants to try their hand at this increasingly prevalent and exceptionally flexible form of poetry. We will discover the rich possibilities of this apparently contradictory genre of writing, and share our attempts. All are welcome, whether complete beginners, or experienced writers of either prose or poetry.
J A Browne: Needs More Lore – The Culture and Cohesion of World Building
World building isn’t just for fantasy authors. Just ask Dickens. As a storyteller, you automatically create a world for your characters to live in. One that touches every facet of the plot and your characters’ lives. To really understand your character and their actions, emotions and mindset is to understand the culture you create for them. In this practical workshop, we’ll explore how to create believable and cohesive worlds based upon the principles and rules which govern their lives, and the impact these have upon the development of your character and plot.
John Irving Clarke: Into the Midnight Moment’s Forest
In this workshop we will be taking another look at how we operate as writers, how we reach decisions on word choice and developing imagery. Most importantly, we’ll be plotting a route through the imaginative forest by way of poetry and prose exemplar texts, following those signposts marked “show don’t tell” and “make it new.” We will be looking to arrive at our own “sudden, sharp hot stink of fox.” There will be an opportunity to kickstart some new pieces of writing and to share work in progress with fellow writers. Suitable for poets and writers of prose alike, whether you are relatively new to writing or more established, look to extend your work in a stimulating and supportive environment.
Jo Clement: Poems on the Move
What makes a poem flow? Why is a line of poetry different to a line of prose? How can we retain the energy of our initial ideas in the re-drafting process? Come to this workshop to find out. Together, we'll read and write poems with the power to move. With space to ask questions and share new work, everyone is very welcome!
Gill Connors: WORDSHIP – the importance of a word
In this workshop we'll start with one word. Then we'll discuss its meaning to each of us: what it makes us think of, a memory it might prompt. After that we'll look at the etymology of the word and then its use in three poems. Then you'll be given time to respond to all that before you come back and share what you've written. You'll find out just how important one word is.
Although the workshop will use poetry as its main prompt, it is suitable for writers of all genres.
Mark Connors: Writing the Voice
Whether we are writing poetry, prose or prose poetry in the first, second or third person, getting ‘the voice’ right is essential if you want your work to ring true, even if it isn’t. In this workshop, we will examine how to approach writing character and voice by looking at a selection of persona poems, where poets use voices other than their own as the speaker of the poem. A persona is usually a dramatic voice that is distinguishable from the poet. It doesn’t even have to be human. Some fine poetry has been written in the voices of animals and even inanimate objects. Whatever persona you choose, whether it’s a historical character, or a walrus stranded at Scarborough harbour, this workshop will help you create yours. Participants are welcome to respond via poetry or prose.
Tim Murgatroyd: Between Heaven and Hell: Constructing Dystopia.
This participative workshop, designed for both experienced and beginner writers, will explore essential skills to conceive and write convincing dystopian fiction. Sessions on believable world-building, dystopian characters, how ‘big ideas’ can meet dynamic plots to keep the reader hooked, the language of dystopia and how other literary genres fruitfully connect with dystopian fiction, will equip you to create your very own Heaven or Hell... or perhaps somewhere in between. Come prepared with notebook and pen to imagine the unimaginable!
Edwin Stockdale: Ekphrasis as Historical Biography
In ancient times, ekphrasis meant transfer from one artform to another. However, ekphrasis has now come to mean a poetic response to a painting. In this workshop, suitable for poets and prose writers, we will return to ekphrasis in its original form, and use it as a stimulus in writing historical biography. The first hour will comprise various exercises, such as writing to music and using buildings and landscapes as a source of material. We will focus on the fourteenth-century monarch Edward II, Queen Isabella, and their lovers, and I will be sharing extracts from novels, plays and poems. The second hour will be one of writing based on exploration of sources relating to diverse historical figures.
When registering, please indicate your first choice of workshop and every effort will be made to accommodate this. However, please also indicate a second and third choice for each of the morning and afternoon workshops, in case this isn't possible. Thank you.
Booking for this event is now closed.