Projects
Current ongoing projects include:
The Birmingham Book Festival is an annual Festival of events and activities for readers and writers. It also runs a year round programme of writing workshops and other occasional events and the UK’s largest writers in schools programme (Write On! Adventures in Writing – see below for details).
Write On! – Adventures in Writing is the Birmingham Book Festival’s Creative Writing in Education programme. It works with 1800 children per year in over sixty schools in the West Midlands, currently in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Stoke on Trent and Wolverhampton. Write On! – Adventures in Writing is managed as part of the Birmingham Book Festival.
West Midlands Readers’ Network is a network set up to support readers’ groups. It is run by a consortium of public libraries, readers’ groups, bookshops and publishers and is managed on a day-to-day basis by Midland Creative Projects Limited. It has recently collaborated with BBC Radio Four to allow five readers’ groups in the West Midlands to commission short stories from professional writers (to be broadcast during March 2008). We have readers’ days planned in schools in mid-Shropshire, and in public libraries in Birmingham, in Staffordshire and in north Shropshire and we are about to commission another series of short stories from regional writers.
Changing Lives is a live literature performance which toured nationally in October 2007 and in March/April 2008. It was a co-production with Warwick Arts Centre and Bloodaxe Books and used a team of creative practitioners, including performers, a composer, a film maker, designers and directors to present thirty five contemporary poems to audiences. Following the success of Changing Lives we are putting together plans for a new production to tour in Spring and Autumn 2009.
Nottingham Writers’ Studio is a writer-led initiative offering a place to work and support for writers in Nottingham. We are working with the Studio to develop a business plan and funding programme to sustain their current success over the next few years.
We are working with Warwickshire Library and Information Service to plan and deliver a festival of reading and writing events and activities for families in North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth Districts. Subject to funding, this Festival will take place over eight days in mid-September.