Read on for news of our lineup at our event
Where To Next? Tickets, Wed 2 Jun 2021 at 13:00 | Eventbrite
Naush Sabah is Editor and Publishing Director at Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, a visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University, and a trustee at Poetry London. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in the TLS, PN Review, The Dark Horse, Magma and elsewhere. Her debut, double micro-pamphlet box set, Heredity/ASTYNOME, was published last year by Legitimate Snack.
Hannah Hodgson is a poet living with life limiting illness. Her work has been published by BBC Arts, Teen Vogue and Poetry Salzburg, amongst others. She is a recipient of a 2020 Northern Writers Award for Poetry. She has won or been commended in ten Young Poets Network competitions run by the Poetry Society. Her first poetry pamphlet ‘Dear Body’ was published by Wayleave Press in 2018; and her second, centred around life with serious illness, is due to be published by Verve Poetry Press in 2021. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @HodgsonWrites and her website is www.hannahhodgson.com
Ann Sansom is co-director of The Poetry Business and editor of Smith|Doorstop and The North. She is a poet, playwright and tutor. She has published six collections of poetry; had work published in several Forward/Faber anthologies, Russian Vogue and a range of other publications. She has also written and directed plays for stage and radio. Her two full-length poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe.
Peter Sansom has published Writing Poems (Bloodaxe) and five collections with Carcanet, including a recent Selected Poems. He has been writer in residence with M&S, company poet with Prudential, and Fellow in Poetry at both Leeds and Manchester Universities. With Ann Sansom he is a director of The Poetry Business and co-editor of The North magazine and Smith|Doorstop Books.
Ellen McLeod is Business Manager and a co-director at The Poetry Business, and has worked with the organisation since 2011. She has worked in project management and research-based roles for Sheffield Children's Festival, Writing Yorkshire, the Sheffield International Artist's Book Prize and the Year of Making Sheffield 2016 festival since completing a Masters degree in Cultural Policy and Management in 2010.
Sarah Willis is an executive coach working with leaders, teams and whole systems in organisations, to encourage their growth. She is also a Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Organisational Consultant in Transactional Analysis. Her coaching and organisational work is underpinned by a profound belief that we all need care and compassion, as basic building blocks to growth.
Based in South Yorkshire, Shaun Lawrence is The Reader’s Criminal Justice People and Project Manager and manages projects and staff bringing Shared Reading groups to people in a range of criminal justice settings in England and Northern Ireland. Having worked for The Reader since 2014, Shaun has led groups with men and women in probation hostels and prisons, including high security settings, reading a range of materials. He has witnessed first-hand the positive impact that reading and exploring great literature can have on those going through the justice system, helping them make connections with themselves and others through the text.
Shivanee Ramlochan is a Trinidadian poet, arts reporter and book blogger. She is the Book Reviews Editor for Caribbean Beat Magazine. Shivanee also writes about books for the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the Anglophone Caribbean's largest literary festival, as well as Paper Based Bookshop, Trinidad and Tobago's oldest independent Caribbean specialty bookseller. She is the deputy editor of The Caribbean Review of Books. Her first book of poems, Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting, was published by Peepal Tree Press on October 3rd, 2017 and was shortlisted for the 2018 Felix Dennis Award for best first collection.
Katharine McMahon is the author of ten novels including the international bestseller The Rose of Sebastopol. Her latest novel, The Hour of Separation, is the story of resistance and intense family relationships across two World Wars. Katharine is Head of Outreach at the Royal Literary Fund. Her role is to set up collaborations between writers and social sector organisations to enable people to grow stronger through writing.
Christina Wilson is a poet and mother based in West Yorkshire. She has a particular interest in therapeutic writing and facilitates writing for wellbeing groups. Christina has worked in voluntary sector mental health services, community settings and is a firm supporter of libraries. She has an PG Cert in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes and an MA in Creative Writing. Christina’s PhD research explores inclusivity at literature festivals and how we can create increasingly welcoming and compassionate places.
Hannah Catterall is the Events Officer at Wordsworth Grasmere. She develops and facilitates a programme of events that foster creativity and a love of literature. Prior to taking up post in 2018 she worked on the editorial team at Routledge, a scholarly publisher, and volunteered with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Yorkshire Museum. She has a BA in English Literature with Creative Writing from Lancaster University and an MA in Renaissance Literature from the University of York. Hannah lives in the Lake District and has an eclectic range of hobbies including dressmaking, eco-printing, and attempting to build a dollhouse.
Fiona Mason is an author specialising in life writing. She has a particular interest in wellbeing and mental health. She is a qualified creative coach and experienced creative writing facilitator. She has MAs in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths and Philosophy from Essex. She runs regular programmes in creative writing with partners including the University of Essex and Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Fiona also has a 25+ years career as an arts consultant. She was Acting Director of NAWE from 2020-2021 and continues to support NAWE across strategic development, fundraising, engagement and participation.
Erica Morris is the Director and Kate Lovery the Operations Director of Ilkley Literature Festival. Erica has worked in the heritage and cultural sector for sixteen years, for a range of arts venues and festivals before arriving at Ilkley in 2017 and becoming Director two years later. Kate’s professional background spans twenty years and includes large scale event management, partnerships and communications both in the UK and internationally. After working for Ilkley Literature Festival on a freelance basis, Kate joined the core staff team full-time in 2019.
Winnie M Li is an author and activist. Her debut novel, DARK CHAPTER, is a fictional retelling of her real-life stranger rape in Belfast, from both victim and perpetrator perspectives. It won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2017 and was translated into ten languages. Winnie is also Founder of Clear Lines, the UK’s first-ever festival addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. She has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, in recognition of her writing and advocacy. Her next novel COMPLICIT will be out in April 2022. http://winniemli.com
Tickets are free but need to be booked through Eventbrite here
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