Tag: writing

Bestselling Writer To Headline Crime Story 2016 Festival

By on 12th February 2016in Entertainment

Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train, will headline this year’s Crime Story festival, delivered in partnership by Northumbria University and New Writing North…

Crime Story is an innovative festival for readers and writers of crime fiction, providing rare access to experts from the fields of forensics, criminology, pathology and law, who reveal and interrogate the facts behind crime fiction.

Appealing to crime readers, as well as fans of TV series such as Serial and Making a Murderer, the day-long festival invites audience and experts to pick apart a fictional crime, which will be written by Paula Hawkins. For crime writers, the festival also offers an extraordinary opportunity to challenge and improve the authenticity of their writing, by giving unique access to a wide range of experts in police science, as well as crime writers and publishing industry leaders.

Paula Hawkins said: “I attended Crime Story in June 2014 on a whim. I thought the concept sounded interesting – a group of crime writers and readers get together to try to solve a fictional murder aided by a handful of experts – detectives, forensic specialists and legal experts. I expected to have an entertaining weekend. I didn’t expect to walk away with ten A4 pages crammed with detailed notes covering all aspects of police procedure, and a head brimming with new ideas.

“Crime Story gives writers the kind of access to senior detectives, blood-spatter experts and forensic psychiatrists that most of us could only dream about. I found it fascinating and invaluable, and have been looking forward to the next one ever since, so am absolutely thrilled to have been asked to come up with a murder scenario for this year’s event.”

Northumbria’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Engagement), Lucy Winskell OBE, said: “I was delighted to hear that international bestselling author Paula Hawkins will be headlining Crime Story 2016 at Northumbria University. Her involvement in this year’s event is hugely exciting news and a real endorsement of this innovative festival’s appeal to writers, readers, academics and professionals in the field.

“Delivered in partnership by Northumbria and New Writing North, Crime Story draws on the University’s teaching and research expertise across criminology, criminal law, forensic science and creative writing, to explore the facts behind the fiction.

“I’m sure Paula will write a fascinating and compelling whodunit for our experts and audience members to investigate during the course of this unique day-long festival.”

Crime Story takes place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Saturday 11th June. The full programme will be announced and tickets released on Thursday 10th March at Crime Story: Portrait of a Criminal, a special event in which two award-winning writers explore the minds of two of the most notorious criminals of recent times. Writers Dan Davies and Andrew Hankinson will discuss the subjects of their work, their own methods and the place of true crime in literary writing. Ticket holders for Portrait of a Criminal: Crime Story will receive £10/£8 off their Crime Story festival ticket price.

Tickets are now available for Crime Story: Portrait of a Criminal on Thursday 10th March by clicking here. Find out more about Crime Story 2016, taking place on Saturday 11th June at Northumbria University at www.crimestory.co.uk. Northumbria offers courses in a wide range of disciplines related to this special event, including criminology, criminal law, forensic science and creative writing. For more information about studying at Northumbria, go to www.northumbria.ac.uk/courses.

One Week Left To Enter Northern Writers’ Awards

By on 28th January 2016in Entertainment

Writers based in the North of England have one week left to enter the Northern Writers’ Awards 2016…

Northumbria University is a key supporter of the awards, with £40,000 available for writers, including cash awards and developmental bursaries. This year will also see a brand new category introduced that is specifically for Northumbria students and alumni.

The Northern Writers’ Awards are free to enter and are open until 11pm, Wednesday 3rd February 2016 at www.northerwritersawards.com.

The awards were founded by New Writing North in 2000, and are the country’s premiere talent development programme for writers. They offer opportunities for both new and established writers to develop their work towards publication or broadcast, and to progress their careers as writers. The Northern Writers’ Awards receive support from Northumbria University and funding from Arts Council England.

Lucy Winskell OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Engagement), Northumbria University, said: “The Northern Writers’ Awards are a fantastic opportunity for new and emerging writers in the North of England. I’m very excited to see which talented writers win this year’s awards, and I’m especially pleased to see a number of new categories, including the new Northumbria University Student and Alumni Award, which is open to final year students and alumni of the University.”

Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North, said: “It is always incredibly exciting nearing the deadline of the Northern Writers’ Awards and watching the entries coming in. Each year we are introduced to new writers whose work we can support in many ways, from developmental support or introductions to publishers and agents to future commissions.”

The literary agent Euan Thorneycroft (AM Heath), publisher Hannah Westland (Serpent’s Tail), poet Patience Agbabi and children’s book publisher Leah Thaxton (Faber), will judge the flagship Northern Writers’ Awards, which are open to poets, novelists, children’s writers and writers of creative non-fiction. Graphic novels are also accepted in this category for the first time in 2016.

Other awards on offer in 2016 include the Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards, which offer three new writers the rare opportunity of a 12-month development period with independent production company Lime Pictures. The Clare Swift Award, sponsored by North East Chamber of Commerce, is open exclusively to writers in the North East, and will award £1000 to the best unpublished short story. It will be judged by the journalist and editor Peter Wilby, a former colleague of Clare Swift, who died in 2013.

Northumbria is a key partner in the Northern Writers’ Awards, and a new award, the Northumbria University Student and Alumni Award, will be presented to one past or current student of the university. For a full list of awards and criteria, including information on how to enter, go to www.northernwritersawards.com.

Northern Writers’ Awards Open For Applications

By on 13th January 2016in Entertainment

Northumbria’s final year students and alumni have the chance to show their literary promise this month…

Applications are now open for a brand new award exclusively created for Northumbria students and alumni as part of this year’s Northern Writers Awards. The Northumbria Student and Alumni Award is open to final-year undergraduates, current postgraduates or alumni who have graduated from the University since 2013.

Worth £2,000, the award is open to writers of fiction and poetry who are based in the North of England. To enter, you must submit between 3,000 and 6,000 words of prose, up to three short stories (of no more than 6,000 words in total) or up to 30 poems, by the deadline of 3rd February 2016. The award will be judged by Professor Michael Green and colleagues from the Creative Writing team at Northumbria.

Supported by Northumbria University and Arts Council England, the Northern Writers Awards are the country’s leading talent development programme for writers, and attracted more than 850 entries from across the region last year. Organised by New Writing North, this year’s awards are worth more than £40,000 to emerging writers and poets.

Northumbria University Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Engagement) Lucy Winskell OBE said: “The Northern Writers’ Awards are a fantastic opportunity for new and emerging writers in the North of England, and I’m delighted to see the awards open for submissions once again in their 16th year.

“I’ll be very excited to see which talented writers win this year’s awards, and I’m especially pleased to see a number of new categories, including the new Northumbria University Student and Alumni Award, which is open to final year students and alumni of the University.”

She added: “The awards are at the heart of Northumbria’s partnership with New Writing North, and we were delighted to confirm a further three years of support earlier this year. Our continued investment demonstrates our commitment to celebrating and nurturing creative talent in the region. Northumbria’s partnership with New Writing North goes from strength to strength each year as we develop exciting collaborations for our students, staff and the wider writing and cultural community. This enables us to share expertise, develop innovative research and provide a wealth of unique creative opportunities.”

For aspiring writers, winning a Northern Writers’ Award can offer introductions to publishers and agents, support from New Writing North, and the possibility of mentoring and other professional development advice. The awards available for 2016 include the flagship Northern Writers’ Awards, which offer cash prizes of up to £5,000 for writers of prose and poetry, New Fiction Bursaries, which provide new writers an in-depth editorial report from The Literary Consultancy, and the new Northumbria University Student and Alumni Award.

The Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Award and The Clare Swift Short Story Award, sponsored by the North East Chamber of Commerce, are also among the categories. To find out more about these awards and to read the full terms and conditions for all categories, go to: www.northernwritersawards.com. To enter the Northumbria Student and Alumni Award click here.

The Northern Writers’ Awards are open for entry until Wednesday 3rd February 2016. Winners will be notified in June 2016, with the awards ceremony taking place on Thursday 30th June 2016. Northumbria University offers a wide range of courses in English Literature and Creative Writing. To find out more go to www.northumbria.ac.uk/humanities.

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