Tower Hamlets City of Stories Home Celebration Event

Come along to this special free event celebrating the launch of the City of Stories Home Anthology featuring talented new writers from across London, alongside published authors.

Take part in a relaxed creative writing workshop - aimed at those who would like to give writing a go or those who are already writers, hear local authors read their stories and pick up your own free copy of the Anthology. You can sign up to attend the creative writing workshop, the reading or both!

There’ll also be information on how your library can support you as a reader and writer, writing tips from the City of Stories Home commissioned writers and a City of Stories Home short story reading list curated by librarians to help you find your next read.

The celebration event will start off with a 45 minute creative writing taster session. There will then be a 15 minute break with the reading starting at 19:00.

You can find more information about City of Stories Home here: https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/cityofstorieshome/

About Arun Das

Arun Das is a former Television Producer and Journalist. After a rare illness forced him to hit the pause button, he turned to writing fiction. His story ‘Words for Sounds’ was published after being shortlisted for The Guardian 4th Estate BAME short story prize. An early draft of his first novel won him a London Writers Award from Spread The Word. He is currently working on his second novel. Arun is represented by Oli Munson from A.M Heath.

About City of Stories Home

City of Stories Home is a London Libraries project run in partnership with Spread the Word. Taking place across all London’s library services between February to June 2022, it celebrates London’s writers and readers and libraries as the place to make and share stories. It is supported by Arts Council England and Cockayne Grants for the Arts.

City of Stories Home FAQs

Is the celebration event free?

Yes! The creative writing workshop and readings are free to attend.

What access provision is in place?

The creative writing workshop and readings will be relaxed. The workshop will last for 45 minutes and there will be a 15 minute break between the workshop ending and the reading starting. If you have a specific access need, please do contact hello@spreadtheword.org.uk

Library access

Please take a look at the library’s access information here: https://www.ideastore.co.uk/cubitt-town-library#:~:text=Disabled%20Access%3A%20Partial%20%E2%80%93%20the%20library,Canary%20Wharf%20%5B1.6%20miles%5D. If you have any further access queries about City of Stories Home events please email hello@spreadtheword.org.uk

Are any of the creative writing workshops and readings BSL interpreted?

Yes. The creative writing workshops and readings at Greenwich, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth and Sutton library services are BSL interpreted.

Do I have to live in London to participate in the event?

City of Stories Home is primarily for London residents as the focus is on engaging local communities with their local library service. If you live outside of London you can sign up to participate but priority will be given to Londoners if creative writing workshops and readings are oversubscribed.

Do I have to be a writer to attend the creative writing workshops?

No. The workshop is for people who would like to give writing a go as well as those who may have already started writing.

Can I attend more than one celebration event?

Yes you can.

Do I have to attend both the creative writing workshops and reading?

You can choose to book a ticket for just the creative writing workshop, just the reading, or a special joint ticket! The creative writing workshop will last for 45 minutes, there will then be a 15 minute break before the reading starts.

What are your COVID-19 protocols for the City of Stories Home celebration events?

As the COVID-19 situation stands, we anticipate the City of Stories Home in-person events to go ahead as planned. Following the Government’s decision to end the majority of Covid measures, our policy will remain in line with our library partners. We want everyone to be able to attend the City of Stories Home celebration events comfortably and confidently so, while no longer a requirement, we continue to encourage:

- anyone displaying Covid-like symptoms not to attend, and

- all attendees aged 16 and over to wear masks, except those that are exempt.