Roundup Roundup! Join us for an evening of talks, performances and exclusive readings. We’re celebrating all the things our creative community has achieved this year as well as look ahead to a more fruitful 2021!

On Tuesday 15th December we’ll be hosting “Writers Roundup”, a festive online celebration featuring:

• Performances from special guest, poet and activist Manjit Sahota
• Readings from bestselling author Jenny Kane
• A sneak peek at some of the pieces chosen for publication in our latest anthology, “Black Lives”.

On top of that, we’ve got some interactive writing games planned where you’ll get the opportunity to reach for your pens, flex those creative muscles and be in with a chance of winning a special NWS goodybag!

The event will start on Zoom at 7pm. Tickets are free for all to attend, but we welcome donations. You can purchase a free ticket from Eventbrite, or you can support us by making a small donation.

We’ll send you an email containing the Zoom link prior to the event.

Programme:

7.00pm / Introduction from Chair of the board, Alan Walker

Chair of the board and willing host, Alan walker will be providing us with a summary of everything NWS has achieved this year along with short intros to all of our wonderful readers and performers.

7.10pm / NWS Member and author Anne Goodwin

Anne Goodwin spent the first half of 2020 – when not composing rants raging at the government – micro-editing her already hyper-edited novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, scheduled for publication in May 2021. Once it was despatched to her publisher, she surprised herself by embarking on a contemporary sequel about a care-home resident with delusions of grandeur who becomes convinced she’s responsible for the transatlantic slave trade. She will read from what is currently the opening of that novel.

Website

Books, newsletter and social media

7.20pm / Writer, performer and NWS Development Manager Thom Seddon

Thom Seddon is an all-round creative type from Nottingham, where he lives with his husband, their two cats, and watches far too much Judge Judy.

He has published two collections to date, The Smart Mouthed Victim and Death is Awful for the Living, each featuring poetic content that is both social commentary and personal confession. His third collection which he’ll be reading from, Choose Your Own Mediocre, was released on November 12th through Big White Shed.

7.30pm / NWS Member and author Ian Douglas

Ian C Douglas is the Nottingham author behind the Zeke Hailey sci-fi adventure novels. He also writes short stories and reviews for Left Lion.

Ian runs workshops, mentoring and acted as the county's literacy ambassador for Achievement for All. He will be reading an excerpt from the 5th and final Zeke Hailey novel, due out late 2021.

Website

7.40pm / Special Guest Manjit Sahota

Manjit Sahota is a local Nottingham Poet and the co-founder of Poets Against Racism, he writes and performs poetry to challenge racism and bigotry with the aim of spreading love and solidarity.

Poetry to the People:

A short collection of poems from Manjit S Sahota

7.55pm / Writing Games

8.15pm / Special Guest Jenny Kane

From the comfort of her cafe corner in Mid Devon, award winning author, Jenny Kane, wrote the bestselling contemporary women’s fiction and romance novels, Midsummer at Mill Grange and Autumn Leaves a Mill Grange (Aria, 2020), A Cornish Escape (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020), A Cornish Wedding (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020), Romancing Robin Hood (2nd edition, Littwitz Press, 2018), Another Glass of Champagne (Accent Press, 2016), Jenny Kane’s Christmas Collection (Accent, 2016), and Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press, 2013).

Under the pen name, Jennifer Ash, Jenny has also written The Folville Chronicles (The Outlaw’s Ransom, The Winter Outlaw, Edward’s Outlaw - published by Littwitz Press), The Power of Three (Spiteful Puppet, 2020) and The Meeting Place (Spiteful Puppet, 2019). She also created four audio scripts for ITV’s popular 1980’s television show, Robin of Sherwood.

Jenny Kane is the writer in residence for Tiverton Costa in Devon. She also co-runs the creative writing business, Imagine.

All of Jennifer Ash’s and Jenny Kane’s news can be found at www.jennykane.co.uk

8.30pm / Readings from our “Black Lives” anthology due for release end of 2020

“Changing History” by Sharon Stevens

Sharon will be reading ‘Changing History’, which is her competition entry for the NWS' inaugural Black Lives Matter Writing Competition that she has been longlisted for.

Sharon is a mother, grandmother, writer and teacher. She has an MA in Creative Writing (Publishing), from University of Derby and she writes freelance for the Left Lion Magazine and Mojatu Magazine.

She writes in different genres: theatre and book reviews; romance, children’s fiction and has had her work shortlisted for several writing competitions.

“The Next Big Thing” by Lola Labinjo

Lola Labinjo is a London based writer, and published poet, whose work has appeared in Postcolonial text. She has an unquenchable thirst for books and is a highly proficient read-walker. Current hobbies include social distancing and trying not to kill her plants. Her day is populated by adulting, and her night complicated by her plantain addiction. When not writing she can be found travelling, (pre COVID!) learning languages and creating.

“The Model Ingenue” by Flo Husson

Flo will be reading a section of her short story The Model Ingenue in which the protagonist recalls having seen a black man in the middle of her very white hometown. Flo comes from one such town and did not fully understand the extent to which racism is a problem in the everyday lives of people until going to university. Her story follows a character in a similar position; however, she hopes that she handled this situation much better than her!