In the flesh, in the woods and on your plate
Dialect has news on some interesting ways to get your word count in this week...
KNEE TO KNEE - IN PERSON AND IN NOTTINGHAM!
Dialect is excited to annouce a real Bank Holiday treat for Nottingham writers and poets.
On Monday 6th May 7pm at Five Leaves Bookshop the incredible authors of Knee To Knee, Elvire Roberts and Rachel Goodman, will be performing LIVE, alongside Hongwei Bao at the launch of his poetry collection ‘The Passion of the Rabbit God’.
The event is now (unsurprisingly) fully booked, but you can still grab a spot on the waiting list for a really special evening!
A huge thanks to @fiveleavesbookshop for supporting local poets with their events and publishing arm.
Copies of Knee to Knee are available from the Dialect website and from the Poetry Society online bookshop
DINNER MAGIC
A huge thank you to everyone who came along to the first ever Dialect Dinner on Tuesday 30th April, with our guest Nick Hunt. What a way to end the month! We expected some exciting dishes from such a brilliant travel writer and editor of the Dark Mountain Project, and we were not disappointed. Through the magic of food and Nick’s storytelling, we traveled from Greek Islands to Guatemala to Eastern Europe, all from our seats at home. We will never look at a single plain jacket potato in the same way again!
For those who missed it, the edits (and the full menu!) will be available online very soon - and in the mean time here’s another date for your diary…
ONLINE DINNER WITH TRAVEL WRITER ADAM WEYMOUTH: MAY 28th!
On Tuesday 28th May 7-8pm join us for three courses of adventure with acclaimed travel writer and journalist, Adam Weymouth.
Adam’s first book, Kings of the Yukon, tells the story of his 2000 mile canoe trip down the Yukon River in Alaska, exploring the decline of the king salmon and how their disappearance is impacting on the many people and ecosystems that depend on them.
The book won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, The Lonely Planet/ Stanfords Adventure Travel Book of the Year and the Prix Paul-Emile Victor.
His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Granta, The Observer and the BBC, and he was selected by the National Centre for Writing as one of 10 writers shaping the UK's future. He is a visiting professor in creative writing at Warwick University, and his new book will be published by Penguin later in 2024.
Adam will be bringing along some of his favourite dishes as the starter (ahem) for a discussion of his writing, journeying and creative life.
Tickets can be booked here - £5 each, donations welcome
FREE for Dialect members, caregivers and those on a small income - just click the free ticket button on the same event page.
ROLL UP ROLL UP FOR WORDS AND CHANGE: MAY 11th and 12th
A reminder that Dialect Director and poet JLM Morton is running a joyous micro poetry workshop in Stroud, Gloucestershire, as part of the Sladebank Woods Open Day next Saturday May 11th.
This workshop is free to the community as part of a poetry residency at the woods, and offers 90 minutes of exploring the complex entanglements of the human and natural world, and creating new poems of your own. An incredible opportunity on the doorstep for poets in Gloucestershire!
The self study course Human=Nature is also available to progress through at your own pace, and can be purchased on the Dialect website.
Juliette is the winner of the Laurie Lee, Geoffrey Dearmer, International Dylan Thomas Day and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust poetry prizes. Her original and impressive debut collection of poetry exploring the histories of cloth and dye, the natural world, and family will be released on May 31st 2024, and is available for pre-order now from Broken Sleep Books
SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE
And finally, one for short story fans and those looking for an creative shot in the arm like no other - grab your ticket for the bi-annual Stroud Short Stories event on Sunday May 12th, 7.30pm at the Cotswold Playhouse (tickets £12 each)
Now in its thirteenth year, Stroud Short Stories’ 27th event will be will an evening of extraordinary stories about change/changes/changing. Expect everything from underpants to climate catastrophe.
As usual, ten of the best stories have been selected to be read by their Gloucestershire authors.
Proclaimed by the Cheltenham Literature Festival as ‘possibly the best short story event in the South West’, SSS’s considerable reputation is based on the unfailingly high quality of the stories read at its events.
It’s looking like a whole bunch of the Dialect community will be in the audience - come and join us for some stories and a drink at the bar!
(And don’t forget - if you want to join the membership for daily writing inspiration and support, plus prompts, mentoring and events, just sign up online here. Free for caregivers and those on low incomes, as ever:))
Have a great writing week and enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend!
The Dialect Team x