2021 Spring/Summer Events
After a successful selection of online events in 2020, MK Lit Fest returned to bring you author readings, Q&A sessions, masterclasses and workshops for Spring - Summer 2021.
Creative Writing Workshop & Critique - Steven John (6 places only)
Thursday 15 April, 7 - 9.30pm: £20 BOOKINGS NOW CLOSED: SEE 20 MAY EVENT FOR ALTERNATIVE OFFERING
Join Steven John, widely published writer and Joint Managing Editor of The Phare literary magazine, for a closed group workshop event where you will both give and receive detailed critique of short pieces of fiction (<1500 words) or poetry (<40 lines).
Masterclass: Marketing Yourself as a Writer with Claire Harrison
Sunday 25 April, 2 - 3.30pm: £Pay What You Can
As emerging writers, it's not just your pencils you need to keep sharp. To support your writing in a competitive world, your wits, elbows and marketing skills need sharpening too. In this masterclass, marketing professional and creative writer Claire Harrison will cover a wide range of areas that will keep your profile as polished as your prose.
100 Voices for 100 Years: 100 female writers share their stories
Thursday 29 April, 7pm: £Pay What You Can [AVAILABLE FOR REPLAY ON YOUTUBE]
The 100 voices for 100 years project brings together a diverse community of female-identifying writers and storytellers from all backgrounds, identities, abilities and locations. Each shared a story from their lives, as varied as the women involved; funny, profound, everyday, life changing. All of them inspiring. Join us to hear five of them read, talk and answer questions.
Chris Bryant MP: The Glamour Boys
Thursday 13 May, 7pm: £Pay What You Can [AVAILABLE FOR REPLAY ON YOUTUBE]
Authoritative and absorbing, The Glamour Boys sheds light on a group of young gay MPs who spoke out against Nazism in the era of Appeasement and whose bravery played a crucial role in facing down Hitler. Join us to hear readings and insights from its author, Chris Bryant MP, and to take the opportunity to ask your own questions.
Creative Writing Workshop & Critique - Steven John (6 places only)
Thursday 20 May, 7pm: £20
Join Steven John, widely published writer and Joint Managing Editor of The Phare literary magazine, for a closed group workshop event where you will both give and receive detailed critique of short pieces of fiction (<1500 words) or poetry (<40 lines). NB: places must be booked and work for critique submitted by Thurs 13 May.
Masterclass: Songwriting with Gwen Taylor (Gwen and the Good Thing)
Friday 21 May, 7pm: £Pay What You Can [AVAILABLE FOR REPLAY ON YOUTUBE]
Songwriting is a multi-disciplinary art, where lyric, melody, accompany and arrangement must all work together. Join us for a masterclass with Gwen Taylor, singer-songwriter-musician from Gwen and the Good Thing, as she takes us – using notebooks, demos and other fragments from her archives - through the birth of a song.
Flash Fiction Workshop: David Gaffney (15 places only)
Wednesday 9 June, 7 - 9pm: £25
Can you tell a story in less than 500 words? Well, if you can't, you've come to the right place. Join us for a workshop with flash fiction star David Gaffney to learn how to turn less into more. A hands-on, interactive experience, places are strictly limited so don't delay.
Courttia Newland: A River Called Time
Thursday 24 June, 7pm: £Pay What You Can [AVALABLE FOR REPLAY ON YOUTUBE]
Courttia's eighth novel, A River Called Time, is a story of love, social inequality and the search for the truth in an alternate world where slavery and colonialism never happened. As a screenwriter, he has co-written feature length films for the Steve McQueen BBC series Small Axe, of which Lovers Rock was jury selected for Cannes, and opened New York Film Fest 2020.
Poetry Workshop: Richard Scott
Thursday 15 July, 7 - 9.30pm: £20
Join poet and Faber Academy tutor Richard Scott for a masterclass looking at Verlaine's poems, allowing his ideas, tone, structures and syntax to inspire your own directions. Allow the moody freshness and melancholia of Nineteenth Century Paris to transport you! For anyone who writes poetry and wishes to deepen their practice: no knowledge of French required.