Festival in a Day

What do fairies, Vikings, a Rocket Dog and Ursula Le Guin have in common?

No, this isn't Only Connect so you won't lose points when I give you more clues:
The Federation of Masked Booksellers; Dahlia Press; Demon Crew - DMU Creative Writing Students.

Yes, I knew that would do it - you're right! It's the 9th Annual States of Independence Day at Leicester's De Montfort University and those are just some of the organisations providing stalls and panels.

This incredible FREE event on Saturday 10th March 2018, organised and sponsored by Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham  and the Creative Writing Team at the University, is not to be missed. 

With something for everyone, this Book Festival in a Day is a wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to established authors and new talent, to take part in workshops and seminars as well as show your support for 'independent thinking, independent writing and independent presses'. 

There will be ample opportunity to purchase new and pre-loved books and - if you're lucky - you may even have the opportunity to share some 'Big Birthday' cake with Dr Simon Perril as he launches In the Final Year of My Forties on the day. 

The event runs from 10.30am - 4.30pm at Clephan Building, De Montfort University, Leicester. For directions please click here  

Helen Abbot

"Learning to write is learning to work" - an hour with Vinay Patel

Vinay's cats

An whole entire hour with the acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Vinay Patel involves a lot of witty humour, personal anecdotes, stories about his BAFTA experience as well as advice and info on how he got to be where he is today. His was a riveting talk with DMU lecturer, Kathleen Bell followed  by questions from a keen audience who were eager for answers.

Patel gave us an insight into his work and how he got to be the successful playwright we know him as today. I have to say that I thought that Patel would be one of those unrelateable, snobby writers who seem near enough 'untouchable'. In actuality he is very down to earth. He admitted struggling with multiple deadlines, joking that "all procrastination is good procrastination" and also told us how, quite unintentionally, he came to be "running a retirement home for cats."

His humour certainly made me certainly feel happy to be at the event, which was also incredibly interesting. He told us about his up and coming ventures which include a touring production for Paines Plough as well as an epic drama, An Adventure, being produced at The Bush Theatre in Shepherds Bush, London. The adventure in question is based on the life of his grandparents who travelled over three continents (from India, to Kenya then England).

Patel also expressed his interest and passion for wanting to create pieces that highlight the talent of minority actors, as well as meaningful stories, like his critically acclaimed drama, Murdered By My Father (BBC, 2016) which tells the story of an honour killing. He also stated that he would love to write something in the sci-fi genre of which he's an immense fan.
 

Throughout his whole entire talk, Vinay Patel made me think about my own writing and the different ways in which I might write. "Pick things that are important to you," he said. I've always wanted to write a script or play and this made me even more inspired. It made me think about not writing about what I think other people may want to see, but instead starting from the issues and subjects that interest me.

Overall, this Cultural Exchanges event has a very powerful effect on me. It was a conversation not to be missed.

Tara N. Lawal

"Theatre is the purest form of expression"

Vinay Patel's appearance at the Cultural Exchanges festival yesterday seemed humble, in contrast to the festival brochure’s picture of him decked out in a polka shirt and blue suit. And that's just what he was, during the talk with Kathleen Bell (a lecturer at DMU): humble. 

Despite making a "meteoric rise" in his career through the BAFTA-nominated drama film Murdered By My Father (2016) he said, "I'm not confident enough in what I do to be more involved" when asked about the process of producing films from his scripts. 

However, he remained confident in his idea of what theatre is and what film is. 

"Writing for theatre is changing in terms of what you can do with it ... when writing for theatre, the main unit of meaning is in a line. But in film, it’s in the juxtaposition of two images." Despite his own comment that this statement was "wanky," I found it refreshingly introspective.

Coming from someone who claims that writing was "the only thing [he] could do" at school, I'd say Patel is certainly meteoric. 

“Theatre is the purest form of expression,” he said in response to one question from the audience. 

His one complaint about the theatre industry is that “it’s dominated by people with lots of money.” He suggested that if this wasn’t so, presentation of characters and topics addressed in plays would be more diverse, and in turn audiences would be more diverse. 

Interested in Vinay Patel’s next play? Coming this September is his ‘An Adventure.’

Book your tickets now for its run at London's Bush Theatre.t the Bush Theatre now!

G.E. Knight

G.E. Knight

Vinay Patel and his rise through writing

“Writing a script at home in your pants with your two cats is what success looks like!” - To all those aspiring writers out there…well you heard it here first.

 

De Montfort University was treated to a conversation by the very entertaining writer that is Vinay Patel. Vinay talked to Kathleen Bell and the audience about the ten years that led to his meteoric rise in screen and play-writing, as well as telling us briefly about his two beloved cats!

 

From a young age, Vinay wrote short stories, whilst watching Star Trek at the end of his father’s bed. This is where his love for writing began. 

 

Murdered by My Father was his big break, but if it wasn’t for his Agent seeing the potential, he would have turned it down. The television drama ended up being nominated for three BAFTAS, which was a surreal moment in his life - even if his Grandma thought he looked like a waiter!

Some advice that everyone took away with them was that the audience is an important factor when it comes to writing. Vinay stated himself with his witty humour - “If you don’t care about your audience, write a diary!”

 

Most of Vinay’s upcoming work is under wraps. However he did let us know that one of his current TV projects is in the crime and detective genre. This year’s plans also include going back into directing. 

 

If anyone is interested in seeing more of Vinay Patel’s inspiring work, then get down to London to watch his new play, An Adventure, which opens at The Bush Theatre in autumn 2018.

Lauren Irish

Writers are human too ...

Vinay Patel provided hope to any would-be writer that success is attainable with the right amount of determination and flexibility. He provided an insight into the world of the playwright, explaining the differences between the stage and the screen.

His discussion with DMU's Kathleen Bell served as a reminder that writing scripts, for either medium, is a process which extends far beyond putting words on the page, with involvement in casting and deliverance also coming into play. To hear that the writer for TV is often the most overlooked member of a production team was truly fascinating. 

Furthermore, Vinay proved to be incredibly personable, with a love of cats, proving that writers, for all their talents, are human like the rest of us - and that's a thought which makes the gulf between dreaming of a script and having it produced seem much less daunting.  

L Robertson

Inspired by dark times

There were some dark times this morning as I went to the Demon Crew reading. I sat and listened to beautiful and captivating monologues, short stories and poetry created by staff and students alike. Rape, drinking, self-harm and mental health were just a few of the topics.

This was my first visit to a reading of creative work, so I wasn’t sure what to do – should I take notes or just listen? At first I looked around to see what everyone else was doing – some had their eyes closed, appreciating each spoken word like in blissful ecstasy.

The first reader, Paige, had a few poems to read. My personal favourite was “Feeble Ties”. Some lines still stick in my head, such as “faces Hades and his sea of souls”. Afterwards, I had a chance to tell Paige how much I like that poem of hers – it was great.

Kathleen Bell read ”Skulls and Roses,” a short story with a Gothic twist on the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty”, whilst Niki Valentine read “Babysitting”, a story from her book The Night Lingers while Simon closed the event with a reading from his book, Archilochus on the Moon, which is about Greek’s first lyrical poet.

Needless to say, with the amount of talent in that room, I walked out of there feeling inspired to write something, anything, on the spot - and that's exactly what I did!

Lauren Raybould

Coming shortly ...

It's that time of year again.

First-year Creative Writing students at De Montfort University are preparing to attend and review events at the annual Cultural Exchanges Festival. There's the usual mix of headline acts, less well-known but intriguing guests, and a few who may just be the big names of tomorrow.

There's a lot of interest in Claire Bloom and Carol Ann Duffy, and I expect some students will choose to review their talks. But I'm particularly looking forward to the poetry reading by Peter Hughes, whose Oystercatcher Press produces such lovely pamphlets, and, if I can get a ticket, to the memorial event for horror and fantasy writer Graham Joyce. (I'm a particular fan of his book on football.) I may also attend the talk on preserving sporting heritage in the hope that it includes photographs of old swimming pools and lidos.

But I must make my mind up and book before all the tickets go. So that's enough blogging for today.

Kathleen Bell

A Love For The Written Word.

What book changed your life? A question I found difficult to answer but others leaped at the chance to tell their stories. This event was quite simply a room full of people who think, feel and live for the written word. The love for books is universal. Those of different native languages bravely stood at the front of the welcoming crowd and spoke from the heart. There was no judgement, only support.

Book lovers united and shared their passion. It was truly inspiring to watch. Books change people’s lives in how they see, how they act, what they want to do with their future but all for the positive. I feel privileged to have heard the stories I did.

Rebecca Kiff.

I overheard a rumour about free wine

The final event I attended was the East Midlands launch of Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud and despite what you may suspect, I didn’t go just for the free wine. 

(Although that was a fantastic bonus! I advise the powers that be to supply free wine at all future events. Maybe some whiskey too...) 

I may have digressed...

The book was edited by DMU Creative Writing tutor, Jonathan Taylor, and contributed to by our other tutors Kathleen Bell, Will Buckingham and Simon Perril, among many others. Although I was sure the other writers would be excellent, I was most interested to hear my tutors’ work. Of course, it did not disappoint.

The idea of stories written for the purpose of being read aloud took me back to telling ghost stories, by torchlight, as a child and ‘story time’ in primary school, gathered in front of the teacher. It reminded me of what first excited me about stories - the facial expressions for emphasis; the whispers and the shouts; the pauses that feel eternal and the look of intrigue in the listeners' eyes. That strength of suspense, humour and involvement can’t be matched when I read text from a page.

The writers brought their stories to life and it was easy to see that the audience was hanging on their every word as the wine stood, neglected, at the back of the room.

If you missed the event, don’t miss the book!

Hannah Maggs

A Degree of Creativity

When you're being served apple juice in a wine glass, you know you're in for a treat. And I'm not just talking about the selection of toffee eclairs, cupcakes and - Will Buckingham's personal favourite - pink shrimps, that were on offer.

Demon Crew's Student Publications Launch at Cultural Exchanges showcased some of the finest work produced by the Universities third year students. With a wide selection of performances on offer - poems on puzzles, post-it notes and in concrete form, audio performances from radio to song, not forgetting extracts of prose and general talks about the publication process - the turn-out was tremendous.

Each performer was received heartily by the crowded audience and the atmosphere was buzzing with electricity. The Creative Writing team (Kathleen Bell, Will Buckingham, Simon Perril and Johnathan Taylor) have clearly built a great rapport with their students across the board; humour, jibes and jabs were well-receive.

Laughs aside, the event was a great success and, for me personally, an insight to my future. As a first year student, I attended the event with certain expectations. These were surpassed; beyond any doubt each piece performed was a credit to the creative staff at De Montfort University and a to the high level its students have achieved.

Cultural Exchanges is one of De Montfort's biggest yearly events and already I look forward to the next one for more 'posh' apple juices, free cakes and hopefully a pink shrimp or two, if I can get there before Will! And I'm also looking forward to more performances and inspiring works from DMU's most talented creative writers.


(Thanks to Pamela Hallam & Alex Bliss for the authorising use of the photo above.)


Holly Hookway