Authors to (Re)Write Yorkshire in a series of free Leeds talks

The (Re)Writing Yorkshire series, a collaborative venture by the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities at Leeds Beckett and partners and venues across Leeds and the north, sees academic researchers, established writers and creative practitioners examine new representations of Yorkshire in Literature, Television, Film, Music and Art. Past events have featured award-winning authors A J Kirby and Richard Smyth, and Man Booker Prize shortlisted author, Sunjeev Sahota.

The first event, which will feature West Yorkshire born author, Naomi Booth, and will be chaired by Dr Nasser Hussain, Senior Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing at Leeds Beckett, will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 2 February at The Leeds Library (18 Commercial Street, Leeds, LS1 6AL).

Dr Rachel Connor, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Leeds Beckett and organiser of the programme, commented: “We’re really pleased to be able to continue the (Re)Writing Yorkshire series again this year; 2015 proved to be a huge success. We wanted to host live events that connected Leeds Beckett with the wider reading and writing community, born from our fascination with representations of 21st century Yorkshire across the creative and critical domain.

“In organising Re(Writing) Yorkshire, we continue our partnership with The Leeds Library but also forge new collaborations with Leeds Big Bookend, Dead Ink Books and ‘The Read Regional’ scheme at New Writing North as a way of connecting arts organisations across the city and the northern region.”

Based in York, Naomi Booth works as a Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing at York St John University. Her novella, The Lost Art of Sinking, is a dark comedy about losing yourself in the dizzying Yorkshire landscape. Shortlisted for the MMU Novella Award, it tells the story of Esther, a teenage girl living in the Pennines with her father, who develops a compulsive habit for passing out (swooning).

Dr Hussain said: “The Lost Art of Sinking engages with the idea that landscape, behaviour, and identity are intertwined. In our discussion and reading from Booth’s work, we hope to open up the conversation to the audience and come to grips with how people in (and outside) of Yorkshire can better understand the ways in which we influence and are influenced by our surroundings.”

Carys Davies and Wes Brown will complete the series trilogy in March and April respectively. Dr Connor added: “The three events continue a focus on landscape. Naomi will discuss her fictional representation of West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley, so recently hit by floods, while Carys Davies will focus on the links between solitude and geographical place. Wes Brown’s book launch will take in the topography of Leeds as we walk some of the locations contained in his new novel, When Lights are Bright.”

‘The landscape of solitude: writing Yorkshire, the North and beyond’ by Carys Davies. 6.30pm to 8pm, Tuesday 1 March. The Leeds Library, 18 Commercial Street Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 6AL.

‘When Lights are Bright - rewriting Ballard in Leeds’ by Wes Brown. 6.30pm to 8pm, Tuesday 26 April 2016. Dock 29, The Boulevard, Leeds LS10 1PZ.