Light Years: Tees Valley international writing competition
If you live in or come from the Tees Valley, you have the chance to enter a huge international writing competition with a cash prize of up to €1400. Entrants are invited to send a short story by 10 January 2010 to Middlesbrough Council. We at New Writing North will be part of the regional jury. The prizes will be awarded in public in Oberhausen, Germany, at a ceremony that includes readings and a supporting program. The theme for this event is 'Light Years'. For more information, see www.litaward.de.

New Facebook group for summer young writers
We've set up a Facebook page for anyone interested in the young writers' group which we're running over the summer. The group, for young people aged between 14 and 18 who are interested in developing their own writing, will meet every Wednesday afternoon during the summer holidays in central Newcastle from 2pm-4pm, with the first session on Wednesday 22 July. Participants will be supported to develop their own writing, and there will be a public celebration of the work developed at the end of the project. Kate Fox will lead the project but you will also be supported to develop your writing by volunteers. We have limited spaces on the project so if you want to join, please contact anna@newwritingnorth.com or Anna Disley, New Writing North, The Holy Jesus Hospital, City Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2AS by Friday 10 July. For more information, call Anna on 0191 233 3878.

Introducing financial control in publishing for independent literary publishers
The Publishing Training Centre has places available through New Writing North for a free training day, thanks to generous sponsorship from Arts Council England. The course, which will run on 22 September in London, will be tutored by Richard Balkwill, who has 25 years' experience in the industry. The focus will be on introducing financial control in publishing and is aimed at independent literary publishers. If you are interested, contact us at New Writing North or to find out more about The Publishing Training Centre, see www.train4publishing.co.uk.

Gillian Allnutt to be Medical Foundation writer in residence
We are delighted to announce that poet Gillian Allnutt has accepted the post of writer in residence at The Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture. We are meeting this week to plan the project, which she'll be working on until Christmas. Thanks to the many people who applied for the post – the quality of applicants was really outstanding.

Race for Life 2009: not long now
The New Writing North team will run the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK on 12 July. If you'd like to sponsor us, click on www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/annadisley and follow the instructions. If you're a UK taxpayer you can also 'Gift Aid' your donation and Cancer Research UK will get even more money, at no extra cost to you. We'll be running on 12 July in Exhibition Park in Newcastle and will post photos on the website after the event. Thanks for your continuing support.

Walking the Line
Walking the Line is an exciting text and graphic art project based on and in the Dudley/Seaton Burn areas of North Tyneside and aimed at young people from those areas. So if you are interested in writing or visual art, or just want something different to do during the summer holidays, this could be for you. The project will result in the production of a temporary piece of public art focused on the experiences of young people in the area.

Come and join writer and artist Paul Summers to find out how to be involved in this summer holiday project. If you are under 12, come along to the John Willie Sams Centre, Dudley, at either 10am-12pm or 1.30pm-3.30pm on Monday 20 July (you can bring your parents too if you want); if you are between 12 and 18, come along to the John Willie Sams Centre at either 10am-12pm or 1.30pm-3.30pm on Tuesday 21 July. Paul will be there to tell you more about the project, which will involve you working with other young people around your own age at least once a week throughout the summer. It will also be an opportunity for you to have a go at some of the things you will be doing on the project.

The project is supported by Find Your Talent and North Tyneside Council. There's no need to book, just turn up, but for further information please call Anna Disley at New Writing North on 0191 233 3878.


In the North East

Wildworks makes The Beautiful Journey to Wallsend
Led by director Bill Mitchell, Wildworks is an international company of artists, musicians and theatre makers who create spectacular large-scale theatre events in unusual sites, working with the communities who live and work there. Their latest production, The Beautiful Journey, is set in a not very distant future. Something has happened. Humanity is on the move, prompting an exodus into the unknown. This is a surreal world where hairdressers tell your fortune; where we experience the memory projector, witness random acts in Kalypso's cabaret, dance to the live shanty band and dream of home. The show runs from 28 July-8 August at Oceana, Wallsend, on the north bank of the Tyne. For more information, see www.thebeautifuljourneynortheast.com. Tickets are available through The Customs House on 0191 454 1234 or at www.thecustomshouse.co.uk.

Roman writing tablets coming home
Summer is the time for postcards and the Vindolanda Writing Tablets are perhaps some of the world's earliest examples, with many of the fragments consisting of letters to their families at home from Romans garrisoned along Hadrian's Wall over 2,000 years ago. One of the most important and well-preserved collections of Roman heritage in the world, the tablets, which were found at Vindolanda, near Hexham, in the 1970s, are currently held at the British Museum in London. But now, Britain's earliest written archives are a step closer to coming home to the North East, thanks to funding of £1.8m from One North East. One North East's investment, through Northumberland County Council, will allow the Vindolanda Trust to bring the tablets, on loan, back to the region.

Wendy Robertson and Benita Brown at Fenwick
On 9 and 10 July, North East writers Wendy Robertson and Benita Brown will be doing events and signings at Fenwick in Newcastle and at the Metro Centre. Wendy will also be running a workshop at Berwick Hills Library about local history on 17 July. For more information, see www.wendyrobertson.com. You can also follow Wendy's blog at www.lifetwicetasted.blogspot.com.

'Hidden' poetry trail goes online
Arcadea has announced the online launch of its 'Hidden' poetry project. The selected poem by Ann Torode has been 'hidden'; linked two lines at a time on the websites of eight leading arts and cultural organisations in the North East. These are Arcadea; Northern Stage, Gala Theatre, Waygood Gallery, Arc Stockton, Dance City, The Sage Gateshead, and Queen's Hall, Hexham, taking the reader on a cultural journey both into the historical experience of disabled people and also around supporting cultural venues in the region. The project aims to bring the work of disabled artists to much wider audiences. The opening link of the poetry trail is at www.arcadea.org, from where you will be able to follow the poem, ending with the complete poem and a biography of the poet.

Cloud Nine play day
Playwrights are invited to submit 30-minute scripts to be considered for the next Cloud Nine Play Day which is to be held at The Customs House, South Shields, on Sunday 4 October. The selected plays will be workshopped all day with the authors present, then put on their feet and performed before a live audience in the evening. Scripts should be submitted by 15 August. More details from Peter Mortimer on 0191 253 1901 or cloudninetheatre@blueyonder.co.uk.


National opportunities

The Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition
Entrants are invited to submit a manuscript of 24 poems for The Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition 09/10, which is to be judged by former poet laureate Andrew Motion. Three first-stage winners receive pamphlet publication and one second-stage winner receives book publication. All four receive a share of £1,000 prize money and a reading. Entry fee is £25 (or £20 for North subscribers and Friends of The Poetry Business). See www.poetrybusiness.co.uk for more information and an entry form. Deadline is 29 November 2009.

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2009
The only poetry prize of its kind, this exciting scheme seeks to unearth, promote and support young poetic talent from across the UK and internationally. Open to young people aged 11-17, the deadline for all submissions is 31 July 2009. From the website at www.foyleyoungpoets.org there are links to the creative visual work on YouTube from previous winners.


People

Sarah Shaw goes from strength to strength
We are delighted to see Andrea Badenoch Award winner Sarah Shaw going from strength to strength with her story, Killer Genes, named as one of five runners-up in the Genomics Forum Short Story competition run by Edinburgh University. Another story, from her collection A Crack in the Rock, was accepted for publication in new fiction magazine Yellow Room. We all wish her continuing success.

Ropes up for CLPE award
Congratulations to poet and publisher Ellen Phethean, who has been shortlisted for the CLPE Poetry Award for the collection of poetry The Ropes. The anthology, which features female writers from the North East, is published by Diamond Twig, which Ellen co-founded with Julia Darling, and is guest edited by John Hegley and Sophie Hannah. The announcement will be made on Tuesday 7 July at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education by last year's winner, Jackie Kay.


Publishers

Dean launches new Teesside press
Teesside resident and multi-award-winning television comedy writer and novelist Dean Wilkinson has recently launched The Wilkinson Press. Beginning with the 21st Century Fairy Folktales range of educational, social message books, he is soon to publish Sarkylocks and the Three Bears, a hilarious new take on the classic fairytale. Wilkinson is the man behind SMTV with Ant & Dec and the thriving console game, LittleBigPlanet. His publications will cover pre-school, educational, adult and quiz books and are set to offer laughs as well as learning.

New releases from Byker Books
The eagerly awaited third volume in the Radgepacket: Tales from the Inner Cities series will be launched onto an unsuspecting world on 11 July. It features a cabal of Northern writers as Byker Books continues the quest to bring you the best in 'unsigned and unhinged' British talent, as well as the more established names. Byker Books is also debuting a non-fiction book on 1 August that features a foreword by former Newcastle player Lee Clark. I'm Rivelino: A Life of Two Halves is the story of a life-time love for Newcastle United. Peppered with terrace wit and rough charm, this is a book that can be identified with by supporters everywhere.


Miscellany

Learn to protect your copyright
In association with Northern Film & Media and as part of their work giving intellectual property advice to people working in the creative industries, Own-It are hosting a free event at Florita's Bar in the centre of Newcastle (28-32 Collingwood Road) on 15 July at 6pm. If you are a writer producing original content, this event can offer practical and personal advice about copyright. It will provide answers to important questions about copyright and provide personal insight from two successful regional writers working in the industry. Admission is free, although places are limited. To reserve your place, register and book online at www.own-it.org/north/events.

Write/Radio/Spain: radio drama course in Andalucia
Write/Radio/Spain is a residential course aimed at writers who want to explore radio drama and sound as a creative medium. Led by award-winning radio, film and television writer Steve Chambers and Sony-nominated independent radio producer Andy Cartwright, the course offers participants expert tuition and support while experiencing the beautiful inland region of Serrania de Ronda in southern Spain. Course dates are 7-11 September 2009. For full details of course, tutors and fees, contact organiser Caroline Mitchell at cam.algo@googlemail.com.

Professional feedback for script writers
Hayley McKenzie is utilising her impressive script credits (including Blue Murder, Casualty and Heartbeat) to run a script writing consultancy, offering new and emerging writers professional feedback on their work. Hayley is keen to help writers develop their skills, particularly those interested in writing for television. She is even offering to use her contacts in the industry to help the most promising writers. To find out more, visit www.scriptangel.co.uk and see what it can do for you.


Deadline for the next newsletter

If you have news that you would like to submit for inclusion in the newsletter please contact olivia@newwritingnorth.com. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 13 July. The August edition of The Listening Post will go out on 27 July. If you have events that you would like to submit for inclusion, you will need to send us information by 20 July to olivia@newwritingnorth.com.

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While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our knowledge.