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Hamlet adaptation perfect for schools

Peppermint Muse Theatre Company is gearing up for its forthcoming production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In a bold new interpretation of the text there are two Hamlets and a new title: Hold Off The Earth. This haunting r...

Litfest'15 starts - 25 events throughout Hertfordshire libraries

The annual programme of events for adults and children presented by Hertfordshire Libraries takes place in March and April. You can come and meet authors and listen to them talk about their work including S.J. Watson,...

Afternoon Tea with Rowan Coleman

Join author Rowan Coleman for an afternoon tea at Hatfield Library, Thursday 18th May at 2.30pm. Rowan is a Hertfordshire based, Sunday Times Bestselling author. She will be talking about her latest novel 'The Summer...

Illustrator and Designer.

Hello! I'm a freelance artist and illustrator with some twenty years experience in commercial art and illustration. I've created work for giftware, media and children's books with clients ranging from Shreds for Harrod...

Childrens book and illustration demo for Create and Craft TV

Recently I finished illustrating a children's book for Indie publisher Skycat and written by Ron Black. The book is a colouring book as well as a story about hapless foxy fox Freddie and is loads of fun. It will be out ...

Summer Reading Challenge art workshops with Elaine Johnson

This summer I'm delighted to be working in partnership with the Hertfordshire Libraries Service to deliver a series of exciting, free art workshops to support this year's Summer Reading Challenge! This annual event or...

Educational visits - prices held for 2014

Let your pupils experience literacy away from the classroom. If you are looking for a creative writing experience as part of your school's artsmark extra-curricular provision, please contact us. Don't forget, there is...

Herts & Minds - new writing from 20 Herts writers

Herts & Minds is the latest anthology from Hertford Writers' Circle, with 30 new stories and poems by 20 authors, many inspired by the history and landscape of Hertfordshire. Bestseller writer Michael Dobbs, author of...

Knebworth House launches Herts schools story writing competition

Inspiring young writers – Knebworth House launches Hertfordshire Schools Story Writing Competition. Knebworth is often described as a ‘treasure house of stories’, and is one of the country’s great literary houses. Kne...

Ver Poets AGM and Door into the Dark competition results

Friday September 19th, 7.30 pm. Members invited to come along for the AGM in St Michael’s Church Hall and have their say on the running of the society. After a pause for refreshments, at 9 pm we will find out who pene...

The Wolf Returns to St Albans

FOLKIES AND POETS COMBINE FORCES If you’re looking for some arty entertainment for a Saturday night, try the cabaret evening at the Maltings Arts Theatre for a mix of music, folk songs and some of the best modern poetry...

Dylan Thomas Evening

The rumours have started. A dead poet has been spotted late at night, stumbling through the Maltings. “Dylan Thomas is still alive,” it’s whispered. “Surely that was Elvis?” comes the reply. But the witness knows what ...

The Chinese Puzzle

Have you ever felt that you would like to understand the Chinese better? Well an illustrated talk in St Albans on Friday January 23rd could provide some of the answers. China expert and translator Kevin Maynard points o...

The Mariner comes to St Michael's

Ver Poets are holding a Sea Poetry and Music evening on Friday March 20th at 7.45 for 8 pm. The event will feature foot-tapping nautical tunes, a performance of classic poems including the Ancient Mariner and Dover Beach...

Poets gather in St Albans for Kit Wright

Poets from across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire will gather in St Albans on Monday April 27 for a reading by Kit Wright. He is the author of more than 25 books for adults and children and the winner of numerous literary...

Poetry and Songs of the Middle East

In a fascinating look at the history and cultures of the Middle East, award-winning poet Ruth Padel will be reading from her book Learning to Make an Oud in Nazareth. The book celebrates the different groups with lin...

Hindu Epic comes to St Albans

The Mahabharata offers a gateway to the rich culture and history of India. It is the world’s longest epic poem. For many scholars it is as important as the Bible, Shakespeare or Homer in the development of civilisation....

Shakespeare's Mysterious Muse

Shakespeare is the world’s most famous playwright. But in his own time he was better known as the author of best-selling poems. A rich selection of these can be heard in St on Friday April 15th in a joint production by V...

Lessons of Chernobyl - 30 Years On

Thirty years ago the world’s worst nuclear accident happened in Ukraine. A radioactive cloud rose three miles in the air and was blown around the world. Thousands of people died as a result and a large area of la...

Healing Poetry

CAN WORDS HEAL? Can poetry help you cope with pain and illness? To find out, you should come along to St Albans Central Library on Wednesday October 19th for an evening of Healing Poetry. The event which...

What Have the Americans Done for Us?

As Monty Python might have put it - What have the Americans done for us? Well – there’s Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost. Then you might mention Wallace Stevens, ee cummings, Sylvia Plath, Mark Doty, Sharon Ol...

Poetry and Religion

Is religious poetry dead? To find out come to the launch of The Poet’s Quest for God – 21st Century Poems of Faith, Doubt and Wonder in St Albans on Saturday December 3. The anthology contains 300 poems from al...

Working in partnership with Pear Tree Primary School

The new Head Teacher at Pear Tree Primary School popped into RECOVER earlier this year to find out what we are all about. Liking what she saw we were commissioned to up-cycle some of their existing furniture for their li...

Poetry Reading, Arts Takeover, Letchworth 22/7/17

Here's me, reading to the rain, at the Arts takeover in Letchworth on Saturday. Poetry ID, who are based at The Settlement, read on The Wynd stage in the morning (when it was sunny!). Despite the weather, a successful ...

Poetry at the Pudding Stop 6/3/19

I'll be reading (along with several other Ver poets) at the Pudding Stop in St. Albans on Wednesday 6th March. Come along and eat pudding/listen to poetry!

THE GIANT from Old-Fashioned They May Be

THE GIANT “Outside, and run to the fence and back,” said the teacher to her Year Two class of the little school. The children ran outside and onto the field, and sped as fast as they could go towards the chain-lin...

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition

Ware Poets are delighted to announce their 27th annual Open Poetry Competition with prizes for the best poems and the best sonnet. First prize £800 * Second prize £400 * Third prize £200 * Sonnet prize £200 ...

Zeal available from Enitharmon

Zeal, Andrew Bailey's first collection of poetry, is now available from Enitharmon and, hopefully, all good bookshops.

Big ideas make brilliant stories!

Having launched in 2014, the brainchild of local writers Katy Lassetter and Vicky Edwards, the fourth ‘Story Factory, Chichester’ workshop will take place on Friday 8 April, with an umbrella theme of ‘What happens next?’...

Summer Theatre & Film-making Workshops a Success!

As part of The Seed project planned to go live next Spring, Goat and Monkey theatre company ran workshops at Martlets Hall, Burgess Hill, on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the school summer holiday. Theatre skills, stag...

Creative Way for Children to Express Emotions

Here's a moving story from an 11 year girl who uses Story Massage to express her feelings around living with a sister with ADHD. Beautifully written and a wonderfully creative way to help her make sense of the world and ...

Dublin Writers Museum extend Des Kilfeathers exhibition

The Dublin Writers Museum, Parnell Square, Dublin, have extended Des Kilfeather's exhibition from the 19th May to the end of June. The exhibition, James Joyce's Dubliners, a Visual Response & Contemporary Contextualis...

The Sky Lights A Fire

I have a hardback book, ‘The Sky Lights A Fire’ which contains over 50 full colour images, mostly landscapes, and a few figures, with 12 accompanying poems. Price £20 to collect from 54 Tarrant Street, Arundel, West Suss...

Historical fiction short story competition

Are you inspired by the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum - its history, landscape, buildings, gardens and animals? This year we are holding a short story competition to capture this inspiration. Maybe you will win the to...

The first ‘Poetry Village’ in England - Lindfield Arts Festival

As part of its Arts Festival, Lindfield has become a display centre for local poets leading up to the festival weekend of 10th to 12th May. This week has seen the inauguration of its ‘Poems for the People’ initiative ...

Award-Winning Author Eve Ainsworth joins LAF 17 Sep

We’re delighted to announce that Eve Ainsworth, author of award winning ‘Seven Days’ and ‘Crush’ will be participating in Lindfield Arts Festival this eveyear! Eve always dreamed of being a writer and spent most of he...

Graffiti fun during Lindfield Arts Festival on 17 Sep

Tom Goulden, Can Control Team is warmly welcomed back to Lindfield Arts Festival again. This year he will be offering special workshops for anyone over the age of 10. watch the programme publication for more details. ...

Finding Mr Yeats

'Finding Mr Yeats' I’m in the middle of research for the Hartfield Community Play. For many, Hartfield is synonymous with A.A. Milne and Winnie the Pooh, a fact that is a bit of an irritant with some villagers. I mus...

Finding Places

Finding Place-Contemporary art Pop up exhibition at the Ancient Priors High Street Crawley Sussex.March 22nd -25th March 2024 Contemporary Art Exhibition commissioned by Crawley Brough Council POP up culture and is part...

TBC Mind and Brain The Portico Library Curated exhibition

An exhibition in Manchester The portico Library explores Mind and brain then and now combining 18th and 19th century literature with new artworks to create a space for conversation around the vocabulary of neurodiversit...

Juliette Goddard

I am excited as i have an audition on Sunday for the Olympic Ceremonies ..... You wont believe it after the a three hour audition in London i got through the first round of Auditions , my second audition is on Saturday....

Review in the Law Society Gazette!

My novel 'Celebrity Chef Zombie Apocalypse' has just been reviewed in the Law Society Gazette, the official magazine for solicitors practising in England and Wales.

Cracked Voices

Cracked Voices is an exciting collaboration between writer Graham Palmer and composer Jenni Pinnock which will result in a new 30 minute song cycle. The songs will give voice to the lost tales and characters of the bord...

We want to write your song!

The creators of a classical song cycle are asking the public for suggestions of who they should base their final song on. Composer Jenni Pinnock and writer Graham Palmer have already written songs about a local shopk...

Poetry for a devastated church

ISBN 978-0-9524753-2-3 48pp One Tree Publishing (UK) The Cracked Voices 48 page pamphlet featuring the stories and poems from the lost borderlands of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire is now on sale. Proceeds wi...

Royston makes the most of Voluntary Arts Week (9-18 May 2014)

Eight different arts and craft groups are opening their doors during Voluntary Arts Week 2014 to welcome people in in Royston. From knitting, to singing, story-writing to playing a brass instrument....why not have a ...

Everything changes: writing workshop

Royston Arts Festival Everything changes: A writing workshop exploring place and time Whether you’re a beginner in creative writing or a more advanced writer looking for ideas, this half-day workshop will help you ...

What have we got coming up next year?

We're busy planning new events for 2020 and we're so excited about what's coming up. All of our events are listed on our website where you can follow a link to buy tickets. If you're looking for inspiration for ...

Creative writing for wellbeing project snapshot

Project title: Creative Writing for Wellbeing Where and when the project happened ASCEND, All Saints Church Centre, Gosforth Lane, South Oxhey, Watford, WD19 7AX. April – May 2015 Describe your project briefly...

FREE BOOK! DEAD IN 10 Olympics promo

**FREE BOOK** To tie in with the athletics during the Paris 2024 Olympics, I'm offering DEAD IN 10 as a FREE Kindle download from Amazon 3-7 August. Download your FREE copy now and support your local (Watford) author!...