Ripon’s lively literary scene, made up of poets, creative writers and published authors, has welcomed a new arrival.
Dion Child, who previously lived in Wales, moved to the city a few months ago and has set up Write-on-Ripon as a means of meeting fellow wordsmiths.
The new group is attracting attention and attendees since its first meeting in November at Hive Cafe in Halls of Ripon, where its Tuesday afternoon gatherings have been held ever since.
A natural progression from this will be seen on Tuesday at 7.30pm in the Curzon Cinema on North Street, when an open mic event called Write-On-Ripon Unleashed will be held. Entry is free.
Mr Child told the Stray Ferret:
“We would like as many people as possible to come along and join in the fun
“This is a fantastic opportunity for writers to unleash their inner creativity and share their talent by performing in the style of their choice to like-minded literature lovers.
“As I have found in the past, it’s a great way of making friends and sharing ideas.”
Among those who will be attending is Maggie Cobbett, chair of Ripon Writers’ Group and an accomplished and versatile author and poet, whose work includes the novels Foreshadowing, Workhouse Orphan and Anyone for Murder?
She said:
“Always keen to meet new people who ‘get’ why I’m rarely seen without a pen and notebook at the ready, I went along to the first session of Write-On-Ripon! and have become a regular attender.
“Write-On-Ripon! Unleashed offers a great opportunity for writers from any established group or none to get together in a convivial atmosphere, swap ideas and – should they wish – share some of their work.
“If the first session is well supported, the intention is for this to become a regular event in the cultural calendar of our little city.”
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Poet Laureate brings the ‘primitive magic’ of verse to Ripon festival
Simon Armitage summed up the power of poetry when he read a selection of his works to a packed audience in Ripon on Saturday.
The Poet Laureate, whose poems brought laughter and sadness to 200 people at Ripon Grammar School, said words on a page take on a different character when spoken.
Armitage, who was the star attraction at the fourth Ripon Poetry Festival, described verse as having ‘a kind of primitive magic”.
The West Yorkshire-born and bred poet told the Stray Ferret he was delighted to perform at the four-day festival, where he brought some of his own primitive magic and talked about his local connections.
He said:
“My auntie lives in Ripon and I have many memories of visiting here and going to the cathedral and seeing the hornblower.”
The festival anthology of poems (left) and programme.
Poetry boom
Talking about lockdown, he said:
“Sales of poetry books have done well during the pandemic, as people have had more time to reflect.
“Many recalibrated their lives and decided they were not going back to the way things were before.”
Lockdown also gave Armitage, who was appointed to the 10-year office of Poet Laureate in May 2019, the opportunity to focus on his work.
He said:
“It gave me the time to complete my translation of the long medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale.”
Saturday evening’s audience was given a taste of the epic poem, which focuses on the quarrelsome conversation between the two birds, as they show their mutual dislike.
The newly-published work featured recently on BBC Radio 4’s hit podcast, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed.
There were also readings from Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems, a collection that provides a guided tour in verse of the village where Armitage grew up.
Ripon festival success
His lines, which paint a picture of home-town life and experiences, were very much in keeping with the theme of the festival.
Andy Croft, who was one of the organisers of the four-day event, that included 17 sessions at venues across the city, said:
“We are pleased to report that we are now the biggest festival of its kind in Yorkshire.”
Testimony to the growing popularity of poetry was the fact that this year’s festival anthology, The Other Side of the Looking Glass, contains 92 poems covering a broad spectrum of styles and based on a wide range of subjects, including life in lockdown and the environment.
Mr Croft pointed out:
“It contains poems from people of all ages, who live locally and is the largest edition we have published.”
Author ‘over the moon’ after winning Harrogate festival’s crime novel of the year
Chris Whitaker went home with the prestigious crime novel of the year award last night after being awarded on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
The four-day event, organised by the arts charity Harrogate International Festivals, welcomes big names in the crime-writing world.
Mr Whitaker’s books We Begin at the End, follows a 13-year-old girl and the local police chief in a Californian town. The book meets them when a murderer is released from prison and returns to their town.
It is a story of crime, punishment, love and redemption – one that Mr Whitaker has been working on for 20 years.
Mr Whitaker came up with the idea for the book after he was stabbed and mugged in North London when he was 19. He said the book came about during a really dark time so he often forgot about it and focused on other projects.
But four years ago he returned to the file on his computer called Duchess, the protagonist’s name, and got to work.
The book front.
He said he couldn’t put into words how much this award meant to him. For years he has been visiting Harrogate for thhe Crime Writing Festival never believing one day he would be recognised.
He said it was an “honour” to win the award surrounded by so many of his literary idols.
Mr Whitaker said:
“I haven’t stopped smiling. This book has been a long time coming so it’s a lovely way to end the journey.
“I’ve been visiting the Harrogate festival for years, listening to my idols. I’m so proud and grateful to have been recognised like this.”
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This is Mr Whitaker’s third book. He said he is currently working on crime fiction book and will spend much of the next year promoting We Begin at the End across the world.
The book is currently in development to be made into a film.
The festival continues until Sunday. Special guests include Mark Billingham, Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, Mick Herron, Clare Mackintosh, Val Mcdermid and Richard Osman.
Harrogate’s top crime-writing prize down to shortlistReaders have whittled the potential winners of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award down to six authors.
Organised by Harrogate International Festivals, the award is widely regarded as the most prestigious in crime fiction.
The shortlist is designed to celebrate the best of crime writing and transports readers around the world from Calcutta to California.
Author Chris Whitaker hopes to claim the trophy on his first ever nomination with We Begin at The End, which is a story of crime, punishment, love and redemption in California.
Sunday Times bestselling author Rosamund Lupton’s Three Hours tells the story of gunmen opening fire on a school in Somerset and explores white supremacy and radicalisation.
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Elly Griffiths is hoping that her seventh prize nomination, The Lantern Men, lead to the title. The story sees Ruth Galloway return to the fens to hunt down a serial killer.
Trevor Wood’s meteoric rise continues with his novel The Man on the Street, which provides insight into the story of a homeless Falklands veteran with severe PTSD turned criminal investigator.
Scottish-Bengali author Abir Mukherjee’s Death in the East is a mesmerising portrait of India, Assam and East End London, which could be a case of third nomination lucky.
The final title on this year’s shortlist is Northern Irish author Brian McGilloway’s The Last Crossing, which looks at The Troubles from the perspective of a view of former operatives.
People can vote for the winner here.
Simon Theakston, executive director of T&R Theakston, said:
“This is it: the crème de la crème of crime. This shortlist really does showcase the breadth and depth of the genre.
“It’s going to be a fiercely fought prize this year so make sure you vote for your favourite.”
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel from Theakston Old Peculier.
The full shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021 is:
- The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
- Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)
- The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
- Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
- We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)
- The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
Those visiting Harrogate town centre this week may have noticed a mysterious trail of books peeping out from various locations.
These were planted by The Book Fairies, an open organisation that hides pre-loved books for people to discover and read, and then leave somewhere else once finished.
The Book Fairies is a worldwide organisation that has its own Harrogate group.
On Thursday, the fairies hid brand-new copies of Jill Mansell’s And Now You’re Back to promote its recent release. They could be found in the town centre, Spenceley Gardens and near the library.
If you found a copy, be sure to read it and then hide it in another location for the next person to find.
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The Book Fairies project started on International Women’s Day in 2017 and has an estimated 13,000 people sharing books worldwide.
The only thing people need to do to get involved is buy the official stickers from its website and begin sharing their pre-loved novels.
Prominent figures such as Harry Potter star Emma Watson and the Duchess of Cambridge have taken part, hiding their own books for people to find.
Emma Watson leaving copies of Little Women. Credit: The Book Fairies
Harrogate fairy Amandine said;
“Book Fairies Harrogate started in February 2019 after I found a book left by another fairy on the Stray. Since then we’ve hidden hundreds of books in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.
“One of the cutest stories is the one where a lady found a book for her granddaughter, who was just born. Then 15 months later, that little girl’s mum found another book for her!
“We received amazing responses from finders every week and it’s always great to see people (and especially little ones!) being so happy to have found a book.”
The group is hoping to expand across the world, with its book stickers now available in nine languages.
For its LGBTQ+ Pride event launching tomorrow, fairies in Harrogate will be hiding 30 books with exclusive Pride stickers for residents to find and enjoy.
For more information on The Book Fairies Harrogate, follow the official Instagram page.