A free short stories dispenser has been brought to Harrogate to mark today’s start of the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival.

The four-day festival, which ends on Sunday, takes place at the Crown Hotel. The line-up includes Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Andy McNab, Gaby Roslin, Carrie and David Grant and Sir Vince Cable.

As part of the celebration of books, local residents are being encouraged to head to the Crown Hotel until Sunday to collect a free bite sized piece of literature from the dispenser.

The stories are selected from a range of over 10,000 short works of literature and cover a range of genres, including romance, drama, crime fiction, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, comedy, children’s stories and the classics.

At the touch of a button, visitors will receive a short story that will take one, three or five minutes to read. The story is printed on eco-friendly paper to read straight away or take away and read in a spare moment.

Authors range from Emily Dickinson to Lewis Carrol, Ernest Hemingway and William Shakespeare to contemporary stories by lesser-known authors and aspiring new writers.

The annual festival is curated and produced by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by Raworths Solicitors.

Rachel Tunnicliffe, senior partner at Raworths, said:

“The short stories dispenser allows us to take a moment to celebrate the joy of reading and storytelling, no matter how busy we are. It’s a fun and engaging way to bring great writing and literature to the whole community.”

The photo shows Ms Tunnicliffe and Dan Siddle, general manager of the Crown Hotel, with the short story dispenser.

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For more than 40 years a Ripon group has provided a platform which has enabled writers, ranging from novices to published novelists, to develop their talent and share their thoughts with like-minded people.

Now, with the disruption of covid lockdowns behind it, Ripon Writers Group is looking to attract new members to the twice-monthly meetings it holds at St Wilfrid’s Community Centre. The next meeting is on Wednesday evening (February 8).

RWG was launched in 1982 by Daphne Peters whose stories and poetry for children, published under her maiden name of Daphne Lister, gained international acclaim.

Following her death in April 2020, long-term member and award-winning author Maggie Cobbett said:

“Daphne was always interested to hear what the rest of us had been working on and unstinting in her encouragement.

“I loved to hear her reading her own poems, whether comical or whimsical, in her own inimitable style and will miss that very much.

“Ripon Writers’ Group will never be quite the same without Daphne, but I know that she will be counting on us to continue what she started all those years ago.”

RWG continues with Ms Peters’ husband Joe as its president and Ian Gouge as chairman.

Publisher Mr Gouge (pictured above), who is also writer in residence at Ripon Library, was the 2022 winner of the highly-prized Swanwick Short Story Competition.

In liaison with fellow committee members, he has introduced new elements to the events programme, including a ‘flash fiction’ activity called All Write on the Night.

Mr Gouge, said:

“The aim is to make our meetings thought-provoking, stimulating and enjoyable and create an atmosphere in which all attendees gain from the the shared experience.”

Two-time Swanwick prize winner Ms Cobbett, whose latest book My ‘Extra’ Life was published in August, added:

“We are a friendly group seeking new members from the Ripon area and beyond .

“Whether their interest is in poetry or prose, novels, short stories, plays, wacky humour or, a more analytical style of writing, they will be made most welcome.”

Prolific Ripon author Ian Gouge, is joining a distinguished group of UK writers after being selected as the 2022 winner of the Swanwick Short Story Competition.

The sought-after annual literary prize attracts hundreds of entries and his story titled Park’n’Ride caught they eye of the judging panel.

In addition to the prestige of winning the competition, his award includes a week-long place at the famous Swanwick Writers Summer School in Derbyshire.

He will also gain wide exposure through the publication of his story in Writing Magazine.

Ian, who has recently been appointed as the Author in Residence at Ripon Library, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is the first time that I have entered the Swanwick and I was both surprised and delighted when I received an email saying that I had won.”

His 900-word story drew on the experience of overheard conversations on tram journeys  that he took while working in the IT industry in Nottinghamshire.

Ian, who is also a publisher and acts as a mentor to fellow creative writers and poets, said:

“If you are a good listener, you will gain a wealth of material that can provide the inspiration for stories and poems that reflect real-life situations.”

His imagination has enabled him to develop characters and storylines from the age of five, when he wrote about a boy who went into space. He also produced accompanying illustrations.

More than 50 years later and with the IT career behind him, Ian has a growing portfolio of published works including six novels, three short story collections, eight poetry and four non-fiction books.

Working with American poets, most of whom live in California, he leads a virtual Transatlantic reading group and has published four international anthologies  and  a further anthology featuring the poems of Yorkshire-based poets.

With the Swanwick prize now added to his CV, the versatile and experienced author and publisher, has another novel and short story collection in the pipeline and, will continue to help other creative writers to achieve the dream of seeing their name in print.

Literature lovers are getting ready for the sequel to Write-On Ripon‘s first open mic evening in February.

The stylish brick-built basement under Curzon Cinema on North Street, will again be the venue for Monday night’s readings of poetry and prose..

Dion Child, who organises the writing group, told the Stray Ferret:

“The first event proved such a success, that we agreed on the night that we would come back for more.

“The 30 people who attended, were able to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, the great acoustics and the positive audience reaction, to an eclectic mixture of original works.”

Mr Child, himself a creative writer and poet, added:

“I am relatively new to Ripon and am absolutely knocked out by the depth of writing talent that I have seen from people of all ages in this magnificent and inspiring city.

“There is still room for more writers to join us on Monday and whether they want to read a short poem or story they have written, or simply listen to the words of others, all will be given a very warm welcome.”

Write-on Ripon Open Mic II begins at 7.30pm and entry is free. Further details are available here.

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