PROGRAMME: THURSDAY 8 JUNE
​You will find information on the writers and events below.
Art and Text Workshop
WORKSHOP: 11am-2pm.
The Namur Room, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Main Gate Rd, Chatham ME4 4TZ
'Wordsmithery goes visual...and the Hazelnut Press gets verbal'
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Join award-winning artist and printmaker Heather Haythornthwaite of The Hazelnut Press, and award-winning writer Sarah Hehir, for a writing and art workshop in association with Medway Print Festival
This day is about creating a personal fluid
response to the dockyard. Annotations and drawings made about the dockyard are collected in a continuous concertina format. This experimental workshop is to encourage artists to incorporate written thoughts in their drawings, and for
writers to move into visual thought recordings. Together we’ll strengthen our creative processing.
Refreshments will be available to purchase from the cafe. Parking and one day's entry to the Dockyard are included in the ticket price.
SOLD OUT.
Please email info@thehazelnut-press.com to be added to a stand-by list.
Most areas of The Historic Dockyard are accessible, but please check website for full information.
Nearest bus stop: Western Avenue, Chatham Maritime stop
Murderous Medway presents...
PANEL: 2pm-3.30pm.
Strood Library, 133 High St, Rochester ME2 4TJ
Murderous Medway presents 'What is Cozy Crime?'
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Richard Osman's 'Thursday Murder Club' and Val McDermid's 'Wire in the blood' series?
Do you enjoy the Agatha Raisin mysteries, but not 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'?
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If you're interested to find out more about the sometimes thin line between cozy crime and harder crime fiction, then this panel is for you!
Crime writers, NR Daws (Kember and Hayes mysteries) and Julie Wassmer (Whitstable Pearl), hosted by former police detective turned crime novelist Lisa Cutts (Murder in the Village), will aim to enlighten you in what is sure to be a riveting conversation!
Free, book with Medway Libraries in person, phone 01634 337799, or via your SPYDUS account.
Strood Library is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Strood Morrisons
Writing from life
PANEL: 4.30pm-5.45pm.
Chatham Library and Community Hub, Dock Rd, Chatham ME4 4TX
Have you ever wanted to write about real life events but were worried you might reveal too much personal information?
Do you want to write about something that actually happened without revising the truth, offending your loved ones, or boring your readers to tears?
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This ‘Writing From Life’ Panel discussion will discuss some of the ethics and concerns you might have about basing your words on your life. Local PhD researcher Nikki Price, and award-winning authors Maria C McCarthy and Maggie Harris, who are all creatives who mine their personal histories in a sensitive manner to create new work.
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Free, book with Medway Libraries in person, phone 01634 337799, or via your SPYDUS account.
Chatham Library is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Chatham Bus Station
(From top, Maggie Harris, Nikki Price, Maria C McCarthy - photo by Janice McGuinness)
Even Bigger Trouble
WORKSHOP: 5-6.30pm
SPOKEN WORD: 7-9pm.
McLeod's Restaurant, MidKent College, Medway Rd, Gillingham ME7 1FN
Poets David Dykes and Bethany Goodwill set up Big Trouble spoken word night in Chatham Intra in 2018 and since then the event has grown in popularity as one of Medway's only two regular live literature nights.
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As part of Medway River Lit, they are going to be running a writing workshop, to get your creative juices flowing, before hosting 'Even Bigger Trouble', a special one-off version of Big Trouble called 'Even Bigger Trouble' featuring headline poets: Miss Yankey, a British/Ghanaian Writer, Activist, and Spoken Word artist who has captivated audiences from London to Paris, to New York, to Ghana, and as far as Melbourne; and, Pauline Holmes a 60-something poet and storyteller with the mind of a child and the wrinkles of someone much older. There are also open mic slots.
Why not come along to the workshop, then perform your work to the audience?
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McLeod's Restaurant will be open for refreshments.
Even Bigger Trouble pre-booking via the GlassBox.
The event is pay what you decide - cash/card payments will be taken on the night.
McLeod's is fully accessible
Nearest bus stop: Mid Kent College; Medway Park War Memorial.
Sunyi Dean and Mark Stay
AUTHORS TALK: 7pm-9pm.
Chatham Library and Community Hub, Dock Rd, Chatham ME4 4TX
Fantasy authors, Sunyi Dean whose Sunday Times bestseller ‘The Book Eaters’ is a unique take on the vampire myth, and Mark Stay (The Witches of Woodvile series), whose film 'Robot Overlords' starred Gillian Anderson and Ben Kingsley and is available on Amazon Prime, will be in conversation with Sam Hall.
Sunyi Dean is a biracial fantasy author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in the UK. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant.
Mark Stay is a novelist and screenwriter. His Witches of Woodville series is published by Simon & Schuster, and his new film Unwelcome premiered at the Sitges Festival recently, and was released by Warner Bros. in 2023.
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Free, book with Medway Libraries in person, phone 01634 337799, or via your SPYDUS account.
Chatham Library is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Chatham Bus Station