Lucie McKnight Hardy, Vanessa Onwuemezi and Sarah Schofield at Blackwell’s

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Book now

Short Stories: Lucie McKnight Hardy, Vanessa Onwuemezi & Sarah Schofield.

13 October 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Sarah Schofield
Author Sarah Schofield.
Book now

Join Lucie McKnight Hardy, Vanessa Onwuemezi and Sarah Schofield at Blackwell’s on University Green as they each launch new short story collections with a touch of the uncanny – perfectly timed as the nights draw in and Halloween shuffles about just around the corner. The evening’s conversation will be hosted by author and creative writing tutor Valerie O’Riordan and the authors will sign copies of their books after the readings.

Sarah Schofield’s stories have been widely published including in the Best British Short Stories 2020 (Salt) and The New Abject: Tales Of Modern Unease, part of Comma’s Modern Horror series.

Lucie McKnight Hardy’s Dead Relatives and Other Stories is published by Liverpool-based Dead Ink Books on 21 October, with The Loney author Andrew Michael Hurley describing one of the pieces as: “A coming of age story where the threat of violence shimmers like a heat haze.” Readers can expect more of the suspense and trepidation evident in her debut novel, Water Shall Refuse Them, which came out on Dead Ink in 2019. Not for the faint-hearted, Dead Relatives has been called “no holds barred” – inviting you behind closed doors, it will leave you wondering if it’s better that they’re kept shut and firmly locked. Former advertising, public relations and marketing executive, with a degree in English from the University of Liverpool and an MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University, Lucie is no stranger to writing weird – she has stories in the new Richard V Hirst and Dan Coxon-edited Writing The Uncanny, alongside the likes of Jenn Ashworth and Nicholas Royle, as well as in last year’s Comma Press anthology The New Abject, alongside Mark Haddon and Lara Williams.

Fitzcarraldo Editions publish Vanessa Onwuemezi’s “brilliantly inventive debut collection” Dark Neighbourhood on 6 October. The writer and poet was born in London in 1988 and completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Birkbeck in 2018. Her story At the Heart of Things won the The White Review Short Story Prize 2019, and her work has appeared in Prototype, frieze, Five Dials and The Literary Consultancy. Man Booker-shortlisted Fen and Everything Under author Daisy Johnson – who we saw at last year’s Manchester Literature Festival chatting to Jeanette Winterson and Sophie Mackintosh about her latest title Sisters – says of Dark Neighbourhood: “Onwuemezi’s writing is a breath of fresh air. This collection is a marvel.” According to the publisher’s website: Vanessa Onwuemezi takes readers on a surreal and haunting journey through a landscape on the edge of time. At the border with another world, a line of people wait for the gates to open; on the floor of a lonely room, a Born Winner runs through his life’s achievements and losses; in a suburban garden, a man witnesses a murder that pushes him out into the community. Electrifying and heady, and written with a masterful lyrical precision, Dark Neighbourhood heralds the arrival of a strikingly original new voice in fiction.”

Last but not least, Sarah Schofield long-awaited debut collection with Manchester’s Comma Press is Safely Gathered In, hitting shelves on 4 November. Sarah Schofield’s stories have been widely published including in the Best British Short Stories 2020 (Salt) and The New Abject: Tales Of Modern Unease, part of Comma’s Modern Horror series. A lecturer in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University (she’s running a creative writing workshop as part of the Northern Lights Writers’ Conference on 25 September), she has been shortlisted for The Bridport Prize and has won the Orange New Voices Prize, Writer’s Inc and The Calderdale Fiction Prize. Naomi Booth, author of Exit Management, says: “Sarah Schofield is a writer with tremendous rage and inventiveness, who takes the short story to new places.” Described as “powerful and touching”, Safely Gathered In delves into the idea of nature versus nurture and probes at the heart of what forms us and what we, in turn, form. With hallmarks of genre fiction, particularly science fiction, the stories expose the spaces that words often fail to reach and examine how objects – both manmade and natural – can reflect the darkest manifestations of grief and disconnection. “From the child acting out a family betrayal in the comfort of her dolls house, to the sister making wind-up toys from the dead birds she finds on her doorstep, this debut collection ventures into the surreal and delivers a sense of unease that leaves us questioning why we gather the things we do…”

Lucie McKnight Hardy Dead Relatives
Lucie McKnight Hardy Dead Relatives

Where to go near Lucie McKnight Hardy, Vanessa Onwuemezi and Sarah Schofield at Blackwell’s

Manchester
Gallery
Black Redstart Gallery

Black Redstart Gallery is located in the Northern Quarter and runs a busy programme of exhibitions from emerging and established artists.

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

texture logo
Manchester
Gallery
texture mcr

Possibly one of the city’s most mysterious art galleries, texture is a small and perfectly-formed independent space in Ardwick.

The Beacon at Cliffe Castle Park
Bradford
Park
Cliffe Castle Park

Cliffe Castle Park hosts the Beacon, a stunning performance space that will be touring the district throughout Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.

Hern Food
Leeds
Restaurant
Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

What's on: Literature

Jenn Ashworth at Blackwell's Manchester
LiteratureManchester
Jenn Ashworth at Blackwells

Jenn Ashworth is back at Blackwells bookshop for the Manchester launch of her latest work, reading extracts and chatting to Helen Mort about how The Parallel Path came about.

From £4.00
LiteratureLeeds
Chemistry at The Chemic

Leeds live literature regular Chemistry offers an exciting mix of open mic acts and invited poets – this month the headliners include Rosie Garland.

Free entry
Poet Mike Garry. Photo Paul Wolfgang Webster
LiteratureManchester
Word Central at Central Library

Word Central is a long-standing live literature favourite at Central Library and features open mic performers and a special guest, brought to you by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press.

Free entry
Cover of a book with a canal boat on it saying boater by Jo Bell
LiteratureManchester
Jo Bell at The Portico Library

Poet and now memoirist Jo Bell invites you to join her “for a friendly evening” at The Portico Library when she’ll be talking about her new “smart, funny” memoir Boater.

From £6.00

Culture Guides

Star Nhà Ease
Cinema in the North

July's cinema highlights include spotlights on international cinema, a new cult classic, plus a visit from one of our favourite directors.

Blondshell by Hannah Bon.
Music in the North

From Lyra Pramuk’s sacred synths to the sugar rush of YAANG, our latest music picks bring ritual, rebellion and ridiculous levels of fun.

Exhibitions in the North

Monumental sculptures, charcoal confessions and a show of two paintings only - all this and more in this month's exhibition picks.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.