Sarah Schofield book launch at Ormskirk Library

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Visit now

Safely Gathered In – book launch with local author Sarah Schofield

Ormskirk Library, Ormskirk
18 November 2021

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

Sarah Schofield
Writer Sarah Schofield.
Book now

Join author Sarah Schofield as she reads from her brand-new collection, Safely Gathered In, published by Manchester’s Comma Press. Sarah is a lecturer in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University, up the road from Ormskirk Library, and this event is hosted by Lancashire Library Service.

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.

The long-awaited debut from the Lancashire-based writer is very now, bringing together short stories with a touch of the uncanny – perfectly timed as the nights draw in. Here’s a little on the fright fest… “A woman grows increasingly annoyed by her husband’s emails, offering advice and reminders even months after his death… A taxidermist dreams of preserving one of his clients after she takes him out for a coffee… A grieving nurse is troubled by her daughter’s fascination with The Iron Lady…”

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…”

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. One of her short stories was shortlisted for The Bridport Prize in 2020 and she has won the Orange New Voices Prize, Writer’s Inc and The Calderdale Fiction Prize. She has also been shortlisted for the Guardian Travel Writing Competition. 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.”

Sarah’s stories have also appeared in Comma Press anthologies Lemistry, Bio-Punk, Thought X, Beta Life, Spindles and Conradology as well as The New Abject, along with Wall: Nine Stories from Edge Hill Writers (EHUP), Spilling Ink Flash Fiction Anthology, Back and Beyond Arts Publication, Litfest’s The Language of Footprints, Synaesthesia Magazine, Lakeview International Journal, Woman’s Weekly and others.

In December, Sarah is back in Manchester following her recent Blackwell’s appearance, reading alongside the likes of Writing The Uncanny editor Richard V Hirst, Andrew Michael Hurley, Nicholas Royle and Melissa Wan at an event called Ghosts At The Talleyrand.

Sarah Schofield Safely Gathered In
Sarah Schofield Safely Gathered In cover

Where to go near Sarah Schofield book launch at Ormskirk Library

Testbed Main Space
Leeds
Event venue
TESTBED

TESTBED is a newly renovated 10,000 sq foot event venue in Leeds that offers endless possibilities for creating unique and inspiring experiences.

Manchester
Restaurant
Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

Morning Glory - Coffee Cup
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

The Warehouse In Holbeck
Leeds
Event venue
The Warehouse In Holbeck

Run by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, The Warehouse in Holbeck is home to boundary-pushing performance and community projects.

Leeds
Event venue
The Attic

Tucked away above the bustle of Merrion Street, The Attic is one of Leeds’ most distinctive small venues – intimate, unpretentious, and steeped in DIY spirit.

The Chevin is a great place for visitors to do lots of different activities and is open all year round with 5 free car parks. To help you find out whatís best for you we have divided this section up into some of these different activities.Please be aware that The Chevin is a working estate so you may see vehicles including timber-extraction lorries using some of the tracks.Self-guided WalksThe Chevin is a big place and there is a good network of paths to make your own circular walk, but if you want to follow a themed trail there is a Geology Trail, Heritage Time Trail and a route for Tree Spotters.Bikes & HorsesThere is an extensive bridleway network on the eastern parts of The Chevin that caters for a range of abilities.Orienteering and GeocachingTwo orienteering courses and a number of geocache sites are waiting to be discovered.Climbing & BoulderingThere are many fantastic crags for climbing and boulders for bouldering.Mobility Scooters & Wheelchairs
Leeds
Restaurant
Oporto

For many years, Oporto has been a beacon of alternative energy on Leeds’ Call Lane – serving up great food and drink alongside resident DJs and live music.

What's on: Literature

LiteratureManchester
Nikita Gill at Feel Good Club

Enter the Underworld with internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill as she discusses her “propulsive, electrifying and enraging” new book Hekate.

From £18.99
Dan Coxon.
LiteratureLiverpool
Writing The Magic launch at Dead Ink Bookshop

Writing the Magic (Essays on Crafting Fantasy Fiction) is the fourth in Liverpool-based publisher Dead Ink Books’ award-winning series of guides, and this launch event hears from editor Dan Coxon.

From £5.00
LiteratureManchester
Manchester Poets at Chorlton Library

This autumn Manchester Poets returns to its usual home of Chorlton Library, following its exile to Withington while renovations took place at the Carnegie HQ.

Free entry
LiteratureCalder Valley
Arvon’s Story House at Lumb Bank

We just celebrated former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes’s birthday in the town of his birth, now head to his former home Lumb Bank for Arvon’s Story House.

Free entry
Rose Condo
LiteratureKendal
Verbalise at Kendal Brewery Arts

Rose Condo is a multi-award-winning poet and spoken word artist, who carefully blends poetry and prose to create live shows she performs with aplomb.

From £11.00

Culture Guides

Exhibitions in the North

Galleries around the North are gearing up for a new season of exhibitions - from iconic art prizes to smaller, artist-led gems.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Wisp Press Image
Music in the North

From corrupted shoegaze to experimental electronica, post-hardcore to Indian classical, these are the shows that should be on your radar.