WoWFEST 2021

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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WoWFEST 2021

1-31 May 2021

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

Salena Godden. Photo © Olivia Rutherford
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WoWFEST, Liverpool’s longest-running writing and literary festival, is back for 2021, running throughout May with a packed programme of online events, some free.

Author of international bestseller My Name Is Leon Kit de Waal steps up as the first of the “in conversation” series… The last In Conversations features Salena Godden.

Run by Liverpool-based Writing On The Wall, a literary organisation that celebrates and inspires creativity and writing in all its forms through inquiry, debate, performance and publishing, the annual WoWFest brings together local audiences with the best local, national and international writers, artists and social commentators.

This year, guest speakers include poet Clare Shaw, writer and editor Nikesh Shukla, local poetry face Roger McGough, children’s author Michael Rosen and Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri, and other big names include filmmaker Ken Loach, broadcaster Jon Snow and musician Tracey Thorn. There’s an open mic as part of Light Night on 21 May, hosted by award-winning poet Ciarán Hodgers, and the ever-popular Pulp Idol event, finding the novelists of the future, on 25 May, with guest judges Kevin Duffy (Bluemoose Books), Laura Jones (Dead Ink), Genevieve Pegg (Harper North) and author Yvonne Battle-Felton.

On 4 May, author of international bestseller My Name Is Leon Kit de Waal steps up as the first of the “in conversation” series, reading from and chatting about Supporting Cast, her latest collection of short stories, which came out with Penguin last year. The last In Conversations features Salena Godden, on 28 May. An activist, broadcaster, essayist and performer, her work is widely anthologised. She has published several volumes of poetry, the latest of which is Pessimism Is For Lightweights, which came out with Rough Trade Books last year, and a literary childhood memoir, Springfield Road. At WoWFest, she’ll be talking to Jordan Stephens, one half of Rizzle Kicks, about these different kinds of writing and about publishing her debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death, which came out in January with Canongate.

In the panel discussion strand, Liverpool-based Pulp Idol finalist 2016 Matt Cook, Peepal Tree Press associate fiction editor and editor of Closure, Contemporary Black British short stories Jacob Ross, and author, journalist and sports writer James Corbett join Rachel Genn and Rónán Hession on 17 May for Working Class Writers & Voices From The Indies. They will talk about whether working-class writing is a genre, how working-class writers might break into a seemingly exclusive industry and whether working-class writers should only write about issues affecting the working class. Rónán Hession is an award-winning musician and writer, whose first book, Leonard And Hungry Paul, came out with Hebden Bridge’s Bluemoose Books in 2019, and was chosen for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and as as a summer read in The Irish Times and The Observer. Former neuroscientist Rachel Genn‘s second novel, What You Could Have Won, came out with And Other Stories last year, and she is working on Hurtling, a collection of essays, and Blessed, a collection of non-fiction. She works at Manchester Writing School and has written for Granta, 3:AM Magazine, Aeon and Hotel.

Writing On The Wall are also involved in Liverpool’s 2021 Year of Writing, a celebration of writing in all its forms designed to discover new voices and publish new writing through a partnership of arts and cultural organisations, writers, artists, educators and businesses as part of an inclusive drive to improve literacy in the city. As part of this, Writing On The Wall has set up a new online writing centre, The Writer’s Bloc: Community and Creativity, featuring mini-residencies – Writers on the Bloc so far have included Yvonne Battle-Felton, Anthony Anaxagorou, Cash Carraway, Ailsa Cox, Lowkey, Ytasha L Womack, Winnie M Li, Joelle Taylor, Patrice Lawrence, Kevin Dyer and Bidisha.

Mrs Death Misses Death
Mrs Death Misses Death

Where to go near WoWFEST 2021

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.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
Restaurant
Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Restaurant 2
Leeds
Café or Coffee Shop
Empire Café

Empire Café is located in Leeds’ ‘home of day dining’- Fish street!

Restaurant
Leeds
Restaurant
Phranakhon

Phranakhon Thai Tapas is a revolutionised Thai dining restaurant with a combination of European indulgence and authentic Thai tastes.

Restaurant
Leeds
Restaurant
Wen’s

Wen’s is a family owned Chinese restaurant specialising in authentic, home cooked cuisine.

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

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