Posts Tagged ‘edinburgh book festival’

All The Hidden Truths Tour! + forthcoming events

Wednesday, July 11th, 2018

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Hey friends! This is a list of THINGS I will be doing this summer / autumn… things that involve words I have written and opportunities for you to listen to them. It’s mostly to do with the launch of All The Hidden Truths (pre-order and I might just love you forever), but I’ve also thrown in some poetry events, too!
This list will be updated as more events are added, so watch this space!

Thursday 12th July: The Riff Raff
Effra Social, London
Full details and tickets here.

Friday 3rd August: Belladrum Festival
Belladum Estate, nr Inverness
Full details and tickets here.

Tuesday 14th August & Wednesday 15th August
Listen Softly Edinburgh

Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh
This is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival special outing for the night usually known as Listen Softly London. Join Dominic Stevenson and I as we introduce an amazing line up of features, new voices, and an open mic! Starts both nights at 6.45pm and is FREE to attend. Come along on the night or keep an eye on the SPL website to book yourself a ticket!

Thursday 16th August: That’s What She Said at The Fringe
Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh
Full details and tickets here.

Friday 17th August: Poetry’s New Guard
(in conversation with Zaffar Kunial)
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Full details and tickets here.

Saturday 18th August: All The Hidden Truths Edinburgh launch!
(with Golden Hare Books!)
Customs House, Edinburgh
Full details and tickets here.

Sunday 19th August: Crime Debuts To Die For
(in conversation with Alan Parks)
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Full details and tickets here.

Thursday 23rd August: All The Hidden Truths Glasgow launch!
Waterstones Argyle St, Glasgow
Full details and tickets here.

Thursday 30th August: All The Hidden Truths goes to the Borders
Main Street Books, St Boswells
Full details and tickets here.

Thursday 6th September: That’s What She Said
Tribeca, Manchester
Full details and tickets here.

Saturday 15th September: Killer Debuts
Noirwich Crime Writing Festival
Full details and tickets here.

Tuesday 18th September: All The Hidden Truths goes to Linlithgow
Far From The Madding Crowd Books
Details here. Free entry!

Wednesday 19th September: All The Hidden Truths goes to Carlisle
Cakes & Ale (Bookcase Bookshop)
Full details and tickets here.

Saturday 22nd September: All The Hidden Truths
Wigtown Book Festival
Full details and tickets here.

Saturday 22nd September: Ready, Set, Write!
Wigtown Book Festival
Full details here: free for under 26s!

Sunday 23rd September: Crime in the Spotlight
Bloody Scotland
Full details and tickets here.

Lots more to come, so keep an eye out!

Meanwhile, you can pre-order All The Hidden Truths on Amazon, Hive, Book Depository, Audible, or by visiting your local bookshop and asking them to order a copy in for you (this would be the best option, by the way!). You can also leave a review on Amazon, NetGalley or GoodReads in order to earn my eternal gratitude. Happy reading!

Where is Claire? AUGUST MADNESS edition

Sunday, July 30th, 2017

The Flint & Pitch Revue #6
Photo by Chris Scott

August is almost upon us, and every Edinburgh resident knows what that means. MADNESS IS ABOUT TO DESCEND. But also gigs. Lots of them.

Listen Softly Edinburgh
Friday 11th August, 6pm – 8pm
Forest Cafe (Tollcross Junction)

Okay, I am really glad this one is the first event I get to put under your eyeballs, because I REALLY want it to go well! I AM MAKING ANOTHER FORAY INTO POETRY PROMOTING, friends, after a long hiatus (I must have forgotten how stressful it is again), and this is the first dipping-of-my-toes-into-the-water. I’m teaming up with the inimitable Dom Stevenson of Listen Softly London, to deliver a one-off LSL-style Edinburgh event for the Fringe. However, if all goes well I’m hoping to turn LSE into a semi-regular thing. So call this a pilot phase, if you will…
There’ll be poems from the brilliant Theresa Munoz, Colin McGuire and Laura Rae — one other feature TBC! You might get the odd poem out of Dom and I, too. AND, there are five open mic slots up for grabs, which YOU could read in if you email claire@onenightstanzas.com and ask me to put your name in the hat!
The Facebook event is here — please come along, bring friends, help me fill the Forest and convince me that becoming a promoter again is in fact a good idea…

She Grrrowls
Monday 14th August, 7.20pm
Black Market (venue 399)

“London’s favourite feminist arts night”, says the Facebook event, “bringing you a night of the best women in spoken word, mixed in with some music and comedy. There are new features every night and you can give us your best growl with the all-inclusive open mic!” I’ll be one of three feature readers at this — the others are Katie Pritchard and Beth Hunt. I’m also hoping to be sharing the stage with some pals as part of the open mic! Come along!

Political Poetry with Andy Jackson and WN Herbert
Tuesday 15th August, 12.30pm
Edinburgh International Book Festival, Bosco Theatre (George Street)

Andy and Bill are the brains behind some of the best anthologies of Scottish literature to happen lately: most recently, they edited New Boots and Pantisocracies, which started out as a daily blog and then became a fantastic book. I’m honoured to have been picked from among the contributors to read my contribution at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. This one’s ticketed but well worth the ticket price! And perfect for your midweek lunchtime…

Edinburgh, City of Poetry with Russell Jones and Claire Askew
Thursday 17th August, 12.30pm
Edinburgh International Book Festival, Bosco Theatre (George Street)

So, yaknow I helped the lovely Russell Jones to edit that wee book of Edinburgh poems and stories, Umbrellas of Edinburgh, recently? Well we’ve only gone and bagged ourselves a Book Festival event! Come along and hear Russell and I introduce work by the geniuses that are Harry Giles, Jane Yolen, Finola Scott and Marjorie Lotfi Gill. There’ll also be poems by Russell and I that have been specially commissioned for the event! This one’s also ticketed but you get six — SIX — writers for the price of one event!

Reshuffling The Pack with MacGillivray and Courtney Sina Meredith
Sunday 20th August, 5pm
Edinburgh International Book Festival, Writers’ Retreat (Charlotte Square)

I’m chairing this one, but I’m counting it as a gig because I am super excited and also SUPER NERVOUS about doing it! These two poets are very different, but both of them make mind-blowing work that is complex, experimental, political and brilliant. This one is well worth every one of the shiny pounds of its ticket price… come and ask smart questions in the Q&A, and I shall field them!

She Grrrowls
Monday 21st August, 7.20pm
Black Market (venue 399)

My second go at this fine feminist night… again, I will be one of three features! The other two are Katie Pritchard and Kathryn O’Driscoll. There’s also that open mic, if you fancy coming and sharing a stage with yours truly!

That’s What She Said
Tuesday 22nd August, 5.45pm
Bar Bados, Cowgate (venue 281)

I am really excited to be reading as a feature at this bloody amazing women’s spoken word night, run by none other than fellow #GrrrlCon organiser and all-round magical goddess Jane Bradley! I get to appear alongside Rosie Freakin’ Garland!!! And also my lovely lovely pal Sasha de Buyl — trust me, you do NOT want to miss a very rare appearance by Sasha! That’s What She Said is doing a whole run, and every single night looks absolutely golden. It’s at a great time of day as well… come along before you head to your evening shows!

Coffee and a Poem with Paul Muldoon
Thursday 24th August, 10am
Golden Hare Books, Stockbridge

YES, I AM CHAIRING AN EVENT WITH PAUL MULDOON. YES, THAT PAUL MULDOON. Obviously come along to this one because it’s PAUL FREAKING MULDOON. But also, come along and make supportive faces at me so I can at least attempt to form sentences in the presence of this man? The event is, after all, free — and you get coffee!

Please come along to these events, friends! But mainly come to this one. Seriously.