Ordsall Hall Is On The Ball

Words By Kim Hutson

Browsing an old notepad recently I discovered a list I had made as a depressed data-inputting literature graduate. It was a list of things I would like to do:

-        Work in a library, museum or university

-        Go travelling

-        MA in Creative Writing (Ha!)

I applied for hundreds, if not thousands of jobs and just when I thought my soul might break, I landed a job with Salford Library Service working with toddlers as a Bookstart officer. Even though the job didn’t last very long, it was just what I needed: the exact opposite of the awful (but necessary) admin jobs I’d been doing. Through the world of children’s books I came to hear about the Manchester Children’s Book Festival in its first year. It sounded amazing – I signed up to volunteer immediately.

I enjoyed every minute of the festival. I can’t even really remember what my official roles were: a bit of welcoming, a bit of ushering, a bit of tidying but mainly I remember being in awe at hearing Carol Anne Duffy reading The Princess’ Blankets, being transfixed by Cathy Cassidy as she read from her books and taking to Sherry Ashworth in the green room about the MA in Writing for Children. I told her how much I had dreamed about it but how it was really just a pipe dream as I’d never be able to afford it. A conversation followed about spreading the cost of the fees which would no doubt be very dull to you but made a metaphorical light bulb ping on above my head. I could do it, I really could.

Three years on and I don’t know what I’d do without the support and motivation provided by my lovely group. We are all currently very excited to have stories being published (and beautifully illustrated) for the forthcoming Timelines anthology which will be launched at the John Rylands Library on Saturday 19^th October at the Manchester Literature Festival.

After my Bookstart job, I started working at Ordsall Hall, a historic house in Salford whose oldest parts date back to the 1360s. One of the main priorities of the Hall is to engage with the local community as well as visitors from further afield so as well as being open to the public as a museum 5 days a week we offer school learning sessions, children’s activities in the holidays and workshops of all kinds.

Ordsall Hall recently became a member of the Manchester Creative Learning Network and a partner for the MCBF. As a result of this we were recently able to link up with Archives+ to offer a ‘Creepy House’ day of events, its name taken from the theme of Manchester and Salford Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge. The Archives+ team offered a spooky craft activity and the Ordsall Hall team donned their Tudor costumes and did some creepy storytelling. The day was a huge success and we can’t wait to work in partnership again for MCBF 2014.

Twitter: @TheOrdsallGhost

Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrdsallHall 

Alumni Novel Goes Down a Storm

MMU Creative Writing graduate and author, Russell Smith, paid a visit to his alma mater and met with Humanity Hallows to discuss his debut novel, Oblivion Storm, as well as his time at University. 

Words by Jason Cooke

Today I have the pleasure of meeting local author and MMU Creative Writing graduate, Russell Smith. Russell paid Humanity Hallows a visit to discuss his time at university and his debut novel, Oblivion Storm.

I find Russell engrossed in a book at the new Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. We grab a coffee and make acquaintance. 

Russell studied his BA English and his MA in Creative Writing here at MMU. During his BA, Russell took a sabbatical year to work for then student magazine, PULP. He has since worked in the vehicle rental trade and drifted between jobs whilst working on Oblivion Storm. Russell is a busy man, currently writing a scenario for aid worker training as well as the sequel to his debut novel.  

I ask him about Oblivion Storm. “It’s kind of a ghost story, it’s kind of not”, says Russell. “It kind of deals with the un-dead.” Russell cooked up the origins for this novel after he graduated from MMU. There are two main protagonists, Rose and Jennifer. Rose awakens to find herself in hospital with no memory other than one; how she got there. Rose was viciously attacked at Bond Street station, before being flung under a train. If that wasn’t worrying enough, her assailant locates her at the hospital and Rose’s world is turned to chaos.

Jennifer, as Russell describes her, is 'kick ass'. She befriends Rose when the two realise they have extraordinary capabilities. Their first task is to escape Rose’s attacker, before being paid a visit by the spirit of Lady Iris Grenshall and becoming familiar with the intelligent, but dangerously curious, Dr. Kara Mellencourt.

When I ask what his inspiration for this story was, Russell replies, “I was fascinated by the chap they called the Piano Man, who was found dripping wet and wandering the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. He was mostly mute and the only thing they discovered was that he could play damn good piano!” It later turned out that the Piano Man was in fact a German national and was helped back to Bavaria by the authorities. Just how he wound up on the Isle of Sheppey remains a mystery, although there are theories that he fell from a Norwegian vessel that was in the area around the time he was found.

I ask Russell where Kara’s character came from, “Dr. Kara Mellencourt was my link to Manchester. She’s had a privileged upbringing and becomes one of the exposition characters. Kara’s obsessed with the supernatural.” Russell goes on to describe Rose and Jennifer as, “the miracles that Kara has been searching for, given her obsession”, adding that Kara now “has gold to work with.” Russell tells me that Kara’s character develops and grows from her academic role in book two.

We move on to Russell’s time at MMU. He reminisces about the time he spent as editor of the late PULP magazine. “I was finishing up my final year and I was elected editor of PULP. When I came in it was the 25^th anniversary and we decided to throw a party!” Russell says that Lemn Sissay was amongst the guests. “One of the editors was a friend of his and I wanted an interview for my first edition. He was more than happy to be interviewed for the anniversary issue!”

Russell tells me how he wound up on the MA Creative Writing course, “I was getting to the end of my time at PULP and I knew I was interested in having a book published, so I spoke to the then course leader, Michael Schmidt,” who convinced Russell to get on-board.

Russell talks about the group of friends he made, the majority of which he is still in touch with. He mentions the 'solid bond' that he had with them, helping him through his two years and explains that the course has become central to his life plans. “I absolutely loved the course”, Russell explains. “But, attending university isn't just about gaining a degree; it’s about going through doors and making the most of your time whilst you’re there. Even when I graduated you had to have that extra bit of flair.”

I find myself engrossed in Russell’s wise words and reflect on my time at MMU. My daydream is comically interrupted when Russell states, “Everyone takes something away from University, even if it is how to cook mince properly!”

Wise words indeed, and very true.

Oblivion Storm was released on the 10^th December last year and you can find it here. You can follow Russell on Facebook and Twitter and he also has a website: https://projectshadowlondon.wordpress.com/

Celebrating Young Writers' Talent

The Portico Young Writers' Competition: A celebration of writing talent in the North West.

Although you’ve probably passed it a dozen times without realising it’s there, the Portico library has sat on Mosley Street in Manchester for over two hundred years. And this week, something quite special was happening there.

For the past four years the Portico Library, with support from Manchester Metropolitan University, has run the Portico Young Writers Prize, a writing competition for 14-19 year olds across Greater Manchester. But this isn’t just a writing competition; it is a project in which entrants are selected by their schools and teachers (each school entering selects two ‘laureates’ from their most talented young writers), who are then mentored by students and alumni of MMU’s Writing School and undergraduate English and Creative Writing programmes.

Humanity Hallows has been invited down to attend the launch of this year’s competition, and find out a bit more about the prize.

Buzzed in through the door, up a few flights of steps and into the main gallery of the library, I was greeted by Richie, an MA Poetry student at MMU’s Writing School currently interning with the Portico. He administrates the prize, and took up his internship after being involved as a mentor in a previous year.

“The mentors are all at the back with Sherry,” he informs me. “We’re expecting the young writers in about half an hour.”

It’s hard to take in the Portico in one glance. If you can imagine the ‘classic’ image of a library, then the Portico certainly fits. The Gallery room is skirted with floor to ceiling bookshelves, each lined with crackling, leather-bound books. It is a perfect setting for an afternoon of writing workshops to kick start the competition.

I make my way to the back of the Gallery. Sherry sits with a group of mentors, talking them through the afternoon’s event. Sherry has been the Writer in Residence at the Portico for the past two years. Also a Creative Writing Lecturer at MMU and a published children’s author, she has overseen the project since its inception. Later, when I manage to grab her for a quick chat about the competition and the project, she explains the workings of the prize, and the mentor/mentee relationship that makes it such a unique competition.

“The Portico has always wanted to have a young person’s prize alongside their main adult prize. What makes this distinctive from other competitions for young people is that we are looking for excellence. We are looking for the best talent in young writers in Manchester.

Writing can be pretty scary for young people, as it can for anybody, so MMU provide each entrant to the Portico prize with a personal mentor, who is an MMU student who’s had experience of creative writing workshops and who are writers themselves, who they can contact for support to help make their writing the best it can be before submitting it for the competition.”

For the moment, however, she is finishing running over a few points before the young writers arrive. The student mentors all look eager to get started. For some, this is their second year mentoring a young writer, but for most this will be their first time.

I speak with Sophie, an English Literature student at MMU. “I would have jumped at the chance to get this sort of help when I was younger... the young writers are going to feel so supported with their work...”

“But as well for us as students we gain a different insight into the creative writing process...” Dan, studying English and American Literature adds. “We do writing workshops at Uni, but coming from the other side is interesting for us from a technical point of view...”

The mentees begin arriving shortly after that and take a seat under the grand white dome of the Gallery. Beneath the auspice though is a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Everyone is chatting, drinks and sandwiches are in ample supply, and as the Gallery begins to busy, there is a real sense of excitement in the air.

Emily Adams and Rachel Wood are lower sixth form students from Sir John Deans Sixth Form Centre. As hopeful writers, the competition and the mentoring offers a chance not only of exposure and a potential win, but of guidance with their writing.

“It’s one thing to write for coursework but it’s another to show people what you’ve written, and put it forward for judgement. It’s a great opportunity to get advice as well, and get feedback about our work from the mentors.”

It’s a sentiment shared by members of staff and teachers present: “It’s a really good platform for students to get mentored by young enthusiastic writers who can pass on their enthusiasm and their expertise in some way....” says Annabel Lloyd-Hughes, an English teacher from Manchester Grammar School for Girls. “The process is really interesting, and of course there’s the setting.”

For Mr Day, from Christly King High School in Preston, there’s a longer term goal in mind.

“It’s the start of something really,” he says, stood with his school’s selected Year 10 Laureates. “Once we’ve got this we can look at having students down here more. For our students here as well, it’s a relationship they start now, and they can carry this enthusiasm and this link throughout their GCSEs and into their A Levels.”

The event gets started. Sherry matches the mentors with the young writers, and begins the afternoon workshops. After today the young writers and their mentors will meet regularly at the Portico to work on their piece for the competition. They will be submitting their pieces over the summer. The winners, I’m told, will be announced in October.

I slip away from the hubbub and find Lynne Allen, the Chair of the Portico and chat with her about the library, and the wider context of this competition.

“This competition and this project means a great deal to us at the Portico, because many people have lived their lives here and don’t know about us. Our intention is to bring new audiences to the library and engage much more fully with young people of all ages, because they are future. Especially at this time when libraries are under pressure and closing all over the place, we feel it’s very important for us to engage with young people as fully as possible.”

And they are doing so hand in hand with MMU.

“It has to be said that this would not have happened without the support of MMU, the Writing School, English Department and the staff and students who’ve been involved over the last four years,” Lynne says to me.

As I leave to the chatter of workshop talk and the scribble of pens, I’m struck by how much work the Portico and MMU are doing to develop writing talent in the North West. It seems that the Portico, steeped in heritage and history, is very much looking to, and investing in, the future.

The Portico Adult Poetry and Fiction & Poetry Prize has been running for over 25 years, counting Anthony Burgess amongst its previous winners. For more information about the Portico, including its competitions and exhibitions, visit http://www.theportico.org.uk/

For more details of Manchester Metropolitan Universities Writing School and Undergraduate Creative Writing Programmes, visit: http://www2.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/the-manchester-writing-school/

May There Be Another One

MMU Creative Writing alumnus and acclaimed author, Stephen May, discusses his latest novel, Life! Death! Prizes! with Humanity Hallows.

Words by Neil Harrison.

Tragedy is useful. Tragedy sells. Hand-wringing politicians, casually fascinated daytime T.V. viewers and shit-stirring rags all regularly suckle at tragedy's teat. Stephen May's second novel, Life! Death! Prizes!, derives its title from that curious chunk of the misery-as-trade spectrum, the so-called ‘real life’ magazines.

“He said “I'm Sterile.” - Then Gave Me THREE BABIES!” - Bella

“Hacked and Drowned – By The Man She Adored!” - Chat

“Win a £100 Morrisons Voucher!” - Pick Me Up

Life!

Death!

Prizes!

Geddit?

The book's narrating character, nineteen-year-old Billy, acutely (and hilariously) describes this phenomenon as ‘trauma porn’. As Billy and his five year old brother find themselves at the centre of a real life story of their very own, the novel unravels into a witty, poignant and heart-wrenching story about a teenager attempting to cope with loss, new found responsibility and, well, being a teenager (think Salinger, post-Irvine Welsh), as well as an insightful and honest representation of small-town British culture. May says:

“I'm very interested in Britain, in British society. The majority of British people live in small towns and [share] the experiences that go along with that; everyone knowing each other, and each other's business. That doesn't seem to be reflected in a lot of literature ... hopefully some of the book's themes are recognisable to most people.”

“The thing about [Billy's] story is that it's very much about putting an ordinary person into an extraordinary situation and seeing how he reacts. It's about seeing how his actions affect what is happening to him, and to those around him ... and what will happen next. You need to have that narrative propulsion.”

Speaking to May, it is apparent that a lot of his own experiences have gone into the nineteen-year-old, 'ordinary' narrator of Life! Death! Prizes! The sense of dissonance, for instance, between Billy's unyieldingly protective love for his younger brother, Oscar, and the inevitable reckless irresponsibility of his teenage years is a constant element of the narrative. These features are beautifully weighted throughout. May explains, “I had a child when I was quite young. I was twenty one and I had this child whom I loved, but I was still growing up myself.”

As far as the validity of writing from the point of view of a nineteen-year-old is concerned, the writer has a simple defence prepared:

“I've been a nineteen-year-old. I still remember being nineteen, vividly! If I had spent a year as an airline pilot, then gone on to write a book about an airline pilot, no-one would bat an eyelid.”

Difficult to argue with. Especially as throughout the novel he executes the sardonic, subversive tone and wit of an intelligent teenager magnificently. In many ways this is key to the general tone of the book, which manages to be insightful about everyday British life in a refreshing way. There is no agenda prepared, no soapbox. The book occasionally deals with some serious, often disturbing (and disturbingly recognisable) themes in a subdued, matter-of-fact manner, which somehow enables them to pack more of an emotional punch. This is perhaps because the rest of the bulk of the story is laced with wry, darkly comic humour. A good example, and my own personal favourite among Billy's insights, being, ‘Social Workers are the goalkeepers of the public services - they are only ever remembered for their mistakes’.

Despite the acclaim Life! Death! Prizes! has received (‘Sharp and Funny’ - The Guardian, ‘Touching’ - Independent on Sunday), as well as the Costa Book Award nomination, which saw the book as one of only four shortlisted in 2012—and up against Hilary Mantel, it is clear the title of 'author' does not yet sit easily with May. This, he agrees, may be a defence against complacency, but argues:

“Writing, at the moment, is really just one of a number of things I consider to be 'what I do'. I suppose it is beginning to take a larger role, but still the idea of calling myself 'a writer' or 'an author', I'm not so sure about. Maybe I don't feel I have a substantial enough body of work built up as yet. At the same time, I get quite offended when people who have less experience of writing than I do, who maybe haven't been published, call themselves writers.”

Speaking of his body of work, May has recently finished work on his third novel under the title, Wake Up Happy Every Day. Explaining the progression of his writing up to this point, he says:

“My first novel [Tag], which was the result of the MMU [M.A. Creative Writing] course, was very much my 'punk rock' book. By the time I was writing Life! Death! Prizes!, I found I had a larger skill set to draw on, a few more colours on my palette, so to speak, and recently, writing the latest one, I've had even more colours. ... It is also about using them wisely though. I suppose there's a danger in the future of using too many colours."

Cue a long conversation about bands and artists that make poor albums by straying too far from their musical roots. May, it transpires, does not like Radiohead.

In spite of this glaring flaw in his personality, things seem to be going well at the moment. He has recently adapted Life! Death! Prizes! into a screenplay, following interest from the film industry. This process he claims to be glad to have done, despite it feeling like ‘operating on your own child’. May also says he would like to use the experience gained in writing his novels to return to writing plays, something which he did before gaining his Master's Degree, to good reviews.

If May continues with anything near the form he displays in Life! Death! Prizes! (and resists the lure of the dreaded avant-gardefourth album) he might, for once, have to be content with at least one of his job titles. After all, for a drama teacher he makes a bloody good writer, and he speaks with little fondness about previous vocational routes he has taken: "When I was a journalist ... I would [actually] hope to get the boring stories." He admits to holding off answering phone calls in case there was an 'exciting' story on the line. "I'd take ages to answer, hoping someone else would pick up [and get] the bank robberies. My heart just wasn't in it." Also, describing an "unhappy stint" working as a writer on an ITV “continuing drama,” he says it was so bad, “it was the only job I've ever just walked away from, with nothing to fall back on.”

It was during this unhappy period of writing for television, however, that the inspiration for Life! Death! Prizes! was to occur, as May explains:

“I was going home one night, at the end of the day, and someone tried to mug me. ... I had a case with a laptop in and this guy tried to snatch it, but I managed to fight him off—it wasn't heroic or anything, I just thought, No, you're not having this. It was only later that I thought how stupid it was to have fought back, he could have had a knife or anything! He could have killed me, and for what? Just a bunch of Emmerdale scripts!”

Life! Death! Prizes! is available now, published by Bloomsbury. For more information visit sdmay.com

Neil Harrison is studying Social History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an aspiring journalist and a terrible guitar player. Read his blog LooseRiver and follow him on Twitter @LooseRiver

All Nodding for 'Nod'.

Sleepless in the Shortlist: MMU Alumnus, Adrian Barnes, nominated for Arthur C. Clarke Award

Words by Neil Harrison

A graduate of an online Master's Degree course run by MMU has been nominated for a prestigious science fiction literary award. Adrian Barnes, who received an MA in Creative Writing, has seen his debut novel, Nod, shortlisted for the 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award, an annual British event which seeks out the best science fiction novel of the year.

The Canadian based writer, who was born in Blackpool but moved to Canada when he was five years old, is in Britain for only a short time in order to publicise the novel, ahead of attending the awards ceremony on May 1^st. Humanity Hallows caught up with him in West Yorkshire, where his publishing company, Bluemoose Books, is based.

Asked whether he was a writer before receiving his Master's Degree in 2008, Adrian laughs,

"Not in the 'published, having-a-book-out kind of way!' I've always written, and always been an avid reader but the reason I took the [MA] course was to become a teacher. I needed that qualification in order to do that and in Canada, with a family and other commitments, it can be quite difficult to do, so the online course made sense."

As part of the MA, students are required to have completed a novel and in Adrian's case, that novel was Nod. When asked about his approach to writing, the author, who clearly has more than one string to his bow--being a teacher of creative writing and also the proprietor of the Rossland Telegraph media outlet-- says,

"I write fairly quickly, I can have [a first draft] written in around three weeks ... I'm bragging a little there ... but I re-write forever."

The novel itself is an exploration of the consequences of lack of sleep on a mass scale. As well as the award nomination, it has gone on to receive critical acclaim, with The Guardiandescribing the book as "outstanding." The premise seems inspired in its simplicity, so just how did it occur to him?

Adrian Barnes

"I often have difficulty sleeping myself, right at the moment, for instance, due to the travelling. I think what interests me most of all is the way that tiredness, loss of sleep, can begin to affect the strongest relationships, even in a family setting. There's a very thin veneer there when you begin to think about it; how would society continue to function? They say you can only survive for six days without sleep before going mad."

Where, then, does Nod sit within the science fiction genre? Adrian largely dismisses the notion that the book is his journey down the much wandered 'zombie' path. It is, however, an apocalyptic scenario set “just a little into the future," says the writer.

"I would describe the book as being in that sub-genre of science fiction, speculative fiction. It's very much a ‘what would happen if...’ kind of scenario, in much the same way that Cormack McCarthy's The Road is, for instance."

Concurrent to the theme of insomnia, there is an etymological aspect to the book, hinted at in the title itself. The Land of Nod, whilstbeing an almost comforting notion for most who aspire to drift off to it, is in actual fact the biblical place of exiled torment for Cain—banished for the crime of slaying his brother Abel—which is described in The Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Not such a comforting notion. Adrian says,

"I am fascinated with medieval words and their meanings, which have often come to take on different forms through the centuries. The principle character is an etymologist and the dual aspects of certain words, certain notions, begin to take shape and bear relevance as the events of the story unfold."

As well as promoting Nod, Adrian is currently working on other projects; both fiction and non-fiction, and there has been interest from movie companies in the United States, eager to see his debut novel adapted for the big screen. Clearly, Adrian Barnes is a name to look out for in the future.

The 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award winner is announced on May 1^st.

Nod is available now, published by Bluemoose Books.

Neil Harrison is studying Social History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an aspiring journalist and a terrible guitar player. Read his blog LooseRiver and follow him on Twitter @LooseRiver