Submissions are open and THREE amazing events!
Submissions close on the 15th September. Writing for Children with Piu Dasgupta. Conversation and readings with Helen Ivory. Ralph Dartford and JP Seabright read for their latest collection.
Hey, it’s been a little while. You look great though, how’s things? How are we doing? Well we’re glad you asked, because we’ve been up to LOADS since we last spoke!
We’re really excited about lifting the lid on our next three events! Northern Gravy Live at Home continues to be an exciting, diverse, and vibrant opportunity to hear writers and industry insiders offer their tips, insights and know-how. Plus, it’s incredible value for money!
We opened our submissions for our next edition, which you should absolutely consider sending your work in for. We’d love to read it! You can find all the details on the link below. You have until the until 15th September 2024 to submit your work. Please read the guidance carefully, on average we have to decline around 20% of submissions because they do not follow the guidance. Don’t let yours be one of them.
How to Write a Children’s Page-Turner With Piu Dasgupta
Coming up next, on the 19th of September we’ve got How to Write a Children’s Page-Turner with Piu Dasgupta. In this workshop, Piu will discuss the genesis of her book Secrets of the Snakestone, and her strategies for writing a page-turner.
Piu DasGupta was born in Kolkata, India, and grew up in India and the UK before settling in Paris, France, where she now lives with her family. Her first children's book was a Middle-Grade adventure called Secrets of the Snakestone (published by Nosy Crow in March 2024). It was an official Children’s Bestseller, a Times Children’s Book of the Week, a Book of the Month in The Observer, Book of the Week in The Week Junior, Book of the Day with BookTrust, and was included in the Spring round-up of The New Statesman.
Thursday 19th September. 7pm.
Tickets: £5/£7
An Evening with Helen Ivory.
On the 25th of October, we’ve got An Evening with Helen Ivory. She’ll be having a right good chat with our own prince of Poetry Ralph Dartford and reading from her new collection ‘Constructing a Witch’.
Helen Ivory is a poet and visual artist who makes shadowboxes and collage. She was awarded a Cholmondeley Award by the Society of Authors in 2024. She edits the webzine Ink Sweat and Tears and teaches for the National Centre for Writing Academy. Her surrealist chapbook, Maps of the Abandoned City was published by SurVision in 2019. She has work translated into Polish, Ukrainian, Croatian, Spanish and Greek as part of the Versopolis European poetry platform. Her Wunderkammer: New and Selected Poems appeared from MadHat in the US last year. Constructing a Witch (October 2024) her sixth collection with Bloodaxe Books, is a PBS Winter Recommendation.
Friday 25th October. 7.30pm
Tickets: £5/£7
Ralph Dartford and JP Seabright. Readings and in Conversation.
Ralph Dartford’s new collection ‘House Anthems’ launches soon. To celebrate, he’ll be on conversation with JP Seabright, who will be reading from their own collection ‘White Clouds Over Purple.
Date: 14th November. 7.30pm
Tickets: £5/£7
Ralph Dartford hails from Basildon in Essex, and now lives in West Yorkshire, having got there via Australia, Barcelona, and Los Angeles. He was a founding member of influential spoken word collective ‘A Firm of Poets’, and his first pamphlet of poetry, ‘Cigarettes, Beer and Love’, was published by Ossett Observer Presents in 2013. His first collection, ‘Recovery Songs’, was published by Valley Press in 2019, and ‘Hidden Music’ followed in 2021.
JP Seabright (she/they) is a queer disabled writer living in London. They have four solo pamphlets published and four collaborations, encompassing poetry, prose and experimental work. Their first collection White Cloud Over Purple was published in 2024. They have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Forward Prize, and shortlisted (twice) for a Saboteur Award for Best Collaborative Work. More info at https://jpseabright.com
Half price Dartford!
In celebration of the launch of ‘House Anthems’, we’re running a sale on Ralph’s previous collections ‘Hidden Music’ and ‘Recovery Songs’. Don’t miss your chance to get familiar with a superb body of work by snapping these books up. You can find them in our shop (https://northerngravy.com/shop/)
That’s all for now, we’ve absolutely talked your ear off there. Time for a cuppa and a quiet sit down before we get cracking with all these amazing events. See you soon!
Nick, Jonny, Ralph.