A big shout out to Jane Bradley, Claire Askew & Kerry Ryan - organisers of GrrrlCon 2017 - for inviting me to present a workshop on ‘Dealing With The Internal Critic’ as well as contribute to the ‘Paths to Publication’ panel!
And wow – such wonderful feedback from workshop participants:
“Have to say Rosie Garland has been the shining light of my Grrrl Con experience so far. Fab workshop!!”
“My first workshop was with on dealing with your inner critic, & was one of the best things I've ever been part of.”
“Worker Bees Manchester: Our new Whatsapp group name inspired by the amazing Rosie Garland is #fuckoffmavis”
“Magic atmosphere, easy, open and collaborative despite some tough subject matter. Cannot thank you enough, Rosie Garland”
“Really tough workshop but so good and so valid and needed”
Here’s to GrrrlCon 2018!
http://grrrlcon.com/
Fri 16th, Sat 17th and Sun 18th June 2017
presented by For Books’ Sake and Write Like a Grrrl
Date: Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th June 2017
Venue: We will be using two venues in the city centre of Manchester: Mad Lab and Ziferblat. We’ll send more details about which events are at which venues to our attendees in due course.
Timings: Arrival from 9.30am for a 10am start on each day. Friday and Saturday will finish by 6pm, Sunday by 4.30pm.
Over three days, we’ll champion writing by women and celebrate the women writers we love with a diverse, amazing programme of practical talks, workshops and advice.
Aimed at emerging women writers of all levels, Grrrl Con – presented by Write Like a Grrrl and For Books’ Sake – will provide attendees with the opportunity to connect and collaborate with a nationwide community, while delivering all the essential tools, insight and inspiration to revolutionise your writing craft and confidence.
THE PROGRAMME
Grrrl Con will combine exciting, inspirational talks from established women writers and literary influencers with practical, interactive workshops aimed at equipping attendees with new tools, insights and approaches.
Each day will feature talks from the UK’s most innovative and original women writers, along with a range of workshops, with attendees able to tailor their individual itineraries to best suit their own personal writing aims and ambitions. There will be optional evening activities throughout the weekend.
INCLUDING
Practical interactive workshop from…
Rosie Garland: “One of the country’s finest performance poets” (Apples & Snakes), and the author of three novels (The Palace of Curiosities, 2013; Vixen, 2014; and The Night Brother, forthcoming in 2017), and six solo poetry collections. She has has received the DaDa Award for Performance Artist of the Year, the Diva Award for Solo Performer, and a Poetry Award from the People’s Café, New York.
Cost: A weekend ticket costs £120. There’s also an option to sponsor a place for a grrrl who would otherwise be unable to attend.
For Books’ Sake and Write Like a Grrrl operate on a non-profit basis, and all revenue from ticket sales will be used to bring you the best speakers and workshop facilitators in the UK.
Your ticket fees will go directly to covering costs and ensuring fair payment for the women writers involved, ensuring the programme for the weekender is as powerful, practical and inspirational as possible.
I’m honoured – my essay ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ is included in this wonderful collection! (Nine Arches Press, ed Ian Humphreys)
‘What motivates poets in the 21st century? How do they find their voice? What themes and subject matters inspire them? How do they cope with set-backs and deal with success? What keeps them writing?
In Why I Write Poetry twenty-five contemporary poets reflect with insight, wit and wisdom on the writing life, each offering their distinctive take on what inspires and spurs them on to write poetry. Also - individual writing prompts to help you create your own new poetry.’
https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/why-i-write-poetry.html
A wonderful way to end a difficult year – ‘What Girls Do in the Dark’ selected by Pippa Hennessy as a Poetry Society Best Book of the Year!
https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poetry-news-best-books-of-the-year/
“Finally, Rosie Garland’s What Girls Do in the Dark (Nine Arches) – Garland is a true gothic polymath. This is reflected in her poetry, which roams through astrophysics, war zones, quantum theory, human biology, history, relationships and non-relationships, and more. The poems in What Girls Do in the Dark take this variety to extremes, yet somehow manage to bring concrete details and abstract ideas from all these areas together into a coherent, explosive, dazzling, gorgeous whole.”
– Pippa Hennessy is a bookseller at Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham.
Thank you Henry Normal for selecting What Girls Do in the Dark for Northern Soul’s Best Reads of 2021!
Books: Northern Soul’s Best Reads of 2021
Henry Normal, poet and writer
What Girls do in the Dark (Nine Arches Press) by Rosie Garland is my favourite poetry book of the year. Garland was a singer in the 1980s post-punk/goth band The March Violets. More recently, she’s established herself as a poet and novelist with several titles. I had the honour to read with her in Birmingham a while back, so when her new collection was released I was already interested. From the first poem I was captivated. She has a way of keeping one foot tentatively in the world we know with the other searching for a foothold in an unseen or imaginary world. I was inspired and transported by these poems in a way I’ve not experienced since first getting excited by the possibilities of poetry in my teens. I suspect it would not be good form to choose one of my poetry books for this feature but even if it was, I would choose Garland’s What Girls do in the Dark.
https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/books-northern-souls-best-reads-of-2021/
Thank you Vive le Rock magazine, for the great feature on The March Violets!
https://vivelerock.net/product/vive-le-rock-84-motorhead-girlschool-preorder/
Well, look at what happened on Record Store Day UK on July 17th 2021!
The March Violets ‘Big Soul Kiss’ - all the 1980s BBC Sessions in one place.
And PURPLE vinyl too #RSD21 #rsddrops
UPDATE – the entire pressing sold out in 24 hours. Jungle Records are releasing a CD version in 2022… plus more releases planned. Watch this space!
https://www.facebook.com/JungleRecords/