Get ready for the launch!

We have spent the last 14 months working on it, and it's finally here - it's nearly time to launch Blakenhall Writers Anthology!

It all started at the end of 2013 when Roma, Kuli and Cherry decided to create an anthology of member's work to showcase the talents of our group, and to get people from the community we sit in involved in writing and showing off their work. With the group's help we settled on a theme of 'identity' to reflect all facets of ourselves, and we were off!

In order to fund this project, an application was made to Arts Council England, who reviewed our case and kindly granted us some money to progress the anthology. This meant the project was run tightly and in accordance with ACE guidance, as we will be reporting back to them on the successes of our anthology.

2014 comprised workshops geared towards creation of content of our anthology - some run by group members, and some run by local writers who provided us with different viewpoints on 'identity', and armed us with different tools to enable us to write varied pieces. We invited guests to attend our workshops too.

Our members (and guests!) beavered away creating pieces which reflected the theme of 'identity'. Roma, Kuli and Cherry shortlisted, edited, proofread and compiled the pieces into the final anthology, as well as working with a local designer in the background to create a stunning cover.

So much hard work has gone into the creation of this booklet, from workshops run by local writers, to busy writers creating stunning pieces, and hours of editing and proofreading. Now we're gearing up to launch in several places.

Our main launch will be held during our March session, on 12th March, 11:00 - 13:00 at the Old School in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton. We will be providing a buffet lunch beforehand, followed by performances from our contributors.

We have also been invited to launch our anthology at City Voices, on 12th April, 19:30 - 21:00 at the Lych Gate Tavern in Wolverhampton city centre. We will be performing alongside other writers on the night (£3 entry).

Some of our members are also attending a poetry reading event at Walsall Arboretum on 13th March, 14:00 - 16:00, where they will be promoting and reading from the anthology.

Please feel free to join us to celebrate the hard work of our contributors. We hope to see you at one or more of these events.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Blakenhall Writers during the creation of this anthology.

Wild Bytes Café and the Black Country Writers Project

Recently, we learned that local community group Our Own Future have launched a project to promote local writers and give them a platform to share their work with a wider audience. Black Country Writers Project is accepting submissions of poetry and prose to display in Wild Bytes Café in Darlington St, Wolverhampton, for customers to enjoy while relaxing at the café.  

Three of our members - Roma, Kuli and Cherry – submitted some work which was accepted to be displayed at the café. Subsequently, they were invited to perform their work at the launch event for the project, which was held on the same day as the official launch of Wild Bytes Café.

On 14^th Feb, after the Blakenhall Writers session, they went along to share work on the theme of ‘love’ – very appropriate for the date! They read their work alongside two esteemed local poets - Jane Seabourne and Emma Purshouse - who had also submitted work to the project. Some of the audience had brought their work along too and joined in with the reading, while our member Amarjit came along to support. 

The café was busy and bustling, and the audience were enthusiastic about the work which was shared. It was a lovely environment and all three of our members enjoyed sharing their work and seeing their work on display.  

The project is ongoing, so if you have some work you want to share to help take your writing to the next level, why not check out their requirements and submit to ourownfuture@gmail.com?

You can read more about the launch event on Our Own Future's blog, where you can see our members performing.