There’s a lovely set of photos by Maria Spadafora from our Now Then! workshops from 2011 now available on Flickr. Now Then! is our creative community blog, building a snapshot of Morley through text, sound and image. We’re working with communities and individuals to create an archive of what Morley has been, what it is now and where it’s going in the future.
Now Then! A flickr set
Download our romantic novel Broken Shackles for kindle (or buy a paperback!)
We’re very excited to reveal that our romantic novel, Broken Shackles, inspired by Leeds and Mills & Boon, is now available to download as an ebook from Amazon.
You can also order a paperbook version via Lulu.
The saucy tale is set in Leeds and features an alpha male lead character called Nate Rothwell, a fictitious wealthy property developer from Bramhope, who falls for a young beautiful woman called Victoria Quartermain who works for a local youth theatre group.
The book was written collaboratively by 7 writers from Leeds and Bradford under the pseudonym Adele Morley during 2011.
The six women and one man, who barely knew each other at the start of the project, held a series of clandestine meetings to agree the main characters and plot – which is predominantly set in and around Leeds and West Yorkshire – before dividing up the ten chapters amongst themselves.
Win Signed Tatty Devine book!
The rather marvellous fashion blogger Elly Snare was our interviewer of choice for the Tatty Devine talk on Saturday. Elly managed to blag a signed copy of their new book How To Make Jewellery to give away to one lucky reader of her blog. Visit Elly’s blog to find out more about the event and how to win.
Our Secret Project Revealed – a romantic novel about Leeds!
Things have been getting quite hot and steamy in Leeds over the last few months in the name of romantic literature. We’ve been keeping our special secret writing project under wraps but now it’s time to reveal our festival exclusive – Broken Shackles, a new romantic novel, inspired by Leeds and written by a group of writers from Leeds and Bradford!
The six women and one man, who barely knew each other at the start of the project, held a series of clandestine meetings to agree the main characters and plot – which is predominantly set in and around Leeds and West Yorkshire – before dividing up the ten chapters amongst themselves.
Each chapter was then written in isolation, with the entire collaboration only coming together at the very end of the editing process.
The saucy tale is set in Leeds and features an alpha male lead character called Nate Rothwell, a fictitious wealthy property developer from Bramhope, who falls for a young beautiful woman called Victoria Quartermain who works for a local youth theatre group.
The novel was inspired by the writers’ love for Mills & Boon, and written in the style of a classic romance novel, with chance encounters, steamy love scenes, plenty of misunderstandings, and of course, a fairy tale happy ending.
The 50,000 word book will be available as a download and will be launched at our Mills & Boon celebration cabaret evening on Saturday 15th October.
Volunteer needed for Now Then! community writing project
We’re looking for a volunteer to work alongside writer Emma Adams to support the delivery of community workshops and associated blog Now Then! as part of this year’s Festival.
Are you interested in gaining a better understanding of how to develop and deliver community writing projects? You don’t have to be a writer yourself – perhaps you’re just interested in people and places.
Ideally you will be confident in using simple audio / video equipment (e.g. taking pictures and video, basic editing) and how to upload and format content online. For more information please take a look at the Now Then volunteer_job_description
Choosing Art to Take Away
On Saturday 30th July, four Morley households went along to Leeds Art Gallery to choose an artwork to take home for the Summer. The morning marked the start of our new project, Home Is Where the Art Is, that will culminate in an exhibition during the 2011 festival of photographs and text by photographer Paul Floyd Blake and poet Andrew McMillan based on the conversations they have with our project participants. So, how do you fit a couple of large oil paintings in a car? Check our flickr page for the answer to that, plus other photos from the morning.
Did you know that you can also borrow work from Leeds Art Gallery to display in your own home for a modest monthly fee? Visit the Picture Lending Scheme site for more details.
Now Then!
Now Then is a new web blog supported by Arts Council England, and aiming to build a snapshot of Morley through text, sound and image.
Writer Emma Adams will be working with various communities in Morley during the festival to help build an archive of what Morley has been, what it is now and where it’s going in the future.
Emma will be based in Morley’s Indoor Market on Friday 7 October from 12.30—3.30pm so if you are interested in finding out more about the project or telling your own stories of Morley then do come along to meet her.
You’ll also be able to contribute your own creative work – sound files, video, pictures and text – via the website www.nowthenmorley.co.uk in just a few weeks time.
Love Fashion? Interested in Blogging? Aged 15-18?
We’re looking for 8 young people to create news stories about Leeds Fashion and this year’s White Rose Fashion Competition as part of a new project we’re running with Breeze Leeds.
The project will see you working with a mentor (local fashion blogger Elly Snare) to create print, audio and/or video stories about Leeds fashion, including the White Rose design competition for young people. Your fashion stories will appear on the Breeze, White Rose and Morley Literature Festival websites, plus in the local media.
The project includes 3 free group workshops in which you’ll learn some of the journalistic skills needed to create great news stories: copy writing, finding and researching a story, editing, live reporting and audio/video skills. You’ll also get the chance to meet and talk to professional journalists and PR companies about your work. This is an ideal opportunity for budding bloggers or fashion journalists to get some real-life experience and learn about what it takes to create exciting, interesting stories about the world of fashion.
For more details on how to apply email info [@] morleyliteraturefestival.co.uk
Closing Date for applications: Extended to Friday 7th July
Festival dates for 2011 confirmed
The 2011 Morley Literature Festival will take place this year between Saturday 8th and Sunday 16th October 2011.
We’ll be announcing full programme details in the summer so do make sure to join our mailing list to ensure you’re kept informed.
Home Is Where the Art Is…
Imagine having a painting or print from an Art Gallery collection displayed in your own home for two months this summer – for free!
We’re looking for 6 Morley households to get involved in a great new project. If you’re selected, we’ll invite you to borrow a picture from a selection at Leeds Art Gallery on Saturday 30th July.
We’ll then ask photographer Paul Floyd Blake and poet Andrew MacMillan to visit you at home during August and September. Paul and Andrew will create a brand new exhibition for Morley Town Hall and Leeds City Art Gallery based on the photographs they take and conversations they have with you, your family and friends.
There’ll also be the chance for you to host ‘Tea with a Curator’ where one of the experts from Leeds Art Gallery will come to your home and talk to you and your invited guests about the picture you’ve chosen.
You’ll be invited to the VIP opening of the Exhibition on Saturday 8th October as part of the Morley Literature Festival. Take a look at the Home is flier for more details on how to get involved.