Literature Works

03/09/2026

This Friday at Exeter Phoenix: an evening of live spoken word, performance, facilitated dialogue and networking - produced by Connecting Dots, an Arts Council England-funded project turning local policy into poetry.

Led by poet, facilitator and House of Vox founder Jenniah “Senxe” Brown, whose background spans hip hop, grime, poetry and local government, the evening will translate Exeter’s own strategies and priorities into language people can feel.

Exeter Young City Laureate Graci Wakely will perform an original piece responding to the city, and the room will have space to respond, share and be heard.

Open to anyone interested in the arts, their city, and the decisions that shape both.

Find out more and register to attend:

A national project testing whether poetry can translate policy and help raise a new generation of civic leaders.

02/09/2026

Marking another important anniversary in the PAGE OF PLYMOUTH story - in theatre manager Philip Henslowe's diary entry for 2nd September 1599, he noted a further loan of six pounds to pay the writers in full ‘for a book called The Lamentable Tragedy of Page of Plymouth’. The now-lost play by Ben Jonson and Thomas Dekker has been a springboard for amazing National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported project that generated new stories about gender, justice and ordinary lives in Plymouth.

Alongside the Henslowe transcription, here's another selection of images from the project activities that took place in late 2025 and early 2026...just a tiny glimpse of what's to come next week.

There's also Abraham van Blyenberch's oil painting of the Page of Plymouth playwright Ben Jonson (circa 1617), courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

As we revealed earlier this month, we're now preparing to share the digital legacy for Page of Plymouth. A new website, launching very soon, will allow people to explore the project in new ways. We're gathering previously unseen visual material from the project and preparing new resources to help people engage with the history and her. We can't wait to share all of this with you.

Subscribe to our newsletter to hear when we launch the new Page of Plymouth website. 🔗 bit.ly/LitWnews

02/09/2026

Wow...check out everything lined up for this month at RWY Royal William Yard in Plymouth, as their new Read Write Yap festival - celebrating books, stories and the words that shape us - begins.

There's so much to do, whether you're a passionate bookworm, a curious browser, a family with young children or someone who just likes the idea of sitting somewhere beautiful with a good story.

🛥️ This Friday, Plymouth Laureate of Words R.C. Thomas will lead a creative writing workshop that will involve a Plymouth Boat Trips voyage onto the Sound! We're pleased that so many of can join us for this - some places left, so book soon and step aboard on Friday afternoon from 4pm to help us find a 🦀 A New Mythology for Plymouth Sound 🦀

26/08/2026

FROM OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR:

Europeana Writers' Room
🌏 September theme: Hemispheres
💻 ONLINE 🗓️ 9th September 2026
🕢 2-3pm BST

The Europeana Writers' Room is a monthly creative writing workshop run by the Europeana.eu Foundation. It uses illustrations and imagery from cultural heritage collections to inspire participants to write stories, poems, texts, reflections and more.

In September, our theme is 'Hemispheres'. We'll travel the hemispheres of the globe and those of the brain, with a light introduction to research on language processing and multilingualism, thanks to our guest Kate Copeland, who is curator-editor for The Ekphrastic Review, and runs workshops and open-mics for several writing networks.

We'll dive into warm-ups and free-writes prompted by art, poetry and song - and not just in English. We'll sense the words, feel the imagery and find out what happens once we step outside of the dictionary.

In October, we're looking into Black heritage as part of Black History Month. We'll be joined by Stevii Campbell from Seven Winds Network, an organisation that uses a range of traditional and digital storytelling techniques as a tools for activism and positive social change. Stevii will take us through a session on 'Black women: their presence in the archive, their absence from it, and the stories that have never been told.'

And in November, instead of concentrating on visual prompts, we're going to use sounds to inspire our writing. Music, nature, voices and the sounds that surround us. Where will they take you? What memories surface? How can we transform sounds into words and use them to enrich our writing?

Register now for free for any of the sessions: https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en/news/join-the-europeana-writers-room-monthly-creative-writing-workshops

Image credit: Open Minded, artwork of the brain, Sarah Grice, Wellcome Collection, CC BY

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Submit your own community events - anything linked to literature that's happening around the South West, or online events relevant to readers and writers here - at bit.ly/LitWevents

25/08/2026

This September, the RWY in Royal William Yard stands for something new: Read Write Yap – a brand-new literary festival celebrating books, stories and the words that shape us, spread across a whole month of events and activities at the Yard. The festival is built around three simple ideas: reading, writing and talking, in whatever form that takes.

There are several events featuring current Plymouth Laureate of Words R.C. Thomas Things, who has been busy as ever planning new ways to engage the city with creative writing.

🔗 More details and booking for all of these via royalwilliamyard.cm/readwriteyap

📆 Friday 4th Sept: A New Mythology for Plymouth Sound - collaborative, immersive writing workshop + boat trip!
📆 Monday 7th Sept: Yarns at the Yard: an evening of live spoken word at Steel Brew - top local writers + open mic slots.
📆 Saturday 26th Sept: Waves of Emotions - a playful poetry and art workshop @ Mills Bakery
📆 ALL MONTH - Hai Coo's Trail - all 20 short form poems from the Sound: Plymouth Poetry Festival installation, together in one place for the first time

Book now for these events (except Hai Coo) and do check out the rest of the programme for Read Write Yap, there's so much to do...Whether you're a passionate bookworm, a curious browser, a family with young children or someone who just likes the idea of sitting somewhere beautiful with a good story, there's something at Royal William Yard for you.

Plymouth Laureate of Words is a creative partnership between Literature Works, Plymouth Culture and The Box Plymouth. The Laureate represents their city in words, illuminating its life, culture and stories through a combination of creative writing commissions and public events. The locally based Laureate meets the Plymouth community to inspire and encourage the sharing of stories; reflecting the voices at the heart of the city.

19/08/2026

We're back with another Opportunities roundup. This month we're sharing a range of residencies (including some fantastic UNESCO City of Lit destinations and a brilliant new Cotswold-based project from Dialect - supporting rural writers) waiting for your application and the Sea For Yourself digital storytelling callouts from our friends at Plymouth Culture.

Take a look ➡️➡️➡️ and find more details of each on our opps page: bit.ly/litworksopps

Wwe update the Opportunities section of the website regularly with new posts, including residency callouts, writing competitions, mentoring schemes, funded places on retreats, and more. So go to bit.ly/litworksopps and bookmark the page.

19/08/2026

FROM OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR:

More author events hosted by The Bookery, Crediton, coming up during September and October…

Ian Mortimer – Through the Windows of an Ordinary House
📆 18th September 🕖 7pm
📍 The Bookery
Dr Ian Mortimer celebrates the publication of his remarkable new book Through the Windows of an Ordinary House: A History of England in conversation with Catherine Courtenay, Editor of Devon Life magazine.

Amy Jeffs – Arthur: A New Life
📆 14th September 🕕 6pm
📍 The Bookery
Bestselling author, artist and medievalist Amy Jeffs will be joined in conversation by founder of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman for what promises to be a rich and enthralling discussion exploring the deep roots of the Arthurian legend, where myth, history and folklore meet.

Ann Cleeves - The Dying Light
🗓️ 1st October 🕢 7pm
📍 Crediton Methodist Church
One of Britain’s most celebrated crime writers (and patron of The Bookery) Ann Cleeves OBE with a special pre-publication even tfor her new novel featuring Detective Matthew Venn, The Dying Light.

Chris Sperring & Ian Parsons - Celebrating the Wildlife & Landscapes of Britain
🗓️ 8th October 🕢 7pm
📍 The Bookery
One of Britain’s most celebrated crime writers (and patron of The Bookery) Ann Cleeves OBE with a special pre-publication event at Crediton Methodist Church to mark the launch of her new novel featuring Detective Matthew Venn, The Dying Light. Chaired by bestselling thriller writer C.M. Ewan.
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Submit your own community events - anything linked to literature that's happening around the South West, or online events relevant to readers and writers here - at bit.ly/LitWevents

17/08/2026

Ahoy! In case you missed the news last week, the popular writing workshops with Plymouth Laureate of Words continue next month, with an marine twist…🛥️

🦑 A New Mythology for Plymouth Sound 🪸
✍🏻 A writing workshop for all abilities, including a boat trip! Families welcome (aged 8+ suggested)
📆 Friday 4th September, 4-6.30pm
🎫 Tickets £5

Join Plymouth Laureate of Words, R.C. Thomas on a journey out on Plymouth Sound to explore mythologies, folktales and legends. Taking inspiration from the sea and the stories that have come before us, this collaborative and immersive workshop will see participants writing our very own tale, sharing with future generations our experiences of the creatures lurking deep in Plymouth’s waters in 2026.

Beginning onshore, you’ll be briefed and allocated tasks, before heading out on a boat around Plymouth Sound to collect all the evidence we’ll need to document our seafaring encounters. Back on shore, we’ll look over our findings and prepare to share them with the public.

This workshop will lead to a live event in 2027 in which our tale will be told. This part will be optional and will also be open to others joining us to tell our story.

Literature Works is pleased to collaborate on this workshop with Royal William Yard and Plymouth Boat Trips for the Read, Write and Yap Festival.

Meeting at the Royal William Yard Marina, the schedule will be:

📝 4pm - 4.45pm: Onshore workshop at RWY
🛥️ 4.45pm - 5.45pm: Boat Trip
📝 5.45pm - 6.30pm: Onshore workshop at RWY

Book here for just £5: https://online.plymouthboattrips.co.uk/trips/view/b5127e2a-0696-4594-94cf-9a959235418e?passengers=2

Plymouth Boat Trips Plymouth Culture R.C. Thomas Things Royal William Yard One Plymouth What's On Plymouth

13/08/2026

We've been pleased to have so much interest in this year's TLC Free Reads scheme so far - people spreading the word, and writers submitting their applications - and there's still several months left to apply, if you think you could benefit from the scheme.

TLC Free Reads is a fantastic way for writers on low incomes to get that all-important professional, constructive feedback on their work. We're proud to partner with the The Literary Consultancy each year to bring this opportunity to writers in South West England.

You can apply up until 7th December 2026 – learn more about what’s required and download an application form from the Literature Works website.

🔗 bit.ly/LWfreeread

12/08/2026

FROM OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR:

The Live Poetry Book Club with Keith Jarrett and Davina Quinlivan
📍Bookbag, Exeter
🗓️ 16th August 2026
🕓 3 - 4pm
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-live-poetry-book-club-with-keith-jarrett-and-davina-quinlivan-tickets-1995665573452

Part of The Live Poetry Book Club, curated by writer Rebecca Tantony and hosted by Davina Quinlivan at Bookbag, Exeter - a series of afternoon events celebrating global majority artists, with live performances + free books.

Keith Jarrett is a writer, performer, and educator from London, UK. He is the author of the poetry collection Selah (Burning Eye Books, 2017), the play Safest Spot in Town (2017), as well as the poetry pamphlet I Speak Home (Eyewear, 2015). He has performed at and coordinated poetry festivals in English and Spanish in the UK and abroad. Jarrett is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion and won Rio de Janeiro’s Literary Festival of the Urban Periphery (FLUPP) in 2014. His poetry show, Identity Mix-Up (2013), premiered and received 5 stars at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Jarrett teaches at NYU London, holds a PhD from Birkbeck College, and is a Lambda and Obsidian Fellow.

AUGUST 16th 3-4pm tickets are £5 with a free copy of his latest book

Concessions available, no questions asked, just reach out.

Children and babies welcome, but please be aware content won't be censored and may not be age appropriate.
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Submit your own community events - anything linked to literature that's happening around the South West - at bit.ly/LitWevents