events

PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Industry Insider - The Big Issues

This year the Society of Authors post-AGM Industry Insider session focusses on the Big Issues. we'll be discussing inclusivity, diversity, and representation. SoA’s CEO, Nicola Solomon, will be in conversation with Nels Abbey (Black Writers’ Guild), Carol Russell (Inc Arts), Ever Dundas or Julie Farrell (Inklusion), and Bobby Nayyar (Spread the Word). This keynote panel discussion will take place on Zoom and follows the SoA’s 2021 AGM (5-6pm). We will be discussing the state of the industry, the challenges ahead and practical steps we can take to make a difference.
The SoA 2021 AGM takes place on Thursday 18 November from 5pm. It is an SoA member-only event, please register here.

Putting on a Show: How to Find an Audience at Future Book - The Bookseller's Annual Publishing Conference

FutureBook will return with an in-person event in 2021, combined with a live-stream for attendees who wish to watch the sessions remotely. The theme of this year is RESET, as we emerge from lockdown with an unprecedented chance to challenge old assumptions and processes and create real change for a more relevant and resilient industry.
19th November at 155 Bishopsgate.

Inklusion will be speaking at 2.55pm-3.40pm. Last year's online event attracted 1,530 delegates, from more than 20 countries, and featured more than 100 speakers. Online-only delegates will be able to watch live and on catch-up.
Tickets.

Aurora Prize for Writing 2021 by Writing East Midlands - Prize Giving Ceremony

A celebration event and prize giving ceremony for the Aurora Prize for Writing 2021, for which my poems 'Ripples of Change' and 'Freedom' have been shortlisted. I'll be reading 'Ripples of Change'.
The esteemed judges Debris Stevenson for poetry, and Jon McGregor for short-fiction, will introduce the prize winning work in each genre, and read a short piece of their own.
The event will take place on Thursday 28th October, beginning at 7:30pm and lasting for around an hour and a half.
The event is free, but you will need to register .

Screen Share - Digital Skills Training: The Poetry Society

The Poetry Society is pleased to host Screen Share: two days of training sessions to develop digital skills. Sessions will focus on online event planning and accessibility, digital book launches, building social media audience, crowdfunding and subscription schemes, podcasting, livestreaming and digital archiving – with panellists, experts and speakers from across all branches of the literature sector.
Wednesday 14th July, 11-11.50am, FREE
All sessions will be AI captioned and relevant documents screen-shared whenever possible. As many sessions as possible will be BSL interpreted. A selection of edited notes, transcripts, subtitled videos and presentations will be freely available afterwards.

Poetry, LGBTQ+ and Disability: Queen Margaret University Creative Intersectional Week

From June 7th to June 11th, Queen Margaret University’s LGBT+ Charter and LGBT+ Society hosting a variety of events honouring Pride Week 2021. These events aim to discuss and celebrate intersectionality within the LGBT+ community. Focusing on the specific intersection between queer and disabled identities, this event features poetry readings from three poets who identify as disabled and members of the LGBT+ community, showcasing their work and inviting considerations of what it means to be a queer and disabled artist today.
Wednesday 09 June, 7-10pm
Tickets are free.

SYP Scotland Conference 2021: Ctrl Alt Refresh, 26 March

2020 saw continued debates about accessibility and inclusion within the publishing world. Sharing the Password asked how publishing can do better to represent these voices, and what better representation means to the industry as a whole. I spoke on a panel with Nels Abbey, Mel Ramdarshan Bold, Anamik Saha and James Spackman.
https://www.sypconference.co.uk/

Not Going Back To Normal - A Disabled Artists Manifesto Launch

Not Going Back to Normal is a provocation about how things are and an idea for how things could be. This gallery manifesto gathers disabled artists in their diversity, rage, and imagination to call out the institutional ableism in the Scottish arts and picture a future in which disabled artists are central. I was humbled to read my poem, IMAGINE, at the launch.

Friday Forum #8 - Visual Arts Scotland and Creative Informatics

Friday Forum is an online sharing event for creatives, where they can showcase snippets of their work, give virtual tours around their current studio spaces, talk about a particular topic or theme, or provide insights into their creative practice or career.

Disability in the Arts: Smashing Stigma, Creating Access and Using Your Voice - YWCA

This webinar for the Young Women's Movement in Scotland (YWCA) will look at how society views disability and how we can use our voices to create access and equality for disabled people.

WomenBeing Talks:

I was invited to talk about the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of disabled women, along with Dr. Catriona Stewart, Founder of the Scottish Women's Autism Network (SWAN); for WomenBeing Magazine's Online Talk series. WomenBeing Magazine is a magazine of international feminist perspectives.

Edinburgh City of Literature Spotlight:

I was invited to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on my life as a disabled woman along with author, Ever Dundas, for the Edinburgh City of Literature Spotlight feature, which aims to support artists during the pandemic.

Breaking the Mould: Creating Disabled and Low-Income Access to Publishing - Paisley Book Festival

I was delighted to bring together award-winning author Ever Dundas with Stuart White, founder of Write Mentor; Briana Pegado, director of Creative Edinburgh; and Lynsey Rogers, Writing Communities Coordinator at the Scottish Book Trust, in a discussion about diversity in publishing – and what positive changes are being made to open the gates - for Paisley Book Festival's inaugural festival.

(Re)Presenting Cover Girls - International Magazine Centre:

I was invited to talk on a panel about representation of diversity in women's magazines. The talk followed a presentation by Dr Gabrielle Bittelbrun and Dr Ivana Ebel on their research into representation of minorities over 5 years and on more than 550 magazine covers. I joined Arusa Quereshi, editor of The List, Jamie Jefferson, Co-Founder and CCO at Equator, Avril Gray, Head of Publishing at Edinburgh Napier University, and Dr Margaret Hughes, from the University of the West of Scotland.