UPCOMING EVENTS
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Edinburgh International Book Festival - Writing for Children: Diversity and Inclusion
Join A M Dassu, author of the award-winning book Boy, Everywhere and Fight Back and director of Inclusive Minds, Julie Farrell, author and co-founder of Inklusion, and Sally Polson, Editorial Director at Floris Books, for an enlightening conversation about the importance and challenges of writing inclusively. Chaired by debut author Yvonne Banham and Onie Tibbitt from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, our guest panel discusses the steps writers can take to increase diversity, inclusion and representation in writing books for children, avoiding common pitfalls and the role of sensitivity readers. Sunday 28th August, 5.30pm-6.30pm,
*ACCESS NOTE: The access for this event wasn't to the standard it should be, and when I raised this with the organisers, they were very keen to do what they could (the event couldn't be moved to a different venue), so the event will now be live-tweeted, where audience members can Tweet questions for the panel, and send in advance questions (email scotland@britishscbwi.org before 5pm on Saturday 27th August). There are ten free tickets for those for whom cost is a barrier (email supervisors@edbookfest.co.uk to request). There will be a BSL interpreter made available on request - please let EIBF know if you need one by contacting the festival directly (Email bsl@edbookfest.co.uk or phone 0345 373 5888 to request an interpreter). In future, the EIBF will refer to the Inklusion Guide to ensure everything is done to ensure the event is accessible when the event has a focus on accessibility and inclusion (and where possible for other events too). You can find further information about access on the festival access page. You can also contact the festival's dedicated Access Officer, if you have any questions. |
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Edinburgh International Book Festival - Celebrating Inclusion Frustrated by literature events not being made accessible, disabled writers Julie Farrell and Ever Dundas conceived the Inklusion Guide, a useful resource for event organisers. This event celebrating the launch of their guide is chaired by Sinéad Burke, disability activist and founder of Tilting the Lens. Farrell and Dundas come together with industry figures including Jenny Kumar (Literature Alliance Scotland) and Zaahida Nabagereka (Head of Social Impact at Penguin Random House UK). With a special performance reading from writer and poet Jeda Pearl. Thursday 25th August, 7pm-8.15pm, Live-streamed
Tickets go on sale 23 June: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/celebrating-inclusion |
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PAST EVENTS
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Huddersfield Literature Festival, Cultural Connections Conference - The 3 As of Digital Events: Accessibility, Audiences, Accounts
Julie Farrell & Ever Dundas, creators of the Inklusion Guide, and Lee Randall, author of Exploring the Post-Pandemic Landscape of Scottish Literary Festivals: Where Do We Go from Here? Chaired by HLF Festival Director Michelle Hodgson. Thursday 24th March, 12.50pm-2pm. Tickets. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 . |
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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. |
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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. |
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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/ |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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(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. |
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