Tag: Writing the Times

Stories and Scran

Playing my part in Edinburgh Book Festival

TUESDAY 17th AUGUST: 8.30 – 9:30pm

Join us for an evening of food and entertainment, hosted by our Citizen Writers in Residence Eleanor Thom and Leyla Josephine.

With live readings, audio recordings and a film created by Citizen participants, our community meal will showcase the insightful and thoughtful work of local people from North Edinburgh and Musselburgh.

This live event is part of Citizen, our long-term creative programme working in partnership with organisations across Edinburgh, offering local people a platform to explore identity, connection, place and everything it means to live in our world right now.

Following on from the success of last year’s virtual event, Stories and Scran returns for a second helping.

This community meal, enjoyed by participants in our Citizen programme, will take place in Edinburgh College of Art, with dinner provided by The Scran Academy.

The meal will be followed by a showcase of live readings, audio stories and short films in a celebration of community spirit. 

Find out more at on citizen@edbookfest.co.uk.

TALES FROM THE DOOCOT

During lockdown I took the opportunity to try something new and signed up to North Edinburgh Arts’ Writing the Times creative writing group.

I so enjoyed the experience of meeting up with others – fair enough it was still Zoom, but at least it seemed more like normal life! – that I went on to take part in the Citizen creative writing project this Spring (above).

We were asked to choose and write about a local building, and, living in Drylaw, I chose The Doocot.

While I would never describe the Doocot as a place of worship, pubs, like churches, are more about the people in them than the actual buildings themselves, so I wrote a series of short stories about unforgettable characters – real, imagined and some a bit of both – who made the Doocot such a popular place in it’s heyday.

I will be reading a Doocot tale at the Stories and Scran celebration tomorrow evening. The event is fully subscribed, but Edinburgh International Book Festival will be streaming it live.

Cheers!

Writing the Times: a unique gift from North Edinburgh

Looking for that truly special Christmas gift? Your search may be over!

Writing the Times is an anthology created by local people during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over six weeks when the pandemic was at it’s height, the North Edinburgh Arts Writers worked with editor Stephanie Knight through Zoom sessions and emails to create stories based on the themes Fables for the Future, Stories to be Shared and Tales to be Told

Hopeful, reflective, poignant and comical, the writers share their thoughts recorded during these unprecedented times.

Something to look back on when the pandemic becomes a distant memory, Writing the Times would make a unique Christmas gift for friends and family.

Writing the Times is now available at North Edinburgh Arts, priced only £5. For further information email: admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

Writing the Times: Local writers reflect life under lockdown

North Edinburgh Arts is delighted to be able to share ‘Writing the Times’, new work by Alice Musumba Purves, David Francis, David Pickering, Dawn Pearce, Ferdinand McKay, Mary Graham, Rhona Cameron, Sandra Newby, Sasha Noel, Tracey Anderson.

Writing the Times 2020 DOWNLOAD

Stephanie Knight, who led the Writing the Times project, explained: “‘Writing the Times has been a six week project, with weekly Zoom meetings and continuous emails.

“During the Zoom meetings, we discussed other people’s writing that inspired us, we read our drafts, we considered frameworks, layout, quotes, prologues and epilogues, we discussed how our readers might respond to our writing.

“The project was open to participants and artists who have worked with North Edinburgh Arts Theatre project, and to Yoga Students at North Edinburgh Arts. People self-selected, and this publication demonstrates the commitment and dedication everyone has given to Writing the Times.

“This is published at the time when we would have been witnessing Edinburgh swing into full Festival flourish. Now we plan, reflect and then plan again for another time.”

A limited edition of print copies of Writing the Times will be available in the autumn, and the writers hope to record their stories in the NEA studio to share their work as spoken word – keep an eye on North Edinburgh Arts Facebook page for updates.

writing-the-times-2020Download

The Writing the Times project was supported by a Wellbeing Grant from the COVID-19 SUPPORTING COMMMUNITIES FUND administered by EVOC.