8.10.2017 - Polari Salon at Birmingham Lit Fest
Polari at Birmingham Lit Fest
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Centenary Square,
Broad Street,
Birmingham, B1 2EP
8 October at 19:00–21:00
Tickets: £8 / £6.40 concs
Festival Pass: Free
Polari returns to Birmingham as part of Birmingham Lit Fest and our Tenth Birthday Tour, supported by Arts Council England.
Hosted by Paul Burston with Rosie Garland, Scott Campbell, Laura Wake, Karen Mcleod and more.
Polari has come a long way from its humble beginnings above a Soho pub. Now celebrating its 10th year, the award-winning LGBT literary movement calls London’s Southbank Centre its home and tours regularly.
Tonight’s show is part of the salon’s tenth anniversary tour, funded by Arts Council England. Curated and hosted by author Paul Burston with guests Scott Campbell, Rosie Garland, Karen McLeod, Gerry Potter and Laura Wake.
In association with SHOUT festival.
https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/event/polari-literary-salon/
2.10.2017 - FLIM NITE, Manchester
Monday October 2nd
FLIM NITE
The Three Minute Theatre,
Afflecks Palace,
35-39, Oldham Street,
Northern Quarter,
Manchester M1 1JG
Doors @ 7.30pm
Acts @ 8.00pm
£2 suggested donation
What would 'The Thing' look like distorted by poets, comedians, and musicians?
With guests including Rosie Garland
FLIM NITE is a monthly performance event based at Three Minute Theatre in Manchester's Northern Quarter. At no point do we show the film in question!
Each of our performers has been given a chunk of 'The Thing' to turn into something new. Come and watch as our acts transform an action-packed blockbuster into something unrecognisable for your viewing pleasure.
We will not be showing a movie. We will be making a flim.
There are a limited number of open mic slots available! Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a slot. Remember it's flim as in FLIM and nite as in NITE. Got it? Slots are three minutes long and material must be ''The Thing' -related.
25.9.2017 - Below Stairs, Blacks Club, London
Below Stairs at Blacks Club
Blacks Club,
67 Dean St,
Soho
London, W1D 4QH
7.30-10.30pm
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets are free but in order to secure a place, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Special Guest - ROSIE GARLAND
Tagged ‘literary hero’ by The Skinny, Rosie Garland is an award-winning poet, novelist and singer. She started out in spoken word, garnering praise from Apples and Snakes as ‘one of the country’s finest performance poets’. She is the author of Vixen, a Green Carnation Prize nominee. Debut novel, The Palace of Curiosities, was nominated for both The Desmond Elliott and the Polari First Book Prize. Her latest novel The Night Brother is out now from Borough Press and her most recent poetry collection, As In Judy, is out with Flapjack Press.
MICHELLE MADSEN
Michelle Madsen is one of the UK's best known performance poets. She is a regular at Glastonbury, Latitude and the Edinburgh Festival and has performed her poetry on four continents. She is the host and creator of the world's only poetry panel game, I'm Sorry I Haven't Haiku and writes as a journalist for Private Eye and the Independent. Michelle's debut collection Alternative Beach Sports is published by Burning Eye books and she is developing a solo show called What Goes Up which is about flight, falling and the end of the world with support from the Battersea Arts Centre and the Nuffield Theatre, as well as a clowning and storytelling show, Tales from a Satellite City with Elizabeth Margereson.
Your Host – Sophia Blackwell
27.8.2017 - Edinburgh International Book Festival & Fringe!
Edinburgh Book Festival & Fringe 2017
I’m very excited to announce my debut appearance at Edinburgh International Book Festival 2017! The event is ‘Fluid Love’ (with the lovely Jess Richards) on Sunday 27th August.
And that’s not all – I’m headlining at ‘That’s What She Said’ (Bar Bados, 22.8.2017 – voted Top Ten LGBT shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017 by Vada Magazine)
She Grrrowls (Black Market, 23.8.2017)
Hammer & Tongue (Banshee Labyrinth, 25.8.2017)
AND
The Freak Circus Poetry Bordello (Woodland Creatures, 10.8.2017)
http://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/arts/top-12-lgbt-shows-edinburgh-fringe-2017
Please check my Gig Page for more details…
2.9.2017 - Black Rose Ball book launch, York
The Black Rose Ball 2017
Saturday 2nd September
Rosie Garland book launch and reading
The Gothic Café,
De Grey Rooms,
St. Leonards Place,
York YO1 7HD
2pm-3pm
£4 advance, £5 on the door
Special Black Rose Ball event.
Come and meet Rosie Garland – singer with the legendary March Violets - and hear her read from her latest book 'The Night Brother'!
She will also be more than happy to answer any questions regarding her work and sign her books.
Book your ticket now via our ticket page.
1.9.2017 - Great Weather for MEDIA, Manchester
The Other Side of Violet
Friday 1st September
Three Minute Theatre
Affleck’s Arcade
Affleck’s Palace,
35-39, Oldham Street,
Manchester M1 1JG
7pm-9pm
£5 entry on door
The Other Side of Violet
Spoken word extravaganza
Celebrate the publication of great weather for MEDIA's latest anthology, The Other Side of Violet, with an astounding evening of spoken word from contributors, special guests, plus an open mic to show off your poetic skills to a New York indie press that loves new writers.
Featured Performers: Rosie Garland, Lew Kelly and Genevieve L Walsh
Host: Jane Ormerod, Editor of great weather for MEDIA
Plus open mic
great weather for MEDIA is based in New York City and publishes fearless poetry and prose from writers across the world. Submissions for the next anthology open October 15th so this is the perfect opportunity to impress on the open mic, meet editors and learn more. www.greatweatherformedia.com
27.8.2017 - Edinburgh International Book Festival
Fluid Love
Rosie Garland & Jess Richards
Sun 27 Aug 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Writers' Retreat,
Charlotte Square Gardens,
Edinburgh, EH2 4HQ
£8.00, £6.00
Set in 19th-century Manchester, writer and performance poet Rosie Garland's The Night Brother takes the reader to the outer limits of gender fluidity as it explores the complex nature of identity through siblings Edie and Gnome. Acclaimed author Jess Richards's City of Circles is the magical tale of a love affair between two circus performers, Danu and Morrie. Contemporary fiction at its finest.
The Festival's home, the beautiful, leafy Charlotte Square Gardens (at the west end of George Street, a minute's walk away from Princes Street), is a wonderful space in which to sit, talk, think, play and be entertained. Our tented village is expanding out to George Street this year with two new venues and seating areas so there are even more opportunities to relax and be entertained. You can see a favourite author, join in a workshop or debate, enjoy a cuppa in the café, a beer, or simply park yourself on the grass (with or without a book) and soak up the atmosphere.
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/rosie-garland-jess-richards-10252
Commonword Writer of the Month
Delighted to be featured as Commonword Writer of the Month, June 2017!
Thank you for the interview... it was a lot of fun talking with you.
Tell me about you, as an artist. How do you define art? What art do you make?
I come from the DIY ethic of punk: my post-punk band The March Violets set up its own record label in the 80s. When I moved to Manchester in the late 80s its industrious, can-do, will-do, stuff-you-if-you-say-I-can’t-do attitude was a good fit, right from the start.
I write. Not to provide answers. Rather, I’m exploring the questions that roll around in my head, and am wary of easy conclusions. I’m not interested in creating narrow worlds. I want to tell stories that create possibilities of non-conformity. It’s always been important, and never more so than now. Stories that break the mould and toss out the template. Stories that aren’t part of the relentless onslaught of blue for boy meets pink for girl. In the words of Emily Dickinson, ‘to tell the truth but tell it slant’. Stories where we celebrate ourselves – complete with all the marvellous, uncomfortable, colouring-outside-the-lines contradictions we encompass.
Continues…
Full text of the interview:
http://www.cultureword.org.uk/writer-of-the-month-rosie-garland/
25.8.2017 - Hammer & Tongue, Edinburgh Free Fringe
Hammer & Tongue poetry slam
Fri 25 Aug
19:30 – 20:30
Banshee Labyrinth (Venue 156)
Banqueting Hall
29-35 Niddry St,
Edinburgh EH1 1LG
Free, with a collection afterwards / 0131 558 8209
Part of PBH's Free Fringe.
The Royal Albert Hall and the National Slam Final await nightly poetry slam winners. Open to all, wow the randomly chosen judges with your 3 minutes of original spoken word (book a slot This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or turn up at the start). With a brilliant programme of special guest artists including ROSIE GARLAND on Friday 25th!
http://www.hammerandtongue.com/
23.8.2017 - She Grrrowls, Edinburgh Free Fringe
She Grrrowls - PBH Fringe Festival
Black Market Room 1,
Venue 399
32 Market Street,
Edinburgh
EH1 1QB
19:20-20:20pm
She Grrrowls makes its debut appearance at the PBH Free Fringe in Edinburgh from 6th - 27th August this year at Black Market!
Featuring Rosie Garland, Carmina Masoliver, Rorie Evans & Drastik Measures on 23rd August.
She Grrrowls is an arts event featuring poetry, spoken word, comedy and music and everything in between. The event features talented women, including transgender and non-binary people.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/venues/black-market
News and Events
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10.8.2019 - Val McDermid's 10 most compelling LGBTQI writers in the UK today
Written on Wednesday, 14 August 2019 08:44
I’m thrilled to announce that Val McDermid has selected me as one of the 10 most compelling LGBTQI+ writers working in the UK today!
Val said: “These writers are writing for everyone. These are not words for a niche readership. These are not writings for a ghetto. These are the works of writers who have something to say that can be – and should be – heard by as many people as possible.”
She continued: “Auden was wrong when he claimed “poetry makes nothing happen”. Words do change the world, reader by reader. They open our eyes, they provoke thought. The work of these 10 writers… will awaken in us fresh delight in the wonder of words.”
The list was commissioned by the National Centre for Writing and British Council, supported by Arts Council England as part of a two-year programme to promote writing from the UK to an international audience. It also includes the amazing Colette Bryce, Juno Dawson, Juliet Jacques, Keith Jarrett, Kirsty Logan, Andrew McMillan, Fiona Mozley, Mary Paulson-Ellis & Luke Turner.
The Guardian - The Word Is Out. Val McDermid selects Britain's 10 most outstanding lgbtq writers
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20.6.2019 - Peterloo: massacre or riot? The John Rylands Library
Written on Sunday, 21 July 2019 10:32
Peterloo – massacre or riot?
On June 20th 2019, The John Rylands Library staged a live performance event to mark the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre. It was a first for the library and I was excited to take the part of Jemima Bamford – one of the thousands of men, women and children who gathered at St Peter’s Field in August 1819. I donned bonnet and shawl and created a speech, imagining how she might have spoken out against the actions of the militia, who charged into an unarmed crowd, and murdered up to 23 people.
Then joined by 5 other actors, I took part in a public debate as we decide: was Peterloo a massacre or a riot? At the end of the debate, votes were cast, and Manchester decided overwhelmingly – massacre.
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8.6.2019 - Guest vox with The Bellwether Syndicate, Wave-Gotik Treffen
Written on Sunday, 21 July 2019 10:20
Guest vox with The Bellwether Syndicate at Wave-Gotik Treffen
The high point of WGT 2019 was being invited to be guest vocalist with The Bellwether Syndicate from Chicago! Rocking out to a special rendition of The March Violets track ‘Snake Dance’…
The gig on Saturday 8th June 2019 at Taubchenthal, Leipzig was packed out – and what a crowd…A great pleasure to work with William Faith, Sarah Rose (aka Scary Lady Sarah), keyboards Phil Destefano, bassist Paul Sin & drummer extraordinaire Stevyn Grey
https://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/ro/go4it.php?id=197&loc=en
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'How to ask for a residency' - The John Rylands blog
Written on Sunday, 24 March 2019 10:08
How to ask for a residency
Since I wrote about the Power of Asking, I’ve been heartened by how many writers have told me they’re going to ask for Writers’ Residencies too. There are plenty of questions: What do you say? What do you ask for? This blog offers a few suggestions.
Where do you want your residency to be?
Chip shop, bus stop, lighthouse, theatre, cemetery. The choice is yours. Think of where you’d love to write. It may be a place you pass every day on the way to work, or somewhere you’ve stumbled on by chance. Perhaps you have a connection already. For example, when I was invited to read at The John Rylands Library, I fell in love with this Mancunian gem. It sparked a train of thought…What do you want to do?
I’ve a pretty simple plan: my next novel is set in The John Rylands and I’m exploring what it’s like to write ‘on site’, drawing inspiration from the spirit of the place. You’ll have your own ideas. It’s a wonderful opportunity to try something new, with time to focus on your writing in an inspiring workspace. The clearer you are about what you’d like to create and how it’s connected to the venue you’ve chosen, the better. Do your research, and put together a proposal. I’ve broken this down below.How long is a residency?
Weeks, months, or a year – it’s largely up to you and the organisation. My residency is running for a calendar year; time to produce a first draft of the novel. I’ve committed to being on site for one day a week, but can’t keep away from the place…What can you offer?
As well as being clear about what you want to achieve, think about what you can offer your host organisation. Ideas can include giving talks, workshops, writing tutorials or readings, and writing blogs on the progress of the residency. You might produce a poem etched in the window, or devise a grand finale performance. There’s no limit.
If you’re unsure, ask for advice from writer friends (or friends of friends) who’ve done residencies in the past. If you don’t know any – ask the internet. Social media can be a lot more supportive than you might imagine.How do you get an introduction?
You’ll need to approach your chosen organisation to find out of they’re interested in your idea. I asked writer friends for signposting, and got an introduction. People were only too pleased to help, a warm reminder that we’re in this together. There’s a community of writers out there, and we are pretty groovy people.What about money?
This blog is about building your own residency from scratch, not applying for a funded opportunity. So, when the question of money and payment arose (pretty much the first question), I said no. Nowhere has money for residencies, unless it’s a regular gig like The Forestry Commission
And, unsurprisingly, these residencies are massively oversubscribed.
A personal tip is to source funding elsewhere. I applied to The Arts Council - Successfully.Then again – aim for the stars! One writer told me she’s asking for a residency at a private members’ club with buckets of money. Needless to say, she IS asking them to fund it.
What’s the worst that can happen?
Fear of the word no can stop us asking in the first place. Your chosen venue may say no. But they’re not going to poke you with forks. Trust me on this one. And in the words of Steve Jobs: “Most people don't get experiences because they never ask. I've never found anybody who didn't want to help me when I've asked them for help.”Keep going. Keep asking.
https://rylandscollections.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/how-to-ask-for-a-residency/
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'The Power of Asking' blog - The John Rylands Library
Written on Saturday, 02 March 2019 15:36
As part of my Writer’s Residency at The John Rylands Library, I’m writing a series of blogs… here’s the first – The Power of Asking.
“I’ve just been appointed the first writer-in-residence at The John Rylands Library. How did I manage this wonderful achievement? I asked.
Sounds easy.
It wasn’t. If you’re anything like me (and the longer I live, the more I realise I’m not alone), asking is far more difficult than it sounds.
Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Unless you were born with a set of silver spoons in your mouth (which is everyone reading this, right?), then you’ve worked out that opportunities don’t fall magically into your lap. You’ve had to work hard to get where you are.
I like what Julia Cameron (author of the inspirational ‘The Artists Way’) says: “Pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can.” It’s a reminder to put myself into the path of opportunities. The bus does not come to the front door. I have to leave the house, and darn well run for it.
I have to take a deep breath, and ask. So, why is it so difficult?
Here’s my take. I grew up with a spectacularly unhelpful dictum: Ask, don’t get. Don’t ask, don’t want. I shared this with friends recently, and was shocked to discover it’s very common. I end up stuck in a bizarre Catch 22 situation, thinking that if I have to ask for something, then I don’t deserve it. Or, that I must to wait for someone else to ask me. The most I’m allowed to do is stand around looking hopeful.
This lose-lose mentality is combined with a vicious internal critic. I call her Mavis (I’ve blogged about her here and run Anti-Mavis workshops). She never, ever says anything nice. If someone says they like my writing, Mavis jumps in and whispers ‘they’re only being nice.’ In fact, she can be neatly summed up by this great Savage Chickens cartoon (Doug Savage):Naturally, my internal critic undermined any notion that somewhere as amazing as The John Rylands Library would want the likes of me.
So – standing up and asking for what I want can be pretty damn hard. I’m swamped with fears of rejection, coming over as needy, an underachiever, someone who’s failed because they need to ask.
Luckily, this isn’t a poor-me blog.
Years ago I decided that I was not going to let fear of rejection stop me living a life that is too darn short as it is. I take inspiration from Jia Jiang, whose TED talk about dealing with rejection is well worth 15 minutes of anyone’s time.
So, however hard it is to ask, to put myself forward, to send that manuscript to a competition or agent – I take several deep breaths and do it. In the words of Susan Jeffers: ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.
And here’s the good news. The John Rylands Library is delighted to have a writer-in-residence. Correction: The John Rylands Library is delighted to have me as a writer-in-residence.
I have told Mavis to put that in her pipe and smoke it.
Coming next – what I asked for, and how to ask for a residency.”
https://rylandscollections.wordpress.com/2018/12/10/the-power-of-asking/
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