Write Here, Write Now
Literature is being brought into the limelight by the new Canterbury Laureate - pioneering poet and performer Patience Agbabi.
She will be headlining the Laureate Line-Up of exciting events and activities throughout the year, to get the Canterbury district into writing!
Whether you're a regular writer or giving wordplay a go, join Patience Agbabi and the Laureate Squad of four acclaimed local writers to be a part of the what's happening - write here, write now!
Latest News
Monthly Seminars and Workshops Getting Inside the Writing and Publishing Industry. Full details on Write Directions.
Canterbury Laureate Scheme Fiction Mentoring – Announcement
Thank you to everyone who applied for consideration for the Fiction Mentoring this year. There were more than 40 fiction submissions, ranging broadly in style and subject matter. Every submission was fascinating and the standard of writing generally so good that the process of deliberation and choosing mentees for the scheme proved an incredibly difficult task. The sheer imagination and hard work that went into the submissions was very impressive, and regardless of whether writers have been successful this time all are congratulated and wished the very best for their writing in the future.
Given the impossible task of choosing just two mentees, the mentors decided to expand the programme and select two mentees each. Congratulations are warmly offered to each of the four:
Emmi Itäranta – Memory of Water (novel)
Rebecca Seery – Miss Bombshell (short story)
Chris Bennett – Reggie McShane (novel)
Denny Flowers – The Big Book of Monster (novel)
Highly Commended
With so much talent on show from the region, the mentors also highly commended six writers whose work showed particular promise and individuality:
Matthew Carbery – Buzzard
Katie Jane Hogben – (Untitled)
Tracy Kelly – The Garden
Charlotte Matthews – Feast
Kaz Russell – The Good Village
Richard Turney – Reflection
- Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year 2010 competition launched.
- Canterbury Laureate Patience Agbabi inspired by The Canterbury Tales for new collection - join the journey by following Patience's blog.
- Call for your new Canterbury Tales.
Online Opportunities
This website is currently being developed and we want to hear from writers in the area to make the most of the space it provides - for publication, promoting events and opportunities, reviews, links and more. See individual pages. Send full details to
johnp@canterburyfestival.co.uk. Content is included on the website at the discretion of the Canterbury Laureate scheme organisers.
The Laureate scheme is managed by Canterbury Festival and Canterbury City Council.
For enquiries about the Laureate Scheme and Literature in the district contact:
John Prebble, Canterbury Festival on 01227 452 853 or email johnp@canterburyfestival.co.uk
