London Literature Festival
What a way to end our first year of StorySLAM:Live. Saturday 17th July at the SouthBank Centre was a triumph from start to finish. All the signs were there that our event at the London Literature Festival was going to be the biggest and best yet. Tickets sold out a week before, we had some talented writers lining up to compete and a judging panel to sit up and take notice of.
St Paul’s Pavilion, reached by the glass lift in the Festival Hall was a perfect venue for the afternoon. Surrounded by the buildings that make up the capitals cultural hub our entrants rose to the occasion and delivered a programme of stories that were remarkable in their variety and of a quality that kept the judges and the audience enthralled.
Charlie introduced the judges. We were lucky to have Rachel Holmes who is the Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the SouthBank and without whom there would be no London Literature Festival. Rachel was joined by Paul Burston, author of several best sellers-his latest book The Gay Divorcee tops Amazon regularly. Rachel set the tone for the event by declaring herself as Simon Cowell which left the role of Cheryl for Paul.
Edd Hunter, who won StorySlam:Live02, and was subsequently commissioned to write the serialised short story Nooks and Crannies for Spread the Word, kicked off the event with a new piece ‘Time to be a Man. Charlie then steered us through the competition with his unique brand of humour that strikes just the right balance, relaxing the competitors and making us laugh. We had a few hiccups with starting the clock, but that was just a small blip in the proceedings. As ever, we make the event a joy for literature and music lovers alike with great music from Derek Richards who is also responsible for our seamless production.
The judges were amazed by the standard of the stories they heard but settled on Hugh Fergus-Jordan with his ‘ A Birthday Wish’ as the winner. Highly commended by the judges were Janett Plummer with Sweat Rice and Doug Hanley with Father’s Flock. Hugh gets the prize of £100 as well as a place on the SBC Creative Writing workshop of his choice.
There’s more than one way of winning StorySLAM:Live. We were also delighted for Feyi Coker, whose performance of ’Superman Returns’ earned him an on the spot booking from Rachel to appear in the Children’s Literature Festival next February. Ryan Childs will be performing ‘Queer Bashing’ at Polari the Gay and Lesbian Literary Salon hosted by Paul Burston in the SBC.
We have many exciting plans, starting with our Autumn Programme. Watch our events page so you don’t miss the chance to pre-book your slot. Another new feature will be the introduction of ‘readers’ – actors who will perform your story if getting on stage is not your thing. StorySLAM:Live is judged on the quality of the writing entered not the performance skills. Don’t miss the next opportunity to join our growing band of winning writers.
If you want to see the quality of the competition we’re going to be putting some of our highlights on the site with videos of our winners and favourites with a new ‘Hall of Fame’ feature. So on that note, until the next time, thanks to all who have made StorySLAM:Live such a great success so far.
Entering on July 17th?
Here’s a list of answers to FAQs that have been coming up
1) I have a story to enter, what should I do?
There are five spots left available for the London Literature Festival event. These are specifically for entry on the day and cannot be pre booked. If you have a story that you would like to enter go to the desk and fill in the entry form. If there are more entrants than places these will be placed in a draw. You will also be asked to sign a release form to allow us to use any AV material for promotional purposes. The compere will draw for the places at the start of the event, reading the names and running order of competitors.
2) My story is more than 5 mins, is that ok?
No. Please make sure you practice as we operate a strict time limit at the event. Nothing is more frustrating for you as the author and the audience to be denied the denouement of the story because time has run out. There is a stop clock that counts down the time available and once it ends you must stop. Don’t do it to yourself.
3) What happens after I have read my story?
After you have read your story you will remain on stage to get feedback from our judges. Then it’s listening to the competition until the judges decide on the winner. The judges have the final decision on the winning entry. Their decision is based on the quality of writing and not live performance skills, although skilful delivery is key to engaging the audience.
4) What if I don’t get picked?
Most people who attend a story slam are amazed a the standard of the stories performed. Watch this time to see how this remarkable event works and how you can hone your story for next time. We are announcing our Autumn programme soon with many opportunities to showcase your work. Watch out for the dates and use the pre-booking function on this site to register for entry. Please note that this facility is open for the first five spaces available with another five available for door entry at each event.
Hope that’s clear. Any comments appreciated.
Tickets selling fast for London LitFest
Tickets are selling fast for StorySLAM:Live @ London Lit Fest. If you’re intending to come on the 17th, make sure you buy your ticket in advance to guarantee entry. It’s going to be an exciting day – the SouthBank Centre has ads for the London Literature Festival all over. This is the opportunity for short story writers from all over London to join ‘the world’s best writers’ at the centre of the cultural map.
We have a great programme – our competitors the centrepiece as usual. The event will be a celebration of past highlights-the quality of these stories will astound you. As always we offer entry on the door for those who want to try their luck for the £100 prize, and more importantly for some, the chance to get their talent spotted by experts from the industry. Not only do our judges give valuable feed back, described by one contestant as “a mini work shop”, but past winners have been commissioned as a direct result of entering the competition.
Our special guest reader, Edd Hunter will begin the afternoon with a reading from his new short story -’Time to be a Man ‘. Edd was the winner of StorySLAM:Live02 and was commissioned to write Nooks and Crannies by the London Writers Development Agency, Spread the Word. Edd’s not our only special guest but to find out you need to be there.
Anyone who comes to StorySLAM:Live always leave with a smile of delight on their face. It’s a remarkable experience – our host Charlie Dark is a laugh a minute – visuals and sounds by Derek Richards. We’re proud to be part of the London LitFest. Come and join the celebration.
StorySLAM:Live Tips for Entrants
We’ve been getting a lot of queries about the process of entering StorySLAM:Live. So here’s some thoughts on the subject from our POV.
1. Write a story, practise reading it within five minutes. The act of reading out loud will help you make decisions about editing the story to fit. Try it. It does work.
2. There are two ways of entering StorySLAM:Live. We have five slots available for pre entry and there is a clickable form on the event page. This is only accessible to registered users on our web site and is allocated on a first come first served basis. If all the pre entry spots are taken for that event you won’t be able to click. There is also a door entry for five people. If you want to enter a story on the door, fill in one of the entry slips. If this is over subscribed then names will be entered into a draw.
3. The host reads the names of the entrants and you will be called to read your story. There are five slots either side of an interval that gives time for a drink and maybe talking to fellow writers. We create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere from our host Charlie Dark and his unique way with words to the music and visuals specially designed by Derek Richards.
4. The stories are judged by a panel of experts from the literature industry. Previous contestants have said how much they value this feedback. You can expect positive critical analysis of the writing showcased. The judges decision is final on the winner of the prize, currently £100. We also offer other opportunities for writers progress. Recent prizes have included places on the SouthBank Centre’s creative writing workshops with Greg Mosse who is also one of our regular judges.
So that’s about it. I hope that helps. If you have any more questions or tips to share, please comment?
Another SLAM winner gets noticed..
Long overdue congratulations to Kathleen Armstrong, the winner of StorySLAM:Live 04. Kathleen was one of a group of creative writing students from Morley College who came along to measure their prowess. Cathy – tutor of the Short Story Writing course had replaced the weekly class with a trip to the Albany to give the students a chance to showcase their work to a wider audience.
They certainly gave the judges a hard decision to make. The standard of the entries was incredible. Everyone was saying how they didn’t envy their task one bit.
May 27th shaping up to be a great night.
May 27th @ The Albany promises to be a great night out for literature lovers. Previous attendees will know all about the magic of StorySLAM:Live. If you’ve not been before why not make it this time that you do ? It’s promising to be the best one yet. Charlie Dark is returning fresh from his trip to New Zealand and Australia to host, so he is certain to have loads of new stories to tell us about that. Laura Dockrill is taking a break from the final stages of publication of her new book to set off the evening with a performance to inspire and entertain. If you’ve not seen Laura in action before take a look at this video of her reading from her last novel Ugly Shy Girl.
http://storyslamlive.net/2009/12/storyslam-live-04/
StorySLAM:Live Winner gets published
Nooks and Crannies is a new Spread the Word commission that will be presented at the Writers Rendezvous on 11th May at the St Bride Foundation and published the next day on the Spread the Word web-site.
GUESS WHAT! The first commissioned author is none other than Edd Phillips – winner of our StorySLAM:Live 02 @ The Albany.
Edd has this to say:
“It’s all very exciting for me, being my first professional piece. I really do have Story Slam Live to thank, you cannot understand my gratitude. Just goes to show that being a writer isn’t all about slaving away stuck at a desk sweating over pen, ink and word processor.”
Silver StorySLAM:Live
Yet again the magic of StorySLAM:Live was in abundance at this event. The Silver Festival is Southwark’s annual Arts Festival aimed at older people – a packed programme of events that cater for everyone. We kicked off our programme with a writers workshop conducted by Charlie Dark. The audience were delighted by the stories, as were the judges , our regular panel of Emma Hewitt (Spread The Word) and Greg Mosse (SouthBank Centre) were joined by Sandra Agard (Southwark Libraries) who thought the standard of the stories was ‘amazing’.
Two of the entries were also participants in a workshop run by Charlie Dark – one piece, “Rotherhithe”, was entered by a 72 yr old who had not written creatively since she was at school!
Two StorySLAMs in a week..
What a week was last week!
Kicked off Monday 22nd with workshops to launch Park Primary’s slam. Charlie Dark ‘turned our school into The House of Dark’ was just one of the comments from the extremely talented Year 6 participants. The pupils led by their teachers took Charlie’s inspiration and produced short stories of such high calibre it was almost impossible to choose.
March 2010 Update
Well, I have to say first of all sorry for the long gap between blog updates. That’s not to say we don’t have lots of wonderful subjects for discussion planned so watch this space. All signed up members have access to posts so feel free to post anything of interest or start a discussion.
It’s been a busy time for StorySLAM:Live. Don’t know where to start really-we’ve got two events next week, one at The Albany, where we hope to see the return of familiar faces as well as lots of new ones. We were delighted that Edd Phillips, winner of StorySLAM:Live was commissioned by Spread The Word as a direct result of his entry. Why don’t you see how your short story does? March 25th is the date for your diaries. Hosted by the incomparable Charlie Dark with judges including Laura Dockrill and Naomi Woddis it promises to be a great night.
The next day we are running StorySLAM:Live at Park Primary school in Newham. This is the first stage in a project that will culminate a big summer show for the Year Six pupils. Watch out on the site for a chance to find out how the young writers of the future are doing.
It’s good to be back, keep checking in for updates. Next one will answer FAQ’s about entering the Slam. If you have any to add just post a comment onto the site.
