Poise your pens, get ready and write with Kirklees Libraries
Kirklees Libraries are launching an exciting online programme of activities to coach residents to become writers.
Writer in Residence
The programme called ‘Writer in Residence’, will launch this week and will be spearheaded by local author Christina Longden. She will be running monthly online chats, workshops and masterclasses with the aim to encourage writers at all points on their writing journey, including those who have never written anything before or haven’t written anything since they were at school.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions during each session which will be streamed live on the Kirklees Libraries Facebook page and be available to watch later on YouTube.
What’s it all about?
By working with Kirklees Libraries Christina’s mission is to get more people using libraries, more often. She wants to ensure that children are not ‘lost’ once they reach their teenage years. She also wants to show reluctant readers that Kirklees Libraries are not just about novels, that these ‘people’s palaces’ are packed full of information, help and very different forms of storytelling and information.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Corporate said:
“The launch of this dedicated programme to support adult literacy is very exciting. We will hopefully inspire people to become the successful writers of tomorrow by discovering some hidden talent which I am sure is out there.”
“Kirklees Libraries have been incredibly flexible in meeting the needs of the local community so I am delighted to see their online provision go from strength to strength with this new programme. Once again, this breaks new ground for the residents of Kirklees and keeps us at the forefront of innovation and service delivery for our residents.”
Carol Stump, Chief Librarian at Kirklees Libraries and President of Libraries Connected said:
“Kirklees Libraries have been supporting local writers, most notably with the creation of the Kirklees Author Forum Exchange (KAFE) in 2018. This forum has provided a regular meeting place for local writers and run a series of events and workshops.
“We wanted to build on this programme by encouraging more of our Kirklees community, of all ages, to consider writing as a career or pastime. So we created the Writer in Residence role and asked Christina Longden, a long-time library supporter and partner in KAFE, to be our first Writer in Residence.”
Join us
The programme launches tomorrow (03 Sep) at 11am on the Kirklees Libraries Facebook page with the first session called ‘The Book in You’.
Schedule of events
| Date and Time | Title | Description |
| Thurs 03 Sep, 11am | The Book in You | Encourage people to take up writing and to consider that they too could become writers |
| Thurs 24 Sep, 11am | Reluctant Readers | Aimed at parents with children who are disengaged about reading for pleasure. Session will feature book recommendations and strategies to help |
| Thurs 01 Oct, 11am | Fiction or Non-fiction? | Sharing experience of writing fiction and non-fiction to encourage people to look for varied writing opportunities |
| Thurs 05 Nov, 11am | Reluctant Readers Part 2 | More hints and tips for parents of young reluctant readers |
| Thurs 12 Nov, 11am | His Own Man – A Victorian Hidden Muslim | A talk on a book about ancestor Robert Rashid |
| Thurs 03 Dec, 11am | Christmas Get Together | A celebration of writing, with poems and stories all with a festive theme |
Hi Beatrice, these sessions are monthly, we have updated this article with times of the next session 🙂 ^CP
I am intrest in books writing i missed the day of 3-9-20 ,how do I start writing ,I am waing