Launching The Dowry Blade in Lewisham

Our lovely friends at Lewisham Library are hosting a just-pre-publication event for The Dowry Blade our first adult novel, by Cherry Potts.

Join us at Lewisham Library 199-201 Lewisham High Street SE13 6LG

6:30 – 8pm on Wednesday 24th February

(the day before publication)

Free!

for readings, discussion,

modestly reduced pre-publication pricing on (signed) copies of the book,

and I believe there will be refreshments, which may include cakes!

The Dowry Blade FRONT Cover final

The Dowry Blade is a lesbian epic fantasy of the strength and limitations of love and loyalty in a time of war and danger: between friends, lovers, kin, strangers– and enemies.

Suitable for anyone over the age of fourteen.

Solstice Shorts on the Radio and on the Street

Listen to Cherry Potts talking about Solstice Shorts 2015: Longest Night to Gill Manly on Croydon Radio : (our segment is from 1:11 to 1:26 approximately.)
As well as talking we’ve been getting wet on the streets of Greenwich delivering leaflets and posters to like-minded venues,2015-12-08 15.33.01

 

and putting up the banner outside the library.2015-12-08 15.02.04

Heading out to bookshops in the locality today, and the Albany tomorrow. We have a LOT of A4 posters, if anyone has somewhere to put one – a window on a main-ish street, a pub wall,  the noticeboard at work, community board at your local cafe… if you are close enough to Forest Hill to pick one up or for us to drop one (or more!) round, get in touch.

 

Professional edit of your 2000 word story/ novel extract

Another of our offers for crowd fund supporters – a professional edit from Arachne Press managing editor Cherry Potts. For £100 you will get thorough, honest, detailed feedback on up to 2000 words of short story or 2000 word novel extract. £200 a total bargain! Be grateful we aren’t offering you under-editor Julian’s services…

Help us raise enough to run Solstice Shorts 2015, Longest Night by contributing to our crowd fund at Indiegogo.

LGBT History Month – Cherry Potts & VA Fearon shout about Lesbian Literature

Video

Shouting turned out not to be needed, but here we are talking about Lesbian Literature at North Kensington Library last week.

If you want more Lesbian (and Gay) Literature from Cherry, catch her reading and discussing her own work and that of Arachne Press more generally on Thursday 26th February at Richmond Lending Library,  Little Green, London, TW9 1QL 7pm. book for this event (£2)

 

Celebrate LGBT History Month 2015

Celebrating LGBT history month, Cherry Potts, Arachne’s owner and editor, and author of Mosaic of Air is appearing in an exhibition of photos by Tom Dingley at various venues in Lewisham Borough as part of Tom’s #Outcome project.

Cherry Potts copyright Tom Dingley 2014

Cherry Potts copyright Tom Dingley 2014

Cherry will also be talking about lesbian literature, publishing and reading from her work,
at North Kensington Library on 12th February at 6pm (With V A Fearon) free!

Shouting about Lesbian Literature: coming out as a lesbian writer

Cherry Potts’ first collection of lesbian short stories, Mosaic of Air was published over 20 years ago, and she now owns her own independent publishing house, Arachne Press. V.A. Fearon’s first self-published crime thriller, The Girl with the Treasure Chest came out last year. What has changed for the Lesbian author in the interim? What has the recent surge of self and indie publishing done for lesbian literature (and what is it anyway)? Two personal approaches with readings.

Book your free place for this event at North Kensington Library. Tel: 020 7361 3010
and at Richmond Library on 26th February at 7pm (£2).

An evening with writer and publisher Cherry Potts at Richmond Lending Library

Join writer and publisher Cherry Potts for an evening of readings and informal discussion of Lesbian and Gay writing with a whirl through anything from myth to science fiction. Cherry will read from her own work and others published by her award-winning publishing house, Arachne Press. Tickets £2.00 including refreshments.

Richmond Lending Library, Little Green, Richmond, TW9 1QL

You can book online for the Richmond Library event

LGBT History Month events

LGBT History month poster smallLGBT History month is keeping us busy this year. Cherry Potts is reading from Mosaic of Air at a number of events (Incidentally, should you be keen enough to want to come to all the events Cherry is involved in over February, she will be making an effort to read something different each time, and the focus will vary too, as will the company!

Lewisham Library 199-201 Lewisham High Street, SE13 6LG
6th February 7.45  for 8, until 9.30
free, but ticketed. 40 tickets available so probably wise to book.

Cherry will be joined by poet Kate Foley, humorist  V.G. Lee and debut novelist V.A. Fearon.

The Story Sessions, Queer Tales, 19th February 7.45 at the Ivy House SE15 3BE – Cherry, Catherine Blackfeather, Anny Knight, Rebecca Idris and Clare Summerskill (Voluntary financial contributions welcomed, and of course you can join in with 100 words on theme in Flash from the Floor.)

North Kensington Library 108 Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, W11 1PZ
(11th February 18:30) is Cherry on her own, reading from Mosaic of Air and some newer work, and discussing how things have changed since MoA was first published. Free.

Walthamstow Library, High Street Walthamstow, E17 7JN 12th February 19:00 is Cherry and actor Sarah Feathers, reading from Mosaic of Air and from Lovers’ Lies in an event called Holding a Mirror up to the 80′s, Lesbian Short Stories now and then, so more historical observation! This is a ticketed event but still free.

And finally: in company with Alix Adams, local author Cherry Potts reads from her short story collection Mosaic of Air, grief, old age, spiders and song, all from a lesbian perspective. Free. 7pm Friday 21st February Crofton Park Library 375 Brockley Rd, London SE4 2AG.

…oh, not finally – we’ve been asked to do another:

Cafe of Good Hope, Hither Green Lane SE13 6RT. Wednesday 26th February. 7pm. Cherry Potts, Rebecca Idris, V.A. Fearon, Catherine Blackfeather Tickets £3.

Literary-2014-A6

Review of Mosaic of Air

An absolutely lovely review from Sabotage!

High points

‘Mosaic of Air’ is an interesting parable featuring a proto-post-feminist lead, a computer programmer whose programme becomes sentient which surprisingly encases an abortion debate.

If you read nothing else in this book you must read ‘Arachne’s Daughters’; this takes apart a myth about Arachne (a human) challenging Athene (the goddess): ‘”Now, can you believe anyone would be so stupid?” ‘.  It’s set as a speech given at a women-only meeting with a clever twist on why so many women shouldn’t fear spiders despite the extra legs and pincers ‘ “Forgot something though didn’t they?…[Men]… How many Cancers and Scorpios are in the audience?”.’

It’s Publication Day

Cherry Potts, Arachne author and founder, with partner Alix Adams, in celebratory T-shirts

Cherry Potts, Arachne author and founder, with partner Alix Adams, in celebratory T-shirts

It’s finally arrived. After all the writing, choosing, naming, negotiating, cover planning, blurbing, AI-ing, blogging, forewording, typesetting, printing, marketing …

and all the other things that make a book happen, it’s time to announce TWINS!!

Two books on the same day: Weird Lies our latest collaboration with Liars’ League, and Mosaic of Air, a reprint of Cherry Potts’ first collection, are officially published today.

More weird stories than you can shake a spaceship at.

The e-book versions are slightly delayed, on account of the Towersey adventure, but it was worth it. They should be available in about a month, if not sooner.

We aren’t actually doing anything today to celebrate, beyond this blog, and this rather silly picture, but we are launching in style at The Royal Observatory next Tuesday. If you are planning on coming and haven’t yet responded to your invitation, please do so asap, as we are close to maximum numbers, and may have to open a waiting list. We are doing another set of readings in the more relaxed atmosphere of the Misty Moon Gallery on Saturday 5th October.

I would like to thank Alix (pictured, right) for her stirling support of Arachne. When first mooted, she was asked if she wanted to be involved, and a firm no came back. Nonetheless, she comes to almost all the events, sells books, chats to the audience, fields the occasional phone call and drags me away from the computer when I start cursing. Mosaic of Air was dedicated to her when it first came out twenty odd years ago – it still is.

Cherry Potts at Brixton BookJam

A sweltering evening at the Hootananny, but despite that a good turn out and we sold a book!!! (Thanks to the guy from the other publisher who agreed to man the bookstall for everyone.)

Cherry read an unpublished story, Cloud Island which fitted rather well with the SciFi concrete-monsters and fairy queens that were the high points of the earlier part of the evening.

CP at bookJam4 copyright A  Adams 2013CP at bookjam2 copyright A Adams 2013CP at bookJam6 copyright A Adams 2013

Keats Festival Update

Aside

Still not much information on the Keats festival, but this information has come to light

Keep an eye on the Keats festival event page for precise detail of whether you need to book for either of our events on 25th May, morning writing workshop and afternoon readings but basic info seems to be

Book by phone:020 7332 3868
Book by email:Email City of London Events for Keats Festival