As part of our Eighth Anniversary Celebrations (The Arachneversary) editors Rosamund Davies, Cherry Potts and Kam Rehal discuss the ideas behind Story Cities and the process for choosing the stories, with reading snippets from Rosamund and Cherry plus Annabel Banks, Nic Vine, Maja Bodenstein. We drift off into current projects and writing in lockdown too.
You can buy a copy of the book from our webshop, discounted throughout August with the code ARACHNEVERSARY.
Story Cities writers were invited to read from the Storytelling Chair made by Matt Nicholls, at the launch of London Design Festival at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich last night. Here are recordings of our stories read there. (We are back on Sunday! see below)
Shamini Sriskandarajah reads Coffee
Cherry Potts reads Foundation Myth
Annabel Banks reads Other Signals
Evleen Towey reads School Bus
Roland Denning reads Seeing in the Dark
Nic Vine reads Tech Down
Rosamund Davies reads Today’s Arrivals and Departures
You can catch more (some different) stories on Sunday, When Cherry, Nic and Rosamund will be reading their own stories, and others by Steven Wingate, David Mathews, Rob Walton and Catherine Jones.
The Story Cities book is for sale in the bookshop under the Painted Hall, and in the visitor centre for the duration of the festival which includes next weekend Open House festival so you can get in and see everything free!
Or you can buy it from us, or any really good bookshop.
UNESCO world heritage site, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, joins London Design Festival for the first time this year with a free exhibition showcasing local artists and makers.
What does that have to do with books, I hear you mutter.
We’ve had a bit to do with ORNC via Greenwich University and the Greenwich Book Festival, which are both on their site, and it turns out someone from ORNC came to our GBF session on Story Cities and enjoyed it so much she asked us to get involved in their event for London Design Festival.
Inside the Painted Hall (open to ticket-holders Adults £12, Kids under 16 free, includes a free tour of the Old Royal Naval College. https://ornc.digitickets.co.uk/tickets) in the Victorian Skittle Alley, is The Storytelling Chair made by Matt Nicholls Designs from recycled wood.
You can see where this is going.
We will be making use of the storytelling chair during the festival, with a couple of pop-up sessions. The first session is this Friday and is an invitation only event, where Annabel Banks, Evleen Towey, Nic Vine, Shamini Sriskandarajah, Roland Denning, Rosamund Davies and Cherry Potts are reading but…
On Sunday 15th September at 3pm we’ll be popping up again, for about 15 minutes, with Nic Vine, Rosamund Davies, Matthew Pountney and Cherry Potts and maybe Shamini Sriskandarajah reading our own and other stories from Story Cities in or beside the chair. It is very brief, so if you want to catch it, allow time to find us! (dont forget you need a painted hall ticket) The book will be on sale in the Painted Hall bookshop (no ticket required) throughout the festival, which runs 14th-22nd September.
Here is the first of the Story Cities Greenwich launch videos, Annabel Banks reads her flash, Other Signals, which is one of the transport stories, negotiating the commute by bus.
Your next chance to catch live readings from the book is at Blackwells Manchester this Thursday 27th June at 7pm, free but ticketed
Very excited about the launch party tomorrow for Story Cities… Kam has been busy decorating the Stephen Lawrence Gallery
and I’m currently baking a cake that will NOT be big enough for 100+ people.
There are 20 tickets left for this free event, so if you were dithering, get a move on.
I forsee lots of selfies in front of that wall…
And we have lots of readings and refreshments, in fact we have so much to get through that you really need to be on time!
7pm open, 7.15 introductions
7.30 first set of readings, Annabel Banks, Evleen Towey, Jasmin Kirkbride, Shamini Sriskandarajah , Jayne Buxton, Rosamund Davies
8pm CAKE and book sales (you can buy books before then but, you know, this is the perfect opportunity);
8.30 second set of readings, Máire Malone, Roland Denning, Maja Bodenstein, Cherry Potts, Nic Vine, Miriam Sorrentino
9pm close.
Story Cities hits the shops on 13th June, but you will have to wait for the LAUNCH PARTY until… Thursday 20th June, 7pm
Stephen Lawrence Gallery, 10 Stockwell Street SE10 9BD
Everyone welcome, FREE but please book a ticket so we know how many to cater for.
Launch party featuring readings of flash fictions from Jayne Buxton, Annabel Banks, Shamini Sriskandarajah,Sarah-Clare Conlon, Maja Bodenstein, Evleen Towey, Kam Rehal, Máire Malone, Roland Denning, Jasmin Kirkbride, Rosamund Davies and Cherry Potts.
There will be cake. Of course. I’m think of a little forest of gingerbread buildings stuck into something chocolately…
Just before that, editors Rosamund, Cherry and Kam will be doing a panel discussion at Greenwich Book Festival Room QA065 Queen Anne Court Greenwich University Old Naval College Greenwich SE10 9LS at 10am on Saturday 15th June FREE but you will need a ticket.
