What our authors have been up to

Part of the ethos of Arachne Press is to celebrate our authors even when they do something with a different publisher.
So here’s a quick round up of what they’ve been doing (that we know about, anyway).
Anna Fodorova recently published her first novel, The Training Patient with Karnac Press.
Bartle Sawbridge has very recently published his novel, A Piece of String.
Bobbie Darbyshire published a third novel, Oz, a while back but we didn’t feature it at the time.
Cathy Bryant is launching her first historical mystery novel Pride & Regicide, a Mary Bennett novel (yes, that Mary Bennett) TOMORROW on facebook
David Mathews has had 3 pieces of flash fiction accepted for the October edition of Flash Magazine, about tea, poetry and love.
Emma Timpany had a pamphlet of five short stories, Over The Dam, published by Red Squirrel Press in April, a result of winning their Sara Park Memorial Short Story Competition in 2013. In July, Cultured Llama Press published The Lost of Syros, a collection of sixteen of Emma’s short stories. She was also shortlisted for The Bristol Short Story Prize 2015; and will be published in the prize anthology on 10 October.
Geraldine Green has been combining being writer in residence at Brantwood in Cumbria with a poetry tour of America.
j.lewis has had literally dozens of poems published since his early outing with us with Grass was Taller in The Other Side of Sleep.
Jennifer A McGowan had some good news – but can’t say what until mid-October. Hmm… intriguing.
Kate Foley was runner-up in the Proms poetry competition and had her poem read by the marvellous Carolyn Pickles on Radio 3. The link here is good for a week or so still I think.
Michelle Shine has a shiny new website: www.michelleshine.co.uk
Paula Read has several projects on the go: she & her daughter, Lily, are putting together an anthology of short stories they’ve written with a French theme. And she’s writing the story of a family member who reinvented herself as an artist after moving to the top of a mountain in Italy! And finally she is working on a story for 11-15 year olds, set in the near future and concerning the fate of dogs.
Pippa Gladhill has a short play WE ARE WEATHER receiving script in hand performance on Monday 19th October  at BORDEAUX QUAY on Bristol Harbourside.

 

ArachneFest – the videos

Well we had a riotously good time at Clapham Books last Thursday. here are some edited highlights of the readings and a few photos.

Cherry Potts reads from Mosaic of Air

Nichol Wilmor reads from Weird Lies

Bobbie Darbyshire reads from Lovers’ Lies

Carrie Cohen reads on behalf of Rosalind Stopps from Stations

Phil Mulryne reads on behalf of Martin Pengelly from London Lies

Our next outing is this Saturday at Leeds Cross Cultural Book Fair

IMG_7376 IMG_7380 IMG_7381 IMG_7382

You are Invited to Arachnefest: Arachne Press’ First Birthday Party

We’ve been a bit arbitrary deciding on a date for the anniversary (it took a good six months of planning to get to the point of registering the company, but it was registered at the end of July 2012, and we do have an event planned, so let’s make it a party.

Join us at Clapham Books, 120 Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UH on THURSDAY 18th JULY 7pm, for cake and readings from all our books including the two due out in September.

London Lies: Martin Pengelly‘s Incurable Romantic Seeks Dirty Filthy Whore, read by Phil Mulryne.
Stations: Rosalind StoppsHow to Grow Old In Brockley read by Carrie Cohen.
Lovers’ Lies: Bobbie Darbyshire Something Missing
Mosaic of Air: Cherry Potts, Penelope Is No Longer Waiting
and
Weird Lies: Nichol Wilmor, An Account of Six Poisonings

July events (and the last one for June)

A few events to look forward to and to liven up a dull wet Friday.

lovers lies fish

Tomorrow, Saturday 30th June 11-6 we will have a stall at Crystal Palace Overground Festival, Westow Park SE19. We will be selling books, and signing them if anyone wants us to, and – depending on the ambient noise – maybe an impromptu reading…

BC-IllustratorArachne founder and Author Cherry Potts is reading at Brixton Book Jam on Monday 8th July at the Hootananny, 95 Effra Road, Brixton, SW2 IDF sometime after 7:30 and can also be caught singing in the chorus of Blackheath Halls Community Opera, Verdi’s Macbeth for most of the rest of that week.

Further readings to be had at
Southwark Arts Fair at Hays Galleria 1 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE1 2HP (right on the river)
Saturday 13th July 6-7pm

with readings from
London Lies: The Suitcase Rosalind Stopps
Stations: A Place of Departures Cherry Potts
Lovers’ Lies: For Your Ears Only Bartle Sawbridge
A threat at London Bridge Station … a tour guide who may be more than he seems …
and temporary deafness cured by art.

saf banner a4_2-001On the same day, 13th July, earlier in the afternoon, Arachne author Liam Hogan will be reading at the  OxJam Dalston Takeover launch party. The Party goes from 2pm -7pm but Liam is on at 4-4.15pm (so make sure you are there in plenty of time!) – that’s all happening at the Tipsy Bar 20 Stoke Newington Road N16 7XN

ARACHNEFEST a4 POSTER copyArachnefest at Clapham Books
Thursday 18th July 7pm.

We are celebrating Arachne’s first birthday with a reading at Clapham Books
120 Clapham High Street SW4 7UH

readings from all our books:

London Lies: Martin Pengelly‘s Incurable Romantic Seeks Dirty Filthy Whore read by Phil Mulryne
Stations Rosalind Stopps’ How to Grow Old in Brockley read by Carrie Cohen
Lovers’ Lies Bobbie Darbyshire Something Missing

and from our forthcoming books
Weird Lies Nichol Wilmor An Account of Six Poisonings
Mosaic of Air Cherry Potts Penelope is No Longer Waiting

arachne logo white on black bus card sax2On Saturday 27th July we will be at Leeds Book Fair 
St Johns Shopping Centre, Merrion Street, Leeds, LS2 8LQ
with a stall, and readings (times to be confirmed) from
Lovers’ Lies – This isn’t Heat by Richard Smyth and Mirror by Cherry Potts,
and from Stations – Morning Sunshine by Louise Swingler.

Keats Festival Arachne Press Author Reading

Saturday 25th May 3-4pm £5 keats house
Keats House, Keats Grove, Hampstead NW3 2RR

Contact Keats House on 020 7332 3868, or email them at keatshouse@cityoflondon.gov.uk  to book

As part of the Keats Festival we are reading from Lovers’ Lies, and Weird Lies (which is due out in September 2013)

Focusing (loosely!) on the elements of Keats’ life not directly involved in poetry: science, medicine, and nature, Arachne Press bring you stories of the Garden of Eden, conversations with tadpoles, a meeting of minds across disciplines, and love, repression and an old-fashioned approach to doctoring.

From Lovers’ Lies:
The Painter and the Physicist Tania Hershman (read by the author)
Mirror Cherry Potts (read by Will Everett)
Something Missing Bobbie Darbyshire (read by the author)

From Weird Lies
What Does H2O feel like to the Tadpoles? Tom McKay (read by Kim Scopes)

History-HERstory Video Clip Booked Lit events at Shoreditch bookclub

Sunday night was epic in many, many ways. You all know about our obsession with the Overground at Arachne, well, what happens when it isn’t working is hell on wheels. Shoreditch instead of being a 20 minute book read away, is an hour and a bit two buses and a half hour standing about and bus drivers not stopping at the bus stop even though you ring the bell… and that was just getting there…

Not withstanding the bad temper we arrived in, we thoroughly enjoyed the eclectic event, High spots Bobbie Darbyshire reading her Something Missing from Lovers’ Lies, Megan Beech’s high-speed slam poetry, Camila Fiori’s rather distressing poems about her mother, Julie Mayhew’s witty reading from her novel Red Ink ( I bought a copy and have been reading it – on the Overground, of course) Charlie Dupre’s bonkers imagining of Kit Marlow and William Shakespeare (ShakeyP) as duelling playground MCs, and Eliza Shaddad’s rendition of In the Month of January, a favourite song of mine, which is the most atypical folk song, in that although it has the traditional girl gets pregnant boy goes off with someone else, parents chuck her out story-line,  there’s no chorus, no repeats, and the tune is this haunting uncertain little thing just like a cold wind.

Booked!

Arachne Lovers’ Lies author Bobbie Darbyshire is reading at Booked History-HERstory in Shoreditch this Sunday 17th March at 6.30. We’ll be there to cheer, come along and join in!

Music & Words #2

Up-coming Lovers’ Lies events

I’ve been having fun graffiti-ing the cover of Lovers’ Lies for the poster for our reading at Wood Green on 28th February. It shows what a versatile design it is.

Lovers Lies Wood Green reading

Lovers Lies Wood Green reading original image copyright Annie Rickard Straus

 

Join us at 6 pm (come straight from work!) for a brief tour of the book – 5 stories in an hour – well, segments of stories perhaps.

Then of course we have our all singing all dancing outing to London School of Economics Branch Out Space for Thought Festival on Saturday 2nd March, which is actually showcasing all three books, where actors Gloria Sanders, Will Everett, Sophie Morris Sheppard, Greg Page, Jo Widdowson, Ray Newe,  and Lisa Rose will be reading from stories by Cherry Potts, Emily Cleaver, Bartle Sawbridge, Martin Pengelly, Rebecca Gould and Rob Walton; and are joined by Summer All Year Long (who are doing the singing – there isn’t really dancing).

And a bit of new news:

Bobbie Darbyshire will be reading from her story Something Missing at Booked event Words & Music #2 for  Women’s History Month.

BOOKED pster fro 17/3/2013

BOOKED poster for 17/3/2013

Friern Barnet Community Library video

Yay! Friern Barnet Community Library got it’s licence and books will continue to be lent from this lovely purpose-built home for books. A victory for sanity and community action.

Arachne Press lent our support with a little reading from each of our books last Tuesday, when things were still a bit in doubt, so delighted with the result.

Here’s the video of our reading – apologies for the sound quality with hindsight the windowsill wasn’t the best place for the camera.

Caroline Hardman & Wendy Gill read from Stations and Michelle Shine reads from Lovers’ Lies

 

Cherry Potts reads from London Lies and Bobbie Darbyshire and Rosalind Stopps read from Lovers’ Lies.

Lovers’ Lies Launch – the videos

It’s official publication day for Lovers’ Lies! A chance to buy your beloved something more original than a box of chocolates for Valentine’s day

We had a full house on Sunday at Keats House for the launch, (great venue by the way) we ran out of books and I had to do the publishing equivalent of ‘family hold back’ and ask the authors to wait for their free copies (they’re coming, promise). Lots of authors read and a fun time was had by all –

here’s some of the evidence.

Darren Lee reading from By The Horns

Rosalind Stopps reading from Monsieur Fromage

Nathan Good reading from The Games I’ve Played and the People I’ve Played Them With

Bobbie Darbyshire reading from Something Missing

Bartle Sawbridge reading from For Your Ears Only

Katy Darby reading from Takeaway by Alison Willis

Peter Higgins reading from Mrs Murdoch and Mr Smith

Michelle Shine reading from Skin Deep