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.
Rather delayed (by crowdfunding mainly) here is audio of our second outing at ORNC’s bowling alley. A little echoey!
Readings from Nic Vine, Rosamund Davies, Cherry Potts, Shamini Sriskandarajah of their own stories and some by other people too – Catherine Jones, David Mathews, Rob Walton and Steven Wingate.
Rosamund reads You Stand in the Secret Place by Steve Wingate
Cherry Reads Backwater by David Mathews
Shamini reads Coffee
Nic reads Go Directly to Go by Rob Walton
Cherry Reads Lost and Found by Catherine Jones
Rosamund reads The Right Place
Cherry reads Foundation Myth
Nic reads Tech Down
More readings from the Storytelling Chair, in the skittles alley, under the Painted Hall, in the Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich. That sounds a bit like we are sending you on a treasure hunt…
Rosamund Davies introducing the book
And reading from Steven Wingate‘s story You Stand in the Secret Place
Shamini Sriskandarajah reading Coffee 
Nic Vine reading Tech Down
full audio later…
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.
Another of the Story Cities Greenwich launch videos, Nic Vine reads his flash, Tech Down, which went down particularly well with the audience.
The book is available from our webshop post free, or any good bookshop will order it in for you in a couple of days .
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.