ARACHNEVERSARY – Alex Smith – Devilskein and Dearlove

Editor Cherry Potts talks about Devilskein and Dearlove a young adult novel by Alex Smith, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal on 2015. Includes Q&A with the author, animated trailer by Nick Page and a couple of readings by actors Greg Page and Peter Noble.

You can buy Devilskein and Dearlove from our Webshop. Use the discount code ARACHNEVERSARY at the checkout throughout August.

Brockley Max Feast Tales the videos

Video

Video from our feast of food stories at the Brockley Deli as part of Brockley Max festival.

You may notice something about these videos, you may not… see below*

Snippets from the longer works, and the complete poems. Mostly the readers are the wonderful Gloria Sanders and Peter Noble, but the equally marvellous Joan Taylor-Rowan read her own story.

Peter reading from Devilskein & Dearlove by Alex Smith

Joan reading from Feeding Time

Gloria & Peter reading from Monsieur Fromage (Lovers’ Lies) by Rosalind Stopps (the full video is available on Youtube

Peter & Gloria reading from Christmas, Presents by Jason Jackson

Peter reading April is the Cruellest Month by Rob Walton

Gloria reading Laureate by Jennifer A McGowan

*A new experience for me, matching sound files to video – the aircon (or something) at the Brockley Deli interfered with the sound on the video so I had to use the recordings from my audio machine. Something of a challenge getting them in sync!

If Stories be the food of… read on … a feast of stories about food

Our Final Brockley Max event for this year
Thursday 4th June at Brockley Deli 14a Brockley Cross, SE4 1BE
The Story Sessions: Feast Tales
Join us for a story set in a cheese shop, Cranberry Sauce as an excuse for an illicit meeting, trying to win friends with cookies and taking tea with a demon, plus poems about oranges and bay leaves! Order appropriate food to ‘taste-along’. Mostly read by our actor friends Peter Noble & Gloria Sanders.
8pm – 9pm Free entry; accompanied children 10+ welcome
A free live literature event all about food. Stories from Rosalind Stopps, Joan Taylor-Rowan and Jason Jackson, Poems from Jennifer A McGowan and Rob Walton, plus an extract from Devilskein & Dearlove, our Carnegie Nominated young adult novel by Alex Smith.

Arachne Feast & Festival at BrockleyMAX

Story Sessions logo copyThe Story Sessions are back – for a guest spot, maybe for good, depending… We are doing three events for BrockleyMAX. The first two are both on Saturday 30th May The Ladywell Gallery, (what used to be Misty Moon) behind The Ladywell Tavern 80 Ladywell Road SE13 7HS

Writing Workshop – Festival

5pm – 7pm Free; accompanied children over 10 welcome
Arachne Press presents a writing workshop on the theme of Festival. Get inspiration from the exhibition of photographs from previous BrockleyMAX festivals and write a new short story or poem, with the option to read it at The Story Sessions event in the evening.
 run by Cherry Potts
Story Sessions: Festival Tales
7.30pm – 9.30pm Free; accompanied children welcome
A live literature event with stories from Joan Taylor-Rowan and David Bausor, poems from Elinor Brooks (read by actor Miriam Lee) and Jennifer A McGowan on a festival theme. Circuses, Street parties and more. Join in with Flash from the Floor – your chance to read your own festival piece (max 100 words).
brockley max ladywell gallery
And finally, on Thursday 4th June at Brockley Deli 14a Brockley Cross, SE4 1BE
The Story Sessions: Feast Tales
8pm – 9pm Free entry; accompanied children 10+ welcome
A free live literature event all about food Stories from Rosalind Stopps, Joan Taylor-Rowan and Jason Jackson, Poems from Jennifer A McGowan and Rob Walton, plus an extract from Devilskein & Dearlove,our Carnegie Nominated young adult novel by Alex Smith – mostly read by our actor friends Peter Noble & Gloria Sanders.
Join us for a story set in a cheese shop, Cranberry Sauce as an excuse for an illicit meeting, trying to win friends with cookies and taking tea with a demon, plus poems about oranges and bay leaves! Order appropriate food to ‘taste-along’.

Devilskein & Dearlove Lewisham reading with Peter Noble

Video

The last of the readings before we hear whether we’ve been long-listed for the Carnegie Medal (announcement will be on Tuesday)…

Cape Town born Peter Noble takes up the Devilskein challenge, at Lewisham Library. Peter it turns out went (we think!) to the high school Erin is forced to attend, a little later into the book than this extract.

Devilskein and Dearlove readings at Brentwood and Newham- reporting back!

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Press coverage of the reading at Brentwood Theatre (with slightly exaggerated audience number in the headline!!) Thanks to Chicken & Frog for organising!

Recording from an early section of the reading by Greg Page at Brentwood Theatre

Video snippet of Greg Page reading at The Gate Library, Forest Gate.

Arachne Press is doing another actor reading of our CARNEGIE MEDAL NOMINATED Young Adult novel, Devilskein & Dearlove this coming Thursday 5th Feb 7.45 for 8 til 9.30 at Lewisham Library 199-201 Lewisham High Street SE13 6LG.
It’s an intoxicating mix of gardens and demons, doors within doors, tragedy and hope. Great for anyone from age 9 to 900, and especially anyone who loves fantasy.
Join publisher Cherry Potts of Arachne Press and actor Peter Noble for the reading with video Q&A from the author Alex Smith, showing of the animated trailer and live Q&A from the publisher.
We will find out if we are LONGLISTED for the Carnegie Medal a couple of days later…

Free but booking advisable at EventBrite (this is purely to control numbers, don’t be put off coming by the need to get a ticket!)

February Events: Devilskein & Dearlove at Lewisham Library

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

on Thursday 5 February from 20:00 to 21:30

Come and hear actor Peter Noble read from Alex Smith’s Carnegie Prize nominated tale of Erin Dearlove. From living grumpily with her bohemian Aunt Kate, Erin’s life changes when she goes to tea with Mr Devilskein, the demon who lives on the top floor. A fantastical story aimed primarily at 12-18 year olds, but in the tradition of former Carnegie medal winners Phillip Pullman, Terry Pratchett and CS Lewis entirely suitable fro anyone aged 9-900 and there is plenty for adult readers and listeners to savour.

This is a free event but please pre-book your tickets

Watch the YouTube trailer for Devilskein & Dearlove

We will have a novel Q&A on the night (like skype without the technical hiccups) – as Alex Smith lives in South Africa and isn’t able to be with us. We have asked people to get questions in early so that Alex can record her answers for the event.

Devilskeinfront final for bus card

Devilskein & Dearlove goes on tour

mr devilskeinWell, very nearly – do three dates constitute a tour?

We are doing readings of our CILIP Carnegie Medal Nominated young adult novel Devilskein & Dearlove by Alex Smith at:

Brentwood Theatre 15 Shenfield Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 8AG (in partnership with Chicken & Frog Bookshop)
Wednesday 21st January 2015 13:30, with Greg Page (who voices Mr Devilskein on our animated trailer) reading. We will show the trailer,  together with a video of author Alex Smith answering questions from Cape Town, South Africa) and Cherry Potts, Arachne Press owner will talk a little about publishing.
£10 including a copy of the book

The Gate Library 6-8 Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate, London E7 0QH
Thursday22nd January 2015, 11am with Greg Page taking the reader’s role. We will show the trailer,  together with a video of author Alex Smith answering questions from Cape Town, South Africa) Free.

Lewisham Library, 199-201 Lewisham High Street SE13 6LG
Thursday 5th February 2015 8pm with Peter Noble reading. Free.

erin dearlove

Ask Alex some questions about writing, Devilskein & Dearlove, or secret gardens…

We have actors to read because author Alex Smith is in South Africa. We have tried doing live video link-ups but there are too many variables, and it tends not to work, so we are doing some filming in advance, and we need your questions!

If you are coming to any of these events (or even if you aren’t) and would like to ask Alex a question, please use the form below, or tweet us at @Devilskein, BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Then Alex will record her answers and we can play them at the events, and put the video up on the website afterwards. (At the moment this will only happen at Brentwood Theatre, but we will see whether the libraries have the facilities to do the same.)

Devilskein & Dearlove readings

mr devilskeinPublication date is approaching fast. Which means we have started organising readings. A bit of a challenge with Alex being in South Africa – but does that stop us? No it does not!

You want a signed copy? No problem!

Alex is busy signing book-plates (based on Ed’s brilliant cover design) to be affixed lovingly to your copy, and we’ve got three actors as volunteer readers who can do South African accents, in Malini Stephenson, Peter Noble and Helen Belbin.

Our very first reading is actually the day before publication, at The Story Sessions: Youthful Tales on Wednesday 23rd July, in Hither Green (SE London).

Then we are reading at Balham and Tooting Libraries (SW London) on the same day, 7th August ,2.30 at Balham, 4.30 at Tooting.

Malini is covering those three.

erin dearloveA little later in the year, on 30th September, Peter will be reading for us at Albion Beatnik in Oxford. This is a departure for Albion Beatnik as they don’t stock Young Adult books as a rule – so come along and show Dennis there’s a market! We will be combining this reading with one for our forthcoming poetry anthology The Other Side of Sleep. Rumour has it tea will be served in between, highly appropriate for a book in which drinking tea with a demon changes lives for ever.

Exact timings tba.

If you like the sound of Devilskein & Dearlove and run a bookshop, library, reading group, museum or other suitable venue (a cafe, perhaps?) and would like us to come and read to you, please get in touch.

London Love and Strangeness at Peckham Literary Festival

We had a capacity crowd at Review bookshop for our PLF event: here are some videos of the readings and an audio file of the Q&A.

lies special offerRhik Samadder reading David Bausor‘s O Happy Day: from London Lies, a tale of weddings, street parties and sausages.

Nicky Diss reading Rosalind StoppsHow to Survive the Olympics with a Broken Heart from Lovers’ Lies

and Peter Noble (who stepped in at the 11th hour for which we are VERY grateful) reading Alan Graham‘s Zwo from Weird Lies, a stroy of alienation and B-movies.

The Q&A features all the authors plus Cherry Potts and Katy Darby – editors of the anthologies, talking about writing for Liars’ League, having stories read aloud, arguing, editing, Liars’ League attempts to take over the world, and our massive ignorance on the short story scene in Canada!

Thanks to all our readers, authors, audience and especially Evie Wyld (who didn’t even get to hear the stories apart from the monster roars through the floor) and Review Bookshop for hosting.