Our first audio book, hot off the mixing desk, not available in shops until January. Available as a downloadable MP3.
Or if music is more your thing, Pledge £12 or more to receive a Ticket to Ride CD from Vocal Chords Choir, our regular collaborators on Solstice Shorts, singing songs with a travel theme. There is only ONE of these available
Being busy people we can’t always arrange our own events as regularly as we might like, so we are very happy when we get asked to take part in other people’s.
On Saturday 30th September we are at Free Verse Poetry Book Fair at Conway Hall where we will have a stall all day, and are reading in the Red Lion Square garden cafe at 4.30, with Jeremy Dixon, Lisa Kelly and Sarah James.Experience a flush of openness in San Francisco, a long day on a till, an even longer night in a hotel, and time shifting about the three occupants of a house.
Followed on the Saturday Morning at 11am with a Children’s event in the Library, (Free) with The Old Woman From Friuli by Ghillian Potts being read by Tash Fairbanks, and a kind of demonstration of woodcut printing from Cherry Potts, because we couldn’t get hold of Ed Boxall, the illustrator of the book, to join us. No sharp objects will be let near children!
With the 5th Anniversary celebrations heading into view I was thinking about the thank you speech, and like the Oscars it is in danger of going on, and on. And on. So I thought I’d blog it instead, a section at a time.
What does a publisher need with musicians? Well, our regular events Solstice Shorts Festival (always), and The Story Sessions (usually), some of our launches and some of our writing workshops have included music – always acoustic, often folk, sometimes original, mostly but not exclusively songs, because we love the narrative power of a song.
Our most frequent collaborators are Ian Kennedy and Sarah Lloyd who have performed in just about every capacity we offer them.
Next most regular must be Annalie Wilson, who also reads for us and was our artist in residence for the last four Story Sessions..
Annalie Wilson
After that it’s our choir friends, in various guises, (there’s a lot of cross-over in choirs!) most frequently as Summer All Year Long, but also Vocal Chords and Raise the Roof
And finally… Lester Simpson, who runs singing workshops for us once or twice a year and teaches us amazing songs that find their way into our events, and the repetoire of choirs all over London; and has become a friend along the way.
Will there be music at the Anniversary celebrations on the 8th September? Of course there will! Book your free ticket now!
A taster of what we got up to at St Hilda’s for Brockley Max – (there would be more but I forgot to turn the recorder back on after the interval for a while)
A barnstorming performance by both our readers, and an exciting mix of traditional and modern protest songs from Vocal Chords.
Silas Hawkins reads Liberty by Andrew McCallum, followed by We Raise the Watch Word Liberty, and Bread and Roses sung by Vocal Chords.
Silas reads The Branded Hand by Brian Johnstone after Vocal Chords singing Dougie Maclean’s Ready for the Storm and finishing with Erile
Carrie Cohen reads Wigtown Bay 1685 by Elinor Brooks with Senzenina before it, and Give Me Wings to finish.
Silas again, reading Tabernacle Lane by Jeremy Dixon followed by Labi Sifre’s Something Inside So Strong
Brockley Max is coming – and we are getting involved.
2nd June 7pm at the Talbot Pub in Brockley SE4 1QG, Arachne authors Bartle Sawbridge, Rosalind Stopps and Cherry Potts join other writers from WooA (Writers of Our Age), Neil Lawrence, Anna Somerset and Hilary Dunn for Urban Myths. (the link says 7-7.30 that means 7 for 7.30, we aim to be there at least 2 hours.
You can join in with 100 words of your own urban myth, and get stuck in with the epic writing relay, which is definitely best experienced slightly sozzled.
On Sunday 4th June at 3.30, we join Vocal Chords Choir (who have supported Solstice Shorts Festival a couple of times) at their Songs of Protestgig at St Hilda’s Church SE23 1NL when actors Silas Hawkins and Carrie Cohen will read some of the poems from Liberty Talesto complement the songs.
Our final drop-in session is at Art In The Park Story-telling tent on Hilly Fields, on Saturday 10th June at 2.30, when Arachne stalwart Katy Darby will be reading our forthcoming younger children’s book, The Old Woman From Friuli by Ghillian Potts which is in the shops 6th June – you can buy direct from us NOW post free.
New CD Father Tongues from Zachary Gvirtzman, our main musical collaborator on the Solstice Shorts Festival, includes Two Blind Elephants, the piece most used by writers to inspire them for stories and poems read at the festival.
or
Ticket to Ride CD
CD of travel inspired songs from Vocal Chords Choir, our regular collaborators on Solstice Shorts
Vocal Chords sing Green Grow’th the Holly an ancient song of the turning of the seasons, at Solstice Shorts festival 2016 at West Greenwich Library on 21st December 2016, BSL interpreted by Martin Fox-Roberts.
Vocal Chords sing a traditional New Year wassail, (which they had already sung about eight times around Greenwich town centre!) known as George Dunn’s Wassail.
BSL interpreted by Martin Fox-Roberts
Learnt from Lester Simpson at last year’s Solstice Shorts folk workshop.
You can now book for Lester Simpson’s Folk Song Workshop on 26th November – our Solstice ‘Advent’ event! 12.45-5.15 pm, £25.
Come and learn around 5 acapella songs in 3 or 4 part harmony, from Lester Simpson an international recording artist, and member of the renowned Coope Boyes & Simpson, who also runs community choirs. Informal but intense, lots of tea and biscuits. Access to sound files after the event. St Hilda’s Church Hall, Courtrai Road, Crofton Park SE23 1NL
And finally… 
