Events

Tag: #creativewriting

Exploring Literature, Creative Writing and Poetry in Creative Health

This lunchtime networking and afternoon workshop invites anyone interested in the power of words to explore the role of literature, creative writing and poetry in creative health.  

 

Bringing together people from across communities, health and social care, and the arts, the session will offer space to share lived experiences of how reading, writing and poetry can support health, wellbeing and connection in everyday life. 

 

Speakers will include:  

  • Nick Barley, Director of the National Poetry Centre 
  • Professor Rowan Bailey, Strategic Lead for Research (Arts and Humanities) and Principal Investigator of Creative Health HUB (University of Huddersfield) 
  • Luise Marino, SWYPT (South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching) 
  • Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England

 

Come and explore the benefits of literature for wellbeing, lived experiences of using creative writing and poetry in health and social care settings, and the personal practice of reading and engaging with literature as part of daily life. We invite you to share your thoughts and ideas about the role of literature, creative writing and poetry in creative health. 

 

The workshop will also introduce the work of the National Creative Health Hub (based at the University of Huddersfield), which is leading a consortium project with a range of external partners and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. This work sits within the wider ambitions of the West Yorkshire Creative Health System, which aims to support creative health in making people’s lives healthier and happier. 

 

No prior experience is needed — just curiosity and a willingness to explore the creative health benefits of literature, creative writing and poetry together. 

 

Refreshments will be provided.

 

Thursday 14 May 

1pm-4pm (1pm-2pm networking lunch, 2pm-4pm workshop)

The Create Lab, Barbara Hepworth Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH (See map below, Barbara Hepworth Building is no 36 on the map)

Free 

Age guidance: 16+ 

Access Guide: https://students.hud.ac.uk/help/disability/accessibility/  

 

Book tickets

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at info@huddlitfest.org.uk with your request.

NOTE: there is no general public parking at the University. For information on disabled parking, contact the University direct on 01484 422 288.

Concession & Carers: For further information on concession and essential carer tickets, please visit our FAQ’s page. 

Eventbrite note: When purchasing tickets please download the Eventbrite ‘app’ or ‘create an Eventbrite account’. This will facilitate quicker access to your tickets.

University of Huddersfield campus map

Huddersfield Voices Open Mic

Join Serendipity Creative Writers for a poetry Open Mic: Huddersfield Voices: Reflections of Life, Love, Light & Laughter – “The WRITE Way to Better Mental Health”. 

 

This year is the National Year of Reading 2026, so whether you are an avid writer, a novice or just want to listen, all are welcome to this event in a safe, warm, friendly space, to celebrate creativity and self-expression. 

 

Venue located opposite the Town Hall. Free event and free cake! 

 

Serendipity Creative Writers is a well-established small mental health charity (reg. no. 1201197) founded in 2018. Based in Huddersfield Serendipity serves the surrounding Kirklees area. The charity’s whole ethos is to bring people from all walks of life together through the love, enjoyment and inspiration of poetry, storytelling and the spoken word. Through writing and sharing we can improve our mental health, build friendships and stronger communities. Serendipity runs free weekly workshops in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley, thanks to funding from the National Lottery. 

 

www.serendipitycreativewriters.org/ 

www.facebook.com.serendipity.creative.writers.charity 

 

 

Sunday 10 May 

5pm-7pm 

Café Life, 42 Victoria Lane, Huddersfield HD1 2QF  

Free: donations welcomed on the night 

Age guidance: 16+ 

Workshop: What’s Your Story?

Book this workshop with Juliet’s Thomas’s Workshop: Celebrating Life Stories (Saturday 9 May at 11am) and save! Just choose the option of both workshops when you purchase your ticket. 

 

What’s Your Story? – a creative writing workshop with author Paul Burston.  

 

Paul Burston is the author of six novels, numerous short stories and a bestselling memoir. In this workshop he’ll explore how writing from life can help shape long and short form fiction. 

 

Open to all levels, the workshop will include writing exercises to help shape the stories you want to tell. 

 

Paul Burston is curator and host of award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon Polari and founder of the Polari Prize book awards for LGBTQ+ writers. In 2016, he featured in the British Council’s Global List of ‘33 visionary people promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world’. Paul is the author of six novels and five non-fiction books, and the editor of two short-story collections. His bestselling memoir We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor’s Story was published in 2023. 

 

Saturday 9 May 

1.30pm-3.30pm 

Amped, 29 Zetland St, HD1 2RD 

£12 (£10 conc), free for essential carers accompanying a ticket holder 

Age guidance: 16+ 

Access Guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/amped 

 

 

Book tickets

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at info@huddlitfest.org.uk with your request.

Concession & Carers: For further information on concession and essential carer tickets, please visit our FAQ’s page. 

Eventbrite note: When purchasing tickets please download the Eventbrite ‘app’ or ‘create an Eventbrite account’. This will facilitate quicker access to your tickets.

Workshop: Plot Without Panic – Planning a Novel that Actually Works

Ever had a great idea for a novel… but don’t know where to start? Or worse… you started all right, but got stuck halfway through! Sound familiar? This practical, supportive workshop, led by creative writing tutor and bestselling author Russ Thomas, will demystify plot and show you how stories really work.  

 

You will explore conflict, character desire, and story events – and how they combine to drive a compelling narrative forward. Through guided discussion and handson exercises, you’ll develop a clear, flexible plan for your own novel, whether you’re starting from scratch or untangling a work-in-progress. No rigid formulas, no creative strangulation – just tools you can adapt to your own process. You’ll leave with a plotted outline, renewed confidence, and a clearer sense of where your story is going next. 

 

Russ Thomas lives in Sheffield, UK. He grew up in the 80s reading anything he could find at the library and largely avoiding the great outdoors. After a few “proper” jobs (among them: pot-washer, optician’s receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-centre telephonist and storage salesman), he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to people about books all day. His critically acclaimed, bestselling crime series, set in Sheffield featuring DS Adam Tyler, consists of  Firewatching  (Times bestseller; Waterstones Thriller of the Month),  Nighthawking  (Times Book of the Month),  Cold Reckoning and Sleeping Dogs. 

 

https://russthomasauthor.com/ 

 

“I use a flexible, personalised approach, and offer writers honest, encouraging feedback. My mission is to help writers unlock their voice, and to give them the tools they need to see their stories come alive.” Russ Thomas 

 

Saturday 16 May  

11am-1pm 

Amped, 29 Zetland Street, HD1 2RA 

£12 (£10 conc), free for essential carers accompanying a ticket holder 

Age Guidance: 16+ 

Access Guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/amped 

 

Book tickets

 

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at info@huddlitfest.org.uk with your request.

Concession & Carers: For further information on concession and essential carer tickets, please visit our FAQ’s page. 

Eventbrite note: When purchasing tickets please download the Eventbrite ‘app’ or ‘create an Eventbrite account’. This will facilitate quicker access to your tickets.