A Huddersfield Literature Festival calligraphy workshop, limited to 9 participants, book early.
Join us for a practical workshop in Nastaliq Arabic Calligraphy using bamboo pens and handmade inks. Razwan Ul-Haq will lead the practical workshop and also talk about traditional calligraphy and how it is used today.
About the artist
Razwan Ul-Haq is a QEST Alumni (Royal Warrant Holders Association) and is a widely exhibited artist whose work has been displayed in many galleries and museums. He regularly delivers lectures and talks and Arabic Calligraphy workshops. His commissions include Land Art for the Tour de France and he is one of only few artists whose work was projected alongside the immersive Van Gogh Exhibition in 2023. His work has appeared in various platforms including Channel 4, BBC Radio 4, The Times, ITV, and USA Today. Find out more at: www.ulhaq.com
Huddersfield Literature Festival presents an evening with Marcia Hutchinson, author of The Mercy Step. Plus a chance to view the Huddersfield Windrush On Tour Tapestry.
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Mercy Step is a sharp-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion, and her refusal to be broken. Born into a chaotic household in Bradford in 1962, a precocious Mercy finds solace in books and her imagination. But as the grip of family, faith and fear threatens to close in, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future.
“This vivid story of a Caribbean childhood in 1960s Bradford does not stint on accounts of poverty and systemic abuse, yet is pungent with wit and colour.” The Guardian
Marcia will be interviewed by Shazia Azhar MBE.
About the author
Marcia Hutchinson was born in the UK to Windrush generation Jamaican parents. After gaining an MA in Law from Oxford University, she worked as a lawyer before founding the educational publishing company Primary Colours. In 2011, she was awarded an MBE for services to Cultural Diversity. She has since worked as a community activist and was elected as a Labour Councillor in 2012. She is now a full-time writer and an active member of the Black Writers’ Guild.
About the Tapestry
Prior to the event, to mark Black History Month, there will also be the opportunity to view the Huddersfield Windrush On Tour Tapestry. Commissioned by Huddersfield Seventh-day Adventist Church and delivered in partnership with Kirklees Local TV (KLTV), the tapestry brings together decades of African Caribbean history through a unique combination of visual storytelling, photography, oral histories and digital archives. This landmark heritage project celebrates the legacy, resilience and contributions of the Windrush Generation across Kirklees and beyond, marking a major milestone in preserving and celebrating the legacy of the Windrush Generation.
Essential information
Thursday 22 October
5.30pm-6.30pm Windrush Tapestry viewing
6.30pm-7.30pm Marcia Hutchinson author talk followed by a book signing
This event is now fully booked. Check out our other October events on our What’s On page.
Families are invited to step into Windy Bank Woods for a gentle, creative adventure on Sunday 4 October, 1.30–3.30pm.
Come and see the woods through fresh eyes as a storyteller, artist and dancer invite you to slow down, explore and discover the trees around you in unexpected ways. Through stories, movement, art and imagination, you may notice things about the woodland that you’ve never seen before!
Inspired by The Wisdom of Trees by Max Adams and Ancient: Reviving the Woods that Made Great Britain by Luke Barley, this is a relaxed experience for families to enjoy together.
🍂 All you need is suitable outdoor clothing and your imagination!
Come and wander, wonder and discover the trees in a whole new way. 🌿
📍 We will meet at the entrance to Windy Bank Woods, off Knowle Lane, Meltham, at the start of the path leading towards Meltham Mills Reservoir.
What Three Words: masterful.illogical.skater
Children U16 must be accompanied by an adult.
(Please note the walk will not be near the reservoir and the path we will be using is used by the general public throughout the day. Uneven ground can make it difficult for prams and wheelchairs).
PLEASE NOTE: this event will now be an online event, to be released on our YouTube channel shortly.
Yorkshire writer, poet and musician Stu Hennigan talks about his dark, complex, and visceral debut novel Keshed, an unflinching character study exploring class, belonging, fatherhood and conflicting ideals of modern masculinity. (Note: strong language and adult themes)
In the derelict shell of what was once his family home, a dying man surveys the wreckage of his former life and drinks himself senseless, haunted by the chain of events that led him there. At heart, Keshed is the story of a relationship struggling to cope with the impossible pressures of raising a child under late-stage capitalism; but it’s also a love letter to the working-class north, from the grinding poverty of Thatcher’s ’80s to the present day.
Stu will be interviewed by author Simon Crump.
“Stu Hennigan is one of my favourite writers. His voice is unmistakable and always compelling. Keshed, in its presentation of class and fatherhood, displays verve, fearlessness and total commitment to its characters and their world. It’s brutal and beautiful.”
Wendy Erskine, author of The Benefactors
Stu Hennigan is a writer, poet and musician from the north of England. His book Ghost Signs (Bluemoose, 2022) was shortlisted for best non-fiction at the Books Are My Bag Awards and Best Political Book By A Non-Parliamentarian at the Parliamentary Book Awards in 2022/3. His short fiction, essays, poetry, criticism and articles have been published widely in print and online. Keshed is his first novel.
In partnership with the University of Huddersfield. Subtitled event.
In this fascinating talk, Vince Cable will discuss what the rise of the Asian superstates means for our future. The international order is crumbling and the Western-dominated world we’ve known for the past 300 years is coming to an end. In his incisive new book, Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world, Vince Cable examines the impact of these two countries, which account for more than a third of the world’s population.How will they navigate their growing roles on the world stage and what are the implications for commerce, international law and the fight against climate change?
Vince Cable is a Visiting Professor at London School of Economics and Political Science and a Distinguished Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. A former MP, he was leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017-2019, and was UK Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Glasgow and in the 1990s worked as Chief Economist for Shell. His books include The Storm (2009), After the Storm (2015), Open Arms (2017), Money and Power (2021) and The Chinese Conundrum (2022).
ACCESSIBILITY – This event will have live subtitling by Stagetext to make it more accessible to those who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. See below for travel and parking information.
Sponsored by
Tuesday 12 May
6.15pm-7.15pm
Diamond Jubilee Lecture Theatre, Charles Sikes Building, University of Huddersfield, Firth Street, Huddersfield HD1 3BN
£7 (£5), free for University staff and students and for Essential carers accompanying a ticket holder.
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.
Public transportThe University has its own bus stop by campus. For timetables, tickets and routes visit the Metro website.
Transpennine Express provides regular services in and out of Huddersfield, as does National Rail. The University is a 10-minute walk from the train station, or there are taxis outside the station.
ParkingThe University’s Firth Street and Wakefield Road car parks will be open for the public to park from 5.30pm on the event date (usual opening time 6pm). Please note: parking is only payable by signing up to the RingGo App, which you can set up ahead of your visit or by phoning an automated service on the day – details for both are on information boards in the car parks. There is no option for cash or contactless card payment at these car parks.
Alternative parking The Kingsgate Centre car park is open until 11.30pm.
Blue Badge parking There are a limited number of blue badge parking spaces on the University of Huddersfield campus. For more information, call: 01484 422 288.
Campus Map – Charles Sikes building is no 9 on the map
An open mic night for queer performers of all kinds, hosted by poetic comedian Zee and drag king singer-songwriter, Ding Frisby.
From music to poetry, comedy to cabaret, email outnloud.events@gmail.com or message on Instagram @OutAndLoudTogether to reserve a five-minute slot, or sign up on the night! Allies welcome to cheer on.
Out + Loud is a Huddersfield-based queer arts collective that aims to build local queer community and platforms for emerging talent.
Saturday 9 May
7.30pm-9pm
Attic, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Queen Street, Huddersfield HD1 2SP
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.
A friendly and welcoming open mic hosted by the Talking Zebras Spoken Word Group.
Drop in for a listen or sign up on the night to perform your own poetry.
Talking Zebras Spoken Word Group is a long-established poetry group that meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. Note: this special Festival Open Mic will be held at Amped, 29 Queensgate, Huddersfield, but the usual meetings are held at The Liversedge, 64 Leeds Road, Liversedge WF15 6HX. For more information and contact details visit the Talking Zebras website: https://www.talkingzebras.co.uk/
The York Lesbian Arts Festival, which ran through the early 2000s, was the UK’s largest and longest lasting gathering of lesbian, bi and queer women.
The film, 3000 Lesbians Go to York, tells the story of this Festival, with contributions from leading writers and poets, including Jackie Kay, Stella Duffy, Sarah Water, Val McDermid, Horse McDonald. There are also stories from festival founder Jenny Roberts, who with Ann Croft ran the York independent bookshop Libertas! where the idea of the festival was conceived.
The film, which runs for 1 hour 40 mins, will be followed by a short Q&A with film-maker Jane Traies and book signing of her accompanying book Three Thousand Lesbians Go to York – a treasure trove of inclusive queer history.
About the author and film-maker
Jane Traies is a queer historian, writer and storyteller whose work focuses on preserving the stories of marginalised women’s lives. Her best-known book, Now You See Me, is a collection of older lesbian life stories. Her second life-history collection, Free to Be Me, captures the stories of a group of lesbian and bisexual women seeking asylum in the UK. Writing jointly with Jacky Bratton, Jane is also half of the sapphic historical novelist Jay Taverner. Their latest title, Liberty, is the fourth adventure in the ‘Brynsquilver’ series. Jane’s latest book, Three Thousand Lesbians Go to York, tells the story of the York Lesbian Arts Festival.
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.
Join us for a live podcast recording with award-winning poet Rose Condo and Director of the National Poetry Centre Nick Barley.
Have a Kind Word With Yourself is a podcast that explores how we can keep kind, creative and connected. Now in Season 2, in this podcast series host Rose Condo speaks with fellow creatives about their work and some of the things that help to keep them well along the way. In every episode she uses the letters in the word KIND to frame her conversations.
For this live recording, Rose will speak with Nick Barley, Director of the National Poetry Centre. The event will include a Q&A with the audience.
Rose Condo is an award-winning Canadian performance poet. Based in Manchester, she has performed throughout the UK and internationally. She runs workshops for people of all ages, exploring wellbeing through creative writing. Her poetry and her solo shows have been published by Flapjack Press.
Nick Barley is the founding Director of the National Poetry Centre in Leeds – a new organisation to support and champion poetry across the UK. He is also a Professor in Practice at Durham University, working on Readerbank – a multidisciplinary research project into reading and the imagination. He was Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival from 2009-2023 and a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation from 2018-2024. He was a judge of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and was the chair of the judges for the 2017 International Booker Prize.
Saturday 16 May
4pm-5pm
Amped, 29 Zetland Street, HD1 2RA
£4, free for University of Huddersfield staff and students and for essential carers accompanying a ticket holder
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.
We will look closely at nature, listen to poetry that celebrates refugees who have come to Huddersfield, watch beautiful dancing set against the architecture of the park and explore words of hope.
1pm-2pm Picnic with music, weather permitting
2pm-3.30pm The creative walk, whatever the weather
Meet by the Visitor Centre and Refreshment Rooms, near Beaumont Park Road entrance.
6 million+ and Balbir Singh Dance Company have been working together for the past three years in Huddersfield on creative arts projects like Unmasking Pain and Wear and Share, that integrate refugees and local people in exciting ways.
6 Million + delivers creative arts projects with an extended family of refugees and local communities. The organisation exchanges and expresses stories of the Holocaust, genocides and contemporary persecution at home and abroad, while challenging discrimination and working towards a kinder future.
Balbir Singh Dance Company (BSDC) was founded by Balbir Singh MBE in 2005, creating a platform to bring Kathak and contemporary dance together. Based in Leeds, BSDC works across the UK and in internationally. Over time, the company’s projects have become far more than just performances: they are spaces of dialogue, transformation and healing.
Sunday 17 May
1pm-3.30pm
Visitor Centre (meeting point), Beaumont Park, Beaumont Park Road, Huddersfield HD4 7AY
Free (Booking required)
Age guidance: all ages (U16s should be accompanied by an adult)
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.
