Events

Tag: HuddLitFest

Workshop: Pace in Prose Fiction

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A Huddersfield Literature Festival creative writing workshop, limited to 9 participants, book early.

Sign up for the opportunity to take part in a small-group fiction workshop taught by award-winning novelist and creative writing tutor Okechukwu Nzelu.

Pace is one of the most important aspects of a novel. Plot-led novels depend on it particularly, but even those writing character-led novels need to use pace deliberately and thoughtfully. But how do we do that?

Through readings, discussions and exercises, this workshop will explore the importance of pace and how it can be used to the best advantage in prose fiction.

About the author and workshop tutor

Dr Okechukwu Nzelu FRSL is a novelist, freelance writer and teacher based in Manchester. In 2015 he won a Northern Writers’ Award from New Writing North. His debut novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney (Dialogue Books, 2019), won a Betty Trask Award; it was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Polari First Book Prize, and longlisted for the Portico Prize. In 2021, it was selected for the Kingston University Big Read and distributed to all staff and students at three universities.

His second novel, Here Again Now (Dialogue Books, 2022) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Award, the Polari Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Diverse Book Awards. In 2024 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

In 2025 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kingston University, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to literature and reading pleasure. He has made several appearances on national radio, and is a regular contributor to Kinfolk magazine. He is a non-executive director of ALCS and CLA, and Lecturer in Creative Writing at Lancaster University.

https://www.nzelu.org/

Essential information

Saturday 24 October
2pm-4pm
£3
Age guidance: 16+

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Workshop: Calligraphy with Razwan Ul-Haq

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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

Essential information

Saturday 24 October
11am-1pm
£3
Age guidance: 16+

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Marcia Hutchinson & Windrush Exhibition

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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

FREE

Huddersfield Library

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In the Company of Trees – sold out

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).

Free event, booking required.

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Online: The Grieving Body – an interview

An online interview with Mary-Frances O’Connor, author of The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing.

Watch free on the HuddLitFest YouTube channel from Friday 15 May.

The follow-up to celebrated grief expert, neuroscientist, and psychologist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor’s The Grieving Brain focuses on the impact of grief – and life’s other major stressors – on the human body.

Coping with death and grief is one of the most painful human experiences. While we can speak to the psychological and emotional ramifications of loss and sorrow, we often overlook its impact on our physical bodies. Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor specialises in the study of grief, and in The Grieving Body she shares vital scientific research, revealing imperative new insights on its profound physiological impact. As she did in The Grieving Brain, O’Connor combines illuminating studies and personal stories to explore the toll loss takes on our cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems and the larger implications for our long-term well-being.

Research-backed, warm, and empathetic, The Grieving Body is an essential, hopeful read for those experiencing loss as well as their supportive friends and family.

ONLINE: Renaturing – an interview

An online interview with James Canton, author of Renaturing: Small Ways to Wild the World.

Watch free on the HuddLitFest YouTube channel from Friday 8 May.

Twenty years ago, James Canton moved from London to the English countryside. Behind his farm labourer’s cottage was a small field with a ‘for sale’ sign. At first it was a site for family picnics and cricket matches with friends, but James knew that the two-acre patch of earth held more potential – as a place for nature to return and flourish.

Here is the story of how, over a number of years, he undertook a project to ‘rewild’ the field: digging a pond, forging meadowlands, creating habitats for birds and insects, encouraging flowers and plants that support pollinators and wildlife. Eventually what was once just a grassy space was again buzzing with life.

The process raised some interesting questions. Rewilding is about bringing a large landscape back to a natural, self-sustaining state. But that wasn’t possible on the scale of a field, a garden or a window box. What if we rethought the term? What if we aimed for ‘renaturing’ instead? Even on the smallest of scales we can create habitats to support a greater diversity of nature. A single window box planted with pollinator-friendly flowers can provide a mini-habitat to support honeybees; a tower block with a window box on every balcony becomes an acre of bee-friendly ecosystem.

Renaturing shows how the concept of rewilding can be adopted by us all. We can all make positive change, however large or small. We can all be involved in caring for and restoring the natural world.

James Canton James Canton is Director of Wild Writing at the University of Essex. He is the author of Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors (2023), The Oak Papers (2020), Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain (2017) and Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013), which was inspired by his rural wanderings in East Anglia. He has written for the Guardian, reviews for the TLS and Caught by the River, and is a regular on television and radio.

@jamescanton | @jrcanton1 | jamescanton.co.uk

Image c. Lawrence Cawley

What’s in a Story?

Four bestselling women writers talk all things novel writing. From mid-life wives to midwives, Christmas crackers to beach reads, a Yorkshire village to Berlin zoo – they cover it all!  

 

Join Tilly Tennant, Julie Houston, Tracy Bloom and Anna Stuart for an evening of entertainment to discuss the joy of stories, both writing them and reading them. 

 

This is a free event and will be oversubscribed, if you are no longer able to attend, please email frontline.services@kirklees.gov.uk so they can re-release your ticket.
 

 

Tuesday 12 May 

6.30pm-8pm 

Kirkburton Library, Turnshaw Road, Kirkburton, Huddersfield HD8 0RT 

Free 

Age guidance: £16+ 

 

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.

 

 

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

The Arts Dividend with Darren Henley

Your chance to hear insights from Arts Council England Chief Executive Darren Henley about the current landscape of arts and culture, and pose your questions on the pressing issues facing this sector. 

 

Arts and culture enrich people’s lives in many ways, but securing funding has become more challenging. In The Arts Dividend: How Investment in Culture Creates Happier Lives, Darren Henley presents an impassioned and convincing case for the importance and rewards of public investment in arts and culture. 

 

He also offers first-hand insights into how the arts: 

 

  • encourage creativity 
  • enhance education 
  • provide defining characteristics to places 
  • have a positive impact on health and wellbeing 
  • support innovation and technology 
  • contribute to economic prosperity 
  • enhance our country’s reputation for cultural excellence 

 

Darren Henley OBE is Chief Executive of Arts Council England. The author of two independent government reviews into music and culture, he has written 30 books about the arts. Before joining the Arts Council, he spent 15 years leading Classic FM. He holds degrees in politics from the University of Hull, management from the University of South Wales and history of art from the University of Buckingham. 

 

Accessibility information: this event will have live subtitling by Stagetext. 

 

Thursday 14 May 

5.30pm-6.30pm 

Cellar, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Queen Street HD1 2SP 

Ticket price: £5 (£4 conc) free for University of Huddersfield staff and students & essential carers accompanying a ticket holder  

Age guidance: 14+ (U16s should be accompanied by an adult) 

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

 

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.

 

A Celebration of the Huddersfield Ukrainian Community

An evening celebrating the local Ukrainian community with song, dance and an illustrated talk.  

 

Michael Drapan, author of Home from Home, will deliver an illustrated talk on the 70-year history of the émigré Ukrainian community in Huddersfield. This will be followed by traditional folk songs and ballads from the Huddersfield Ukrainian Singing Troupe and traditional folk dance from Zolota Kalyna Dance Ensemble.  

 

Home from Home tells the history of the émigré Ukrainian community based in Huddersfield from 1948 to 2018. At a time when Ukraine heroically endures an unprovoked and destructive invasion by Russian forces, this history aids understanding of historic hostilities, from the traumatic era of enforced slave labour under the Third Reich, battles on the Eastern Front and survival in frightful camps during the bloody years of the Second World War. Then, from the late 1940s, the establishment of Ukrainian Clubs to preserve Ukrainian history, language, and traditions in the UK.  

 

Michael Drapan is a senior committee member of AUGB (Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain) Huddersfield. A retired headteacher, he currently works as a University Examination Invigilator and Kirklees Council Interpreter for Ukrainian refugees.  

 

Thursday 14 May 

7pm-8pm 

Free (booking recommended) 

The Cellar, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Queen Street, Huddersfield HD1 2SP 

Age guidance: 11+ 

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

 

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.