Events

Tag: #inconversation

An Evening with author David Scott

A New Leaf bookshop (Marsden) presents an evening with David Scott as he releases his new book, Caroline Aherne: Rebel in Disguise, a thoughtful exploration of the work of one of the most influential and sadly missed British comedians. Scott dives into Aherne’s iconic characters from Mrs Merton to Denise in The Royle Family, examining the social and cultural influences that shaped her work, celebrated for its sharp wit, warmth and ability to find comedy in adversity. 

 

David Scott is a BBC Radio Manchester presenter, a poet, podcaster, Youtuber and author. His first book, Mancunians was published by Manchester University Press in 2022. 

 

PLEASE NOTE: This event is organised and run by A New Leaf bookshop.  

 

To book, visit the bookshop in person or contact A New Leaf direct – contact information is on their website: https://www.anewleafbookshop.co.uk/  

 

 

Thursday 21 May 

6pm-8pm 

A New Leaf, 30 Peel Street, Marsden HD7 6BW 

£7.50 (includes a hot drink & book discount) 

Age guidance: 16+ 

ONLINE: Stu Hennigan – Keshed

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.  

Vince Cable – Eclipsing the West

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.

Age guidance: 16+ 

Access Guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/charles-sikes-building-diamond-jubilee-lecture-theatre  

Book tickets

 

Access, travel and parking information 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at [email protected] 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 transport The 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. 

Parking The 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

University of Huddersfield campus map

 

These Isles – with Brian Groom

From the bestselling author of Northerners comes a rich and timely cultural, historical and social examination of the entwined histories of Britain and Ireland’s nations – and the people who called them home. 

 

In These Isles: A People’s History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Brian Groom reveals a colourful and often contested story of the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans and others who have occupied these islands, along with their culture, languages and passions. 

 

Groom explores the role of religion and the British Empire, international diasporas and internal migration, gender relations and war in this entertaining narrative. 

 

With forays into popular culture, sport, music, language, literature and art, These Isles stretches from 800,000-year-old footprints on a Norfolk beach to the changing fortunes of the early 21st century. It offers a uniquely rich and kaleidoscopic vision of the shared stories of people across Britain and Ireland – past and present. 

 

“Entertaining and informative. Groom keeps his history admirably down to earth.” The Times, Book of the Week 

 

Brian Groom is a journalist and a leading expert on British regional and national affairs. His career was spent mainly at the Financial Times, where he was assistant editor. He is also a former editor of Scotland on Sunday, which he launched as deputy editor and which won many awards. Brian’s first book, Northerners, was a Waterstones History 

Book of the Year and his second, Made in Manchester, was a Financial Times Book of the Year. He lives in Saddleworth. 

In association with Free University of Slawit – free tickets for members (choose the option at checkout).

 

Friday 15 May 

2pm-3pm 

Heritage Quay, Schwann Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH 

£5, free for University of Huddersfield staff and students, Free University of Slawit (FUS) members, and for Essential carers accompanying a ticket holder 

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

Access Information: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/heritage-quay  

 

Book tickets

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at [email protected] 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.

Live Podcast with Rose Condo & Nick Barley

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. 

www.rosecondo.net @rose_condo_poet 

 

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 

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 [email protected] 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.

Val McDermid – Silent Bones

Bestselling crime writer Val McDermid has sold over 19 million books worldwide, with TV adaptations of her novels including Wire in the Blood and Karen Pirie (both ITV). 

 

Val will be chatting to Helen Scott about her latest Karen Pirie novel Silent Bones.  

 

When a landslide on a Scottish motorway reveals the body of journalist Sam Nimmo, DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.  

 

Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one that connects their murder cases with Scotland’s rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits – and possibly beyond… 

 

Val McDermid is an international number one bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for TV and radio, most notably the Wire in the Blood series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan. The Karen Pirie novels have also been adapted for a major ITV series. She divides her time between Fife and Edinburgh. 

Sponsored by:

Kirklees College

Sunday 17 May 

2.30pm-3.30pm 

North Light Gallery, 78 Armitage Road, Armitage Bridge, Huddersfield HD4 7NR 

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

Age guidance: 14+ 

Access information: contact the venue on 01484 340 003 

Book tickets

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at [email protected] 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.

Ancient: Reviving the Woods That Made Britain

Join Luke Barley, the National Trust’s senior adviser on woodland, on a journey into the woods, to discover the trees that made Britain. 

 

Ancient woods are Britain’s richest habitats: rare fragments of our landscape that teem with life from soil to canopy. They live in our collective imagination as quiet places, best left pristine and untouched. But their story has always been one of interdependence with people. Now, as ever, these woods need the thoughtful intervention of humans to survive. 

 

With the benefit of over 20 years’ experience rehabilitating ancient woodland, Luke Barley reveals what we stand to gain, as individuals and as a society, by rekindling our ancient connection with these special places. 

 

“A wonderful ramble beneath the boughs. Barley listens, translates and spins their beautiful ancient yarns.” Chris Packham 

 

Luke Barley is the National Trust’s senior adviser on woodland and previously worked as a ranger in some of England’s most iconic landscapes, including the Lakes and the Peak District. He is particularly interested in ancient woodland and the profound connection between its human history and rich ecology – the subject of his first book. 

Sponsored by:

Sleigh & Story Certified Accountants

Sunday 10 May 

2.30pm-3.30pm 

Marsden Mechanics, 16 Peel Street, Marsden HD7 6BW 

£8 (£7 conc), free for University of Huddersfield staff and students, free for Essential carers accompanying a ticket holder.

Age guidance: 12+ 

Access guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/marsden-mechanics-hall  

Book tickets

 

Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at [email protected] 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.

The ‘Chocolat’ Experience – with Joanne Harris

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!!

 

The million-copy bestselling author of Chocolat, Joanne Harris, teams up with World Master Chef David Greenwood-Haigh to lead you through a chocolate-tasting experience. Plus a performance of scenes from Vianne, Joanne’s most recent novel in the Chocolat story and an author Q&A. 

 

Everyone attending this event will receive a limited-edition tin of Xocolati Rub, created especially for the event by David. Drinks will be available to purchase from the theatre bar. 

 

Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for 15 years, during which time she published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche. Since then, she has written over 20 more novels, plus novellas, short stories, game scripts, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a stage musical (with Howard Goodall) and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. A passionate advocate for authors’ rights, she lives in Huddersfield with her husband and works from a shed in her garden. 

 

David Greenwood-Haigh’s journey through the world of hospitality and chocolate spans more than four decades. A Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, a Disciple of Escoffier, and a World Master Chef with the Craft Guild of Chefs, David is a multi-award-winning chef, who brings his experience and insight to Yorkshire kitchens and cocoa farms in West Africa. As a Department for Business and Trade (DTI) Export Champion, David advocates for small-scale producers; he also judges for some of the most prestigious food awards in the world and has collaborated with global food giants. His mission is to inspire, to guide, and to open doors for the next generation of chefs, chocolatiers, and cocoa change-makers. https://www.coeurdexocolat.com/ 

 

Saturday 16 May 

5pm-6.30pm 

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

£10 (£8 conc) free for essential carers accompanying a ticket holder.

Age guidance: 14+ 

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 [email protected] 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.