Women in Word Literary Festival 2024
Featuring a festival reading group, in conversation / readings from established and emerging women writers, talks, events and workshops, poetry films by women, networking opportunities, a literary stitch event – and an evening finale in a Georgian ballroom!
The Hypatia Trust has a commitment to advancing women's equality and being visible, strong and collaborative – and we also like to put on fun, community events – so we are super pleased to be putting on our second Women In Word literary festival celebrating women creatives in Cornwall. Women In Word is a women focused literary festival but the events are open to everyone to attend.
Our first Women In Word literary festival in June 2023 was a great success with full and engaged audiences.
For June 2024 we have extended the programming –the full programme with ticket links is below!
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Festival Reading Group, Wednesday 5th June, 6.30pm to 8.30pm – On the eve of the festival we have a special Women in Word reading group led by Alice Mount looking at the theme of home and displacement in the short stories of Jean Rhys.
Writing workshop with Linda Cleary, Thursday 6th June, 11am to 1pm – Looking at both interior landscape (of self) and exterior location in relation to: (dis)place(d). In this psychogeographical exploration we will create short narratives and fragments of writing; whether poetry, fiction or narrative non fiction. More on Linda here: https://www.freewriterscentre.org/about.html
The Starting Point – a roundtable discussion with new and emerging writers, Thursday 6th June, 2pm to 3pm – Featuring two local writers: Nancy Thompson will discuss her debut narrative non fiction work Child of the Commune and Sheelagh Barton will talk about working with near future dystopia in her novel Chip. Hosted by writer and festival director Linda Cleary with Q&A open to the floor.
Screenings of short poetry films, Thursday 6th June, 7pm to 9pm – Our second year of showcasing poetry films made by Cornwall connected women. Come along to this inspiring evening of fresh work from the region. Introduction by prize-winning poetry film-maker, poet, and theorist, director and editor Sarah Tremlett.
Poetry Film Roundtable, Friday 7th June, 12 noon to 2pm – For poetry film makers and all those interested. Prize-winning poetry film-maker, poet, and theorist, director and editor Sarah Tremlett will lead this discussion looking at the process and practice of creating a poetry film; its component parts and the differences in approach. Films from the previous evening's screening will be highlighted and the filmmakers encouraged to take part in the discussion, as well as everyone attending. The event allows for brainstorming, valuable tips and sharing of ideas, as well as a Q&A.
More on Sarah here: www.liberatedwords.com www.sarahtremlett.com
Ella Frears poetry reading and in-conversation with Q&A, Friday 7th June, 7.30pm to 9pm – We are so pleased to have Ella Frears at this year's Women in Word literary festival. Ella is an exciting, modern poet and writer with acclaimed published works. Her new book, Goodlord, is due to launch soon with Rough Trade Books and she is currently the Royal Literary Fund Fellow for the Courtauld Institute of Art. Ella will be reading from a selection of her work, followed by a short interval and then an in-conversation with Q&A.
More on Ella here: https://ellafrears.com/biography/
Literary Crafting with Maggi Livingstone and crafters, Saturday 8th, 11am to 1pm – Join us at Hypatia Trust to stitch some of the words we are in danger of losing. In their book, The Lost Words, Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane highlighted words of the natural world such as bluebells, dandelions and acorns which are being replaced by technical words such as blog, broadband and many others. We will provide material and thread for the event.
‘A Whole Lot of Rather Scummy Literary History that Hasn't Yet Come to Light' - a two part event with Dr Jen McDerra and Sue Hill, Saturday 8th, 2pm to 3.30pm – Dr Jen McDerra will share the findings of her work recovering women's hidden contributions to books and broadcasting. Jen will then be joined by Sue Hill where they will talk about their shared commitment to unearthing and prioritising the lives and words of women in Cornwall.
The Big Finale Party with DJ Nina at The Union ballroom, Saturday 8th, 7pm to 9.30pm – Our Women in Word festival ends with a celebration! A grand finale in the Georgian lounge and ballroom with DJ La Niña - a Brazilian British DJ, resident in Penzance, playing a bespoke international mix of women singers and musicians on vinyl ranging across genres from salsa to samba via soca, reggae, disco and jazz, and spanning the second half of the 20th century. A celebration of women's voices, musicianship and resilience, all on vinyl. A unique cultural experience.
Last year we had a costume theme, this year it is 'come as you are' – so the only dress code is whatever you decide! Grab a ticket before they go!
Full Festival Pass - Get a discounted pass allowing you to go to all events on the programme!
BIOS
Sarah Tremlett
Sarah Tremlett is a prize-winning poetry film-maker, poet and theorist and director and editor of Liberated Words online. Exhibitor and key speaker at Tom Konyves’ Poets with a Video Camera exhibition, Surrey, Vancouver (2022), she is a juror and curator at festivals; most recently Fotogenia, Women in Word & REELpoetry, and has given numerous talks, readings and screenings on the subject worldwide such as Vancouver & San Francisco, 2022. Her publication The Poetics of Poetry Film (Intellect Books UK, 2021) has been described as ‘“A ground- breaking, encyclopaedic work, and an industry Bible” https://www.intellectbooks.com/the-poetics-of-poetry-film
She also has a chapter on Voice and New Narrative frameworks in Intermedial Art Practices as Cultural Resilience (Routledge, 2024). Sarah runs a family history poetry film project, and inaugurated the Frame to Frames: Your Eyes Follow ekphrastic poetry film screening and prize, which she presented at FOTOGENIA, Mexico City, 2023. Published by Poem Film Editions through Liberated Words, the accompanying innovative bilingual publication Frame to Frames: Your Eyes Follow includes the poems, stills and artists’ details, along with a QR link to all the films in the screening.
More on Sarah here: www.sarahtremlett.com and www.liberatedwords.com
Ella Frears
Ella Frears is a poet and artist, from Cornwall, based in London. Her debut collection, Shine, Darling, (Offord Road Books, 2020) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was shortlisted for both the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. Her latest pamphlet I AM THE MOTHER CAT written as part of her residency at John Hansard Gallery is out with Rough Trade Books (2021).
Ella is a tutor in poetry and creative writing at City Lit, was an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths University for the BA English with Creative Writing, has taught for Falmouth University, and University East London, as well as running freelance workshops for various spaces and organisations including Arvon, the Guardian, the Poetry School, the Poetry Society, Kew Gardens, Dartington, and Spread the Word.
In 2023 Ella was Creative Fellow at Exeter University working with the Maritime Environmental History Department, and is currently the Royal Literary Fund Fellow for the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Read her full biography here: www.ellafrears.com/biography
Linda Cleary
Linda Cleary is a British born Irish diaspora writer from a working class background, currently living in Cornwall. Her work has been published in various journals plus spoken word, audio and poetry film; one of her most recent poetry films was in Bloomsday Festival 2023. She is a Literary Arts Consultant delivering courses, coaching and editing. Linda set up and curated Hypatia Publications' literary department 2019 – 2022 and she is the creator and curator of our Women in Word literary festival.
More on Linda here: www.freewriterscentre.org/about
Lally MacBeth
Lally MacBeth is an artist, writer and researcher. She graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2013 with a First Class Honours in Fashion History & Theory, and has since divided her time between being sensible and silly. She founded The Folk Archive in 2020, and co-founded Stone Club in 2021. She writes regularly for Caught by the River, has curated film programmes for Folkestone Docu Fest and London Short Film Festival, and sits on the board for Bosena.
Dr Jen McDerra
Dr Jen McDerra is a writer and literary life historian who uses archives and oral histories to reunite women in books and broadcasting with their considerable achievements. Jen is the Creative Director of The Writers' Block here in Cornwall.
Sue Hill
Theatre-maker, gardener, writer, storyteller, mayven, maker of giants/goddesses/creatures out of mud, sticks and plants, Cornishwoman. Sue has travelled the world, making theatre in unlikely places with Kneehigh and WildWorks, from the Green Line in Nicosia to Kensington Palace, via Soweto and Scilly. With her brother, Pete Hill, she has made many large scale earth sculptures including the Mudmaid and Giant at Heligan and Eve at Eden. She was Artistic Director of the Eden Project for seven years. She is currently working on new Eden Projects planned for Dundee, Morecambe and Qingdao and researching the extraordinary adventures of Clara Vyvyan. She is an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University and a Trustee of the Gardeners’ House project in Penzance
Alice Mount
Alice is the managing editor of our online archive, Women in Cornwall. She studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh and holds an MA in Oral History and Life Writing from the University of Sussex. Alice is a freelance writer, researcher and copy editor for various art, history and archival projects, with a special interest in hidden social histories and contemporary feminist writing practices. Alice is the host of Hypatia Trust's monthly Women in Word Reading Group.
Maggi Livingstone
Maggi is The Hypatia Trust's lead archivist, archiving the correspondence, notebooks and original manuscripts in The Hypatia Trust collections so that they can be preserved for the long term and made accessible for future generations to enjoy. She is also a crafter and committed to a sustainable lifestyle, wanting to ensure that crafting skills are passed within community and between generations.
DJ La Niña
Niña is a Brazilian-British DJ, dancer, teacher and filmmaker resident in Penzance, having returned most recently from travels in Tanzania and Galicia. She brings traditional and spiritual elements from music of the African diaspora from across Cuba, Brasil and North America with a practitioner's awareness of cultural and religious energies. Nina is launching a Selector DJ channel as La Niña continuing her work curating and sharing global grooves here in Cornwall and across the world - the site is yet to be added to but you can see the genesis of this here: https://youtube.com/@LaNina_DJ?si=l95wthcJCjUXnsoP
Previously she was known as Latination and performed with her own dance troupe and musicians supporting international salsa bands across the South West - including DJing for International Women's Day Centenary celebrations in Fez, Morocco in 2011.
Nancy Thompson
Nancy had an unconventional upbringing in rural Norfolk. Born into a hippy commune in 1975 she attended various state schools before being home educated, during which time she hitched around Morocco with her mother and younger sister. Her childhood summers were spent travelling in a horse drawn wagon to the Albion fairs. She has a degree in French and Linguistics and lives in Cornwall with her husband and their three sons. Child of the Commune is Nancy’s first narrative work of non-fiction in which she juxtaposes her lived experience as a commune kid with narrative from a conversation with her late mother. You can hear a podcast interview with Nancy here: https://sohoradiolondon.com/profile/bureau-of-lost-culture/
Sheelagh Barton
Sheelagh is a Cornwall resident who has been writing for eight years. She recently discovered an unexpected interested in sci-fi and dystopian worlds and is in the process of completing her debut novel. Chip is a near future dystopia set in post-democratic UK. Committed to colonising space, the government partners with Infinterra, a world-dominating neurotech company, and begins to roll out neural chips throughout the population.
The Union Hotel
Our venue partner for the festival, used for our finale party in its splendid Trafalgar ballroom, is The Union Hotel, just up from our own venue on Chapel Street, Penzance. Managed by the fabulous Jo Watson, this 17th-century building is, as one can expect, full of history and story and apart from the Trafalgar ballroom on the first floor it also has an old theatre bar, visited by Charles Dickens when he stayed at the hotel. The hotel is open to all with its public bar and it is a popular Penzance music venue.
It also features as one of the locations in the novel Whistling Jack by Cornwall based writer Josephine Gardiner, published by our own Hypatia Publications in 2022: https://hypatia-trust.org.uk/bookshop/whistling-jack