We met Martin at our Open Mic Evening during the first Altrincham Word Fest in May 2018. He read several poems and we were really impressed with his work. Martin is a retired university lecturer and describes himself as ‘a mathematician who wanted certainty but found life more interesting and fulfilling by not getting it.’! Martin does remember writing a couple of poems whilst at … Continue reading Martin Zarrop and ‘No Theory of Everything’
If you google Tom Jenks make sure that you don’t get confused by the American writer or the former Grand National Jockey. Our Tom Jenks is a prolific writer of experimental poetry and prose. He’s been a regular on the Manchester spoken word scene for many years. His highly original work is hard to describe in words. Have a look at him on You Tube … Continue reading Getting inside Tom Jenks’s head…
Katie Frankland attended some of the Word Fest workshops in May 2018 and was inspired to start writing as result. In fact, the image of Katie writing during a break out session at Kate Feld’s ‘Life Writing’ session was one of our favourite shots of the festival. She looked so absorbed and yet so relaxed! We were excited to hear that Kate now has her … Continue reading Blogger Katie Frankland who loves life and writing
Originally from Altrincham, David has had a long and successful career as a TV and radio producer and writer of celebrity biographies for people as diverse as the Sex Pistols and Emma Watson. However, it is clear that a major turning point in both his career and life was the arrest and subsequent prosecution of a teacher from his former school in Hale Barns on … Continue reading Black Moss, the new novel from writer David Nolan
Reveiw by Seamus Kelly What do I, as a poet, look for when reading or listening to poetry? When I read poetry, I want to be shown new perspectives, to gain new insights, to be made to pause for thought and I hope to find pleasure in the reading. After reading just six random poems from this collection I knew that it would deliver … Continue reading England -Poems From A School Edited By Kate Clanchy (Picador)
Reveiw by Katie Frankland It does what it says on the cover: it’s a story about the sister of a witchfinder. There’s something quite simple, matter of fact about its title, yet quite deep and intriguing at the same time. The sister, Alice is making a reluctant but necessary move from London back to her rural beginnings in Essex. Her husband had recently died, leaving … Continue reading The Witchfinder’s sister Beth Underdown (Penguin Books)
Beautiful Chilling Tales from a poet Words by Yoko Isami Before I was involved with Altrincham Word Fest, I was really an avarage reader, just reading books that caught my eye. I had some favorite authors, but that was it. I thought that was what everyone was doing. Then I noticed my colleague was on her small mission to read books by authors from the … Continue reading Quartier Perdu Sean O’Brien (Comma Press)
Altrincham Word Fest 