The north of England is a land of storytellers, across generations, man and boy, this green and pastured landscape has churned out some of the greatest literary talents in the history of the English language. From the pioneering bravery of the Brontë sisters to the revolutionary romanticism of Wordsworth, the northern counties have long been a production line of raw class. The city of Leeds will celebrate our cultural storytelling heritage later this week as the Northern Short Story Festival (NSSF), ran and organised by the Leeds Big Bookend, returns back for another year.

The festival will host a variety of events taking place around Leeds from Friday May 31 to Sunday June 2 – attracting cultural appeal from across the country and beyond. First established in 2016 under the creative title “NoShoSto”, the festival has since attracted some of the countries big names in the short-story industry. In its debut year award-winning novelist and short story writer, Carys Bray headlined the festival, followed by A.J Ainsworth in 2017. Ainsworth, a Lancashire native, is the winner of the illustrious Scott Prize for her collection of short stories Somewhere Else, or Even Here and a living embodiment of the norths continual talent pool. Last year the standout event was a panel event workshop where a critically acclaimed panel hosted a seminar on how to write an award-winning short story. The panel included Leeds based poet James Nash, Leeds University Ph.D. student and author Clare Fisher and winner of the Bare Fiction Prize for Short Story of the Year with her story Skin Deep, C.G Menon. This year the events seek to be even bigger and better than before. We’ve handpicked some of the best events from the upcoming 2019 festival.

 

The Flash Fiction Slam: “Five minutes. One Story. Can you tell a story in less time than it takes to hard-boil an egg?” (Friday May 31, 19:30-21:30, Carriageworks Studio Theatre, £4)

 

The Flash Fiction Slam competition returns to the festival for a third consecutive year. The aim is quite simple, contestants must receive a short story, they must read the story, digest it and perform it to the audience. Contestants will be awarded points for style, story, and performance, extra marks may be awarded for audience reaction – so make sure you bring your friends along! The judges at this year’s event are Tania Hershman and Benjamin Judge, a very fitting name! Prizes, including book bundles, one-to-one story tuition from Strix editor S.J Bradley and the honour of entering the Flash Fiction Slam hall of fame.

 

We Were Strangers: Stories inspired by Unknown Pleasures (Saturday June 1, 12:45-13:30, Carriageworks Studio Theatre, FREE)

 

Hailing from Manchester, Joy Division are one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the last century. Their albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer are as iconic now as they were when released. Following the suicidal death of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980, Joy Division’s creative innovation was cut short as the band dispersed with members forming the new-wave outfit New Order. At this year’s NSSF authors Richard V. Hirst, Sophie Mackintosh (Man Booker nominee), Jessie Greengrass (winner of the Edge Hill Prize), and David Gaffney will host a seminar on how the band were an inspiration behind some of their fantastic stories. Get the spirit, lose the feeling – long live Ian Curtis!

 

Resist: Stories of Uprising Reading & Q&A (Saturday June 1, 16:30-17:15, Carriageworks Studio Theatre, FREE)

 

We Brits aren’t afraid to stand our ground and protest against the social injustices dealt out by the establishment – we’ve been doing it for centuries! From the Peasants Revolt to the Suffragettes we know our way around a protest. This year at the NSSF, a special Q&A panel event will take place on Saturday evening,  featuring Uschi Gatward (Best of British Short Stories), SJ Bradley (K Blundell Trust Award Winner), Lucas Stewart (Dinesh Allirajah prize) and Jude Brown (Bridport prize shortlistee), with host James Nash. The panel will sit down reflect on, and dissect some of the key moments in British protest history. Expect there to be plenty of historical input from crowd scientist and historians alike. Stick it to the establishment and head down to the Carriageworks this Saturday – POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

 

The Creatives Mixer Social Event (Sunday June 2, 15:00-16:00, Carriageworks Studio Theatre, FREE)

 

In the creative arts industry, it is a common discourse that it’s not always what you know but it’s who you know. In spite of this, the NSSF has organised a free networking event for Sunday afternoon. Whether you’re an artist, filmmaker, developer, musician, writer or craft maker, this is the event that may just put you in contact with your next client.

If none of the events we handpicked tickle your fancy, don’t worry. There are plenty of other events going on across the week. For a full list of events, tickets or general queries please check out the NSSF website here: http://bigbookend.co.uk/nssf/