WoWfest 2018 – CROSSING BORDERS responds to recent national and international political, social and cultural developments around issues of Brexit/The EU, migration, race, inclusion/exclusion, diversity and nationalism. While Trump talks of building walls, and borders are back on the international agenda, WoWFEST 2018 – Crossing Borders will explore messages of togetherness, hope and inclusivity by building stories and experiences around the thoughts, ideas and hopes of our communities for the society and identity they wish to build for themselves and each other in the wake of Brexit.
With the impact of Brexit hotly contested and unbridled Trumpery across the Atlantic, WoWFest 2018 – CROSSING BORDERS will explore literature, art, ideas and practice that has transgressed and challenged accepted ways of thinking. From migrant literature to refugee stories, prisoner stories and translated works, we’ll be discussing race, gender, sexuality, Europe, politics, activism, satire, collaboration, grime music and technology.
In venues across the city WoWfest 2018 – CROSSING BORDERS will break down barriers – technological, geographic and those that frame our identity and ways of living. Local national and international writers, artists and commentators will debate and discuss ideas of nationalism and identity and their impact on society, culture and artistic creation. They’ll consider whether the gates protecting the most elite communities need to be torn down in the name of Social Justice and the Grenfell survivors. Subverting the theme, we’ll be exploring borders that need to be fortified #metoo. With guests and events including Lily Allen, Robert Webb and Jordan Stephens, and Benjamin Zephaniah, and an exclusive exhibition in Liverpool’s Central Library about the persecution of the Roma community by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s (and many more to be announced), WoWfest 2018 – CROSSING BORDERS will defy expectations, entertain and challenge, and invite you to get involved.
Writing on the Wall Co-Director Madeline Heneghan says:
‘Writing on the Wall’s WoWFEST 2018 – Crossing Borders follows in the tradition of previous festivals by engaging our diverse communities in arts, culture, debates and discussions on current events, while bringing the best writers, artists and commentators to audiences across the region. Borders and walls are on the rise across the world. Literature, art and culture can provide a platform for artists and audiences to come together to discuss and present work on difficult and often divisive issues, including Brexit, immigration, and issues of social justice like Grenfell, and come together to explore perspectives that can throw a new light on these issues, and inspire unity and cohesion, rather than hate and division.’
#Justice4Grenfell, £12/£6, 3rd May, 19:30, Black-E, 1 Great George Street, L1 5EW. Tickets: www.ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/justice-4-grenfell
Prison Writes, £10/£5, 23rd May, 18:30, Bluecoat, School Lane, L1 3BX. Tickets: http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/events/view/events/3840
Shy Radicals & Shrinking Violets, £10/£5, 24th May, 18:30, Bluecoat, School Lane, L1 3BX. Tickets: http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/events/view/events/3841
The Life & Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, £22.50/£28.50, 20th May, 19:30, Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street, L1 9BP. Tickets: http://www.liverpoolphil.com/whats-on/the-life-and-rhymes-of-benjamin-zephaniah
Festival website: www.wowfest.uk
Writing on the Wall website: www.writingonthewall.org.uk
Contact details for press and media enquiries:
0151 703 0020
Applications now open for WoW’s acclaimed Annual Pulp Idol Novel-Writing Competition
Pulp Idol is Liverpool’s unique, successful, novel-writing competition that focuses on supporting new original voices, getting them heard, and bridging the gap between the national publishing industry and Merseyside. We provide a platform for up-and-coming writers, helping with exposure to new audiences and providing contacts with key publishers and agents.
‘Pulp Idol has had many successes, but few so quickly as the outcome of the 2017 competition when finalist Ariel Kahn’s debut novel was snapped up almost immediately by North-east based award-winning independent publisher Bluemoose Books who will publish Ariel’s debut novel Raising Sparks in July 2018.’
Mike Morris, Co-Director of Writing on the Wall
Submit your first chapter here: https://www.wowfest.uk/competitions/pulp-idol.html
We’re now taking submissions for our online heat via YouTube. Upload to our YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxY68jhRJV1Id4OAZbzAzqw
Then send an email to [email protected] providing us with your contact details and the name of your video.
Contact details for press and media enquiries:
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