Conversations with Writers

Andrew Button lives in Market Bosworth in western Leicestershire, England. His poems have been published in magazines that include Orbis , Staple , The Interpreter’s House , Iota and Ink, Sweat and Tears . His pamphlet, Dry Days in Wet Towns , was published in 2016 and a first full collection, Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza in 2017 by erbacce press . In this interview, Andrew Button talks about his latest collection of poems Music for Empty Car Parks and poetry in the time of Covid-19. How would you describe  Music for Empty Car Parks ? Music for Empty Car Parks is an eclectic mix of poems that wryly observe life with all its quirks and obsessions. Eccentricity and human preoccupations particularly fascinate me. You could say that is my poetical obsession! How long did it take you to put the book together? I have a large back catalogue of poems written over the years and it was a matter of selecting the best ones, old and new. I really enjoy the process and q...

Emma Lee was born in South Gloucestershire and now lives in Leicestershire. She is on the committee of Leicester Writers’ Club and the steering group for the Leicester Writers’ Showcase. Her poems, short stories and articles have appeared in many anthologies and magazines. Some of her poems have been been translated into languages that include Chinese, Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian. Emma Lee co-edited Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). She has four poetry collections, The Significance of a Dress (Arachne Press, 2020), Ghosts in the Desert (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2015), Mimicking a Snowdrop (Thynks, 2014) and Yellow Torchlight and the Blues (Original Plus, 2004). Her latest collection, The Significance of A Dress , has been described as "Poems informed by, and immersed in politics. Whether investigating the lives of refugees, fami...

Deborah Tyler-Bennett is a poet and fiction writer with eight volumes of poems and three volumes of short linked stories to her credit. She is currently working on her first novel, Livin' in a Great Big Way . Her new volume, Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday , will be out from King's England in 2019. Her poems have also been featured in anthologies that include Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction (CivicLeicester, 2019), Leicester 2084 AD: New Poems about The City (CivicLeicester, 2018) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). In an earlier interview , Deborah talked about her concerns as a writer, and some of the influences she draws on. In this new interview, Deborah talks about her latest book, Mr Bowlly Regrets , and about poetry and politics: Do you write every day? I do write everyday: on trains; in cafés; in bars; at home; in other settings. I try and give myself a timetable between teaching Adult Ed creative writing, workshops, ...

Deborah Tyler-Bennett ’s forthcoming volume, Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday , is out from King’s England Press in 2019, and her first novel, Livin’ In a Great Big Way is in preparation for the same publisher. She also has two recent volumes from the same publisher – Mr Bowlly Regrets – Poems , and Brand New Beat: Linked Short Fictions Set in the 1960s (both 2017). She’s had seven collections of poetry published, some previous volumes being Napoleon Solo Biscuits (King’s England, 2015), poems based on growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, and Kinda Keats (Shoestring, 2013), work deriving from a residency at Keats House, Hampstead. Her first collection of linked, 1940s set, short stories, Turned Out Nice Again came out from King’s England in 2013, and a sequel, set in the 1950s, Mice that Roared was published in 2015, Brand New Beat, set in the 1960s , represents the final part of the trilogy. In 2016, The Coffee House Anthology from Charnwood Arts marked the final volume of Coff...

Andrew Button is from Market Bosworth and has had poems published in various magazines including Orbis , Staple , The Interpreter’s House , Iota and Ink, Sweat and Tears . His pamphlet, Dry Days in Wet Towns , was published in 2016 and a first full collection, Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza in 2017 by erbacce press . In this interview, Andrew talks about his writing: When did you start writing? From the age of fourteen I always wanted to be a writer. The late Liverpool poet, Adrian Henri, was an early inspiration. He was invited to my school to encourage pupils to write and perform their poetry. From the ensuing workshop sessions, an anthology of our poems was published and presented at a performance evening for parents. I suppose I started writing seriously for magazine publication in my early twenties. Adrian Henri and a very supportive English teacher convinced me that I had a talent for writing poetry and it progressed from there. This is going to sound like the ster...

Individuals and groups that have an interest in the literary activity that takes place in Leicester and Leicestershire are meeting to look at what can be done to raise the profile of the scene locally, nationally and internationally. The meeting is free and open to all and is taking place at the Bishop Street Methodist Church, 10a Bishop Street, on 13 December 2017, in Leicester, from 6.30pm till 9.30pm. Speaking at the event are: ● Henderson Mullin , Chief Executive Officer, Writing East Midlands (WEM) ● James Urquhart , Relationship Manager for Literature in the Midlands, Arts Council England ● Cllr Sarah Russell , Deputy City Mayor with responsibilities for Children, Young People's Services, Leicester City Council ● Farhana Shaikh , Dahlia Publishing / Leicester Writes Short Story Prize / The Asian Writer ● Matthew Pegg , Mantle Arts / Mantle Lane Press ● Emma Lee , President, Leicester Writers Club; and ● Bobba Cass , Pinggg...k! The event is being hosted by the...

Penny Jones is a writer from Leicestershire. She has been published by Fox Spirit Books , Factor Fiction Press , Five Leaves Publications , and Dahlia Publishing . Among other writers' conventions and conferences, she attends the monthly meet up of Leicester Writes . In this interview, Penny Jones talks about her writing, Over Land, Over Sea and Journeys in Translation . How would you describe the writing that you do? I'm new to writing, so at the moment I write anything and everything. I find writing really hard, but find procrastinating really easy, so writing in different styles and genres means that I can try and fool my brain when it is telling me to give up. I have recently finished the first draft of a novel, and throughout the process all I wanted to do was write the short story I had been commissioned to write; then when I was writing that, all I wanted to do was write the screenplay for the course I was attending, and now I'm doing that all I want t...

David Wilkinson David Wilkinson lives in Ashby de la Zouch and works as the Midlands Regional Officer for the Institute of Physics. His debut novel, We Bleed the Same (Inspired Quill, 2014) was shortlisted for the East Midlands Book Award 2015 . In this interview, David Wilkinson talks about his concerns as a writer. When did you start writing? I have been making up stories set in my fictional “universe” since I was about five. These have been refined over the years until I had novel plots set in my mind. I would talk extensively to my wife about them and she kept saying I should try writing them out. Then a confluence of events occurred. First I got paid to write an article in a science magazine. Then I heard a successful playwright interviewed on BBC Radio 4 who used to be a girl in my English GCSE class, giving feelings of “well, if she can do it...” But mostly it was my wife just telling me to shut up and get on with it, buying me a course at the Leicester Writing Sch...