An award winning festival that does more than just dares to be different.  Pioneering in its field and unique in its style, a ‘rare beast – a festival fueled by pure, righteous anger’, which has the ‘foresight and guts to hold events in some of our most deprived areas’ and reach ‘audiences that other festivals can’t reach.’

Download the Writing on the Wall Brochure

Festival Guide 2010

Saturday 8th May - Festival Launch Party - Celebrating WoW’s 10th Birthday!

Come and celebrate 10 years of a festival on the edge with exciting performances, readings and cake. Birthday guests include award winning writer Pauline Melville, (Shapeshifter, The Ventriloquist Tale, Eating Air), poet Paul Farley, (The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You, Ice Age and Tramp in Flames) and WoW new writers. Music to dance to provided by Kinda-a-Blue featuring Radio Merseyside’s soul diva Mandy Smith. Hosted by the legendary Julian Daniels.

Studio 2, Parr Street, L1 4JN
Time: 8:30pm - till late
Entry: £5/3 concessions
Payable on the door

Sunday 9th May In the Red - 8 Magazine Launch

In The Red has hosted captivating and diverse writing with renowned names such as Niall Griffiths and Roger McGough. Now, celebrating the launch of our eighth issue, we give our writers and poets a chance to perform their work. If you want to be entertained by this year's best contemporary talent there is nowhere else to be, but In The Red. Special drinks offers at the bar.

The Chameleon Bar, 7-9 Back Colquitt Street, L1 4NL
Time: 6pm
Free

Tuesday 11th May China Miéville

China Miéville is two-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award (Perdido Street Station and The Scar) and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice (Perdido Street Station and Iron Council). China will be reading from his 2009 novel The City & The City, an existential thriller published to dazzling critical acclaim, and his latest work, Kraken, a dark urban fantasy thriller, a work full of wild imagination, exciting action and vivid characterization. Witness China Miéville’s own distinctive brand of urban adventure at its best.

The Brown Rooms,
Liverpool Guild of Students, 160 Mount Pleasant, L3 5TR
Time: 7pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions
Payable on the door

Tuesday 11th May Bearing Witness to the ‘pain of others’  Reactions on Authoritarianism and Resistance

Phil Scraton, Professor of Criminology at Queen’s University, Belfast, perhaps best known for his tireless campaigning and research on the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, is currently serving on The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which will oversee the public disclosure of official documentation relating to the deaths of 96 football fans in 1989. Phil began his career as an academic in Liverpool, completing research on the inner-city uprisings of the 1980s. He is a founding member of the Liverpool Traveller's Free School, the Gypsy and Traveller Education Council, and Inquest. Author of over a dozen books on authoritarianism, the criminal justice system, social justice and children’s rights, Phil’s career has bridged the gap between the ivory tower and the communities that Universities are duty bound to serve.

The Casa, 29 Hope Street, L1 9BQ
Time: 7:30pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions
Payable on the door

Wednesday 12th May Blankpages Liverpool Showcase

Blank Media Collective's blankpages team descend on Liverpool for one night only for an evening of multimedia performance and interaction featuring Liverpool poets Cate Jacobs and Curtis Watts, and Liverpool artist Jack Welsh. Poetry will combine with site-specific found object installations and moving image work selected from the Blank Media Collective artists' database. Blankpages Poetry Editor, Baiba Auria, will deliver a rare reading of her poetic works, and there’ll be a short poetry open mic at the top of the evening. Music by DBH and Darren Adcock, Manchester-based acoustic guitarists. blankpages is a monthly digital magazine for promoting emerging art from Blank Media Collective, available for free download from: www.blankmediacollective.org/blankpages

Leaf Tea Shop & Bar,
27 Parliament Street, L8 5RN
Time: 7pm
Entry: £3/£2 voluntary contribution

Thursday 13th May Book Launch: Love Hope and High Heels by Clare Campbell

In this first collection of magical poems, Clare takes us on a sensuous journey from the shadows of Liverpool Cathedral to the hot springs of California. Clare is a Liverpool artist, therapist and wild mistress of divine storytelling and love. With a radical and irreverent approach, Clare carries poetry into previously unreached audiences from prisons to housing estates, government conferences to dole queues, re-awakening lost dreams and inspiring a bigger vision of what is possible. Come along, laugh, cry, share and get loved up.

Blackburne House Café, Blackburne Place, Hope Street, L8 7PE
Time: 7pm-9pm
Free

Poetry Workshop Reclaiming stories to heal and give hope -
a sassy sexy storytelling workshop full of love and magic
Time: 10am-2pm
Entry: £5
Concessions by donation
Payable on the door

Friday 14th May A Rebel Rant with Bonnie Greer Obama – Is he doing it?

Bonnie Greer, award winning novelist, playwright, and author, deputy Chair of the British Museum and transatlantic social and cultural commentator, perhaps best known recently as sparring partner to the BNP’s Nick Griffin in the most controversial Question Time of recent years, brings to Liverpool her unique voice. One year on, with the Republicans back on the offensive and health service reforms being diluted by the day Bonnie takes up the question Barak Obama – Is he doing it?

Bonnie’s event is the final in 2009’s Rebel Rants, a programme provoking debate on contemporary issues featuring, Martin Bell, Germaine Greer, Michael Mansfield & Darcus Howe. The programme has been a huge success, attracting audiences of over 1000 people

The Contemporary Urban Centre,
41–51 Greenland Street, L1 0BS
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £8/£5 available from:
The philharmonic hall box office: 0151 709 3789

Saturday 15th May Richard Milward and Joe Dunthorne - Apples and Submarines

Richard Milward exploded on the scene in 2007 as one of Britain’s newest, brightest talents. Apples, his debut novel, was described by Irvine Welsh as one of the best he’s read about being young, working-class and British. Apples gained Milward a place on the shortlist for the 2007 South Bank Show Times Breakthrough Award. Milward’s second novel, Ten Storey Love Song, ‘arty, dirty and very, very funny’ The Guardian, confirmed his early promise.

Joe Dunthorne’s debut novel, Submarine, traces the fortunes of Oliver Tait, “a typically sex-obsessed 15-year-old boy who lives in his own world”, It has been translated into nine languages, and is being made into a film. His debut poetry pamphlet will be published by Faber in May 2010.

The Contemporary Urban Centre, 41–51 Greenland Street, L1 0BS
Time: 2pm -3pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions (includes entry into Robert Shearman)

Payable on the door

Saturday 15th May Robert Shearman

Love Songs for Daleks - Award winning short-story and television writer Rob Shearman, perhaps best known for his work as a screenwriter on Doctor Who (his episode, Dalek, was runner-up for a Hugo Award), joins Wow to read from his latest short-story collection ‘Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical’. His first collection ‘Tiny Deaths’, published by Comma Press, won the World Fantasy Award for best collection, was short-listed for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize. Don’t miss this unique voice whose writing has been described as ‘by turns macabre and moving, horrific and laugh-out loud funny’. Be there, or be exterminated.

Contemporary Urban Centre
Greenland Street, L1 0BS
Time: 4pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions (includes entry into Richard Milward and Joe Dunthorne Event)

Saturday 15th May

Music Panel - From Generation X to the X Factor; Real Music Lost in the Mix? An internet campaign came out of nowhere to propel Rage Against the Machine to the Xmas number one slot and give a bloody nose to the X Factor’s ongoing campaign for world domination. But what does it mean for music? Our panel are ready to plug in, turn up the volume, and let it rip: Don Letts – The Rebel Dread DJ & broadcaster. Kevin Sampson – Writer and former manager of The Farm. Jon Morter – Instant Legend who set up the Rage Against the Machine Facebook Campaign. Martin O’Shea – Manager of Atomic Kitten. Phil Hayes – Manager of Liverpool’s famous independent music venue ‘The Picket.’

The Contemporary Urban Centre
41-51 Greenland Street, L1 OBS
Time: 6pm - 8pm
Tickets: £6/£4 concessions - available from:
The philharmonic hall box office: 0151 709 3789
Online: www.writingonthewall.org.uk

Special Offer: Tickets for this event and the ‘Legends’ gig have a combined price of £18/£10 concessions.

Saturday 15th May Legends Levi Tafari, The Beat, Don Letts

WoW are delighted to present this monster of a night at the city’s best music venue: Levi Tafari, Liverpool’s favourite lyrical observer and urban griot. The Beat, with hits like Mirror in the Bathroom, Can't Get Used to Losing You, Hands Off She's Mine, The Beat are one of the most popular recording acts in UK. Original band member Roger Rankin and Everett Morton are joined by Roger’s son Murphy Ranking Jr, and Mickey Billingham, formerlyof Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Don Letts, (Big Audio Dynamite, BBC 6 Radio), the original Rebel Dread takes to the decks for a rare Liverpool performance.

The Picket, 61 Jordan St, L1 0BW
Time: 9pm - 2am
Tickets: £14/£8 concessions available from:
The philharmonic hall box office: 0151 709 3789
Online: www.writingonthewall.org.uk

Special Offer: Tickets for Music Panel and this event have a combined price of £18/£10 concessions.

Sunday 16th May - Luke Brown - When will I, will I be Famous? Independent Publishing and Getting Your Work in Print

If you’re already writing what you really want to know is; how do I break into the mysterious world of publishing? Luke Brown, Editor at Tindal Street, will be talking about the trials and tribulations of independent publishing and giving advice on what it takes to get your novel in print. Luke Brown has published authors including Catherine O’Flynn and Anthony Cartwright. Tindal Street Press is a prize-winning independent, famed for its tiny size and Birmingham address and for regularly reaching the major prize lists. Tindal Street won the 2009 Costa Prize First Novel Award for Raphael Selbourne’s Beauty.

Pulp Idol Final starts after this event at 4pm
The Contemporary Urban Centre,
41–51 Greenland Street, L1 0BS
Time: 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Free

Sunday 16th May - The DPM Crew – Vandals or Van Goghs?

Contemporary Urban Centre - In 2006 five members of graffiti collective the DPM Crew were given custodial sentences for conspiracy to commit criminal damage. The investigation took four years and cost £5 million. On the day they were sentenced the TATE Modern housed an exhibition celebrating street and graffiti art. The international media debate that followed the sentencing asked whether it was right to jail young artists and raised questions about the acceptance of graffiti art in modern society with the rise of celebrated illegal graffiti artists such as Banksy and the exploitation of graffiti by advertisers looking for 'street cred'. Ironically, while doing time the crew were commissioned by the prison service to paint graffiti murals on vehicles and community walls. Here four members of the DPM crew join WoW for a live graffiti exhibition, followed by a sit down discussion on their treatment and experiences of the justice system and the future of graffiti art.

Greenland Street, Liverpool, L1 0BS
Time: 2pm Live Graffiti exhibition,
5pm-6pm Discussion
Free

Sunday 16th May The Cipher present Lowkey

Building on the success of their gigs over the last two years performing alongside Sway, Skinnyman and Bashy, this year The Cipher are stepping it up a gear to bring to you rapper and hip hop artist Lowkey. He is a London based activist of English and Arab decent whose lyrics are inspired by his humanitarian work in Palestine. Make sure you get with the Cipher for raw music, lyrical knowledge and hop hip poetry. The Cipher are a group of highly talented, award winning, young writers, rappers and artists based in Liverpool. their focus is on original high quality, high energy creative work. If you’re 11-19 yrs, interested in writing, rapping and performing, then The Cipher is the place for you. Check us out on Facebook – LiverpoolYoung Writers and Supporters.

The Contemporary Urban Centre,
41–51 Greenland Street, L1 0BS
Time: 7pm till late
Entry: £3
Payable on the door

Monday 17th May Talking Musical Revolutions

Gavin Martin, NME scribe and music critic for the Daily Mirror brings his legendary music and spoken word event Talking Musical Revolutions on the road from London and into the Pool of Life. An evening dedicated to the most famous - and brilliant - pop rock combo to ever come from Liverpool, England, Britain, the world in general: The Beatles. Paul, George, John and Ringo won't be there in person. But the spirit of what they did and the meaning of what they left behind will be prised open, praised, sung and argued over. Get here early for this one-off night of a legendary event. Appearances by: Dean Johnson; Phil Thornton (in a Beatles wig); Ian Prowse; Paul Du Noyer; Clarissa Pouncer; Marianne Hyatt; Zoe Street Howe; Gavin Martin; Colin Hall; Dean Johnson will sing the astonishing Silence and there will be Fabs and Fabs related music all night long and more, so much more.

Studio 2, Parr Street, L1 4JN
Time: 7.30pm
Entry: £5/£3 concessions
Payable on the door.

Tuesday 18th May Is this England?

Anthony Cartwright and Helen Walsh Race riots, the BNP on the prowl, British-born Moslem’s in Guantanemo, Asians under attack, worn out councillors, teachers and teaching assistants, world cup football and a Sunday League race war, A Tamil Princess and families falling apart and fighting for survival in an ever changing country– Is this just Warrington and the Black Country, or Is this England? Two of the hottest young writers in Britain today, Anthony Cartwright (The Afterglow, Heartland), and Helen Walsh (Brass, Once Upon a Time in England), will be reading from theirwork and discussing issues of race and identity in England today.

The Casa, 29 Hope Street, L1 9BQ
Time: 7.30pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions
Payable on the door.

Wednesday 19th May Art and rebellion - Stewart Home and David Jacques

Stewart Home is an artist, theorist and writer whose oeuvre covers non-fiction work on utopianism, situationism, psychogeography and punk rock, and a diverse range of experimental popular novels with titles including, 69 Things to do with a Dead Princess. Stewart, will be reading from his 1991 book Defiant Pose and his recently released novel Blood Rites of the Bourgeoisie. Dave Jacques is a Liverpool-born artist whose work focuses on hidden histories and the struggles of ordinary and extraordinary people. With ‘Stereoviews to the World’ Dave presents his latest work, an enigmatic experiment with the centres and peripheries of human vision with a series ofeye-bending ‘stereoviews’, images designed for the cross-eyed and curious.

Blackburne House, Hope Street, L8 7PE
Time: 7.30pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions
Payable on the door

Thursday 20th May Ted Polhemus, Phil Thornton and Sara McEwan- Whatever happened to street style?

From the Teddy Boys of the 1950s to the ravers of the 1990s, Britain’s fashion-conscious pop tribes once lead the way. But does today’s domination of the high-street by global leisure brands signal the end for sartorial creativity in youth culture? Or do recent developments such as emo and the anti-style of the so-called ‘scene kids’ mean that there will always be a street style hovering just beneath the radar of the main fashion houses? Join Ted Polhemus (Curator of the V&A’s 1994 exhibition ‘Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to tomorrow’, and author of My Generation: A Biography of the Babyboomers), and Phil Thornton (Editior of Swine), and Sara McEwan, a fashion designer inspired by music and pop culture, who believes that street style is highly influential, for a night devoted to you street fashionistas.

3rd Room, The Everyman Bistro,
5-9 Hope Street, L1 9HB
Time: 7:30pm
Entry: £3/£2 concessions
Payable on the door

Thursday 20th May Another Time, Another Place Photographic Exhibition

Kirkby industrial estate at its peak provided 80% of all employment within the area. Recent figures show that the figure is barely 20%. Those areas on the ‘edge’ of Liverpool that were combinations of urban and industrial environments are now in danger of being forgotten. There is a wider problem in that so much history seems solely to do with what happened ‘yesterday’; the instant society in which we live does not require any act of remembering. Steve Higginson and Ian Morris, tutors at the Merseyside Trade Union Education Unit, have developed the above project in order to re-establish the idea of ‘collective memory’ that is related to collective identity and shared experience. Through utilising both text and imagery, the intention is to ensure that even though a post –industrial world is with us, the solidarity and interdependent voices of Kirkby are not hidden nor silenced.

The World Museum Community Base Gallery, William Brown Street, L3 8EN
Opening times: 9am-5pm
Exhibition: Thursday May 20th – Friday 18th June

Friday 21st May Roddy Doyle

The opening novel of Roddy Doyle’s comic Barrytown Trilogy, The Commitments, made him a household name as he brought to life Dublin Soul, Jimmy Rabbitte and the likes of Joey The Lips Fagan. Roddy won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and is the author of fourteen novels and a collection of short stories and has written for stage and screen and a piece of none fiction, Rory and Ita, a memoir of his parents. Roddy will be reading from The Dead Republic, the third novel in his acclaimed Henry Smart Trilogy.

Stick around for a bit of a craic after Roddy Doyle’s event to hear some of the best Irish Traditional music from Liverpool-based Irish trio, The Wicker baskets

The Casa, 29 Hope Street, L1 9BQ
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: Tickets: £5/£3 concessions.
Available from: The Philharmonic Hall box office 0151 709 3789 online at www.writingonthewall.org.uk

Sunday 22nd May Pub Crawl It’s not the leaving of Liverpool….Oh yes it is!

We’re leaving the festival and heading to foreign climes, with Niall Griffiths (Grits, Sheepshagger, Real Liverpool), returning with or without his ‘Sheila’, to lead the merriment with readings from his forthcoming memoir/travelogue, ‘Ten Pound Poms’, based on his experiences of life down under when his family took advantage of the ten pound voyage and sailed off to Australia. Niall will be joined by a host of writers and poets all reading original work about times away from Liverpool. Always a popular event, get to the bar early cobber and register now for the crawl by contacting the WoW office:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 0151 703 0020

Peter Kavanagh’s, Egerton Street
off Catherine Street, Liverpool