I Love West Leeds Arts Festival | Young Writers | Rommi Smith introduction
Festival Young Writers in Residence - Rommi Smith
Big congratulations to our Festival Writers in Residence: Jo Brandon, Maisie Barker, Adam Lowe, Zodwa Nyoni and our Associate Writer in Residence: Laura Kirwan-Ashman. You can find further details of our writers, further down this page.
Each of these young writers has created brand new work inspired by the Festival. From monologues inspired by the histories of Armley Mills, to love songs in celebration of the stories collected on the number 16 bus, to comic strips about the Marvellous Tea Dance, they're all celebrated through words, the web, live readings, performance and illustration.
I'm very excited by the breadth of talent and ideas amongst the I Love West Leeds Festival Writers in Residence. There's a rich range of experience amongst the team; from writers already beginning the path of publishing, editing and producing work, to writers, for whom this festival is the very first step on the road to who-knows-where!
Rommi Smith, Group Mentor for the I Love West Leeds Festival Writers in Residence, Armley resident and Poet in Residence for Keats' House, London.
I Love West Leeds Festival Writers and Associate Writer in Residence Biographies
Jo Brandon is a 23 year old writer based in West Leeds. She is currently General Editor of Cadaverine Magazine and has had poetry, prose and non-fiction featured in various publications including Mslexia, Aesthetica, Dream Catcher, Scribe, Like Starlings, Squid Quarterly and Beyond Leeds. She is a regular performer of her work and has recently featured at Ilkley Literature Festival, Barefoot in the Park and on East Leeds FM. Jo is currently working on her debut poetry pamphlet.
Jo Brandon's residency page
Maisie Barker is a 17 year old writer based in Manchester. Her favourite books are 'Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs, 'Elective Affinities' by Goethe and 'It's Okay, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers' by Louise Rennison. Currently she's reading 'You're An Animal, Viskovitz!' by Alessandro Boffa and is loving the story about the amoeba. She is looking forward to being one of the I Love West Leeds Festival Writers in Residence because it will be a great opportunity to develop her writing and showcase it in a more public light.
Maisie Barker's residency page
Adam Lowe is an author, journalist and publisher from Armley in West Leeds. In 2009 he received four Lambda Award nominations and three British Fantasy Award nominations. In 2008 he was awarded a Spectrum Fantastic Arts Award. His debut novella, Troglodyte Rose, was released to critical acclaim worldwide. He also writes poetry and serves as a journalist for Bent magazine and The Pink Paper.
Adam Lowe's residency page
Zodwa Nyoni, a 21 year old Zimbabwean-born writer. She writes through narrative poetry. Her work has been published in Sable Lit Mag, The Warehouse (Canada) and Aesthetica Creative Works Annual 2009. She is a member of Young Inscribe (Peepal Tree) and Meta-Phonetics (Leeds Young Authors. She is currently reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. She is looking forward to bringing to life narratives discovered from Armley Mills, as one of the I Love West Leeds Writers in Residence.
Zodwa Nyoni's residency page
Laura Kirwan-Ashman is 21 years old and has been writing ever since she was young. Inspired by a creative writing workshop focusing on the author/artist Jeffrey Brown, she has recently begun creating comic books and is looking forward to working on a new one as Associate Writer in Residence for the I Love West Leeds Festival.