Tinkering with history
Richard Smyth won the first prize in the LS13 anthology competition with his short story ‘Deep’. Here, he explains the relationship between history and his writing. “Nothing but a pack of lies” – Damon Runyon on...
The Big Bookend
What does it mean to be a writer?
Aissa Gallie, one of LS13′s twenty contributors, shares the influences and inspirations that led her to writing. What does it mean to be a writer? This question I have mulled over for many years...
The Numbers Game
LS13 writer, AJ Kirby, considers Leeds’s ever-growing situation in the literary world. London-based Tottenham Hotspur Football Club always used to talk about it being their fate to win a trophy in a year ending in...
There’s money in this writing malarkey
A few weeks ago, literature lovers across England celebrated the Bank of England’s announcement that Jane Austen will become the new face of the £10 note in 2017. The announcement followed the recent public...
Sharking
Wes Brown explains the inspirations behind his Leeds-based novel Shark. Vladimir Nabokov describes inspiration as a ‘throb’ in the spine. That it comes ‘hot’ and ‘brief’. Shark is about many things. Class, masculinity, alienation....
2013, the year of the book…
2013 is definitely the year of the book…and me! I’ve never been one for making New Year’s resolutions, but back in January I promised myself that this year my passion for reading was not...
For the love of words
Last weekend, I was at The Leeds Indie Book Fair, a month after our own Big Bookend festival in the centre of Leeds. The first thing that struck me was how brilliant for Leeds...
Nominations please…
Well, the second ever Big Bookend festival was just fantastic – if you were there, I know you’ll agree! It was the variety of events that made it really fun, with everything from storytelling...
My Highlights of The Leeds Big Bookend 2013
Hi Big Bookenders! I’m Steph, and I volunteered for this year’s Big Bookend festival. Having just finished my English Literature degree at Sheffield University, I really wanted to get involved with a Yorkshire-based literary...
Welcome to The Leeds Big Bookend Blog!
With the success of 2013’s ‘Rock Festival for Words’ behind us, we plan to keep on rocking with our brand new blog which aims to comment on our past and future festivals, initiate discussions...
