The Leeds Trinity University Writers’ Festival is an annual event made up of readings, a book stall and masterclass workshops in creative writing. After a short break due to the pandemic, this year the festival takes place in person at the Main Campus near Leeds on Wednesday 8 March between 10.00am and 5.00pm.

The festival programme consists of eight speakers and 16 workshops across the day covering a range of aspects from fiction and poetry. The workshops have been designed to help attendees find their creativity. Participants can expect to hear tips from experienced writers, help with ideas and plots, making characters come to life and unlock potential when it comes to the art of storytelling.

The masterclasses include a mixture of lectures from the guest speakers, sharing knowledge and practical sessions where the learning is put into practice. The festival has been curated by the Creative Writing team at Leeds Trinity, ensuring there’s something for beginners and anyone interested in finding out more as well as those who are natural and confident storytellers.

Leeds Trinity University graduates Hannah Stone, who recently had a poem featured on a national level, and Jo Clement, whose work currently appears on Transport for London’s Poems on the Underground, amongst other places, will lead on some of the sessions sharing their prose and poetry. Others taking part include J A Browne, John Irving Clarke, Gill Connors, Mark Connors, Tim Murgatroyd and Edwin Stockdale.

Alumna and Editor of Dream Catcher Magazine, Hannah Stone, said: “I found the MA in Creative Writing at Leeds Trinity University really engaging and it acted as a launchpad for my career and success as a poet, editor and convenor of literary events. I have had four hundred poems published, four solo and three collaborative poetry collections which I devised and edited. It is a privilege to return to the University to share my passion for writing with today's writers.”

Professor Oz Hardwick, Professor of Creative Writing at Leeds Trinity University, said: “The Writers' Festival has been an annual event since 2005, much valued by our students as and the wider community as well as attracting guest speakers and writers from the regional and even nationally. This year we are particularly delighted to be welcoming back successful writers who began their journey with postgraduate programmes with at Leeds Trinity. There's always a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day, budding and established writers alike chatting over coffee and getting deeply engaged with the writing workshops.”

Visit the Leeds Trinity University website for more information.