Women Writers at the Parsonage

A press release and a job offer:

Writers to Appear in Haworth as part of Brontë Weekend 5-7 June 2009

A programme of literary events will take place in Haworth between 5 – 7 June as part of the annual Brontë Society festival. Writers Joanne Harris and Justine Picardie will be amongst those taking part in author readings and discussions as part of the weekend of events.

The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë

To coincide with the new special exhibition focusing on Branwell Brontë, which opens at the Brontë Parsonage Museum on Monday 1 June, writer Justine Picardie and Brontë biographer Juliet Barker will be discussing the life and legacy of Branwell Brontë on the afternoon of Friday 5 June, at 3.30pm in the West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth. As a child Branwell was considered the greatest genius of the Brontë family, but while his sisters went on to write great novels, Branwell died aged 31 after declining into alcoholism and with a string of failed career attempts behind him. Juliet Barker and Justine Picardie will be debating whether this description of Branwell is fair and discussing some of the remaining mysteries that surround him. Justine Picardie is the author of the novel Daphne, which tells the story of the author Daphne du Maurier’s obsession with Branwell Brontë. Tickets are £5 and can be bought on the door.

The Brontës and Romance

An evening panel event on Saturday 6th June will see authors Joanne Harris, Amanda Craig, Jude Morgan and Mills & Boon author Kate Walker discussing the Brontës and romance novels. Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are often described as being amongst the greatest love stories in literature and this discussion, chaired by Justine Picardie, will look at the ways the novels have inspired romance writers. Huddersfield-based writer Joanne Harris is the author of the bestselling novel Chocolat (which became an Oscar-nominated film starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche). Jude Morgan’s latest novel, The Taste of Sorrow, is a fictionalised account of the life of the Brontës, while Kate Walker has based one of her recent Mills & Boon novels on the story of Wuthering Heights. This event takes place at 8pm at the West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked from jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk / 01535 640188.

“We have a great line up of events for this year’s Brontë Society weekend. Everyone is welcome to attend the events and we hope that lots of people will join us to find out more about the Brontës and to hear these inspiring writers in conversation”. (Jenna Holmes, Arts Officer, Brontë Parsonage Museum)

Also published on the Brontë Parsonage Blog.

We read on the Arts Council England list service, the following post:

Brontë Parsonage Museum: Women Writers Wanted

Closes Mon 08 Jun 2009 Paid (£10k-15k pro rata) Part time
Contact Jenna Holmes jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk

Description:

The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire is home to a flourishing contemporary arts programme and has featured projects with major artists and writers in recent years.
The museum has now received Arts Council funding to develop a series of events that celebrate and showcase women’s writing. As part of this programme, we would like to hold a series of creative-writing event days for visitors, run by women writers, to take place at the museum during August.
We are looking for drop-in activities rather than formal writing workshops, and for imaginative responses to the Brontë Parsonage from writers who can be sensitive to the complexities of creating events for a museum environment and can work with the general public to deliver their event. Events might take the form of writing trails, activities, or prompts for visitors to respond to as they look around the museum, and we are open to creative ideas.
The project will most likely involve a day on site per writer and there is a fee available.
Please send a CV and a brief proposal or idea to: mailto:jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk
The deadline is Monday 8 June.

Categories: Brontë Parsonage Museum, Talks