UK literary site The Real Story, “a celebration of creative non-fiction” supported by you by Openstories, “a Manchester-based arts organisation that runs digital literature projects,” is looking for local non-fiction writers and prose poets for a series of nights or reading events devoted to the non-fiction writer’s craft. “Essayists, creative non-fictioneers, prose poets… we want to hear from you!” states the intro. “If you’re based in or near Manchester and like the idea of getting up onstage and reading your work in front of people, make yourselves known to us.”
Seeing as Friedrich Engels wrote The Condition of the Working Class in England while living and working in Manchester, there ought to be quite a tradition of non-fiction in the city. And Carcanet Press has made the city a focus of the British poetry scene, so there should be plenty of local talent to draw on for observational, factual poetry.
As yet, there is no venue confirmed; the details simply state: “We at The Real Story are in the beginning stages of organising an occasional series of live non-fiction nights in Manchester. Ideally we’d like to feature people who’ve contributed to the site alongside both new, unpublished writers of non-fiction and seasoned pros. Nothing too formal, just original true stories performed by the writers. We’re also looking for people to record their short non-fiction works for occasional podcasts.”
The first event is apparently scheduled for the new year. And as an object lesson of what is possible with really good creative non-fiction, take a look at Amy Leach’s phantasmagorical Things That Are. Amazing.
