London Short Story Festival Partnerships

BE PART OF IT

lssf.co.uk @lssfest facebook.com/londonshortstoryfestival

laura@spreadtheword.org.uk

Not your average literary festival…

The London Short Story Festival (affectionately known as ‘LSSF’) started in 2014 in response to the growing community of professional and amateur short story writers who were underrepresented at other literary platforms and festivals. 2014 felt like the start of a short story renaissance, as many major literary prizes traditionally won by novels were awarded to short story collections; Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Lydia Davis won the International Man Booker, and George Saunders The Folio Prize. The festival was conceived and is delivered by Spread the Word, London’s writer development organisation.

We knew the demand for the festival would be big, but the interest, enthusiasm and support from our audience and our writers rocketed higher than our wildest ambitions.

A new literary festival has been born.

Short stories, big impact…

Traditionally up to 8,000 words and covering all literary genres, some of

Totally fired up!

Best Fest ever!

literature’s most famous writers have published short story collections: H.G. Wells, Roahl Dahl, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Henry James, Ivan Turgenev, Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker…

Today, writers such as Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Alan Bennett and Neil Gaiman are publishing short story collections.

What happened at LSSF 2014?

During the weekend of Friday 20 -­‐ Sunday 22 June 2014 we took over Waterstones Piccadilly, Europe’s largest bookstore located in the centre of London, holding workshops, masterclasses, talks and readings throughout the store during opening hours.

• 796 tickets sold

• 40 writers gave talks, debates, workshops, masterclasses and readings

• 53% of our audience came from London, 44% rest of the UK and 3% outside of the UK • Spread the Word membership scheme increased 129% during the priority booking period

• 19 free events across Speakers’ Corner and the Writers’ Space

• 41 free tickets awarded via Free Ticket Scheme That was the best session I’ve ever been to anywhere

LSSF online audience Between 1 April and 22 June 2014 …

1,122,940 was our online audience

1,000,273 LSSF & Spread the Word Twitter audience followers + retweet audience

118,669 LSSF & Spread the Word Facebook audience number of likes + posts reached

5,000 Spread the Word newsletter subscribers

Everything was a solid 10/10

LSSF 2015 lineup so far…

2015 is shaping up to be one of the best lineups in the international literary calendar. Some of the key names joining LSSF 2015 on June 19 – 21 include short story supernovas:

Kevin Barry Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, Costa Book Award, shortlist (City of Bohane), The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award (Beer Trip to Llandudno), Authors' Club First Novel Award (2012) International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2013)

Laura van den Berg Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award shortlist (2010 & 2013), Rosenthal Family Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, The Bard Fiction Prize (2015)

Jon McGregor Twice long-­‐listed for the Booker Prize (2003, 2006), winner of the Somerset Maugham Award (2003), twice runner up of the BBC Short Story Competition (2010, 2011), winner International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, (2012)

Where are they now?

Since LSSF 2014, the writers we featured are flying high, winning prestigious literary awards:

Colin Barrett: Frank O’Connor Award (July 2014), Rooney Prize for Literature (September 2014), Guardian First Book Award (November 2014)

Kit de Waal: SI Literary Prize Readers’ Award (October 2014)

Ruby Cowling: London Short Story Prize (November 2014)

Mary Costello: Irish Book Awards – Bord Gáis Energy Book of the Year (December 2014)

Great event. Hope it's the first of many

Who are Spread the Word?

Spread the Word is London’s writer development organisation. Planning and delivering the London Short Story Festival is one of the ways we support writers.

In addition to running one of the most exciting, accessible and engaging literary festivals on the circuit, we:

- curate writing workshops and masterclasses - run engagement projects, particularly targeted at those who would find it difficult to access opportunities elsewhere - act as a broker for organisations who would like to work with writers - nurture long-­‐term relationships with writers to bring talented voices into the literature landscape - publish writing digitally through Flight Press

Who supports us?

As a charity, we are funded by the following: Arts Council England, The Esmèe Fairbairn Foundation, BBC Performing Arts Fund, The Legacy List, The National Trust, The Geffyre Museum, The Royal London Hospital schoolrooms and Wandsworth and Lewisham Councils.

Why we need your support

The London Short Story Festival provides writers and readers with opportunities to access the best short story writers in the world. We are ambitious and need to grow the festival – that was obvious from the sellout masterclasses, workshops and talks from the 2014 festival.

Your support will help us grow the festival by:

• Booking international writers • Programming more events • Ensuring that we can keep ticket prices low so audience members are more inclined to buy books and associated items • Increasing our marketing presence in traditional print and online media • Providing access to the festival for disadvantaged writers • Providing access to key marketing, promotional and PR networks

Partnership opportunities The Crown Jewels This heavyweight offer would position your organisation as a driving force behind one of the best and most innovative events in the literary calendar.

• Billed as the Lead Partner of the festival • We’ll invite you to host the launch event of the festival • Write a paragraph and advertise in the festival programme • Exclusive area on the LSSF website featuring your products and message • Dedicated space in all print, online and social media marketing – an audience of in excess of 1,500,000 • Potential product placement in Waterstones Piccadilly (LSSF venue) • Your products in festival goodie bags for all attendees • Complimentary seats at each festival event for your staff or special guests

We look forward to discussing the value of this partnership with you.

Big Ben Big Ben will provide your organisation with a prominent association with a cutting-­‐edge, forward-­‐thinking literary event with a loyal, growing online and physical audience.

• Your logo featured on print and online marketing -­‐ an audience in excess of 1,500,000 • Acknowledge your support and feature your products on the London Short Story website • Advertise in the Festival programme • Potential product placement in Waterstones Piccadilly (LSSF venue) • Your products in festival goodie bags for all attendees • Complimentary seats at each event across the festival for your staff or special guests

There is also the opportunity to get involved with the London Short Story Prize, our annual competition that celebrates and promotes short stories.

London Bridge London Bridge enables your brand to be profiled as a charitable donor, ensuring a bigger and better Free Ticket Scheme for disadvantaged people. We will also be able to increase accessibility and inclusivity by continuing to subsidise ticket prices across the programme.

• Rename the Free Ticket Scheme after your brand

• Feature your logo on print and online marketing

• Acknowledge your support and feature your products on the London Short Story website and potentially in Waterstones Piccadilly, LSSF venue

• Offer two complimentary seats to each talk across

In Kind Sponsorship

We are also interested in talking to companies that can help us create a welcoming atmosphere before, during and after the festival. Ideas we have include:

• Central London hotels, to provide accommodation for international writers

• Furniture companies, to help us create a creative and inspiring atmosphere by providing stock to use and display throughout the festival at Waterstones

• Catering companies to provide food and drinks for Writers performing at the Festival

• Stationery companies that can provide notebooks, pens, folders… Anything a writer may need during the festival!

What can London Short Story Festival do for you? What can you do for the London Short Story Festival? Tell us what you’d like to do and we can work out a bespoke package.

Truly the events highlight of my year personally; a huge adventure for the shop and an incredible success all round: we too have had excellent feedback over the weekend and since.

On behalf of everyone here, I would like to say we would be thrilled to host The London Short Story Festival’s second outing.

MARK BANTING, WATERSTONES

Like being at mass for a religion I never believed in.

JG WILLIAMS, LSSF 2014 AUDIENCE MEMBER

What a brilliant festival!! I have heard so many positive things said, not least about the atmosphere you created ... one of warmth and inclusion and good humour, but also about how inspiring the whole festival was, and with such a great line up of writers and speakers.

I think everyone involved felt really looked after, and those attending events left wanting more in the best possible way. I very much hope it does become an annual affair after an incredible start.

It is such a wonderful and exciting thing to be doing for the short story.

K J ORR, LSSF 2014 PROGRAMMED WRITER

The London Short Story Festival was a highlight, one I won’t be missing next year. Director Paul McVeigh has an infectious passion for the form and brought the crème de la crème to the floor. Listening to Claire Keegan read I felt lifted into her world of sharp smells and observations, cutting notions of the human; her salty charmed voice.

CATHERINE MCNAMARA, LSSF 2014 AUDIENCE MEMBER

Special thanks to the London Short Story Festival volunteers and Spread the Word team who were the loveliest, most helpful people in London this weekend, for sure.

ADAM MAREK, LSSF 2014 PROGRAMMED WRITER

AMAZING! Learnt so much. Met so many great people. EXCELLENT value for money -­‐ thanks so much!

LSSF 2014 AUDIENCE MEMBER

The festival was a triumph. The event has given Spread The World a much bigger profile in and out of London and that's to be celebrated. I hope the funders take note. The event is greatly deserving of their support. On a more personal note, I Ioved the atmosphere of relaxed efficiency and the rich programme of readings and workshops. I got a lot from it.

JACOB ROSS, WRITER -­‐ FELLOW, ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE

The London Short Story Festival Team

Sue Lawther: Director, Spread the Word Sue is responsible overall for Spread the Word activities. She has a very strong track record of delivering cracking projects, managing successful partnerships and is very approachable. She also loves modern jive dancing and The Archers.

Paul McVeigh: Guest Festival Director Paul was the Guest Director at the inaugural festival and we have invited him back to curate 2015’s festival. His contacts in the short story scene mean that our line-­‐ups are stellar. Paul’s short story centric blog paulmcveigh.blogspot.co.uk attracts over 40,000 unique hits a month and is a vital resource for writers. His first novel, The Good Son, will be published by Salt Press in April 2015.

Laura Kenwright: Festival Producer & Audience Development Manager Laura looks after our marketing, ensures we reach the widest possible audience and that we meet our aims to be diverse and accessible. Laura will be the Festival Producer for 2015, and is well prepared having produced three successful shows at the Edinburgh Fringe festival last summer and a number of popular quirky live literary and comedy shows in London.

Lucy Beale: Fundraising Associate & Projects Officer Lucy looks after our Friends membership scheme and works closely with Laura to manage our website. She also develops and manages projects; this year she’s worked on a project involving a giant wooden hippo moored on the Thames, run a storytelling event in a disused Medieval crypt and been ambushed by fallow deer in Knole Park during rutting season.

Paul Sherreard: Programme Manager

Paul makes sure our box office programme is exciting and plugged in to the needs of London’s writers. He also develops and manages projects alongside other team members and has a strong background in the archive and heritage sectors. He’s the very proud dad of twin toddlers!

Eva Lewin: Writer Development Manager Eva works closely with our writers and tutors and is well respected for her knowledge and experience of the literature sector. She can be relied upon to have a degree of separation to nearly anyone in literature and has an uncanny ability to know a piece of trivia about nearly any author you care to mention.

Spread the Word’s Trustees

Greg Klerkx (Chair of the Board): Co-­‐founder of Nimble Fish and a director of The ReAuthoring Project, working with authors to reimagine their work for live and online audiences.

Sally Spurring: Journalist and producer who has worked extensively for BBC Radio, and also works as a dramaturg, playwright and consultant for the children’s mentoring charity Scene & Heard.

Cimeon Ellerton: Head of Programmes at the Audience Agency.

Mike Clarke: Director of Libraries and Archives for the London Tri-­‐Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and City of Westminster.

Martin Wheeler: A member of the Association of Accounting Technicians, he is currently Finance Manager of London’s Royal Court Theatre, the UK’s leading new writing theatre.

Get in touch Hooked on LSSF? Please get in touch to discuss how your organisation can be involved in the London Short Story Festival 2015. We can’t wait to hear from you. laura@spreadtheword.org.uk 020 8692 0231 ext 249