Aspects Festival 2016

Aspects Festival Bangor, 18-25 September 2016 A celebration of Irish Writing

aspectsfestival.com

Welcome to Aspects 2016 A quarter of a century has passed since the first Aspects Festival took place and its spirit remains ‘a celebration of Irish Writing’. We are delighted to return this year still celebrating, nurturing and exploring the extraordinary literary talent found locally and throughout the island.

Aspects has a tradition of embracing an eclectic range of writing. This year is no different as we bring you a wide variety of events, from poetry to history, journalism to crime, songwriting to comedy and, some might say, everything in between!

For our Silver Anniversary we have put together a very special programme. It has been hard to contain ourselves knowing that Van Morrison will be performing and talking about his song writing and poetry. And, of course, no conversation would be complete without some special guests. All will be revealed closer to the time, so keep checking our website and social media for details.

We are also delighted this year to launch our very first Aspects book, The Bangor Book. This is a celebration of writing from and about Bangor, a town with a fascinating literary history.

To nurture reading and creativity there will be workshops for emerging writers and family events to engage both young and old. Bangor Castle Walled Garden will host our Festival Yurt, a unique and atmospheric venue for Aspects’ weekend events.

It’s a festival programme with something to inspire both the writer and the reader in you, come and join us to celebrate, delight in and discover Irish writing anew.

We look forward to seeing you!

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At a Glance Family Events

f facebook.com/aspectsfestival t twitter.com/aspectsfestival See page 4 for Map

Workshops

DATE

TIME

1-25 Sept

Normal Opening ‘Enough, and More’ Hours

EVENT

1-30 Sept

Normal Opening Hours

3 & 17 Sept; 2-5pm 1 Oct

Sustaining Your Artistic Practice - Reflective Writing

DATE

Bangor Carnegie Library

23 Sept 9.30pm Owen O’Neill

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 10.30am-12.30pm Collage Art Session

Bangor Carnegie Library

24 Sept 11am Sinéad Moriarty

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 12noon-4pm The Mini Book Booth

North Down Museum

24 & 25 Sept 12noon-4pm The Mega Doodle

Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 12noon-4pm The Book Doctors

North Down Museum

24 Sept 1pm Happy Dark

Tara West

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 2.30pm ACES Literary Salon

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 2-4pm Words, Movement and Art

Bangor Carnegie Library

24 Sept 5pm A Writer’s Guide

to Humour

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

24 Sept 8pm Duke Special and Ulaid:

Belfast Suite

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

25 Sept 2pm Glenn Patterson

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

25 Sept 4pm Spirit of ‘58

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

The Blackberry Path Art Studios Project 24

18 Sept 4pm The Bangor Book launch

Clandeboye Estate

19 Sept 6.30pm

North Down Museum

Micropoetry: Bitesize Poetry Workshop

19 Sept 8pm Poetic Justice

North Down Museum

20 Sept 6pm Paul Muldoon

Bangor Castle Walled Garden

20 Sept 8pm

Clandeboye Estate

Lord Dufferin (1826-1902): ‘A Personal Perspective’

21-22 Sept 1pm, 3pm The Clandeboye Reading Party

Clandeboye Estate

21 Sept 8pm

‘Lit Up Inside’: Van Morrison An Evening of Words and Music

Culloden Hotel

22 Sept 6pm

Writing Crime: Brian McGilloway & Steve Cavanagh

North Down Museum

22 Sept 7-8.45pm Creative Writing Workshop

with Liz Weir

Bangor Carnegie Library

22 Sept 8pm Gerald Dawe

Clandeboye Estate

23-25 Sept

Bangor Castle Walled Garden

Normal Opening The Neon Book-Find Hours

23 Sept 11am-12noon Lifeboat Luke

North Down Museum

23 Sept 1-5.30pm Resource for Writers

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

23 Sept 7pm Poetry Slam

Festival Yurt Bangor Castle Walled Garden

23 Sept 8pm

The Space SERC

2 Aspects 2016

Maeve Binchy’s ‘Aches and Pains’

See page 4 for Map

Workshops

LOCATION

Twenty-Five Years North Down and Counting... Museum

2-16 Sept 11am-1pm Now and Then

Family Events

TIME

25 Sept 8pm

EVENT

LOCATION

The Future Always North Down Makes Me So Thirsty Museum

26 Sept 6.30pm All For the Dead Man’s Penny

Bangor Carnegie Library

28 Sept 7.30pm The Prodger

The Space SERC

Box Office: North Down Museum 028 9127 1200 Ards Arts Centre 028 9181 0803 Book online at: aspectsfestival.com Aspects 2016 3

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Lifeboat Luke NORTH DOWN MUSEUM FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 11AM – 12NOON £5, AGES 2-4 YEARS Lifeboat Luke stars in a 52 part animated series set in mad, magical Donaghadoo, a seaside community bearing an uncanny resemblance to a town very close to the Aspects Festival!

TOURIST INFORMATION

BANGOR MARINA

Family Events

PICKIE FUN PARK

HIGH STREET

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This session will be lively! Between episode screenings, children (and adults!) will be encouraged to express themselves to the catchy Lifeboat Luke tune. The children will also be able to colour activity sheets of the Lifeboat Luke characters.

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The Mega Doodle BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 & SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 12NOON – 4PM FREE EVENT, ALL FAMILY Large scale (outdoor) drawing activty where families can contribute to the Aspects mega mural using a variety of art materials.

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BUS & TRAIN STATION TENNIS COURTS

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BELFAST ROAD TO CULLODEN HOTEL & CLANDEBOYE ESTATE

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P BANGOR AURORA AQUATIC & LEISURE COMPLEX

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Festival map 4 Aspects 2016

1 THE BLACKBERRY

PATH ART STUDIOS 2 PROJECT 24 3 BANGOR LIBRARY 4 SERC THEATRE 5 WALLED GARDEN 6 BANGOR CASTLE

& NORTH DOWN MUSEUM

The Neon Book-Find BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN FRIDAY 23 – SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER FREE EVENT, ALL FAMILY Take a stroll around the Walled Garden and see if you can spot 20 Neon Books peeping out from behind the flowers and shrubs!

The Mini Book Booth NORTH DOWN MUSEUM SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 12NOON – 4PM FREE EVENT, ALL FAMILY Pop by the Mini Book Booth to make a teeny tiny book of your own! Write a story or poem inside, draw some pictures, add some glitter, stickers or anything else the Mini Book Booth has hiding in its box of creative treats!

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The Book Doctors NORTH DOWN MUSEUM SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 12NOON – 4PM FREE EVENT, ALL FAMILY Finished a series and not sure what to read next? Just can’t find a book that interests you? Then the Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic is the place to go! Young readers of all ages are invited to drop in and meet the Book Doctor – no appointment needed, and no nasty jabs or tablets, we promise.

After a chat about your favourite books, comics or things to do, the doctor will make a diagnosis and write a prescription for your next reads. The Book Doctor has lots of ideas and there’s a book out there for everyone.

Collage Art Session in the style of Eric Carle (The Hungry Caterpillar) with Creative Natives BANGOR LIBRARY SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 10.30AM – 12.30PM £8 PER CHILD, AGES 6-10 YEARS In this art session inspired by the illustrations of Eric Carle (The Hungry Caterpillar) children will learn how to use colour and painting techniques to create their own textured collages.

(Please bring a change of old clothes) Words, Movement and Art BANGOR LIBRARY 2 – 4PM £8 PER CHILD, AGES 10-16 YEARS A relaxed and fun opportunity to unleash your inner artist with a drawing and painting session inspired by words!

Create your own large scale artwork using the different materials provided to create a visual response to words.

PLEASE NOTE: All family events children must be accompanied by an adult.

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1-30 September

1-25 September

‘Enough, and More’ BANGOR CARNEGIE LIBRARY (DURING LIBRARY OPENING HOURS) OPENING NIGHT: THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 7 - 9PM, POETRY READING 8PM

Twenty-Five Years and Counting…

1 - 25 SEPTEMBER

ASPECTS RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

FREE ADMISSION

NORTH DOWN MUSEUM (DURING MUSEUM OPENING HOURS) OPENING NIGHT: THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBER, 6 - 7PM 1 - 30 SEPTEMBER

FREE ADMISSION

Visit North Down Museum, throughout September, to get a flavour of Aspects’ history.

Aspects has had the privilege of hosting many of the great names in Irish writing over the past 25 years, and the festival has also welcomed some of our best loved writers in the early stages of their careers.

Taking place in two of the Museum’s galleries, find photographs, memorabilia and recordings in the Museum’s Long Gallery; and festival posters presented in a timeline in the Community Gallery.

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‘Turn to the feathered whisper of an owl, delicate as the cusp of understanding.’

A unique collaboration of painting and poetry by artist Lindsay Turk and poet Jon Plunkett.

The works displayed in ‘Enough, and More’ are not paintings inspired by poems.

Nor are they poems inspired by paintings.

Instead they are the result of a joint process of creativity, and an ongoing evolution of ideas where paintings and poems simultaneously influence each other.

This exhibition explores how each moment lived, good or bad, holds a complex fusion of memories, aspirations and ideas that influence who we are. The continual flux and flow of these concepts ensures ‘Enough, and More’ is the couples’ most varied and ambitious exhibition to date.

Lindsay Turk A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, Lindsay has been exhibiting throughout the UK for almost twenty years. Her work frequently draws on natural themes that relate in a variety of ways to the human condition and often takes fleeting moments and stills them into focus. lindsayturk.com

Jon Plunkett Born in Northern Ireland, Jon now lives and writes in Scotland. His work has appeared in numerous UK literary magazines, anthologies and poetry journals including Gutter, Northwords Now, Poetry Scotland and Acumen. As well as writing, Jon has also been leading the development of the ‘Corbenic Poetry Path’, a three kilometre path with lines of poetry carved in stone, etched in glass, cast in resin or burned into wood along the way. jonplunkettpoetry.weebly.com corbenicpoetrypath.com Aspects 2016 7

2-16 September

Workshops 3, 17, 22, 1

Now and Then

Sustaining Your Artistic Practice - Reflective Writing

BANGOR POETRY COMPETITION PROJECT 24

THE BLACKBERRY PATH ART STUDIOS

SATURDAY 3 SEPTEMBER, SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER

FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER – FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

PRICE: £30 (VAI MEMBERS) / £60 (NON MEMBERS) – FOR ALL 3 WORKSHOPS

OPENING NIGHT: FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 7 - 9PM

MAX 8 PARTICIPANTS

2 - 5PM

TUESDAY – SATURDAY 11AM – 1PM FREE ENTRY, EVERYONE WELCOME

Writing for, about, or around your practice: A workshop in Reflective Writing.

The exhibition will showcase writing by local poets. The work is selected from submissions of illustrated poems exhibited throughout the three floors of this small but beautifully formed creative space.

As visual artists are more and more required to articulate the underpinning of their work, writing has become an essential aspect. This workshop will consider writing as a way of exploration, beyond explaining one’s work.

You are invited to visit the exhibition and vote for your favourite poem. All poetry pieces are for sale.

The winning poem will be announced after 15 September and the winning author will be offered the opportunity to read it at Aspects Festival on Friday 23 September.

Come and see this unique exhibition, enjoy some refreshments and listen to readings by some of the participating poets.

If you wish to submit a poem for the exhibition, email it to: amylouisewyatt@hotmail.co.uk by 18 August with the heading: ‘Poetry Competition’.

Poems must be no longer than 30 lines, and related to the theme ‘Now and Then’.

Up to four poems can be submitted per person. Each selected poem must be hand written, framed, signed and can be illustrated.

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Over three sessions, the workshop will look at the possibilities of how reflective writing can help you explore new perspectives as an artist. Through presentations, reading of artists’ writings, discussions and group feedback sessions, it will aim to give you the inspiration, the confidence and the tools to start writing and to use this material for various purposes, be it inspirational, promotional, or conceptual.

The workshop is open to all visual artists interested in further understanding their practice through the method of reflective writing. Those new to writing are particularly welcome.

In partnership with Visual Artists Ireland.

Creative Writing Workshop with Liz Weir BANGOR CARNEGIE LIBRARY THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 7 – 8.45PM

FREE

Liz Weir has told her stories to people of all ages on five continents. She has performed in pubs and prisons and hospital rooms. She worked on stages in the mighty Vanderbilt Hall of New York’s Grand Central Station and in the Royal Albert Hall.

Join this workshop and get tips and advice on creative writing from her vast wealth of experience.

SPACES ARE LIMITED Please not that registration is directly with Bangor Carnegie Library. Please telephone 028 9127 0591 to reserve your place.

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Sunday 18

Monday 19

The Bangor Book BOOK LAUNCH

CLANDEBOYE ESTATE

SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER

4PM

FREE EVENT

The roots of writing run deep in Bangor, one of medieval Ireland’s earliest monastic centres of learning.

This year Aspects Festival is incredibly excited to launch our very first publication.

The Bangor Book charts the incredible journey of writers from this area and includes an array of talented writers with links to, or a love for this part of the world.

Compiled by one of Aspects’ founders, Kenneth Irvine, The Bangor Book gathers poems and prose, from historic writing to up-to-the minute contemporary works. Acclaimed novelist Glenn Patterson provides the foreword, with an afterword by poet and academic Gerald Dawe.

Join us for this event and be part of the celebration of 25 years of the Aspects festival!

This is a free event but please register at: aspectsfestival.com 10 Aspects 2016

Micropoetry: Bitesize Poetry Workshop NORTH DOWN MUSEUM

6.30PM

MONDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

£8

Poets Colin Dardis and Geraldine O’Kane encourage you to ‘think small’ and get to grips with micropoetry. Whether it’s a humble haiku, an elfin elfchon, or just free verse, this workshop will allow you to condense your thoughts into tweet-size stanzas and embrace the way of the diminutive.

The workshop explores some traditional forms of short-form poetry, explaining the layout and structure of each. Insights are shared into how to approach micropoetry and the possibilities it allows. The workshop will inspire and work through creating participants own works. Duration: 90mins Aspects 2016 11

Monday 19

Tuesday 20

Poetic Justice: a song of joy and hope

Paul Muldoon

NORTH DOWN MUSEUM

NORTH DOWN MUSEUM

6PM

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

£10

MONDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 8PM

£6

Join Athol Williams from South Africa and Anthony McCann from Northern Ireland for an exploration of the power of words, the politics of the personal and the possibilities of the heart as they debut their creative collaboration.

Athol Williams is an award-winning poet, social philosopher and social entrepreneur.

Athol believes in the power of education as a source of freedom, and in our potential for human prosperity and social justice. An inspirational speaker, Athol draws on his experience of apartheid in South Africa to show the power of self-belief in crafting an extraordinary life.

Athol has published 3 collections of poetry and 2 children’s books. He co-founded Read to Rise, an NGO that promotes youth literacy. In 2015, he won the Sol Plaatje European Union poetry award.

Anthony McCann is an award-winning social philosopher, poet, social entrepreneur and songwriter. A specialist in ethics, culture change, leadership and the anthropology of music, Anthony’s work explores the gentleness at the heart of helpfulness, the extraordinary at the heart of the ordinary and the horizons of social justice.

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If you’re a fan of poetry you won’t want to miss this special evening with the incomparable Paul Muldoon. Poet, Professor of Poetry at Princeton University, translator, anthologiser and critic – a writer who has been described as a riddler.

Muldoon’s first full collection of poetry, New Weather, was published in 1973. Over a forty-year career this Pulitzer Prize winner has established himself not only as one of Ireland’s most important poets but as one of the most significant poets writing in English, with collections such as; Madoc: A Mystery (1990), Moy Sand and Gravel (2002), Horse Latitudes (2006) and Maggot (2010).

In addition to editing many anthologies of poetry – The Faber Book of Contemporary Irish Poetry (1986) for instance - he has also translated the work of other poets, such as Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill’s The Astrakhan Cloak (1992).

Always interested in music, he has written librettos and lyrics since the 1990’s and has most recently collaborated with the singer Paul Brady; his current band is the ‘Wayside Shrines’. Paul Muldoon’s latest collection One Thousand Things Worth Knowing was published by Faber and Faber in 2015.

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Tuesday 20

Wednesday 21 Thursday 22

The Clandeboye Reading Party

Lord Dufferin (1826-1902): ‘a personal perspective’ with Lady Dufferin CLANDEBOYE ESTATE

8PM

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

£8

A unique opportunity to attend an evening talk with Lady Dufferin where she examines the vision and career of Lord Dufferin – first Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1826-1902) - a man whose career encompassed an empire. One of the most accomplished Victorian diplomats, Lord Dufferin served as Viceroy of India, Governor General of Canada and as British Ambassador to St Petersburg, Constantinople, Rome and Paris.

Throughout her life Lady Dufferin has been inspired by Lord Dufferin and has treasured and sustained the family home at Clandeboye. Lady Dufferin’s talk will explore the impact of Clandeboye and Ireland on Lord Dufferin and how this legacy has been inspirational for her.

Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin, will chair Lady Dufferin’s lecture. It will be followed by a discussion, with invited literary specialists and historians from Trinity and Queen’s University Belfast.

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CLANDEBOYE ESTATE

1PM, 3PM

WEDNESDAY 21 & THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER

FREE EVENT

In 2016 the centenaries of both the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme, events so central to the identity of many people living on this island, were commemorated.

By focusing on how and why we commemorate and by debating and discussing issues of history and memory this series of talks aim to raise awareness, and deepen our understanding of relationships within the island, of ourselves and our shared - frequently contested - past.

Over what promises to be two stimulating days of discussion, the Clandeboye reading party invites staff and students from Queens University Belfast (QUB) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and members of the public to debate issues of culture and identity. Debating the history and literature of Ulster and how it related to the wider context of Ireland, Britain and the British Empire.

Wednesday 21 September: 1 - 2pm: Ulster, Ireland and Britain: researchers in History and English from QUB and TCD will present aspects of their work relating to the history and culture of Ulster, Ireland and Britain from the plantations of Ulster in the seventeenth century until the present day.

3-5pm: Panel Discussion: ‘History, Memory and Commemoration’ with historians and literary scholars from Trinity and Queens.

Thursday 22 September: 1 - 2pm: Society and Print Culture in Ireland: researchers in History and English from QUB and TCD will present aspects of their work relating to the social history and culture of Ireland, especially Ulster, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.

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Wednesday 21 Van Morrison is a man whose legendary blend of mystic poetry and soulful music has inspired and uplifted audiences throughout an extraordinary career. This unique night will bring you not only the best of Van Morrison’s music, but also an insight into the craftsmanship of one of the world’s outstanding songwriters.

Lit Up Inside

From his earliest days, Van Morrison has channeled the influences of creative giants such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson, and Leadbelly. His music has defied boundaries, offering everything from the swinging souljazz of Moondance to the traditional styles of Irish Heartbeat. In the last few decades, he has collaborated with a range of artists including John Lee Hooker, Mose Allison, and Tom Jones, and dedicated projects to celebrating and re-exploring his blues, jazz, skiffle and country roots.

CULLODEN HOTEL

VAN MORRISON AN EVENING OF WORDS AND MUSIC WEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER

8pm

£65/£45

In a career spanning thirty-five studio albums, he has been honoured with a Brit Award, a knighthood, an Ivor Novello, six Grammys, honorary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and University of Ulster, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres des Artes et des Lettres. Van Morrison has done nothing less than re-define the possibilities of popular music.

The range of his work is clear from the first volume of his lyrics, Lit Up Inside.

Selected Lyrics (Faber and Faber, 2014).

This publication was the catalyst for a series of sell-out, introspective performances which explored the roots of his art in the company of some special guest contributors.

For this year’s Aspects Van Morrison will also be joined in conversation by some invited friends. Details to be revealed closer to the event, keep an eye on the Aspects website and social media!

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Thursday 22

Thursday 22

Brian McGilloway

Steve Cavanagh

Writing Crime: Panel Discussion NORTH DOWN MUSEUM

6PM

THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER

£7

Get an insight into the minds and practice of crime-writing authors Brian McGilloway and Steve Cavanagh as they talk to Gerard Brennan (crimesceneni.blogspot.co.uk).

Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin and DS Lucy Black series. In 2014, Brian won BBC NI’s Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors, an award which saw him become Writer In Residence with BBC NI. His latest novels in 2015 were The Forgotten Ones and Preserve The Dead.

‘Preserve the Dead is storytelling of the highest order from one of Irish crime writing’s most unassuming masters’.

Irish Independent

Steve Cavanagh writes fast-paced legal thrillers set in New York City featuring series character Eddie Flynn. His debut novel, The Defence was long-listed for the Crime Writer’s Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and shortlisted for two Dead Good Readers Awards.

His new book, The Plea was described by Ian Rankin as, ‘A gripping twisty thriller’.

‘Lively, clever and enjoyable . . . Cavanagh writes vividly about American injustice . . .

The constant action is interrupted only by absorbing courtroom scene’.

The Times 18 Aspects 2016

Gerald Dawe CLANDEBOYE ESTATE

8PM

THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER

£8

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear new and selected work from Gerald Dawe in the atmospheric surroundings of Clandeboye Estate.

Born in Belfast in 1952, Gerald Dawe is an acclaimed poet, essayist, anthologist and literary critic. From his impressive first collection Sheltering Places (Gallery, 1978), Dawe has established himself as one of Ireland’s most significant voices nationally and internationally.

Reviewing Of War and War’s Alarms: Reflections on Modern Irish Writing (CUP, 2015) the author Carlo Gébler said: ‘So what sort of an animal is Of War and War’s Alarms? Every chapter is rich, detailed, focused, lean and comprised of multiple elements (history, biography, criticism, memoir and so on), all of which are deftly and ingeniously woven into a seamless whole’.

Gerald Dawe is Professor of English and Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin and founderdirector of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College.

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Friday 23

Friday 23

Resource for Writers

1 - 2PM MINDFULNESS & CBT (COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY) TO ADDRESS BLOCKS IN CREATIVITY WITH ANN BRACKEN

THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN

This workshop will inspire writers to express their creativity with confidence.

Ann Bracken draws on her considerable expertise and insight as a psychotherapist and writer, to guide you through highly effective, mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques and CBT skills.

You will learn how to recognise and challenge self-sabotaging thinking patterns and limiting beliefs, clearing the mental and emotional space for a more productive and enjoyable creative experience.

FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER £25 FOR FULL PROGRAMME £8 PER INDIVIDUAL SESSION

This will be of benefit not only to writers, but in fact to anyone who suffers from performance-related stress, whatever field they are working in.

Ann Bracken is a published author and feature writer on matters of emotional and psychological health and well-being. She is a leading professional Mindfulness Trainer, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and Fertility Coach. She is a published author (Mind, Body, Baby: CBT, Mindfulness and Good Nutrition to Enhance Fertility (Yellow Kite, 2016)) with a regular blogspot on The Huffington Post New York.

2.15 – 5.30 PM DEBUT WRITERS’ WORKSHOP WITH THE FELDSTEIN AGENCY

Ann Bracken

2.15 – 3.00 PM: PRESENTING YOUR WORK TO AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS While writing your novel is the hard part, getting your work in front of publishers and agents is yet another hurdle all writers have to cross. This seminar will cover all you need to know about contacting agents and publishers, and how to prepare and submit your work to them.

Susan and Paul Feldstein 20 Aspects 2016

Lesley Allen

3.15 – 4PM: GETTING SIGNED AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT You’ve got a publishing deal – what now?

This session provides a review of the publishing process, from manuscript to market and looks at agents’ and publishers’ contracts.

4.15 – 5.00 PM: DEBUT FICTION PUBLISHING PANEL DISCUSSION The Inside Track with novelist Tanya Ravenswater, Lesley Allen and Twenty7 Books, London. Chaired by Paul and Susan Feldstein.

Newly published authors, Tanya Ravenswater and Lesley Allen talk about their personal publishing journeys – from completing the first draft of the manuscript to finding an agent and then a publisher, as well as the editing process and the business of self-promotion.

A representative of new London publisher Twenty7 Books talks about what they are looking for in a debut author, the editorial process and the current trends in fiction publishing, as well as answering your questions and offering a publisher’s point of view.

5.00 – 5.30 PM: NEW VOICES Debut novelists Tanya Ravenswater and Lesley Allen read from their recently published novels.

Bangor-born Tanya Ravenswater was the winner of the 2014–2015 Cheshire Prize for Literature. Her debut novel Jacques (Twenty7 Books, 2016) has just been published in paperback.

Lesley Allen is the author of the debut novel The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir (Twenty7 Books, 2016). She lives in Bangor, and provides PR and Programme Development for the town’s Open House Festival. Lesley is a recipient of an Arts Council ACES award for 2016.

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Friday 23

Friday 23

Poetry Slam THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 7PM £5 Poetry NI presents: The North Down Heat of the All Ireland Poetry Slam.

Bring your poems from page to stage and enter our live event, at which poets read original work.

Just register at the start of the night if you want to enter. Names will be drawn out from the hat at random to read. You have three minutes to compete in, and our judges will score who goes through to the next round. The outright winner will be crowned ‘Aspects Poetry Slam Champion’!

This is a first stage event in selecting Ireland’s top eight poets for the All Ireland Poetry Slam. The top two poets will join winners from other regional heats across Ulster in an All-Ulster final (Sat 1st October, 5pm - Enniskillen - Blakes of the Hollow).

From there, two winners join six other poets from across Connacht, Leinster and Munster in the grand final, which this year will be held in Leinster (date to be confirmed). One poet will walk away with the prestigious crown of All Ireland Poetry Slam Champion.

Maeve Binchy’s Aches and Pains Rules: • Any poet that goes over the three minute time limit will be eliminated.

• No props.

• No musical accompaniment.

• All poems must be your own work.

• All poems must be read on your own no duets/group pieces.

• Any breaking of the rules leads to disqualification!

Good luck everyone!

Poetry NI is passionate about poetry, especially from within Northern Ireland.

It aims to help provide a platform for local poets, showcasing great writing through readings, open mics, poetry slams and more, while also publishing work from a range of up-and-coming voices. Find out more about them by visiting; poetryni.com poetryni.com Twitter: @poetryni Facebook: facebook.com/poetryforni

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(adapted for stage by Shay Linehan of Deilg Inish Theatre Company) THE SPACE, SERC

8PM

FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER

£12

When the late, great Maeve Binchy went into hospital for a hip replacement some years ago, what did she do? Play the martyr? Complain and wait to get better? Not a bit of it that was never Maeve!

What she did do was write a ‘cheer up’ book, a sort of survival manual, containing, ‘advice about how to muddle through in times of aches and pains’.

In the book, Maeve offers hilarious advice on: baring your body; motivating the patient in the next bed; hiding being lame; becoming a friend to your feet; making a will; things never to ask a child; how to be less nervy; terrific things to do when getting old; how to give up drink and many more unique and ‘Maeviously’ wonderful perspectives on life.

Aches and Pains is Maeve at her wisest, funniest, and most tongue-in-cheek.

Directed by Margaret Dunne and starring Michael Heavey and Margaret Toomey, the play is set in a recuperation ward where two post-operative ‘hippies’, Ann and Stan, try to figure out the best way to tackle life, armed only with a plastic hip and a positive attitude.

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Friday 23

Saturday 24 The Way We Were SINÉAD MORIARTY THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 11AM £10 Bestselling women’s fiction writer, Sinéad Moriarty always manages to get right into the minds of her fictional characters, giving readers the chance to escape into an embracing atmosphere, a bit like a favourite reading nook. A new novel is always eagerly awaited!

Her latest novel The Way We Were (Penguin Ireland, 2015), winner of the 2015 Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year in the Irish Book Awards, takes the reader a step beyond her previous ones, with its dual location and unusual storyline.

Owen O’Neill: Red Noise THE FESTIVAL YURT, BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER

9.30PM

£12

By turn poignant and hilarious, Red Noise with Owen O’Neill is the most unexpected of performances and a highlight of this year’s Aspects programme.

Alice and Ben are a couple like any other - bound together by love, work, children, familiarity and a shared sense of purpose.

But when Ben decides to pursue a dream of his own, he brings devastation on his family and, as far as they know, their lives will never be the same again. So what happens if they get a second chance?

Can they – should they – go back to the way they were?

This Cookstown comedian has many strings to his bow. As an actor, writer and poet, he has created a hybrid of theatrical monologue, poetry and stand-up story-telling. Having scribbled down verse since he was a young boy, O’Neill incorporated poetry into his stand-up act in the 1980s. It’s only recently, however, that he has developed a full show around it.

His stage persona is that of an unassuming friend, rather than in-your-face stand up.

Prepare to take a journey with O’Neill, both poetic and comedic, in this sixty minute show.

Owen O’Neill’s most recent volume of poetry was published in 2014, ‘Licking the Matchbox’.

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Saturday 24

Saturday 24

Tara West: Happy Dark THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

In this immersive and brilliantly written memoir, Tara West tells readers about her battle with depression and how she has learnt to cope with the disease that threatened to engulf her. Through her writing, she makes the darkness of mental health visible. She shares intimate insights: those gained through therapy and also those realised about her mother and their relationship. From living in Rathcoole as a teenager and young adult, to working as an advertising executive in Belfast, to living as a young mother in Carrickfergus, Tara recounts the moments of happiness and despair with poignant and beautiful honesty – and her trademark black humour.

Tara West is an Irish author based in Belfast. Her first novel, Fodder (Blackstaff Press, 2002) was published to widespread critical acclaim and established her reputation as a fresh and original new writer. She appears regularly at literary and cultural festivals and has received a number of Arts Council of Northern Ireland awards. Her short stories are punchy and pithy and give a flavour of real life in Northern Ireland. She works in advertising and is a member of the Society of Authors.

Liberties Press published her novel Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan in 2013.

Photo by Maria McManus

1PM £7

Aces Literary Salon THE FESTIVAL YURT, BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

2.30PM

FREE ADMISSION

Join the literature recipients of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s ACES award for a showcase of writing of depth and talent, from some of the country’s most promising artists.

The Artists Career Enhancement Scheme (ACES) award is made annually to professional artists working in music, visual arts, literature and participatory arts, allowing them to develop their professional artistic careers. It is the most prestigious award bestowed by the Arts Council annually.

For more information about the Salon readers and to register, visit: aspectsfestival.com

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Saturday 24

Saturday 24

A Writer’s Guide to Humour THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 5PM £8 Come to a rib-tickling late afternoon event, where an eclectic panel of writers give their recommendations for their favourite funny books. They’ll talk about what inspires them, tips on writing for laughs and will look into the lives of some of those who make us laugh.

The panel will include Aspects veteran and dark humoured novelist, Colin Bateman and comedian, poet and actor Owen O’Neill.

In 2016, Bateman published his 28th novel, ‘Papercuts’. He has written for the large and small screen. He recently wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film The Journey, which has been selected for the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival 2016.

The Telegraph included him in their, ‘50 crime writers to read before you die’.

Owen O’Neill has appeared on TV comedy panels, written poetry books and performed stand-up all over the world.

Duke Special and Ulaid: Belfast Suite THE FESTIVAL YURT, BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

8PM

£15

Drawing on their influences from the traditional music world and pre-rock and roll song writing, Ulaid and Duke Special combine forces to create an original work called ‘Belfast Suite.’

Exploring the collection of noted historian and antiquary Francis J Bigger, they have written new compositions inspired by obscure treasures found among the Bigger collection and by the incredible story of the City of Belfast.

Playing to their strengths, the collaboration allows the stunning musicianship of Ulaid and Duke Special’s curiosity in story to shine, which delivers a unique and compelling new sound.

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Sunday 25 A Reading with Glenn Patterson THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

Sunday 25 Spirit of ’58 THE FESTIVAL YURT BANGOR CASTLE WALLED GARDEN SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 4PM £6

2PM £8 Glenn Patterson, award-winning writer, memoirist, critic, screenwriter and broadcaster, is an old friend of Aspects.

The author of nine novels - from Burning Your Own (1988) to The Mill for Grinding Old People Young (2012) - Here’s Me Here.

Further Reflections of a Lapsed Protestant (New Island, 2015) is his most recent collection of writing for newspapers and radio.

An author who has continually embraced his native Belfast as the setting of his work, Patterson has described his novels as ‘alternative histories.’ The Rest Just Follows (Faber and Faber, 2014) is his most recent novel. We’re back in 1974, the Bay City Rollers are top of the pops and Craig, St John and Maxine are in their first terms at big school. We’re also in Belfast, so it’s not just bullies and homework that our characters have to contend with but the Troubles growing around them.

In the words of one reviewer it is a ‘study of ordinary lives in an extraordinary time, sweet and bitter, and always compelling.’

Director Evan Marshall will give an introductory talk prior to this special Aspects screening of Spirit of ’58 – a new documentary on Northern Ireland’s wonderful 1958 team (NI 2015, 61mins, Documentary Panorama).

In the summer of 1958 Northern Ireland stood just one game away from a semifinal appearance in the World Cup against the mighty Brazil.

The heroic story of this uniquely blessed squad of players, led by the peerless Danny Blanchflower, is one which takes in the Munich Air Tragedy, a fight against Sabbath Observers within the IFA who tried to stop them going to the tournament in Sweden and a violent win-or-bust struggle against Italy to qualify. And yet it has almost been forgotten.

This, the first documentary celebrating their achievements, includes interviews with all the surviving players. Join us for this archive-rich film which finally tells the story of Northern Ireland’s greatest ever team.

‘Glenn Patterson is a national treasure’ Ian Sansom

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Sunday 25 The Future Always Makes Me So Thirsty NORTH DOWN MUSEUM SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

Monday 26 Wednesday 28

SOMME CENTENARY EVENTS

8PM £5 Northern Ireland is rightly celebrated the world over for its rich poetic heritage and vibrant poetry culture – Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Medbh McGuckian, Paul Muldoon, Leonita Flynn and Sinéad Morrissey (amongst others) have changed the map of contemporary poetry.

Edited by Sinéad Morrissey and Stephen Connolly, The Future Always Makes Me So Thirsty. New Poets from the North of Ireland is a landmark anthology of poetry published earlier this year which brings together the best of the new generation that has emerged in Northern Ireland over the past decade, from more established poets such as Miriam Gamble, Caoilinn Hughes and Stephen Sexton to exciting new voices such as Padraig Regan, Manuela Moser and Emma Must.

Aspects is delighted to present readings from this ground breaking anthology, introduced by Stephen Connolly.

Expect to hear poets who are confidently poised to carry the proud tradition of contemporary poetry in Northern Ireland into the future.

All For the Dead Man’s Penny

The Prodger

by Tina Noonan

with Liz Weir and Ciaran Mulholland THE SPACE, SERC BANGOR CARNEGIE LIBRARY MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 7.30PM FREE

6.30PM FREE Internationally renowned storyteller Liz Weir and fiddle player Ciaran Mulholland tell a tale that links past and present, a tale of lost youth and memories that span the generations.

A teenage girl explores her family history a century after World War I. Whilst 200,000 Irish soldiers fought in the war, this is the story of one young Donegal man who responded to the call to arms.

Like the youthful warrior Oisín, he left a world which would be totally transformed during his absence.

FREE EVENT Please register with Bangor Carnegie Library to book your place on: 028 9127 0591.

The Prodger tells the story of the writer’s Grand Uncle Johnny, an Irishman from Waterford who fought at The Somme, woke up in a morgue and found his right leg amputated below the knee. This one act play highlights the plight of the Forgotten; the Irish men who fought in WW1, endured its horrors and survived, returning to a new and divided Ireland where they buried their stories, never breathing a word of them to a single, living soul.

A one act play - based on the writer’s Great Uncle, an Irish Veteran - a private, an amputee, a survivor of The Somme. Set in a bar, Lismore, Co. Waterford, circa 1964.

FREE EVENT No tickets will be issued for the events.

Please register with Ards and North Down Borough Council Good Relations section.

0300 013 3333.

Performance contains adult language and content.

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booking information Book online at aspectsfestival.com Or in person at North Down Museum 028 9127 1200 Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4.30pm Sunday 12noon – 4.30pm Mondays in August: 10am – 4.30pm Ards Arts Centre 028 9181 0803 Monday - Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am – 4.30pm Saturday 10am – 4pm Tickets can be purchased from all Ards and North Down Visitor Information Centres.

Refund Policy Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded, so please check them as soon as you receive them.

Access for Disabled Patrons We welcome disabled patrons, but would appreciate knowing your requirements in advance.

All events were correct at the time of going to print.

Aspects Festival reserves the right to make alterations if necessary.

No photography/recording of events.

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