Sponsorship proposal UoB 2015

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL 8-17TH OCTOBER 2015

BACKGROUND

Birmingham Literature Festival, the flagship project run by Writing West Midlands, is an excellent way to connect with people in the West Midlands and from further afield.

Our audiences are passionate about arts and culture and have time and money to spend on following their interests. They are, of course, primed with their own ideas and opinions and they enjoy the chance the Festival offers to discuss issues and share views.

Quite simply, our audiences make the Festival what it is.

Irwin Mitchell’s banner branding the Library of Birmingham

University of Birmingham promo onal material in the Library of Birmingham foyer

Dr Gregory Leadbe er chairing Fes val opening event with Jackie Kay

Our audiences are delighted to welcome high profile names to Birmingham from elsewhere in the UK and overseas. In recent years we saw writers from Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Libya, South Africa and Pakistan.

Our audiences are justifiably proud of writers from the region, including previous and future Festival speakers Alan Ahlberg, Liz Berry, Meera Syal and Steven Knight.

RITA DOVE@ BIRMINGHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning poet Rita Dove has accepted an invitation to be a headline speaker at the Birmingham Literature Festival on 9th October 2015.

Rita Dove has been Poet Laureate of the United States and has received numerous honours. She is Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Rita is a wonderful performer of her own work and deeply interested in the writing of poets from around the world. Her visits to the UK are rare and this will be a unique opportunity to engage with one of modern poetry's most interesting voices.

There would be enormous value for your students on the American Studies course, as well as those studying creative writing and English literature. If the University of Birmingham chooses to sponsor this event, we can help your students engage with her in this rare trip to the UK, as well as arranging for a more general meet and greet with any key stake holders invited by the University.

To see her perform at the Granada International Poetry Festival in Nicaragua, click here.

Rita Dove

Birmingham Literature Festival October 2014 Number of events: 42 Facebook friends: 2062 Email contacts: 3136 Total attendance: 3655 Twitter followers: 4727 Webpage impressions: 13,916 (since Aug 14) Number of brochures printed: 15,000 Listening audience: 1 million (BBC broadcast)

OUR REACH

Partner organisations included: Arts Council England Birmingham Repertory Theatre BBC Two BBC Radio 4 Danish Cultural Institute Festivals Birmingham Heart FM Ikon Gallery Library of Birmingham Man Booker Prize More By Design National Poetry Day Nine Arches Press Poetry By Heart Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate West Midlands Readers’ Network Writers’ Guild Sponsors involved: Birmingham City University Irwin Mitchell LLP Midland Creative Projects Newman University Opus at Cornwall Street University of Birmingham

Peaky Blinders: Steven Knight Photo: Lee Allen

BE INVOLVED As a sponsor for this Headline event, University of Birmingham can receive the following benefits: Complimentary tickets for your guests or students with reserved seating and signed copies of an author’s book.

Exclusive offer for the University of Birmingham to have a seminar with Rita Dove for students and staff prior to the event.

If appropriate, we would be very happy to talk with you about the possibility of one of your academics introducing this event.

Additional opportunity for guests to ‘meet the author’ (subject to timings and availability) with catering before or after an event (depending on event venue with costs negotiable).

Branding within the attractive full colour Festival brochure and website to include business logo and statement of sponsorship (“Sponsored by…”).

Opportunity for branding of event venue and distribution of information about the University (e.g. banners, copies of prospectus, course information etc).

Opportunity to use our professional photographer to take pictures of your sponsorship for use on your website or other promotional material.

Public crediting of sponsor during event introduction and wherever possible through our PR campaign.

Sponsorship of alternative headline events is also available. Please contact us for details.

All of the above elements are negotiable. Most events take place during the evenings. Please note that all details are subject to change during the immediate planning process.

To follow up any of the suggestions made in this booklet, please contact: Emma Boniwell, Boniwell Relationship Manager emma@writingwestmidlands.org Jonathan Davidson, Davidson Chief Executive jonathan@writingwestmidlands.org Telephone: 0121 246 2770 Front cover picture: Rochi Rampal performing Little Earthquake’s Earthquake adaptation of M.R. James’s The Story of a Disappearance and Appearance, BLF 2014

www.writingwestmidlands.org