The Dream Catcher - One book. One city. A thousand conversations

City Reads: One book. One City. A Thousand Conversations

As the Brighton Magazine's Dream Catcher project inches closer to launch, here's some news from our local partners and friends:

City Reads are hosting a Volunteer Meeting at Brighton's Jubilee Library, on Thursday 4th August, at 6pm.

They are looking for Wordpress wizards, event stewards, bookcrossers, skilled social networkers, photographers and people to man stalls.

Also it's nearly time for City Reads to reveal the City Reads book title for 2011. Watch this space on 18 August for an announcement. 200 free copies of the City Reads book will be available throughout the city from Saturday 20 August. They are currently adding the finishing touches to their events programme which will run from Thursday 8 September  - Sunday 9 October. Look out for
brochures at the end of August.



Flash-Lit Fiction: a slam & other experiments

As part of the Brighton Digital Festival 2011 there will be an evening of short shorts, flash writing and digital technologies. on Sunday 11 September, 7pm - 10pm, at Sticky Mike's Frog Shop, 9-12 Middle Street, Brighton.

At the heart of the event is a 300-word flash fiction slam competition and an online Twitter story competition, with competitors battling it out for fame and glory.

The night is brought to you by the makers of Grit Lit and Story
Studio.

Judging panels include the Digital Festival team, Richard Hearn from Paragraph Planet and Myriad Editions. Advance tickets £5:  Tickets on the door: £6.


Nina de la Mer: Book Launch

Nina de la Mer is set celebrate the launch of her début novel 4 a.m. with stage readings from Actors from Sussex University Drama Society. The event takes place on 19th August from 6-8pm.

Advance copies of 4 a.m. will be available to buy, signed by the author - CLICK HERE for more info.


For more info on the Brighton Magazine's Dream Catcher project CLICK HERE

The Dream Catcher Update

Since announcing The Dream Catcher project, at the end of June, we have been contacted by authors, publishers, reading groups, story writers and readers, and the just plain curious.

The Dream Catcher is now more than just an idea. It's a living, breathing and evolving catchment of talent. Latest to hop on board was Nina De La Mer, an author who dazzled us with her debut novel, 4 a.m. Read our review here.

Nina's publishers, the Brighton-based Myriad Editions, are sending a copy of Ed Siegle's recent novel Invisibles. Ed first caught our eye with On the Level, published in the acclaimed anthology The Illustrated Brighton Moment.

Invisibles itself takes us on a journey from the streets of Brighton to the bars of Rio. Ed weaves the rhythms of Brazil and the troubles of his characters into an absorbing story of identity, love and loss. At once familiar and foreign, this sweet, sad and compulsively readable first novel throngs with visceral memory and unbreakable ordinary heroes.

If you're interested in receiving updates about The Dream Catcher project then email editor@brighton.co.uk

The Rock Memoir

So, it's official, the world of publishing is on the scramble to sign rock stars to book deals. I took a look at four of the great musical lyricists who are becoming first time novelists, while The Observer ran a feature on the publishing scramble for the big five stars without book deals.

Have just finished reading the excellent, if not a little disturbing, Cutey and the Sofaguard. The novel, from the exciting young mind of Chris Wade, claims: "It's a strange world, unlike any other you've chanced upon. This unique story is an experiment in challenging conventional storytelling, twisting the English language into unnatural positions, deforming characters into twitching wrecks. A surreal mindbender with a shocking twist." A link to my review will follow in my next posting.

Almost completed Nina De La Mer's tale of club culture going tits up. 4.a.m. is her first novel and she writes with the assured voice of someone who's in it for the long haul.

Also delighted that Going Underground by Suzie Tullett is next to read and review: "Three men on two scooters (a vintage Lambretta and Vespa) heading down the country to Brighton... three women and a heavily pregnant woman in hot pursuit - all squashed into a classic, Union Jack roofed mini... and an off duty Police Officer bring up the rear... and with musically themed chapters it even has its own soundtrack."

Phil Daniels may be typecast as Jimmy The Mod from Quadrophenia, but as his autobiography, Class Actor, shows there's a lot more to the man than just that one performance. Check out the review here ..

Brighton's Most Famous Movie Mod Is Really Just A Class Actor - Plus Job Up For Grabs

Was a treat to get to review Phil Daniels' recent autobiography, Class Actor. As I say in the review, my first brush with Phil was:

"I first spotted him when the arse end of the seventies brought the cast and crew of Quadrophenia to my home town of Brighton, for a bit of rough and tumble on the pebbles.

"The fact that the actual process of filming didn't look in anyway glamorous (cue endless standing around and multiple takes) didn't detract from just how god damn glamorous it actually looked once what was in the can was projected onto the big screen."
Check out the full review here

Also, if you're reading this then guess you have an interest in books. If so then the position of City Reads Volunteer Co-Ordinator (PAID) is up for grabs. Click here for details ..

Thanks again for all the positive feedback re-our The Dream Catcher project .. more details here

New Authors, New Titles

Thanks for the feedback on the Hugh Cornwell 'Window On The World' review. Was a pleasure to read, and nice to find Hugh steeping successfully outside of the box.

Am now embarking on reading two new titles (remember, if you become part of The Dream Catcher project, then you too could be receiving pre-release titles for review). Nina De La Mer is a new author, and her first novel, 4 a.m., is deemed to be 'a sparkling debut novel of friendship, love and betrayal. An anthem for the E generation.' So I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into this one!

Also ready for review is Phil Daniels autobiography, Class Actor. Many will know Phil from either his staring role in the movie, Quadrophenia, or possibly via his recent appearances in Eastenders. But there's a lot more to the man, and I'm a quarter of the way in and enjoying the read.

Window On The World

First time novelists don't come any more seasoned than, Hugh Cornwell. The ex-Stranglers frontman has been ploughing a continued path as a solo artist for the last twenty-one years. Along the way he's put his name on the cover of three books, the last being his autobiography, A Multitude Of Sins.

But now comes his first novel, Window On The World. I've reviewed the book, which is on general release from 28th July, over at magazine.brighton.co.uk and you too could be reviewing pre-release titles if you sign-up to our Dream Catcher project.

For more info on The Dream Catcher project click here.