A Touch of Class at the Writing on the Wall festival

Full details and tickets for this online events can be found here.

WoWFEST: Class of ’23 starts as we mean to go on with ‘A Touch of Class’. Our fantastic panel of writers will dive into the hard-hitting topic of class and writing, the theme underpinning this year’s festival. Each panelist brings a wealth of experience and a unique voice to the table. They include Janine Booth Coronaverses, Natasha Carthew – Undercurrent, John Thompson – Dogs and Other Mammals, Deborah Morgan – Imagine Living, and Colin Burnett – A Working Class State of Mind. Expect a unique perspective on the creative writing process, as well as an honest discussion on the challenges faced by disadvantaged writers in the industry.

Janine Booth has a strong passion for challenging social and political injustice through her writing; Natasha Carthew offers a unique perspective that reflects her upbringing in a rural community. John Thompson is known for his representation of working-class voices in the creative writing process; Deborah Morgan’s writing is known for its emotional depth and honesty, as well as its ability to capture the essence of the human experience, and Colin Burnett pulls from both his education in Sociology and belief in the importance of upholding Scottish culture, language, and history.

This is a special opportunity for the writers and audience to share and learn together. The launch of the WoWFEST:  Class of 23′ festival theme promises to be an exciting catalyst for much-needed discussion within the industry. Get ready for some brilliant readings at an event that aims to push for a fairer, more inclusive publishing industry that reflects the diversity of our society.

Natasha Carthew is a working-class country writer from Cornwall, where she lives with her girlfriend. She has written all her books outside, either in the fields and woodland that surround her home or in the cabin that she built from scrap wood. She has written two books of poetry, as well as three novels for young adults, Winter Damage, The Light That Gets Lost and Only the Ocean, all for Bloomsbury. Her first novel for adults, All Rivers Run Free, is published by riverrun/ Quercus. Natasha has written for many publications on the subject of wild writing, including the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, Eco-fiction, TripFiction, the Guardian, the Big Issue and the Dark Mountain Project. Shes currently writing her second literary novel for adults and a new collection of rural poetry.

Janine Booth is a Marxist, trade unionist, socialist-feminist, author, poet, speaker, tutor, former RMT Executive member, supporter of Workers’ Liberty, autie, bi and Peterborough United fan! She has had four books published including, Guilty and Proud of it: Poplar’s Rebel Councillors and Guardians 1919-1925 (Merlin Press, 2009), Plundering London Underground: Private Capital and Public Service 1997-2010 (Merlin Press, 2013), Autism Equality in the Workplace: removing barriers and challenging discrimination (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016) and Minnie Lansbury: suffragette, socialist, rebel councillor (Five Leaves, 2018).

Deborah Morgan is an author whose first novel, Disappearing Home, was a runner up in WoW’s 2010 Pulp Idol competition and  received much critical acclaim. Her second novel, Imagine Living, was released in February 2023. As well as writing novels, Deborah is a graduate of the Everyman & Playhouse Playwrights’ Programme. (The Punter, (Unity Theatre), In Case of an Emergency, Please Do Not Break the Glass (Everyman), Knee-Deep in Promises (Royal Court), and the award-winning Anfield Home Tour. (Liverpool Biennial). Her poetry has been widely published and shortlisted for The Bridport Prize.

Colin Burnett is an Edinburgh based short-story writer. Pulling from both his education in Sociology and belief in the importance of upholding Scottish culture, language and history, Burnett has written both fictional and non-fictional works. His writing has been featured in The Sociological Review, The Selkie and the Scots Independent Newspaper. Recently, he was nominated for Media Person of the Year at the Scots Language Awards (2020). Colin’s debut novel, A Working-Class State of Mind, brings the everyday reality and language of life in Scotland to the surface. Colin’s fiction takes themes in the social sciences and animates them in vivid ethnographic portrayals of what it means to be working class in Scotland today.

John Thompson is a Liverpool born writer whose love of books led him to study Creative Writing at Ruskin College, Oxford. Here, John found that writing became like Mathematics to him, full of rules and formulae. After forgoing his studies altogether to then working in schools, factories and on railways, he decided to revisit his love of writing. John is now the author of 2 novels, The Book of Jobe and its sequel. John is now working on his new novel Dogs and Other Mammals.

Tuesday 2nd May, 6pm, £4, Online 

*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact [email protected].  All queries will be treated in confidence.  If you would like to purchase a gifted ticket for someone who can’t afford it, please buy directly from the event page and we will offer your ticket out.