Sheffield Novel Slam 2018 – join us!

An aspiring novelist reads at the novel slam in 2017.

The Novel Slam 2018 returns on Thursday 18th October 2018 at DINA. It isn’t officially part of Off the Shelf festival this year, so please come along and support an independent event, organised, hosted and attended by local writers and their friends!

However, that means that we were able to fund a FREE pitching workshop, which is all about how to write a brilliant blurb and a sizzling synopsis, and find out just what to say if you find yourself in a lift with an agent or publisher!

Follow this link for details and to book a FREE place at Perfect Your Pitch! http://www.offtheshelf.org.uk/event/perfect-your-pitch/ This takes place on Saturday 13th October from 1.30-4.30pm at St Matthew’s Church, Carver Street in Sheffield City Centre. The workshop is led by the fantastic Beverley Ward and Anne Grange.

The Novel Slam!

This year, the Novel Slam takes place once again at DINA, so you’ll be able to enjoy the evening in atmospheric surroundings. Hopefully the stage will still have that spangly curtain! There will be a fully stocked bar and friendly, cabaret-style seating.

The event is on Thursday 18th October and starts at 7.30pm. Get there early to make sure that you hear all the novelists – the audience gets to vote on their favourite pitch.

To book your place as an entrant or as an audience member, please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/novel-slam-2018-tickets-50071700805

Please come along and support this fantastic event! All aspiring novelists are invited to perform, and everyone is welcome at this event! Tickets are £10 if you want to enter, and £5 to be part of our voting audience.

If you read this blog post, or book a ticket on Eventbrite, please share it on social media or by email, to help spread the word!

The Facebook Event for the 2018 Novel Slam is: Novel Slam 2018.

Please share and tell your friends about it!

Information for Writers

• The novel slam is fun – but we also value quality feedback and making sure that every writer feels supported, so please give it a go!
• You need to prepare a one minute pitch for your book. Think about the most exciting blurb for your book that would get people picking it up in bookshops (and buying it in droves). Time yourself. If you go over 60 seconds, some kind of Klaxon will sound, I’ve been told. You will also need to tell us the title of the novel.
• You also need to pick a three minute extract from your novel to read. Here are some extra tips:
• Most writers choose to read from their first chapter, but some winning competitors in previous years’ Novel Slams have used particularly funny or thrilling scenes from further into their novels.
• If you feel that the opening of your novel isn’t particularly thrilling – why? Readers (including agents and publishers) are looking for something that grabs them immediately. Preparing for the novel slam may be a good chance to test and re-draft your novel.
• Choose an extract with lots of drama and action, but avoid scenes with lots of dialogue by characters that the audience won’t know about.
• Avoid spoilers – you don’t want to give away any big secrets that readers won’t know until later in the novel!
• With a bit of practise, such as a free pitching workshop (see above for details), or reading out extracts from your novel to your friends, family or pets, your pitch and novel slam will be perfect. Make sure you speak clearly and practise looking up into audience members’ eyes! There will be a microphone for you to use at the event, so please try one out if you’ve never used one.

On the Night

• The first round is a time one minute pitch of your novel. You have one minute to wow audience and judges alike. Don’t explain your whole plot, just write a blurb that would make readers pick up your book and buy it straight away. The title is very important too!
• The audience then votes for the novels they most like the sound of, and there will be a short break. Eight people will make it through to the next round.
• The novelists then have three minutes to read their three minute extract from their novel.
• The judges will give constructive feedback to each writer, and will award scores.
• There will be a short break while the scores are being added up.
• First, second and third prizes will be awarded to the three top judge’s choices, with an audience prize for the writer who received the highest score in the pitching round without getting through to second round.
• The prizes will include a read-through by a top agent, a writing workshop, a podcast on Urban Tiger Radio, and professional coaching or mentoring.

The Judges

Meet the Panel

Stacey Sampson:Writer, actor and drama practitioner, well known for her work in This Is England. Her first novel won the Arvon Award at the 2013 Northern Writers’ Awards, and she is the winner of the 2017 Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition.

Daniel Blythe: The author of many novels for adults and children, including The Cut, Losing Faith and This is the Day. He wrote the bestselling Doctor Who adventure Autonomy for BBC books, and his books for younger readers include: Shadow Runners, Emerald Greene and the Witch Stones and Emerald Greene: Instruments of Darkness for younger readers. He also works as a writer in schools, inspiring a new generation of writers.

Bryony Doran: Novelist, poet, short story and script writer. Bryony won the Hookline novel award in 2009 for her debut novel The China Bird. Her short story collection The Sand Eggs has also won critical acclaim. One of her latest works is Home Front, a a quadrilogy of book-length sequences by four female poets living in a state of separation from sons or husbands who are in a war zone. Bryony’s poems in the book telling the story of her son joining the army and his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Bryony also works as a creative writing coach, helping other writers’ creativity to flourish.

Gavin Extence: The author of best selling novels The Universe Versus Alex Woods, The Mirror World of Melody Black and The Empathy Problem, he is an alumni of the University of Sheffield and is the patron of Walkley Carnegie Library, supporting reading and creativity in the community.

Our compere for the evening will be Iain Broome, author of novel A is for Angelica . He is also a freelance writer, editor and content producer. Once again, he will be poised with his horn if any novel slam entrants go over their time limit!

Good luck!!

Taking Part in the Novel Slam – by Anna Caig

The novel slam was a big success again this year. The decision to change to a larger, more accessible venue, the Adelphi Room at Sheffield’s legendary Crucible Theatre, really paid off, and once again, it was a delight to meet so many writers.

The novel slam can be a nerve-wracking experience for entrants, although that’s not the intention! The idea behind the novel slam is to get used to promoting your work in public (in case you meet a literary agent in a lift, or just to enthuse your friends about the book you’re working so hard on), meet other writers and to get feedback from our expert judges.

One of the entrants, Anna Caig, who also writes for the Sheffield Telegraph, wrote a blog post about her experience in the novel slam, which can also be found on the official Off the Shelf blog: Off the Shelf Official Blog.

Off The Shelf 2016 has been an embarrassment of riches for the literature lovers of Sheffield. I have enjoyed every moment, from Withnail and I director Bruce Robinson talking about his new book on Jack The Ripper, to searching for the truth behind the ‘green man’ with Nina Lyons, to hearing Melissa Benn’s views on women in public life and education.

I must have been carried away by the atmosphere of the festival when I agreed to take part in the Off The Shelf fringe ‘Novel Slam’ event. Essentially, this is the X-Factor for people writing books.

The first round consists of a one minute ‘elevator pitch’ from each entrant to an audience, describing their novel. Then there is an audience vote and half the contestants are eliminated. The remaining ten people read a three minute extract from their novel. Followed by another audience vote whittling ten down to four finalists. These four then read for a further five minutes. And the eventual winner is chosen by a panel of judges.

So, all in all a kind of torture.

I spent a long Saturday afternoon the weekend before the slam up in my bedroom with an egg timer shunning my family, and perfecting (or at least deciding on) a one-minute description of my novel.

This is the book I have been writing on and off for nearly five years: a dark, gruesome tale of murder, myth and the supernatural, the research for which has probably seen me added to several watch lists. How to use naturally occurring plant-based drugs for mind control, anyone? But it has been much more off than on. It is in no way finished or well-edited, and the thought of reading aloud from this far from polished work was nothing short of terrifying.

I am turning forty next year, and I wonder if this could be my mid-life crisis in action. Turns out that putting myself out there to be judged by a room full of strangers is quite the adrenaline rush. Some people buy a Ferrari; some people sleep with their secretary; some people go bungee jumping. I prove to myself that I’m still alive and kicking by taking part in a novel slam.

On the day of the slam, my butterflies began well before breakfast. By mid-afternoon I was feeling sick.

I met my friend, who was also competing, for a gin and tonic beforehand in the vain hope that this would give me courage. By this point I could no longer feel my hands. The only other time in my life I remember feeling that anxious was on my wedding day.

The slam was held in the Adelphi Room, which is part of Sheffield’s beautiful Crucible Theatre. This is a glass fronted room below the huge Crucible sign whose contents is visible across the whole of Tudor Square below. We could not have been more exposed. As I stood up to read my synopsis, I was so flustered I nearly stumbled backwards through the glass window.

My recollections of the experience itself are something of a blur. There was some fabulous writing from my fellow-competitors that I could in no way fully appreciate due to my anxiety. When I was voted through to the second round I accidentally gave myself a whoop I was so pleased.

I’m sad to confess that I didn’t make the final four. But was reassured by the fact that these writers were stunning. It was only at this point that I could really relax and appreciate the quality of the writing showcased at the event.

The feedback I received from the judges was all spot on, and genuinely helpful for me to take away and use to improve the book. And I met some great fellow Sheffield-based aspiring, as well as actual real-life, novelists. More than anything, it felt wonderful to be immersed in that world where we’re all in the same boat; where everyone in the room gets that writing is the best thing ever, and there is no better way to spend your time.

So, while I didn’t come out of the experience covered in glory, neither was I humiliated. It was a fantastic evening, and despite the lack of feeling in my limbs I loved every (perfectly-timed) minute.

Anna and her friend about to compete in the slam!

I hope that all the entrants have now recovered from their trauma and are now working on their novels. Many thanks to everyone who attended the event and made it a success.

Congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy your prizes!

The Sheffield Novelists writing group is open to all writers who are serious about writing a novel. Contact us for details.

The judges Bryony Doran, Berlie Doherty, Daniel Blythe and Stacey Sampson, with winners Anni Swinburn, Steven Kay, Delaina Haslam and Dave Kirby.

 

Novel Slam 2016 – Join us!

The novel slam 2016 will be at the Crucible!

I can’t believe that this will be the fifth annual Off the Shelf Novel Slam! This years’s event takes place on Tuesday 25th October at 7.30pm at the Adelphi Rooms at Sheffield’s internationally renowned Crucible Theatre.

It would be amazing if you could shine your shoes and head for the Crucible for this amazing event.

The novel slam is a showcase for writers of fiction. Poets have poetry slams to find their audience, and novelists need novel slams (although you don’t get to read out your whole novel – that would take too long!) In the novel slam, fiction writers get the chance to give an audience a taste of their work and leave them wanting more.

The aim is to bring writers together to share their work, to get used to pitching their ideas and reading out their work in front of a live audience. To enter the novel slam takes a bit of bravery, some good preparation, a little resilience (it’s a friendly but competitive event) and an open mind.

Audience members are also very welcome indeed. Come and meet some of Sheffield’s most talented and prestigious writers, and help to discover new talent.

Tickets cost £5 /£3 concessions on the door, and there will be a bar at the venue. If you don’t want to compete, please come along to enjoy the evening and vote for the best books.

If you want to compete in the Novel Slam, call 07815966784, or email sheffieldnovelists@gmail.com to book  your place.

In true X-Factor style, we have a panel of judges who will give feedback and tips, and advice on kick-starting a successful writing career.

Bryony Doran

Berlie Doherty

Daniel Blythe

Stacey Sampson

Meet the Panel

Stacey Sampson:Writer, actor and drama practitioner, best known for her work in This Is England. Her first novel won the Arvon Award at the 2013 Northern Writers’ Awards. Stacey was the first winner of the Novel Slam in 2012!

Daniel Blythe: The author of many novels, including The Cut, Losing Faith and This is the Day. He wrote the bestselling Doctor Who adventure Autonomy for BBC books, and Shadow Runners and Emerald Greene and the Witch Stones for younger readers.

Bryony Doran: Novelist, poet, short story and script writer. Bryony won the Hookline novel award in 2009 for her debut novel The China Bird. Her short story collection The Sand Eggs has also won critical acclaim. She also works as a creative writing coach, helping other writers’ creativity to flourish.

Berlie Doherty: A legendary Sheffield writer, a double Carnegie medal winner for her novels Granny Was a Buffer Girl and Dear Nobody, who has written many novels for children and adults. She has also written short stories, plays and poetry, some of which can be found on public works of art in Sheffield in the Botanical Gardens and on the Moor!

Once again, our compere for the evening will be Iain Broome, author of novel A is for Angelica. He will be poised ready with his horn, to embarrass any writers who go over their time limit. This didn’t happen at all last year, and he was very disappointed.

Prizes for 2016

Prizes for 2016 include:

A creative writing coaching session from Beverley Ward.

A creative writing coaching session from Bryony Doran.

A guaranteed read-through and feedback of three chapters of your novel from literary agent Joanna Swainson

A critique and appraisal from Daniel Blythe.

A writing workshop with Sheffield novelist Susan Elliot Wright and fellow Sheffield writer Russell Thomas.

Plus, lots of books from our award-winning judges!

The Rules

Please don’t be daunted by the novel slam. Egos can sometimes be a little bruised, but the event is intended as a light-hearted way to bring writers together and discover new talent. It doesn’t matter how much experience you’ve got or whether you have finished a novel. Everyone is welcome to enter, and you will find yourself in a supportive environment.

The first round is a 1 minute pitch of your novel. You will be timed! You have exactly one minute to convince the audience that your novel is a must-read. You don’t need to explain your entire plot, you just need to prepare the blurb that will make readers pick your book off the shelves and take it straight to the till in the bookshop.

The audience will vote for their favourites, and after a short break, the ten people through to the next round will have 3 minutes to read a compelling extract from their novel. Most people pick the start of the first chapter, but some writers have had success with extracts from the middle of their books. The panel will give constructive feedback to each writer.

The audience and the judges will vote for their four favourite novel extracts.

In the final round, the four finalists will read for a further 5 minutes each and will each receive more in-depth feedback from the panel of judges. The overall winner will get the first choice of prizes.

Good luck!

Tip: practise makes perfect, so carefully craft your pitch, test it out in front of your family and friends, use a timer when you’re rehearsing, and edit your extracts to read so they’re engaging, attention-grabbing and intriguing.

Novel Slam 2015

The annual Off the Shelf Novel Slam has become something of a Sheffield tradition over the last few years, with fiction writers getting brave and pitching and reading out their work in front of a live audience. The aim of the event is to give new fiction writers an audience, and a chance to showcase their work, just like poets would do in a poetry slam. Writing novels can be a lonely business!

The novel slam takes place on Tuesday 27th October at 7.30pm at Bank Street Arts, in Sheffield city centre. Tickets cost £5 /£3 concessions on the door, and refreshments are available. If you don’t want to compete, just turn up, enjoy it, and vote for the best books.

If you want to take part in the Novel Slam, call 07815966784, or email sheffieldnovelists@gmail.com

The first round is a 1 minute pitch of your novel. You will be timed! You have exactly one minute to convince the audience that your novel is a must-read. You don’t need to explain your entire plot, you just need to prepare the blurb that will make readers pick your book off the shelves and take it straight to the till in the bookshop.

The audience will vote for their favourites, and after a short break, the ten people through to the next round will have 3 minutes to read a compelling extract from their novel. Most people pick the start of the first chapter, but some writers have had success with extracts from the middle of their books.

The panel of published writers will give feedback to the contestants and there will be a break while the audience vote again, and the judges pick the four winning novelists.

The winners will each read a slightly longer extract from their novels, and the judges will give more detailed feedback.

The prizes will include reading of your novel and feedback from literary agent Joanna Swainson, a free read of your manuscript by The Literary Consultancy and free creative coaching.

Although the competitive format of the Novel Slam may seem a little daunting, it’s just for fun really, and a great chance to meet other writers.

Tip: practise makes perfect, so carefully craft your pitch, test it out in front of your family and friends, use a timer when you’re rehearsing, and edit your extracts to read so they’re engaging, attention-grabbing and intriguing.