Statement in support of NOTTINGHAM

From CountOfMonte

The City of Nottingham would make a wonderful venue for Uncon 2010! This is
why...

It has a rich literary heritage ranging from Lord Byron ~
The Romantic poet Lord Byron is famous the world over as a passionate lover, a political revolutionary and a man who inspired the Greeks to victory over Turkish rule. One of England’s greatest literary heroes, Byron’s first poem was written at the age of ten. It was about Nottingham, and Byron is buried at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Hucknall. There is an annual Byron festival in Hucknall, Notts which was in July in 2009.

to D H Lawrence ~
Lawrence's best known works are his novels, Sons & Lovers, The Rainbow and the controversial Lady Chatterley's Lover. Their style, language and frank treatment of subjects such as female sexuality changed the face of English literature. Lady Chatterley’s Lover became the centre of a famous indecency trial, marking an important transition in public views on censorship and the arts. The writer retained a deep feeling for his native Nottinghamshire – which
he referred to as "the country of my heart". The Lawrence museum is in Eastwood, Notts and it hosts an annual D H Lawrence festival, which was in May in 2009.

to Alan Sillitoe ~
Alan Sillitoe, Nottingham's most famous contemporary author, was born in Nottingham on 4 March 1928 and worked at the city’s Raleigh bicycle factory on leaving school at the age of 14. His first novel, the ground-breaking and critically acclaimed "Saturday Night and Sunday
Morning" painted a vivid picture of Nottingham life. His next book "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" was filmed in 1961 with Tom Courtenay in the leading role. Alan Sillitoe has published 25 novels as well as volumes of poetry, books for children, screenplays and essays.

and also:
JM Barrie
Sir James Matthew, Baronet Barrie (1860-1937) began his career in journalism on the Nottingham Daily Journal before moving to London. He lived in the area known as the Arboretum and it’s rumoured that Peter Pan was inspired by a Nottingham street urchin he saw walking in Clifton Grove.

Stephan Collishaw
Author Stephan grew up in Nottinghamshire, and studied at Nottingham Trent University. He won an art bursary from East Midlands Arts for his work, The Last Girl, which Newsweek International called “a spectacular novel.” His second novel, Amber, was published in July 2004.

Helen Cresswell
Helen Cresswell (1924 - 2005) started writing at the tender age of six years old. She was born in Nottingham and until her death in September 2005, she lived locally in an old farmhouse. An acclaimed children's author, she wrote over 60 books including The Piemakers and the Phoenix
Award winning The Night Watchmen. She also wrote screenplays for acclaimed television drama serials like Lizzie Dripping, The Secret World of Polly Flint, and Five Children and It.

Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (1904 - 1991) was a former employee of the old Nottingham Daily Journal and it was here in Nottingham that he was instructed in the Roman Catholic faith. He left the city to become sub-editor on The Times and went on to write travel books, novels, short stories, plays and film scripts.

Robert Harris
Born in Nottingham in 1957, Robert Harris is the bestselling author of books such as Fatherland in 1992. A former TV news reporter, journalist and columnist, he has followed it with novels such as Enigma, Archangel, and Pompeii. He's a graduate of Cambridge University and has also written five non fiction books.

John Harvey
Initially a writer of paperback fiction, John Harvey has published over 90 books. Now he's principally known as a writer of crime fiction, including the award winning Charlie Resnick novels which are set against a backdrop of Nottingham. A former student of the University of Nottingham, he taught Film and Literature there between 1980 - 1986, and has now returned to live here.

Arthur Mee
Born in Stapleford, Mee was a prolific author and editor of non-fiction for both children and adults. He helped to write Harmsworth's Self-Educator and History of the World. He then wrote his own Children's Encyclopedia, My Magazine, The Children's Newspaper, 1000 Heroes, The Little Treasure House, The Children's Bible, Children's Shakespeare, Bunyan and 'Arthur Mee's '
books about many things. When he was twenty he was appointed editor of the Nottingham Evening News and later moved to the Daily Mail.

PLUS, although he's a Derby man, local author and musician Nick Wray (A Tribute to Zed Beddington, St Cyborg's) might be persuaded to join us for a meet and greet.

I could also ask the Nottingham "Book Doctors" to get involved. These are wonderful library evangelists who help people to choose books to enjoy and generally encourage people to read. (Not that BookCrossers need that!) I met them at an eco-fest and am joining them to promote BookCrossing at County Hall in November this year.

On a practical note, Nottingham is geographically central with road links via the M1, excellent bus, train and tram links and for the more distant traveller, East Midlands airport is very near.

It has 2 theatres, 2 art-house cinemas as well as multiplexes, pubs, (maybe the oldest pub in Britain - Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem dates from 1189), nightclubs, shopping centres, cafes (wonderful for veggies and vegans) and a cultural quarter in the Lace Market. Plus, perhaps of more interest to BookCrossers, I could identify marvellous local cheap charity shops and libraries (for ex-library stock) for supplies of good BC books, costing 10p or 20p per book.

It is all here to enjoy