Brixton BookJam will be curating some great writers and creative activities at Brixton Come Together on 30th September. There will be writing and illustrating workshops, and readings from up and coming South London writers.

Look out for the Brixton BookJam tent in St Matthew’s Garden – next to Windrush Square.

1-4pm Workshops:
‘Englishman’ by Toby Broom and how to by-pass the publishing industry to get your book in print.
Editing with Ravinder Randhawa
Storytelling with Jo Clayton
Doodle like a pro with illustrator Cerulean Demon

5-6pm readings from:
Rosie Wilby
JJ Bola
Marc Nash
Miranda Miller
James Benmore
Anna Mazzola

1-4pm Workshops:

’Englishman’ by Toby Broom and how to by-pass the publishing industry to get your book in print.

‘Englishman’ by Toby Broom is a self-published memoir relaying the true-life adventures of a English black music fanatic who dreamt of becoming the next David Rodigan, but found the going far harder than he bargained for. Discovering reggae and soul at a very early age, Toby’s love of the music takes him into blues dances, shubeens, and old time domino man pubs, onto pirate radio and the building of a sound system, and  through the doors of more record shops than you can shake a stick at. Told with self-deprecating humour, priceless set-pieces and rich character portraits aplenty, ‘Englishman’ is a Dub Vendor bestseller and a must-read for any music lover or supporter of the underdog.
@misterswingeasy

Editing with Ravinder Randhawa

The editing workshop will concentrate on content editing and not on grammar, spelling etc. Please send in a chapter on which you’d like to do editorial work, and which you’re happy to share with others. I’ll choose one or two, for us all to go through, probably looking at story logic, repetition, gaps and other such issues.

Ravinder Randhawa is a Brixton dwelling writer, author of novels, A Wicked Old Woman, Beauty and the Beast (YA) and A Tiger’s Smile, and short story collection Dynamite.

ravinderrandhawa.com @RealRavs

Storytelling with Jo Clayton (for 10-14 year olds)

Jo Clayton is a professional storyteller who tells traditional tales from all over the world. She has performed at the Southbank Centre, Storystock Circus, Dulwich Literary Festival, schools, community venues and festivals. She’s worked as storyteller in residence at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Practitioner in Residence at Shakespeare’s Globe. She writes original children’s fiction and short stories for adults. storycycler.co.uk / @Storycycler

5-6pm readings from:

Comedian, author and broadcaster Rosie Wilby has appeared many times on BBC Radio 4 and at major festivals including Glastonbury and Latitude. She was a finalist at Funny Women 2006 and Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2007 and has been touring award-winning solo shows internationally ever since. Her writing has been published in The Sunday Times, New Statesman and more. Her first book Is Monogamy Dead? (Accent Press) is getting rave reviews and follows her TEDx talk of the same name. @rosiewilby / www.rosiewilby.com

Kinshasa born, London raised writer, poet, and educator JJ Bola has written a stunning debut novel called ‘No Place To Call Home’ (OWN IT!) about a Congolese refugee family who come to London in the 90s and try to build a home and identity for themselves. JJ Bola’s work is centred on a narrative of empowerment, humanisation, healing of trauma as well as discovery of self through art, literature and poetry. He believes that the true purpose of art is to expose the reality of this world and how to, most importantly, survive it.  @JJ_Bola

Marc Nash has published four novels and five collections of flash fiction. His work looks to push the boundaries of language and narrative form. He works with video makers to make non-linear stories in kinetic typography. He works and lives in London.

@21stCscribe

Miranda Miller: The Fairy Visions of Richard Dadd is Miranda Miller’s seventh novel, and is Part 2 of her Bedlam Trilogy. Part 1, Nina in Utopia, was published by Peter Owen in 2010. Hilary Mantel has said of her writing,‘Miller’s intricate fictions are lit by the dark flicker of a strong and original imagination.’ Miranda has also published a book of short stories about the best trampoline of Saudi Arabia and a book of interviews with homeless women. She is currently a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the Courtauld Institute. Richard Dadd, 1817 -1886, was a gifted painter who spent most of his life confined to the Royal Bethlem  Hospital, or Bedlam, and Broadmoor for the murder of his father.  mirandamiller.info

James Benmore is currently writer-in-residence at Gad’s Hill School, Dickens’ former home.  James studied literature at the Open University and has since completed an MSt in Creative Writing at Oxford University.  He won the AM Heath prize in 2010 for best work of fiction by a writer graduating from Kellogg College. He lives in London. Amazon.co.uk/James-Benmore / @jhenrybenmore

Anna Mazzola is from Camberwell, not far from where the crime at the heart her debut novel, The Unseeing, took place. The Unseeing is based on the life of a real woman, Sarah Gale, who was convicted of aiding and abetting a murder in 1837. The Unseeing won the Brixton Bookjam Debut Novel competition in 2014, so she is delighted to be back at The Hootananny. Anna studied English at Oxford before becoming a criminal justice solicitor. She is currently working on a second historical crime novel set on the Isle of Skye. @Anna_Mazz