Monday 3 June 2013

WoW Festival 2013


Under Pressure 2013


It’s been a hectic but amazing six weeks at WoW, beginning on the 23rd April with the opening of the In Other Words Festival and finishing with an unforgettable night in The Kazimier with 70 year old DJ Derek, playing us out till the early hours. Over the period the WoW Team have staffed 40 events and planed, along with our partners Culture Liverpool a good proportion of the 350 events that featured in the In Other Words program.  

My personal highlights have to include Murder on the Docks at The Bridewell which generated a fascinating discussion between the audience and writers; Kevin Sampson, festival newcomer Denise Mina and Graham Johnson. Melvyn Bragg was a most gracious festival guest who captivated us when he talked at length about his upbringing and his relationship with his mum during the launch of his new novel Grace & Mary. The Anglican Cathedral set a beautiful scene with perfect acoustics for the young poets and lyricists featured in Rhythm and Rap.  Sticks and Stones brought over 100 people to talk about the issues of hate speech and hate crime. The event was such a success that we are already planning an event next year in partnership with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Big thanks and congratulations have to go, not just to the winners of our competitions, but to all entrants of Pulp Idol, Flash: In the Dark and our new Dragon's Pen competition. It’s the showcasing of new work and the involvement of new writers that helps to make the WoW such a unique festival.

Thanks also goes out to our team of WoWsters that helped the events run smoothly, to Refugee Action and Asylum Link our partners who helped to make our Where are you from & What’s your Story? workshop such a huge success, and one of the most significant events of the festival. Thanks also to our funders and sponsors for this year; Arts Council England, Liverpool City Council, the Granada Foundation, Canolfan Ysgrifennu  - Tŷ Newydd Writers’ Centre and the Philharmonic Hall.
And to our audiences, we haven’t crunched the numbers but it’s safe to say that WoW 2013 saw record attendance across the entire month and the most diverse audience to date. THANK YOU!

Madeline Heneghan & the WoW Team