True Voyage is Return: Week 3 Panel Talk

Join us at The Exchange for the third of our weekly October panel talks with writers contributing to the True Voyage is Return project.

This October, True Voyage Is Return will transform The Exchange into a hub for new writing which nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people across the region. Writers of all levels of experience across Birmingham and the Black Country are encouraged to create pieces for an anthology of brand-new work — and nine professional writers will be based on site, producing work in full view and in real time. Project leader Philip Holyman has challenged himself to write a 90,000-word novel over the course of just one month.

Each Saturday, Philip will be joined in conversation by the two writers who have just completed their week in the on-site writing room. You’ll have the opportunity to hear about all three writers’ different responses to the True Voyage Is Return brief and how they’ve tackled the unique creative challenges of producing new work within such a short timeframe. There’ll be opportunities for you to ask questions about the writers’ work and careers — and they might even share some exclusive extracts of what they’ve just written. This October writer Philip Holyman will transform the Exchange into a hub for new writing from Birmingham and the Black Country, with writers of all levels of experience invited to contribute to an anthology of brand new work.

Week 3 Writers

Shaun Hill is a poet and movement artist mapping post-capitalist ways of being. He is the author of warm blooded things (Nine Arches Press, 2021) and recently completed an Arts Council Developing Your Creative Practice project exploring what improvised movement with living systems can teach us about the ongoing climate crisis.

Romalyn Ante is a multi-award-winning Filipino-British poet. She was 16 years old when her mother – a nurse in the NHS – brought the family from Lipa to the UK. Her debut collection Antiemetic for Homesickness was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second collection AGIMAT is forthcoming in September.

Philip Holyman’s theatre writing has often been presented through Little Earthquake, the company he runs with his husband Gareth Nicholls. In 2019, he branched out into prose with the short story collection To Infinity And Beyond. In 2022, he wrote his first full-length novel, and now, for True Voyage Is Return, he’ll produce his second.

For more information on the project and how to get involved, visit philipholyman.com/true-voyage-is-return