Submission Deadline: Friday 7th February 2025.
Live from Worktown is building on its 2024 work revisiting Mass Observation in Bolton by creating an anthology of contemporary observations of everyday life in the town. This can be in the form of poems, diary entries, overheard conversations, random or planned observations in public spaces or at events, that speak for themselves. We don’t want polemics or analysis. We’d like them to be current i.e. within the last twelve months.
Here’s an example . . .
Rumour has it that the Three Crowns used to be a theatre, certainly got an impressive facade and the best bow windows in town. I remember when it was a Wilson’s pub, all dark wood and green and off-white cracked glaze tiles. The sort of place the old boys from accounts in the Town Hall could get lost in for an hour in their dinner break. Now the pub echoes, nay vibrates, with wall-to-wall karaoke, seven days a week. It’s easy to look down your nose at a cross-section of the town who appear to be without inhibition. You thought I was going to say ‘without musical talent’ weren’t you. The fact is that like any group of Boltonians out to enjoy themselves by singing, they’re a mixed bunch. Some very good voices there. They’re also very forgiving and tolerate the tone deaf with a generosity of soul. Even that arch-misery guts Oliver Cromwell would have to concede that if he ever gave the order to banish such a public display of enjoyment. Exposing a young (ie under 40) out of town visitor to the joys of the Three Crowns revealed just how much we take for granted on our doorstep. Here were maybe 60 or more young people making good the anti-social anti-community legacy of Covid and not even getting a grant for it. Our visitor was well impressed. In fact when we left at 11.00pm she was still there trading tales and songs with the locals. And of course she survived to tell the tale and no doubt relay to all her London friends about how the Three Crowns is the genuine article, a northern pub full of northern humour, cheap beer and wall-to-wall karaoke.
Dave Morgan, January 2025.
Entrants should be living, working or studying in Bolton. Former residents, workers or students may submit but should indicate their links to the town with dates. By Bolton we mean the wider Borough including its towns and villages.
Entries should be submitted by email. The work should be included as a Word attachment (doc or doc.x). Your email should include your personal details i.e. name, title of piece submitted and any relevant supplementary information about your Bolton connection (max. 50 words). Your attachment should be clearly titled and give your name.
Entries should be typed double spaced, minimum font size 11, preferably Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri. They should be no more than 500 words in length. You may submit up two pieces for consideration. Each should be a separate attachment, titled and carry your name.
Your entry should be addressed to dave.morgan@livefromworktown.org.uk with ‘Bolton Observed’ as the subject matter. The deadline is midnight on Friday 7th February 2025.
Workshops: if you want support or to share ideas on your submission we have organised some short workshops as follows. Attendance is free. Just let us know if you plan to attend by email ing Dave Morgan on dave.morgan@livefromworktown.org.uk.
| Monday 27th January | Westhoughton Library | 11.00-12.30 |
| Tuesday 28th January | Central Library Le Mans Crescent | 10.30-12.00 |
| Tuesday 4th February | Farnworth Library | 10.30-12.00 |
We are hoping to include about 40 pieces of work in the anthology. It is unlikely that all work submitted can be chosen but we are not able to offer feedback on submissions that are unsuccessful.
We will inform you if you have been successful by Monday 24 February 2025. All work published will remain the copyright of the author and no use will be made of the work other than in the anthology, without the express permission of the author.
Publication will be in March 2025 and a launch event will be organised as part of the Bolton: GM Town of Culture Gala. All contributors will be invited to the launch, receive a copy of the anthology and additional copies will be available freely through the borough’s libraries.
Why not enter our related photography competition too?Twenty of the best photographs will be used to illustrate the anthology. Visit OUR CULTURAL LANDMARKS: PHOTO COMP to find out more about it.
We are delighted to be creating this anthology with the support of Bolton Council, as a part of the Greater Manchester Town of Culture.
Editorial policy: the editors have no wish to censor submissions but reserve the right to refuse material that they judge to be actually or potentially offensive, racist, sexist or homophobic. Similarly, whilst recognising that vernacular and dialect have distinct and non-standard grammar and spelling, the editors reserve the right to standardise obvious misspellings and grammatical inaccuracy, in the interests of producing an industry-standard publication.
Data: Your data will only be used for the purposes of the competition but will be added to the Live from Worktown Newsletter database unless you expressly opt out. You may subsequently opt out of the database at any time by contacting info@livefromworktown.org.uk.