Spoken Word Showcase with Studio12 and Sunday Practise

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This event took place on: 19 November 2020.

Hosted by the renowned literary activist, writer and playwright Khadijah Ibrahiim, this special event features poets and artists from Yorkshire. We’ll begin with a panel discussion exploring women’s voices, activism and the fight for a fairer world featuring guest poet Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan.

This is followed by the screening of new short films featuring emerging writers from Studio12 in Leeds that Khadijah recently led mentoring sessions with. The event finishes with a performance from The Sunday Practise – a leading grassroots jam session, poets, DJs, musicians and vibes night from Leeds that represents a wide cultural perspective of women poets in the UK.

This event celebrates Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights, a UK-wide exhibition by the British Library and public libraries.

Speakers

Khadijah Ibrahiim

Literary Activist

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan

Educator and Poet

The Sunday Practise

Live Poetry Night

Michael Cashman in Conversation, presented by Ian McKellen

Michael Cashman has lived many lives, all of them remarkable: as an actor; as a campaigner for gay rights; as an MEP; and as a life peer. To mark the publication of his biography, One of Them, he joined Ian McKellen in conversation about his extraordinary life. Ian McKellen is an actor and activist, who says his proudest achievement is to have been, with Michael Cashman, a founding member of Stonewall.

This event took place on 28 February 2020 in partnership with Gay's the Word. The event was livestreamed from the British Library to public libraries across the UK. Due to the nature of the conversation this event is recommended for adult viewing only.

Walled In: Ben Okri, David Hare and Samira Ahmed

Writers Ben Okri, David Hare and Samira Ahmed consider walls in literature and in our lives; physical, political, societal and spiritual. This event was livestreamed from the British Library on 23 September 2019 to public libraries across the UK as part of Banned Books Week, the celebration of the freedom to read. This event took place in partnership with the British Library, The Royal Society of Literature, English PEN, Free Word, Hachette UK, Index on Censorship, Islington Council’s Library and Heritage Service, Libraries Connected, Media Diversified and The Publisher’s Association.

Jacqueline Wilson: Rebel Girls

Much-loved author Jacqueline Wilson talks about writing rebel girls who stand up for friendship, justice, and what they believe in. This event coincided with the British Library's Marvellous and Mischievous exhibition and celebrated the release of the Tracy Beaker book We Are The Beaker Girls. This event was livestreamed from the British Library on 11 November 2019 to public libraries across the UK. This event is recommended for ages 8+.

On This Day She: Putting Women Back Into History One Day At A Time

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This event took place on: 8 February 2021.

Join writers and co-founders of @OnThisDayShe, Jo Bell, Tania Hershman and Ailsa Holland as they celebrate the release of their new book and some incredible women from history.

@OnThisDayShe was launched on Twitter in January 2018 with one aim: to put women back into history, one day at a time. Women from across the world, across all time periods, from arts and sciences to politics, war, journalism, crime and invention. Featuring a different woman every day, not necessarily on her birthday or the day she died but on a day that was important to her. The day she qualified as the first doctor in her country, say, or she patented her first invention. Now with over 27,000 followers, Jo, Tania and Ailsa release their accompanying book, exploring intriguing topics and issues from wearing trousers to the language of history, the importance of tea, and even public toilets for women. With plenty of incredible facts, we share the stories of some important and influential women from history. Introduced by Isobel Church, the actor who voices the On This Day She audiobook.

This event celebrates Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights, a UK-wide exhibition by the British Library and public libraries. Event hosted in partnership with Warwickshire Libraries and the West Midlands Readers' Network.

Order your copy of 'On This Day She' by clicking <a href="http://hyperurl.co/OTDS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>

Writers in Conversation

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This event took place on: 20 November 2020.

For this in conversation event, novelists Tracy Chevalier, Nikita Lalwani and Stephanie Scott will read extracts from their latest works, followed by a panel discussion led by journalist Yvette Huddleston.

The authors will discuss their books and their own experiences and how they chime with the historical and contemporary themes and figures featured in our current exhibition, Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights. The event finishes with a Q&A session between the panel and the online audience.

From your library to your home

We bring world-class speakers, emerging voices and inspirational debate to public libraries and the people who use them. We livestream compelling cultural events with libraries across the UK, so you can get a front-row seat for free no matter where you live.

As libraries have had to pause public events for now we’ve launched this website to keep bringing you captivating live events for free and showcase the highlights from our events archive. Here we can keep sharing knowledge and encouraging creativity, until we can get together again in person.

More information about the Living Knowledge Network and the British Library can be found here