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FESTIVAL BACKGROUND
Crossing the Tees Book Festival returns for its tenth year in June 2023, thanks to a collaboration between the library services across the Tees Valley; Stockton, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Hartlepool and Redcar & Cleveland, supported by funding from Arts Council England. The festival is hosted in libraries across the region and includes author events, writing and poetry workshops, and our annual short story competition.
The festival will be promoted from the end of April with a festival brochure, produced by ARC, Stockton Arts Centre, social media and traditional press communications.
WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE COMMISSION
We are looking to commission a Writer-in-Residence to work with a Photographer-in-Residence to produce a non-fiction book to celebrate the social history of libraries and reading. We are looking for an experienced non-fiction/memoir writer who can engage with residents of the Tees Valley capture their memories and experiences of libraries and reading.
The writer-in-residence will be asked to:
· Attend up to ten libraries across all five authorities between January and April for a full or half day to talk to library users of all ages and backgrounds. These days would be facilitated by the library service with reminiscence items and photographs to stimulate discussion. This will include the Crossing the Tees Short Story Award Ceremony on 25 April 2023.
· Write accurate, entertaining and informative prose based on the discussions with library users.
· Collaborate with the photographer-in-residence and Sixth Element Publishers to compile and publish the finished book that will be launched during the festival in June.
· Present an accompanying talk at the festival finale event on 16 June 2023 showcasing your findings and process.
· We anticipate this will be approximately 25 days work.
We will provide:
· Opportunities to meet and talk to library users in all five authorities
· Support of library staff
· Access to library resources such as local history photographs, maps etc.
· Presentation facilities for the accompanying talk
· Please note that all rights to the material produced and the finished book will belong to Crossing the Tees Book Festival.
You will need to provide:
· Timesheet of hours worked
FEE
The fee for this project will be £3000 including travel expenses. This will cover approximately 25 days of work between January to June 2023.
PAYMENT
The fee will be paid in three instalments by Stockton Borough Council within 30 days of a dated invoice. £1000 will be paid at the start of the project, £1000 will be paid in April and £1000 will be paid in June.
PROPOSAL
Your proposal should include details of:
· Your writing experience relating to non-fiction/memoir genre writing.
· your experience working with members of the public/community groups.
· Your expectations of what you hope to gain from this project.
· Two work related referees.
Submission of the proposal should be sent to info@crossingthetees.org by 4 December 2022. Shortlisting will take place 7 December 2022 and interviews will take place 13 December 2022.
