Sunday, 7 December 2025
Friday, 5 December 2025
Ward - Blind Dirt / Green Light released today
A new EP for #bandcampfriday from my new band 'Ward' featuring myself and Courtney Ward is out today.
“Green Light / Blind Dirt” is a fierce double A‑side that captures two distinct but complementary bursts of energy.
“Green Light” surges forward with restless momentum, guitars and vocals colliding in a breathless rush that embodies urgency and release.
“Blind Dirt” the other track in the single digs into grit and chaos, its jagged edges and uncompromising tone delivering catharsis through confrontation.
Together with additional mixes (Dub Mix and Spoken Word version), they form a statement of intent: raw, bold, and impossible to ignore.
This EP doesn’t just showcase range - it announces a range, a vision, raw yet purposeful, and brimming with defiance.
Pay what you want download from
https://oceaninabottle.bandcamp.com/album/ward-blind-dirt-green-light-ep
But we would prefer all monies to go direct to:
https://www.facebook.com/sandscharity
Speak Easy - thank you's for December 2025 and how to book for February 2026
Thanks to everyone who attended Speak Easy last night.
A great way to take us out this year, with around 45 or so people there and 19 readers.
Want to thank the following for reading:
1. Thomas Marsden
2. Joe West
3. Alison Knowles
4. Michael Hulley II (Volodya Gorky)
5. Lee McShane
6. Amanda Nicholson - Author
7. Roy Page
8. Andy N
9. Gordon Zola
10. Andy Cash
11. David Bond
12. Joe Gill
13. Martin Elder
14. Lynn Walton
15. Joe Tetley
16. Robert Sideshow
17. Martin CM (Martin Corlettmoss)
18. Lindy Newns
19. Grant Curnow
Also a thank you to among other people in the audience, Courtney Ward for helping us have a great night as we had and also to Andy Cash for doing a great job hosting. Quality m8.
We are not meeting for Speak Easy in January and will be back on Thursday 05 February 2026 and bookings open this Sunday 07 December 2025 from 12 Noon by emailing me (Andy N) on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Amanda has got lots of pictures of last night and will be uploading this all being well on Sunday.
Saturday, 29 November 2025
New Spoken Label Podcast - Rachel Hammond
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast), features making her debut is the wonderful Rachel Hammond. Rachel Hammond is an actor-musician, writer and theatre maker based in Manchester. Rachel trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, and since then has worked in theatre nationally and internationally, including: Climax: A Work in Progress (Close to Home), Underneath a Magical Moon (Tutti Frutti), Joy Unspeakable (Ordinary Glory), Firebird and Pulse (Bamboozle Theatre Company), Give it Back Mak! (Riding Lights), Twitchers and A Force to Be Reckoned With (Mikron Theatre Company), The True Adventures of Maid Marian and Robin Hood (Barn Theatre, Cirencester), A Christmas Carol (TNT Theatre), Swallows and Amazons (York Theatre Royal), Much Ado About Nothing (Northern Broadsides), Babe - The Sheep-Pig (Mercury Theatre, Colchester), Macbeth (Wiltons Music Hall). Rachel loves making new work, and is passionate about telling the untold stories in our society. Writing credits include: Joshua (and Me) (The Pleasance Theatre & International tour), Rising Tides (Small Disasters Theatre Company), and Dear Lilian (Northern Broadsides Young Writers). * https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/rachel-hammond-spoken-label-november-2025/id1501847969?i=1000738592891 https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/spokenlabelpodcast/episodes/Rachel-Hammond-Spoken-Label--November-2025-e3anskj https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/bae49616-2295-4e7c-b931-91415a724cb6/episodes/98dcec08-d73f-4c8b-859b-371779c3d148/spoken-label-rachel-hammond-spoken-label-november-2025 https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/Rachel-Hammond-Spoken-Label-November-2025/B0G45N8CHM?ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=a202f891-0d90-47a2-ac3f-8ebc4b2943db&pf_rd_r=B4AKCKAYEANEM8D26TRF&plink=kj41SpjJ8oFgL0Gt&pageLoadId=wuvFeS3s7oVY1jGB&creativeId=43463e8d-6f2b-4d01-a759-854a1034c4b8&ref=a_podcast_S_c4_lAsin_0_0 https://open.spotify.com/episode/4rBzfmllMv5MBfRrsdsw7F https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSvz78_AP0k (Chat) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4h7DA-oGyY (Reading).
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Speak Easy - December 2025
Enclosed below are the readers (Not the running order) for the next Speak Easy
(our spoken word open mic night) at Dulicmer, Chorlton on Thurs 04 December 2025.
Night should start around 7.30pm.
Cancellation list enquires to Andy N on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Andy N
Amanda
Lee McShane
Courtney Ward
David Bond
Gordon Zola
Eve Nortley
Lynn Walton
Steph Cater
Alison Knowles
Martin CM
Michael Hulley
Joe Gill
Andy Cash
Roy Page
Grant Curnow
Joe Tetley
Anne Delargy
Martin Elder
Piper Cusmano
Thomas Marsden
Lindy Newns
Natasha Morris
Joe West
Polly Anna
Saturday, 22 November 2025
New Spoken Label - Saira Anwar (Saira the Poet) (November 2025)
Latest up from Spoken Label features making her debut is the wonderful Saira Anwar (Saira the Poet).
Saira Anwar is an educator, poet, author, content creator, and spoken word artist. Her debut poetry collection, The Death of a Beautiful Dream, was released in January 2014 and went on to reach Amazon’s Top 20 Bestsellers list.Saira writes about the beauty and struggle of life with themes like marriage, divorce, healing, self-love, and emotional resilience, to help others heal through poetry.Her poetry has been published in twelve anthologies, and she’s performed at events including MACFEST with Professor John McAuliffe, Poetry Bonanza with North-West Poets, and Word Central. She’s also been featured twice on BBC Upload with BBC Radio Manchester.Her second book, Rising From Despair: A Journey to Hope, is a powerful and long-awaited follow-up, combining poetry, personal reflection, and space for readers to begin their own journey of healing.
*
https://youtu.be/wKOW1k8xzCI (Chat)
https://youtu.be/sbYUqfIG4iw (Reading)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mDtDx1JAFRjm6JKHHS3of
Friday, 21 November 2025
New Bonus Spoken Label Episode - Author Spotlight 2: Lee McShane
Bonus Podcast today for Spoken Label (Poetry Podcast) with the return of Amanda Nicholson and Courtney Ward assisting me in interviewing the return of Lee McShane talking about his debut poetry book 'The House built from Shadows'.
Lee McShane is a Neurodivergent actor, filmmaker, and published writer and poet from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. His work often blends psychological horror with themes of mental health, creating emotionally charged and thought-provoking narratives. His writing has appeared in All Your Stories, All Your Poems, and the PoeticEdge Fantasy Anthology. He will appear in the next anthology by Black Eye Publishing. He headlined Spoken Word Online in July 2025 and is set to headline an online AccessAbility Arts event.Lee's book 'The House built from Shadows' can be found on Amazon
*
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/author-spotlight-2-lee-mcshane-spoken-label-november-2025/id1501847969?i=1000737320605
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/spokenlabelpodcast/episodes/Author-Spotlight-2-Lee-McShane-Spoken-Label--November-2025-e3b5a5v
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QetHeLta2Q&t=455s
https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/Author-Spotlight-2-Lee-McShane-Spoken-Label-November-2025/B0G2SJ843G?ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=a202f891-0d90-47a2-ac3f-8ebc4b2943db&pf_rd_r=P90DNX0N878G5TAZC2ZB&plink=jNVpWiQ2Suz7f74G&pageLoadId=hQdFNUONgdJ9k2nq&creativeId=43463e8d-6f2b-4d01-a759-854a1034c4b8&ref=a_podcast_S_c4_lAsin_0_1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ETIEEs11yLPEjFzV62vkx
Friday, 14 November 2025
Steve Schlam - Spoken Label, November 2025
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast) making his debut is Steve Schlam.
Steve advises he first gained entry to the City of Words through the doors of the public library in Brooklyn, New York, where he was born and spent a good part of his childhood; and has maintained his residency ever since while living in cities and towns across the United States and in Mexico. An actor as well as an author, he has performed on stages in all the places he has called home, and earned a Master's Degree in Creative Writing and English under the tutelage of Joseph Heller, renowned author of "Catch-22." He lives currently in Southern California in a pretty little Craftsman bungalow with orange and lemon trees growing in the backyard, in the company of his wife, Liora. His debut novel, "The Harvesting of Haystacks Kane," was released in March 2024.
More about Steve can be found at: https://www.steveschlam.com/
*
Podcast can be downloaded from the following places including::
https://youtu.be/WM41JKEHRpY (Chat)
https://youtu.be/3CXvZ_1PVu0 (Reading)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4If9owWv35HE0vDzhF4NWZ
Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Ray Whitaker (Spoken Label, November 2025)
Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word Podcast) features making his debut, Ray Whitaker .
Ray advises he has been writing both prose and poetry since he was seventeen. What Ray is writing now is very different from what he wrote those so many years ago. All writers and poets are writing out of "the Self" however there are directions that the self speaks into, that change. Now Ray is attempting to put foremost in his work, just who he is writing for. He intends on writing for the everyday man and woman. He firmly believes that poems need to reach into the everyday person's pictures in their minds, and engage with those. This is where he aims to make a difference in his creative writing. Ray does readings around the state of North Carolina [USA], and is a member or the North Carolina Poetry Society, the Winston-Salem Writers, and The North Carolina Writer’s Network. He has thrice been a ‘Writer-in-Residence” at the North Carolina Center For The Arts and Humanities, at Weymouth, in Southern Pines,NC. He is the father of two daughters. Originally from the South, he now lives in Colorado, where he is seeking venues.
More details can be found at:
https://raywhitakerblog.wordpress.com/
*
https://youtu.be/2v8FQPGwgA4 (Chat)
https://youtu.be/Ihiah6rLNl0 (Reading)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1P9s1MjrTBveahw31RGR74
Friday, 7 November 2025
Speak Easy thank you's and how to book for December 2025
Thanks to everybody who attended our latest Speak Easy (Spoken Word Open Mic night) at Chorlton’s always welcoming Dulcimer Bar, Chorlton.
We had a great night; there were somewhere around 55 people there, hosted magically by the wonderful Lindy Newns (Thanks, Lindy).
Thanks to everybody who attended to watch, and we want to thank the following for reading:
1. Lindy Newns
2. Luke Piercy
3. Alison Knowles
4. Michael Hulley II (Volodya Gorky)
5. Karen Kendrick
6. Natasha Morris
7. Noemi Scotellaro Massimi
8. Mark Quinn
9. Andy N
10. Gordon Zola
11. Amanda Nicholson
12. David Bond
13. Olga Gerke
14. Andy Cash/ Anson Clark
15. Sophie Gannon
16. Ella Holmes
17. Martin Elder
18. Piper Cusmano
19. Jeremy Pak Nelson
20. Kai Luckman
21. Martin CM (Martin Corlettmoss)
Amanda has uploaded the pictures from last night here in full: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=speakeasymanchester&set=a.1364151092170338&__cft__[0]=AZWeBLIJzVafXDsp0nSSymYjxPIMJhmNGf3DRS9FkZsYKPCqQlzw6zwBB2f8-UDq_g2zhOuywxR71gS0HrslKKJPD7KdA49m87ZYwdKevBmT92653KshwSueyBgJaqs2C-jSidpQCB7_B1B3I1rH9Ihi2vq0uzEOa1dybDRJcmiyjsO9IVB7jmYC12SzIqnlQdg&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R
Next Speak Easy will be our Xmas special on Thursday 04 December 2025, and bookings shall open this Sunday 09 December from 12 Noon by emailing Andy N on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Please note that there will be no Speak Easy in January 2026 and we shall be back in February 2026 as normal.
Sunday, 2 November 2025
Catherine Holland Bax - Spoken Label, November 2025
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast)
features making her debut, Catherine Holland Bax.
Catherine is the Author of Little Viking House and the
Badger Resistance Army.
Catherine lives in Shropshire with two cats, several
chickens, and three Icelandic horses. She created EponaWise to support her
writing and her desire for better leadership in the world.
Catherine has always loved telling stories and has never
stopped believing that she can talk to animals. So when she began to write her
stories down, they had animals at their heart.
A graduate of the prestigious Golden Egg Academy, Catherine
published her first novel, Little Viking Horse, in October 2021.
Little Viking Horse is based on the character of
Catherine’s Icelandic horse, Fleygur, her detailed observations of her horses,
and the horse-human interactions she has witnessed, which, sadly, are not
always positive. Inspired by Black Beauty, Catherine hopes that Little
Viking Horse will promote greater understanding and empathy towards
horses, and hopefully people too!
Catherine’s second book, The Badger Resistance Army,
was published in June 2025. Badgers are an iconic but often controversial
animal. In The Badger Resistance Army, Catherine explores the
threat to our wild habitats through the eyes of a badger, lives her fantasy of
being able to talk to animals, and imagines a world where space is made for all
to live.
More details at: https://eponawise.com/
*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ina07h-PyIw&pp=0gcJCQMKAYcqIYzv
(Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh3n9K1WWfE&pp=0gcJCQMKAYcqIYzv
(Reading)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rbjNga2ZQMJ8eBGS4jN9U
Saturday, 1 November 2025
Speak Easy readers 06 November 2025
Enclosed below is a list of readers for the next Speak Easy night at Dulicmer, Chorlton on Thursday 06 November 2025.
We should be starting around 7.30pm (Free admission, all welcome) where the following readers will entertain with their work spread out across 4 minute segments:
(NB. This is not the running order)
Andy N
Amanda Nicholson
Lindy Newns
Sophie Gannon
Andy Cash
Jeremy Pak Nelson
Gordon Zola
Martin CM
Noemi Scotellaro
Ella Holmes
Michael Hulley
Mark Quinn
Joe Tetley
Anson Clark
Luke Piercy
Emilia Rachael
Martin Elder
David Bond
Natasha Morris
Karen Kendrix
Piper Cusmano
Lindy Newns
Olga Gerke
Alison Knowles
Mark Rawlins
Subs List / Cancellation list - aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Thursday, 23 October 2025
Speak Easy Guest Host Announcement November 2025 - Lindy Newns
* Speak Easy Guest Host *
Full list of readers to follow next few days to follow, but we can announce that our guest host for November's Speak Easy (Our Spoken Word Open Mic night) at Dulicmer, Chorlton will be the wonderful Lindy Newns.
Lindy Newns appears in open mics around Greater Manchester and facilitates Mostly Manchester, an online Stanza group. She is part of Chorlton Arts with special responsibility for artists in schools, so if anyone wants to visit a local school , or perform during next year's festival in May, let her know and sign up online as an artist. Lindy's poetry and flash fiction has appeared in various journals and anthologies and she runs writing workshops in Yorkshire and Wales as well as locally. She is currently shortlisted for the Hysteria flash fiction prize.
We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 06 November 2025.
Free admission. Start around 7.30pm. To go on the subs / cancellation list - email Andy N on
aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Sunday, 19 October 2025
Deborah Weitzman (Spoken Label, October 2025)
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author Chat Podcast) features Deborah Weitzman making her debut to talk about her debut novel ‘The Sinking of the Leonardo Da Vinci’.
“The Sinking of the Leonardo Da Vinci’ is described as “Itis 1976, in New York. Joanna, a dreamy and sensitive young woman, suffers deep loneliness and a sense of never belonging. The world of music, of songwriting,draws her toward something deeper, if only she had permission to enter that world.
When she meets Luca, onboard The Leonardo da Vinci, her wildest dreams come true. He-the young navigator of the ship, rebellious and passionate-gives her that permission. They fall hopelessly in love, and against all odds, shetravels to Rome to be with him. When she arrives, he has drastically changed.
Never knowing what turned him so callous, this dark seed contaminates the rest of her life.
Back in NY, she runs into her former professor, Stuart, avisionary environmentalist, and they marry. Older than Joanna, he is her anchor and benevolent father figure. To never be burned again, she vows to stay far from the rocky shoals of passion. To keep that vow, she buries her creativesoul, her real voice, and her music. When Stuart unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, her unlived self awakens with a vengeance. Hoping to heal, she travels to the walking trails of Cinque Terre, where she unexpectedly reawakens bothpassion and comfort in her relationships, finding herself along the way.
Her book is on Amazon etc
Substack link:
https://open.substack.com/pub/deborahjeanneweitzman
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/deborahjeanneweitzman
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/deborahjeannew/
Her website is:
https://deborahjeanne.com/
*
Podcast can be streamed etc from:
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/deborah-weitzman-spoken-label-october-2025/id1501847969?i=1000731849318
creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/spokenlabelpodcast/episodes/Deborah-Weitzman-Spoken-Label--October-2025-e39hipl
youtu.be/pi3WwsHgMY0
music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/bae49616-2295-4e7c-b931-91415a724cb6/episodes/e97fd432-7cf2-478c-b8ce-b39600d62026/spoken-label-deborah-weitzman-spoken-label-october-2025
Sunday, 12 October 2025
Craig Snelgrove (Spoken Label, October 2025)
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author Podcast) features making his debut is Craig Snelgrove.
Craig Snelgrove is a writer from Manchester and a PhD in Creative Writing. Craig is author of the short story cycle Young Mancunians, and the creator of The Existential Reader and The Subtext: The Art of Storytelling. (Both available on Substack).
Monday, 6 October 2025
New Spoken Label Podcast - Toni Sidwell (96 Degrees)
Latest Podcast from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast) features Toni Sidwell from 96 Degrees, a newish coffee cafe set Eccles, next to Salford who talks about the creative / community projects which she is running / co-running at 96 degrees which includes running litter picking, a spoken word / poetry open mic and a writing workship among other things.
96 Degrees is based near Eccles Bus Station and the tram station.
96 Degrees can be found on facebook - 96 Degrees Eccles
(https://www.facebook.com/themalagadrift)
Toni is on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/kidwithcactus/
They can also be also be found on Instagram and Tik Tok.
*
Podcast can heard/found on:
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DPbQrqjDTj6/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmX6M6aMoDk
https://open.spotify.com/episode/54MNMHiUKNOthhABxJDh75
Saturday, 4 October 2025
Speak Easy - thank you's for October 2025 and how to book November 2025
Busy few days folks but following on from the other day, a huge thank you for everybody who read at Speak Easy on Thursday at Dulcimer Bar and attended, 21 readers and a crowd of at least 45 people.
Kudos and love to Ant Briscoe who did a sterling job of hosting the show for us.
Want to thank the following who read:
1. Anthony Briscoe
2. Mark Quinn
3. Luke Piercey
4. Jenny Pikington
5. Michael Hulley (Volodya Gorky)
6. Mr Kai
7. Jeremy Pak Nelson
8. Noemi Scotellaro Massimi
9. Andy N
10. Amanda Nicholson - Author
11. Gordon Zola
12. Steve Smythe
13. Sophie Gannon
14. Thomas Butterworth
15. Andy Cash
16. Annie Acre
17. Martin Elder
18. Martin CM (Martin Corlettmoss)
19. Ella Holmes
20. David Bond
21. Jo Somerset
We have pictures by a team effort from Amanda, Andy Cash and Olga Gerke – want to thank Olga and Andy for their help here
These can be seen here:
Next Speak Easy is on Thursday 06 November 2025 and bookings open on Sunday 05 October by emailing me Andy N on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Sunday, 28 September 2025
Julia Webb - Spoken Label September 2025
Latest up from Spoken Label, featuring her return is the wonderful Julia Webb.
Julia advises "I was born in London but grew up on a council estate in Thetford, a small town in rural Norfolk surrounded by pine forest. Thetford is known for being the home of The Iceni tribe, the birthplace of Thomas Paine, the place where they filmed a lot of Dad's Army and (in the 1960s) as a London Overspill town.My ambitions to be a writer started when I was six-years-old and read The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton. I can trace my interest in magical realism, surrealism and love of language right back to the things read as a child - Dr Seuss, Enid Blyton, A.A. Milne, Tolkien and fairytales. However I left school (and home) at 16 with no qualifications and went to live in a commune. I continued to write short stories and poetry over the years, but with no real writing community I didn't really know how to improve them, and after my son was born I gravitated more towards art and printing while working as a pre-school supervisor. When I was 40 I had an epiphany of sorts and realised that writing was my first love. I quit my job and did a degree in creative writing at Norwich School of Art and Design (now known as NUA). After that I went on to do an MA in poetry at the University of East Anglia."Her website is:
Her new book - Grey time can be found at all of the usual places including - https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/grey-time.
Cafe Writers competition link: https://www.cafewriters.co.uk/home/poetry-competition/ and the main website link https://www.cafewriters.co.uk/
**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PycUDwpVyoQ&t=1s (Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTjORJaRpK4&t=2s (Reading)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DPJMFVODmwI/ (Chat)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DPJHLiTjonQ/ (Reading)
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Speak Easy guest host announcement
Special guest host announcement for Speak Easy (Our Spoken Word open Mic night at Dulcimer, Chorlton) on Thursday 02 October 2025....
Anthony Briscoe
We first met Ant all the way back in 2018 if my memory is correct at Speak Easy and Ant also has helped out with Amanda when she did Printed
Words and also at our Printed Words event in 2019, which Ant headlined.
Anthony Briscoe is a performance poet and Multi-disciplinary artist. His Poetry is a mix of comedy and at times seriousness.
Like a clown giving bad news.
Using spoken word poetry as a base Anthony discusses meaningful issues through an absurdist comedic lens using his background in theatrics (BA HONS in contemporary theatre - Lancaster university) to add an energetic, engaging and entertaining performance to all his material and to justify his overhanging student debt.
Night starts around 7.30 pm-ish.
Booking enquiries - Andy N on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk for 4-minute slots.
Sunday, 21 September 2025
New Spoken Label Podcast - Caroline England
Latest up from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast) features making her debut is Caroline England.
Known as the ‘Duchess of Dark Domestic Noir’, Caroline England is the author of seven psychological suspense thrillers, BENEATH THE SKIN, the bestseller MY HUSBAND’S LIES, BETRAY HER, THE SINNER, THE STRANGER BESIDE ME and THE RETURN OF FRANKIE WHITTLE. Her next thriller, BEHIND HER SMILE, will be published in November 2025. She also writes gothic-tinged psychological thrillers as CE Rose, namely THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN SECRETS, THE HOUSE ON THE WATER'S EDGE, THE SHADOWS OF RUTHERFORD HOUSE and THE ATTIC AT WILTON PLACE.
Caroline writes ‘scarily brilliant’, dark twisty stories that delve into complicated relationships, secrets and the moral grey area. Drawing on her career as a criminal and divorce lawyer, she creates characters who get caught up in extraordinary situations, moral dilemmas and crime. She guarantees a jaw-dropping ending!
*
Podcast be downloaded / steamed from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuMEhtsucDg&t=1s (Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poEKtqfWQ6o (Reading)
Monday, 15 September 2025
New Spoken Label Podcast - Lee McShane
Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry / Artist Podcast) features Lee McShane.
Lee McShane is a Neurodivergent actor, filmmaker, and published writer and poet from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
His work often blends psychological horror with themes of mental health, creating emotionally charged and thought-provoking narratives.
His writing has appeared in All Your Stories, All Your Poems, and the PoeticEdge Fantasy Anthology.
He will appear in Rise of the Badger and the Great Shrubbery by Black Eye Publishing.
*
Sunday, 7 September 2025
Mark Quinn - Spoken Label - September 2025
Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry Podcast) features Mark Quinn.
Mark is described as "I’m a poet, writer, and performer based in Manchester. My work blends humour, honesty, and heart — sometimes thoughtful, sometimes cheeky, always real. Whether it’s on the page or the stage, I’m here to connect with people through words."
Mark's books can be all be purchased on Amazon and his website is https://markquinn.uk/
*
https://youtu.be/aBvMycEUD-E (Reading / Chat Part 2)
https://youtu.be/iVVntOPI8e0 (Chat)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DOS0u1hjMeJ/ (Chat)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DOS9zlGjZrj/ (Reading)
Saturday, 30 August 2025
Linda Quinn - Spoken Label New Podcast August 2025
Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Author Podcast) features Linda Quinn.
Linda Quinn did most of her growing up in a caravan in West Country fields and byways, and later as a child of the state. She was inspired by the written word when she received her first postcard at the age of three, and set out to rescue as many printed words as she could from the local recycling dump, a collection that continues to grow.
After working in the Music Industry she trained as an actress at East 15 Drama School, and was the founder of Freefall Theatre Company, performing one woman shows and ensemble pieces, and contributing to and learning from additional projects with The Magdalena Project in Cardiff, Virginia McKenna, Cristina Castrillo in Switzerland and Linda Marlowe. She also worked as an actress in a variety of small television and film roles, including the most magical time with Glenda Jackson, Joan Hickson, Anthony Quayle and Richard Harris.
She created and directed performances as diverse as local community theatre and Manumission Club spectaculars for audiences of 10,000 in Ibiza, and was the co-founder of Pikes Ibiza Literary festival. Throughout this time she was scripting and editing from improvisations and developing skills that led to writing scripts, and an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck in London. Her work continues to attract noteworthy attention in the film industry, but has yet to reach the screen. Short stories have been published in various anthologies, including the online ‘Citizens Story’ at The Word Factory writing community in London. After decades of living in London and teaching Creative Writing at City Lit, she now lives in France.
Her debut novel ‘The Toffee Man & The Kingdom of Ends’ was published earlier this year (2025), after winning the Pen to Print Book Challenge – and has been well received. It is adapted from her script ‘The Toffee Man.’ It is currently receiving many five star reviews, and sitting at the top of the booklife critics list for Fiction.
You can read more about the details, awards, reflections and ongoing projects in the blog via her website, coming very soon.
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https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DN_cYaHFCfB/ (Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKCT7XiBpfo (Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QapsI9Ihs2A (Reading)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DN_o_ZsDhpN/ (Reading)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/69fknhUbkPk58l30OThhzL
Friday, 29 August 2025
Speak Easy - September 2025
Enclosed above are the readers for September's Speak Easy (Spoken Word Open Mic night - our 10th anniversary special) at Chorlton's Dulcimer Bar , all of whom will read out their work in 4-minute segments on 04 September 2025.
Guest Host is the original creator of Speak Easy, David Hartley.
To go on the cancellation list (You never know), drop Andy N an email on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk, and we will see you on Thursday 04 September 2025.
Admission is free.
*
Andy N
Amanda Nicholson
Steve Smythe
David Hartley
Grant Curnow
Mark Quinn
Andy Cash
Rachel Hammond
Norman Dearlove Scott
Michael Hulley (Volodya Gorky)
Beth Cater
Daniel Findell
Joe Tetley
Martin Elder
Jared More
Dylan Sayers
Martin CM (Martin Corlettmoss)
Anne Delargy
Karen Kendrick
Ria Jones
Anthony Briscoe
Antonia Fusaro
Trystan Lewis
Stuart Atkinson
Jenny Pilkington
Thomas Marsden
*
*
David Hartley is a writer, researcher, tutor and performer with a taste for the strange and the wonderful. He is the author of 'Fauna' (Fly on the Wall Press) and 'Incorcisms' (Arachne Press), and has a PhD in Creative Writing with The University of Manchester where he currently teaches. In 2024, he was writer-in-residence in Tartu, Estonia where he created 'The Forest of Ink & Skin' an immersive storytelling experience about folktales, forests, and tattoos. He is also the creator and host of The Embassy of Utopia at the Festival of Libraries.
He was also the original creator and host of the very first Speak Easy, back when it started life in a small upstairs room at the Sip Club in Stretford. Reading his work in front of small audiences in weird little rooms in random pubs is still one of his favourite things...
Sunday, 24 August 2025
LKN - Part 2 - Spoken Label, August 2025 (New Podcast)
* Contains topics not suitable for all *
Latest up from Spoken Label, and the second part of a full-length two-part Podcast is with LKN.
LKN is a poet who won the UK's Wordplay Awards 2023. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize (2023, 2024), T. S. Eliot Prize (2024) & Forward Prize (2025). He was part of A Given Grace by Squircle Line Press, winning the gold medal, both at America's eLit, and the Independent Book Publishers Awards 2022.
LKN has been featured at literature festivals in Toronto, Nottingham and Singapore. His poems were showcased at History Channel's HistoryCon, Weiner Holocaust Library & the Poetry Society of New York, HCE Magazine's Fire & Dust and the Polyglot Magazine.LKN was 1st runner-up at 2019 Singapore Poetry Slam and a finalist at the 2020 Toronto Poetry Slam.
He has performed as a busker and street performer in Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
https://heylink.me/thelknpoetry
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyUSujsPSVI&t=871s (Chat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4yzIGjUjQ (Reading)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DNv-GKgYuUr/ (Chat)
https://www.instagram.com/andynpoet/reel/DNv-PzV3L4h/ (Reading)
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/lkn-spoken-label-august-2025/id1501847969?i=1000722862165
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1LWvsDW952wVgRecJWSko8
Sunday, 17 August 2025
LKN - Part 1 (Spoken Label, August 2025)
Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) and the first part of a full-length two-part Podcast is with LKN (Lkn Yrteop)
LKN is a poet who won the UK's Wordplay Awards 2023. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize (2023, 2024), T. S. Eliot Prize (2024) & Forward Prize (2025). He was part of A Given Grace by Squircle Line Press, winning the gold medal, both at America's eLit, and the Independent Book Publishers Awards 2022.
LKN has been featured at literature festivals in Toronto, Nottingham and Singapore. His poems were showcased at History Channel's HistoryCon, Weiner Holocaust Library & the Poetry Society of New York, HCE Magazine's Fire & Dust and the Polyglot Magazine.LKN was 1st runner-up at 2019 Singapore Poetry Slam and a finalist at the 2020 Toronto Poetry Slam.
He has performed as a busker and street performer in Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
https://heylink.me/thelknpoetry
*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CaH0qpgTGU
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