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Middlesbrough Libraries’ Reader-in-Residence Debbie Rolls has planned a whole day of reading fun to explore Teesside’s literary heritage. Debbie explains her approach in this blog.
When people talk about reading books about their local area their attention is usually drawn to local history and non-fiction. Yet most books borrowed from libraries are fiction, particularly crime novels. I wanted to see how our Teesside heritage, including folkore, had impacted fiction writing in the area. In my Monsters, Myth and Mayhem theme I have been searching for stories of ghosts, the supernatural, horror, crime, and stories that draw upon local myth and folklore.
Come to Middlesbrough Central Library’s Discovery Room on Wednesday 13th May (9.15am-4.30pm) to see and hear about what I have found. Pop in any time or come to a discussion and readings around a genre.
Start the day with a start! (Teesside Horror and ghost stories) 9.30-11.00am
You can be many miles away but still want to write about Teesside. A B Finlayson now lives on the other side of the world, in Australia, but the Cleveland Coast still features in his novels. Zombie Rock sees zombie’s marauding along the Stray and attacking Redcar while Egg sees strange events hatching in Cowbar and Staithes.
Mark Hadlett is firmly rooted in Redcar. His books of ghosts and the supernatural feature the seaside town. Reading Medium gave me insight into 1960s Cleveland, featuring places such as the original Regent Cinema, the Coatham Hotel and various sites in Saltburn.
Middlesbrough Central Library features in Tina Larkin’s Haunted Middlesbrough. Hopefully, we will not have any unexpected visitors, but we will be joined by Alex Finlayson (online) and Mark Hadlett.
Fantastic Tees Folklore 12.30-1.30pm
Folklore has inspired adult and children’s fiction. Peg Powler pops up all over the place as local colour. She is a major force in the urban adult novel Ironopolis. While the beautifully crafted Silverskin, by Mike Edwards, introduces us to a new world and language in the water of the Tees.
The sea is a rich source of folklore. Theresa Tomlinson will tell us about how she used the Skinningrove Merman story as her departure point in The Water Cat. While Carmen Marcus has woven myths from the sea into How Saints Die, a novel that combines fantasy and gritty realism. Hobbs and wyrms inhabit land from coastal cliff to high moor in local traditional stories.
Teesside Crime 2.30-4.00pm
Crime has proved to be a rich vein of writing with some unique voices. Fiona Erskine has used her knowledge and experience as an engineer to inform stories if science and detection. In her Chemical Detective series, she links Teesside to the rest of the world, but her latest book Losing Control is completely set on Teesside. Eva Carmichael used to a legal PA and has used her background to inform her police stories set in Redcar. While E F Birch used to be a police officer and has written memoir, short stories, novels and even crime poetry.
C J Grayson has made me see Darlington through a new lens. I will wonder if there is a dark underside when I am browsing second books or visiting the wonderful library. T J Lince’s Funicular has been a fun read that stayed with me on walks at Saltburn and Marske. While A S French has caused me to see the engine house on the cliffs between Skinningrove and Saltburn in a different light.
Fiona Erskine and Eva Carmichael will talk about their routes into crime writing and E F Birch will read some of her crime poetry.
Reading lists will be available to for you to plan your own local reading.
