English with Creative Writing Student Mahima Tyagi would love to hear your views and opinions on this poem as she is hoping to make this into a collection. Leave a comment on Youtube here.
3rd Years: Get £5 Amazon Voucher when you complete the National Student Survey
The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual national survey of final-year undergraduate students in the UK. It gives you an opportunity to tell us what you have enjoyed about your time at Queen Mary as well as about anything you feel could have been improved.
The NSS launched here last Monday, and you should have received an email from Ipsos MORI inviting you to fill the in the survey online.
This year, we’re offering all students who complete the NSS the chance to claim a £5 Amazon voucher. Just forward the email you receive on completing the survey, along your name and student ID number, to tell-us@qmul.ac.uk. We will send you your £5 Amazon voucher within two weeks.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say and influence positive change at Queen Mary. You can follow this link to Your Voice for information about what we are doing in SED: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=10908§ion=2
You can see some of the action taken by the Library, Students’ Union and IT services, among others, in response to previous student feedback, in the university’s ‘We listen’ statements: www.qmul.ac.uk/tell-us.
Why should you take part?
- The NSS provides you with the opportunity to provide feedback on your whole learning experience.
- Feedback from the NSS will be used to improve the experience for future students just as you have benefitted from previous students’ feedback.
- The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete online.
- The NSS is run by an independent market research company and all answers are anonymous.
- The NSS is an opportunity to make your voice heard in a nationally recognised format.
- Results are made publicly available to help prospective students make informed decisions of where and what to study.
- The Students’ Union is supportive of the NSS.
- You can claim a £5 reward for taking part.
How do you complete it?
- Ipsos MORI will email you with a link to complete the survey. Later during the survey period, you may be contacted by SMS or phone.
- You can complete the NSS at any time online: www.thestudentsurvey.com
Thank you in advance for completing this important survey – we really value your input.
Best wishes
Warren Boutcher
Head of the School of English and Drama
And the winner of #SED2019 our winter photography competition is…
The winner is Aysel Dilara Kasap with her lovely festive pic below. She won a Penguin Mini classic books hamper.
You’ve been good to me. I’m very grateful for all the amazing memories, experiences, lessons, new skills, all the good people you brought into my life and all the good people you kept in my life. 🙏
Dear 2019,
I hope you’ll be at least as good as 2018 and even better.🤞
#HappyNewYear 🎉❤
#MutluYıllar
#FelizAñoNuevo
#SED2019
Here’s some other highlights from the other entries we received…
We love Instagram so please do tag us @qmulsed and we can repost!
Movie over Marie Kondo, Markman Ellis is here to prove filing has been around since C18
Our very own Professor Markman Ellis’s essay, “Letters, Organization, and the Archive in Elizabeth Montagu’s Correspondence,” appears in a special issue of the Huntington Library Quarterly edited by Nicole Pohl: “‘The Commerce of Life’: Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800).”
In an introductory blog post File Under Fascinating, Sara K. Austin, editor of the Huntington Library Quarterly introduces Ellis’s use of the correspondence of Elizabeth Montagu at The Huntington to reflect on how people have organized and saved papers over time.
Image
Filing tag made from printed visiting card of Mr Montagu Manchester Square, ephemera, MO 6922 (13), Elizabeth Robinson Montagu Papers. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Markman Ellis.
Queen Mary Theatre Company New Writers Festival This Weekend 1-3 February 2019
NEW WRITERS FESTIVAL
Queen Mary Theatre Company present six new shows, all written, directed and performed by our members. Comedy, thriller, politics, poetry, the end of the world…there’s something for everyone!
1-3 February from 7pm, Pinter Studio, Arts One
Tickets £6-9 per show.
Discounted bundles are available for multiple shows.
Highlights from the festival
BISCUITS
Friday 1st Feb 7PM
Written and directed by Alice Hope Wilson and Jaz Manville
What does happen in the teachers’ staff room? Over the course of one lunch hour, a group of teachers gather to discuss the impending closure of the staff room.
THE CABARET AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Friday 1st Feb 8.30PM
Written and directed by Rosalynn Whiteley and Eilis Price
Well, gang, we’ve fucked it. We’ve REALLY fucked it. We’re down to the last tin the cupboard, waters are running high and air running low, the bees are dead, the trees are dead… but The Show must go on.
NAJMA’S FALL
Saturday 2nd Feb 7PM
Written and directed by Tatenda Kirya and Olamatu Jabbie
FELL. PUSHED. JUMPED. All of these speculations speculations are thrown around when it comes to the incident at Najma’s party. She’s fallen off her balcony, and is placed in a psychiatric ward as everyone believes she’s jumped… Except for her. Even though she was intoxicated, she doesn’t accept this version of events and suspects that something else happened. Later, new evidence arises which suggests that she was pushed and those closest to her are prime suspects. The play explores the various relationships in her life and how she ended up in the situation she’s in. The play delves deeper into the destructive nature of the relationships and how they manifested into what they are today.
HOLD ON ME
Saturday 2nd Feb 8.30PM
Written and directed by Joseph Winer
Daisy-May is living with her grandparents. Polly and Bridget’s mum has been in bed for ages, and their dad’s fighting in a war. John and Mary have the perfect family, or so it would appear on the surface. Then there’s Greg and George, best friends who decide to have a baby together…but one of them is straight and engaged and the other…not so straight. As unconventional family setups spiral into chaos, we begin to test and question the real meaning of “family”.
SHE & HER
Sunday 3rd Feb 7PM
Written and directed by Abi Adebayo
She & Her follows three sisters and their two friends discussing issues around feminism, sexism and the experiences of women within society. The play manoeuvres around each characters backstories/narratives through a series of flashback scenes. It addresses not only feminism in its simple definition but how it differs from generation, race and situation/circumstance. This play is also unique due to a main key factor: everything rhymes.
LATE NIGHT LIVE
Sunday 3rd Feb 8.30PM
Written and directed by Peter Smart
It’s the one-year anniversary of comedian Sandra Curr’s debut as the host of the nations fourth most popular talk show, Late Night Live, and everything seems to be conspiring to go wrong. Faced with the effects of the choice to leave her ex, Robin (potentially “the-one”), to join a show that one year later seems to be using her only as a facade of social progress; Sandra is forced to deal with the very real possibility that she traded away a happy domestic life for a gamble that just hasn’t paid off. With chauvinistic head writer Alistair putting more and more pressure on her to resign, Robin back in her life as a guest on the show following their surprise BAFTA win, and younger sister Chrissie in labour in with their first child. Everything is going wrong tonight for Sandra and the team behind Late Night Live. How will she move on from here? How will she even get through the night? How did it all go so wrong? Everything’s up in the air, tonight on Late Night Live.
Help our Alumni raise money to bring new show Alcatraz to New Horizon Youth Centre for homeless young people
A Right Mess of a Fundraiser
Date Friday 1 February
Time 8:00 pm
Ticket price £10
‘Forget dull, dreary February days…
Right Mess Theatre are here to bring you an evening of Cabaret splendour as they raise funds to bring their new show Alcatraz to New Horizon Youth Centre for homeless young people. You can find out more about New Horizon and the work they do here.
The line up includes Elf Lyons, Hannah Maxwell, Kayla MacQuarrie & Emily Howarth.
Alcatraz by Nathan Lucky Wood is a thrilling play about family and social care that follows Sandy on her daring, Christmas mission to emulate Clint Eastwood and bust her gran out of lock-up. It will premiere at the Vault Festival 2019.
Watch our fresh new videos for English, Drama, English and Drama and English with Creative Writing
We worked to produce new course videos with social enterprise production company Signature Pictures, who work with Jobcentre Plus and the Prince’s Trust to provide training opportunities for young people in film.
We would like to say a BIG thank you to the students who took part in the filming in no particular order: Dubem, Charlie, Sharika, Jess, Christian, Aamir, Christopher, Blanka, Mahima and Saramarie.
Get your headphones on and listen to what our students have to say about our ground-breaking programmes.
Essential Resources for Master’s Funding
Funding an MA can be a tricky business as it’s not as clear as for undergraduate study so we created this quick guide to finding funding so you can take the next steps on our English and Drama postgraduate courses.
Queen Mary Scholarships Database
The most up to date listings of scholarships from Queen Mary University of London.
UK Government Postgraduate
Master’s Loan Information
Up to £10,609 is available as a loan for 2019 entry. Conditions apply.
Queen Mary Postgraduate Funding Guide
An up-to-date downloadable guide written by our student welfare team.
Alternative Postgraduate Funding Guide
A good directory of current grants you can apply for.
Username: sed-web@qmul.ac.uk Password: r2uw7xgx
QMUL Alumni Loyalty Award
£1000 off fees (includes associates, study abroad and exchange participants). Conditions apply so do check if you’re eligible.
Free careers events on being a Newspaper Journalist and on being at Press Officer
A Career Conversation… Life as a National Newspaper Journalist
with Sarah Oliver, from the Mail on Sunday. http://www.saraholiverwriter.com/
Wednesday 30th January, lunchtime 1.15 – 2.15pm, LAWS Room 1.19
As a foreign news correspondent Sarah covered the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as stories across the world from Kosovo to Malawi. In more recent years she has focused on features, columns and celebrity interviews. With Sarah we will explore what it takes to get started on a newspaper career, how a career can develop, the skills & experienced required to get a foot in the door, as well as perhaps exploring some of her most memorable career moments.
RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5595&service=Careers+Service
EXPLORING A CAREER AS A PRESS OFFICER…
7t February 6.15 – 7.45, Arts Two, 3.20
Interested in a career in Communications? Journalism? Publishing? Politics? Public Relations? Have you considered how you could combine several of these interests by becoming a Press Officer… come and meet 3 QM alumni currently working as Press/Media officers, learn about the role, how it varies in different environments, how it will make full use of your writings skills and powers of persuasion and how to get started on this career path.
Reserve your place here: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5621&service=Careers+Service
Our Guests:
- Alainna Hadjigeorgiou, Press Officer for the Orion Publishing Group, an award winning division of Hachette UK. (BA English/Comp.Lit 2014)
- Joshua Snape, Media Officer at the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. (BA History & Politics 2013)
- Tim Picton, Press Officer for the Labour Group of the London Assembly (BA English 2014)
What does a Press Officer do?
In Publishing “key responsibilities include liaising with the press, organising trade announcements and securing targeted and high profile media coverage for projects… this means working closely with authors, agents, journalists, freelancers and the wider publishing teams.” (Alainna)
However in Government/Politics it is more about news and the story: “At the heart of it, the job involves being able to judge what makes a good news story, how to write for a number of different audiences” (Josh) and “To succeed you need to be able to shape that story and ensure that it is either mitigated or used to the organisation’s advantage”. (Tim)
Guest Biographies:
- Alainna has worked in publishing for four years, starting out as an intern for independent publisher Profile Books, before securing her first job in the publicity team at Quercus Books and moving across to Orion in April 2018. In 2017 she was long listed for the London Book Fair Trailblazer award. She studied English at Queen Mary and graduated in 2014.
- Joshua graduated in 2013 with a BA in History & Politics and has 5 years of experience in public sector communications. Starting off working as a Communications Officer for the pharmacy regulator, he has spent the last 3 years as a government Press Officer at the Charity Commission and subsequently, the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
- Tim graduated from Queen Mary in 2014 with a degree in English Literature. He then continued studying the subject, gaining an MA in English: Issues in Modern Culture from UCL two years later. Since, he has worked as a Labour Party campaign organiser, a Parliamentary Assistant to a London Labour MP and is currently a press officer for the Labour Group of the London Assembly, based at City Hall.
New outreach project: BETWEEN THE LINES: Free writing workshops for local 16-25 year olds
Between the Lines is an exciting new writing project for stage and screen group for local young people.
We will be offering 5 FREE introductory workshops on Monday evenings on February 25th – March 25th 2019 from 6-8.30pm at Queen Mary, University of London on Mile End Road.
The workshops will be led by professional playwrights Mojisola Adebayo and Avaes Mohammad with Rokshana Khan and Canan Salih.
If you are interested in joining in the workshops or you want to find out more, just email Mojisola on m.adebayo@qmul.ac.uk.
There are just 10 places available so email to book your free place today!
Please note: Priority for workshop places will go to young people who are not currently students at Queen Mary.
Shahidha Bari announced as chair of judging panel for Forward Prizes for Poetry
The jury for the 2019 Forward Prizes, the UK’s most widely coveted awards for new poetry, is announced today (21 Jan 2019).
Our very own Shahidha Bari, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking,will chair the judging panel. She is joined by Jamie Andrews, head of Cultural and Learning Programming at the British Library and the poets Tara Bergin, Andrew McMillan and Carol Rumens.
The Forward Prizes, whose winners have included Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Alice Oswald and Claudia Rankine, will be presented on Sunday 20 October 2019 at a public ceremony as part of Southbank Centre’s Poetry International festival. The awards are distinctive in honouring new voices alongside internationally established names, and in attracting youthful, diverse audiences. Last year Danez Smith, 29, became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Best Collection prize.
“As new audiences turn to poetry of all kinds, I’m thrilled to be chairing the Forward Prizes, which support talent and encourage brilliance,” says Shahidha Bari. “In uncertain times like ours, we search for the words that could capture who we are, how we feel and what we hope to become. Poetry matters more than ever, responding to our private lives and our shared futures. It can be daring and humane in an age of division and hostility.”
The awards – worth a total of £16,000 – are sponsored by Bookmark Content, the global content and communications agency, and are run by the Forward Arts Foundation. They comprise the Forward Prize for Best Collection (£10,000), the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection (£5,000) and the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (£1,000).
Andrew McMillan, one of the three poets on the 2019 jury says, “When my debut collection came out, the Forwards were incredibly supportive and have continued to be so since – to be shortlisted or highly commended feels like being welcomed into an extended family of poets. I’m thrilled to have the chance to be opening the doors wide, and letting more people in.”
The judges’ selection of shortlisted and highly commended poems will be published on 5 September 2019 in the annual Forward Book of Poetry.
Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry has been an A level English set text on the Edexcel exam board since 2014.
About the Forward Prizes
The Forward Prizes for Poetry are the most widely coveted awards for new poetry published in the UK and Ireland. The annual ceremony brings poetry’s biggest names to London’s Southbank to perform alongside rising talent before diverse and enthusiastic audiences. Notable alumni include Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes and Claudia Rankine, while Simon Armitage, Jackie Kay, Carol Ann Duffy and Daljit Nagra are among those boosted by early career Forward recognition. The prizes, run by the Forward Arts Foundation since 1992, are awarded at Southbank centre and sponsored by Bookmark Content. There are three categories: the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection and the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.
www.facebook.com/forwardprizes/
www.facebook.com/forwardprizes/
www.forwardartsfoundation/forwardprizes.org
About Dr Shahidha Bari
Shahidha Bari is a writer, academic and broadcaster working in the fields of literature, philosophy and art. Born in 1980, she studied at Cambridge and now teaches at the University of London. She reviews for the Financial Times, Guardian and Frieze among others and won the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism in 2015. She features frequently on BBC TV and radio and is a presenter of BBC Radio 3’s nightly Arts and Ideas programme Free Thinking. She lives in London.
Professor Jerry Brotton in The Guardian: ‘At last, the Elizabeth v Mary catfight trope of history is being reassessed’
Our very own Professor Jerry Brotton writes in the Guardian today on the battle of who wins in history, and the importance of looking at historical women’s voices rather than just labeling them a winner, or loser.
The opinion piece is around Mary Queen of Scots in time for the film released this week.
Listen to Show and Tell #3 Podcast
Show and Tell is a series of TED-talk style events where speakers from the arts, humanities and creative industries tell their stories at Queen Mary University of London.
Join us for 2019’s edition: bit.ly/showandtell19
This episode features broadcaster Shahidha Bari, theatre artist Mojisola Adebayo, lecturer and writer Karina Likorish Quinn and theatre director Billy Barrett. Introduction by Jonathan Boffey.
It was recorded on Wednesday 19 September 2018.
Host
Rupert Dannreuther
Rupert is responsible for marketing within Queen Mary’s School of English and Drama. He has worked for numerous organisations including Cineworld, Hackney Empire, The Yard Theatre and Rose Bruford College. In his spare time he runs To Do List a website about offbeat things to do in London: http://todolist.org.uk.
Show and Tell Panel
Shahidha Bari
Shahidha Bari is a writer, academic and broadcaster working in the fields of literature, philosophy and art. Born in 1980, she was one of the first ever BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers (2011) and a winner of the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism (2015). She is Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and Fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at the LSE, and writes for the TLS, Guardian and Financial Times, amongst others. She features frequently on BBC Radio 4, and currently presents BBC Radio 3’s nightly Arts and Ideas programme Free Thinking. She lives in London.
Mojisola Adebayo
Mojisola Adebayo BA, MA, PhD, FRSL, is a performed and published playwright, performer, producer, director, workshop facilitator and teacher. She has been making theatre internationally for over 25 years, from Antarctica to Zimbabwe.
Karina Lickorish Quinn
Karina is a Peruvian-British writer and a PhD student and teacher of creative writing here at Queen Mary. She has published short stories and translations in various journals and is working on her debut novel about ghosts, guano and two-headed cats.
Billy Barrett
Theatre-maker, Breach Theatre and MA Theatre and Performance student.
Coming up
Show and Tell is back for 2019 with a whole host of exciting new speakers.
See the line up and book a free ticket here: bit.ly/showandtell19
#SEDdigest Events & Opportunities Digest 2019 #1 – 18 Jan 2019
Opportunities
Artist Development from Pleasance Theatre for Edinburgh Fringe
Application are now open for The Charlie Hartill Special Reserve. The Pleasance will provide an emerging theatre company with £10,000 financing, mentoring, support, PR, marketing, accommodation, travel, accessible performances and so much more to enable them to bring a fully produced theatre production to Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019. An unmissable opportunity!
Deadline, 10am 31st January 2019.
Website to apply https://www.pleasance.co.uk/charliefund
Information pack https://bit.ly/2H2Ezgt Information pack https://bit.ly/2H2Ezgt
Jobs and Paid Internships
- Studio Manager (Operations and Events), Live Art Development Agency – Deadline 28 January 2019
- Digital Partnerships Manager and Product Account Manager, Encore Tickets – No Deadline (be quick!)
- Digital Marketing Assistant, Urban Outfitters Europe – No Deadline (be quick!)
- Literary Administrator, GRAEAE Theatre Company – Deadline 4 February 2019
Careers Events
HOW TO GET INTO PUBLISHING… from those that know! Thursday 31st January 6pm – 7.45pm, People’s Palace PP1.
We are delighted to have two major publishers coming on to campus to talk about their organisations and the type of work experience, internship & entry level roles that they have available.
We will be joined by Lisa Goll – Events Manager at Bloomsbury and Owner of London Writers’ Café and Christiana Markou – Recruitment Advisor at HarperCollins, as well as a Junior Editor from Bloomsbury and a recent recipient of a HarperCollins BAME internship.
Lisa and Christiana will give presentations and will be interviewed about general recruitment questions. The Junior Editor and HarperCollins intern will also be interviewed about how they secured their opportunities and their reflections on their experiences. There will also be opportunity for your questions to all our guests.
RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5435&service=Careers+Service
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A Career Conversation… Life as a National Newspaper Journalist with Sarah Oliver, from the Mail on Sunday. http://www.saraholiverwriter.com/ Wednesday 30th January lunchtime 1.15 – 2.15pm, LAWS Room 1.19
We are delighted that Sarah Oliver is coming to QM to speak about building a career as a newspaper journalist. Sarah is an established QMentor supporting one QM student each year interested in building a journalism career. Now we have an opportunity for lots more students to benefit from her knowledge and experience.
As a foreign news correspondent Sarah covered the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as stories across the world from Kosovo to Malawi. In more recent years she has focused on features, columns and celebrity interviews. With Sarah we will explore what it takes to get started on a newspaper career, how a career can develop, skills & experienced required to get a foot in the door, as well as perhaps exploring some of her most memorable career moments.
If you are interested in any aspect of newspaper journalism this is a definitely a ‘not to be missed session’.
RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5595&service=Careers+Service
Careers in Charities: 21st January 6-7pm
CharityWorks will be talking about how to begin a career in the non-profit sector, provide you with an overview of the graduate scheme for the UK non-profit sector
RESERVE YOUR PLACE HERE: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5453&service=Careers+Service
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Careers in Ideas: 22nd January 6 – 8pm
If you would like to consider a law career in Intellectual Property, come and speak to a range of firms who will be promoting their work experience and graduate opportunities! N.B. Definitely do some research on the role & firms coming in advance, so that you understand their areas of interest.
DETAILS & BOOKING HERE: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5431&service=Careers+Service
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Google Skills: The Importance of Self Promotion, 28th January 6 – 7.30pm
This 90 minute workshop is aimed at women & underrepresented groups. The workshop will help you to highlight the importance of self promotion in your career, and provide you with the tools to start developing this skill.
RESERVE YOUR PLACE HERE: https://qmul.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=5433&service=Careers+Service
ON TRACK FESTIVAL 19 – 20 Feb
Are you 14 – 25 and looking to break into the creative industries?
On Track is back – After huge success the free two day festival designed to fuel the next generation of performers and artistic entrepreneurs is back at Hackney Empire. You’ll get access to some of the industry’s biggest players and influencers working right now.
Sign up to masterclasses, seminars, panels debates, up-skill yourself with vital tools and knowledge to help you take things to the next level, plus network with peers and some of the industry’s biggest names
Free Public English and Drama Events Events in Winter/Spring 2019
Here’s a selection of English and Drama events coming up this semester at Queen Mary University of London.
English Postgraduate Research Seminar 2019
- 17 January 2019 Charlotta Salmi (QMUL): “Popular Movements in Popular Form: Protest and the Global Graphic Novel”
Queen Mary Theatre Company: New Writers Festival – 1-3 February 2019
Join our in house theatre company for a festival of new writing.
Show and Tell – Wednesday 6, 13, 20 and 27 February 2019
Show and Tell is a series of TED-talk style events where speakers from the arts, humanities and creative industries tell their stories at Queen Mary University of London.
Master’s Open Event – Wednesday 13 February 2019
Join us for an evening reception with drinks to find out about our English Master’s offering: MA English Literature. 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
English and Drama A-Level Revision Day – Wednesday 20 February 2019
Group sessions with top academics from Queen Mary will look at key A-level English and Drama texts and concepts to help with your revision. 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Inaugural Lecture – Professor Barbara Taylor – Philosophical Solitude – Tuesday 26 February 2019
Chaired by Professor Cora Kaplan
The philosopher mediating alone in his study is a cliché of western culture. But behind the hackneyed image lies a long history of controversy. Was solitude the ‘school of genius’, as Edward Gibbon claimed, or did it breed irrationalism, dogmatism and melancholy, as Dr Johnson and others insisted? In the 1730s David Hume suffered a breakdown which he attributed to his solitary philosophising; three decades later, in a much-publicised quarrel with Jean-Jacques Rousseau,Hume attacked Rousseau’s reclusiveness as ‘savage’, ‘bestial’,the mark of an ‘arrant madman’. A life of lone thought was pathological: a judgement that still finds echoes in present-day concerns about social isolation and loneliness.