March 2007
March saw another oustanding line up of writers, helping the Blue Room go from strength to strength. Another fantastic night.
Mary Lowe has lived in Newcastle since 1984. She writes mostly prose and has been widely published in anthologies and journals ( Women's Press, Diamond Twig, Chroma, Mslexia ) She gained an MA in creative writing at Northumbria University in 2001 and has been since working as a freelance writer, combining community arts with art administration. She was Writer in Residence for Age Concern in Newcastle in 2005.
Tess Hudson writes mainly short stories and scripts. She was encouraged in her early endeavours by winning a screen writing competition award organised by Women In Film and Television and went on to win short story competitions including the London Writers Competition.She was the recipient of a Northern Promise Award in 2006.Tess is currently a drama teacher and creative writing tutor with experience of working with a wide variety of community groups.She is the co-founder/director of 'Pen and Tonic' a Newcastle based organisation aimed at promoting the health/confidence building effects of writing and story telling within communities who are often under represented or unheard.
Louise Bell writes mainly poetry, she lives in South Shields and works for the School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture at the University of Sunderland's renowned Media Centre. Louise studied English with Drama at Bretton Hill Hall University College in Wakefield. Louise is currently in the final stages of a part time Masters Degree in Creative Writng at Newcastle University and is rather phased by what she's going to do with herself once the course ends.
Bex Mather is a singer songwriter based in the N.E. Over the past year Bex has been writing new material, performed with Nitin Sawhney and the Aftershock project and been part of a PRS project working with 5 UK Singer Songwriters and 5 Danish Singer Songwriters to create new work and performance. Bex has been recording her second collaborative album 'Lowland' and has support to create an E.P. and compilation album on a new label this autumn. Bex sings in a 4 piece a cappella ensemble 'Mouthful', creates and composes on various projects through commissions and is a theatre maker. Recent review of London gig...extraordinary talent of ebola-levels of infectiousness
Claire Lynn is a part-time adult tutor in Newcastle and Hexham. She taught in China from 1988-90. She has had poems published in The Nerve: the 1998 Virago Book of Writing Women and was a runner-up for the Bridport Prize in 1999. Since then she has had two children, and has taken up writing again recently, her younger child having just started school.
