Jane Rogers to deliver keynote at Northern Lights Writers' Conference

The Northern Lights Writers' Conference returns for a sixth year with Man Booker-longlisted author Jane Rogers to deliver this year's keynote address.

Joining Rogers, who was longlisted for the Man Booker in 2011 with The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Canongate), are poet Peter Kalu and author Sheena Kalayil, who will lead a discussion on diversity while Will Mackie from New Writing North and Martin Reed from the Society of Authors will talk about training and development opportunities.

Route Publishing editor Ian Daley will look at pathways to publication, graphic novel creators Dan Berry and David Gaffney will reveal their tips on successful collaboration as scriptwriter Lisa Holdsworth will lead a workshop on writing for TV. Literary agent Louise Lamont joins the line-up with her guide to getting published, and one-to-one advice sessions with the likes of creative non-fiction expert Adam Farrer and The Golden Egg’s Tilda Johnson are also on the agenda. 

This year's conference, hosted by Creative Industries Trafford (CIT), sister organisation of Waterside, and supported by Trafford Council, will take place on Saturday 21st September at Waterside, Sale, Trafford. Tickets available here. 

CIT coordinator Richard Evans said: "We’re looking forward to welcoming a fantastic range of speakers to Waterside for our sixth Northern Lights Writers’ Conference. We’ll be exploring literary fiction and genre writing, and hearing from industry experts about all aspects of publishing.

"With support from Arts Council England and Trafford Council, this year’s Northern Lights Writers’ Conference promises to be our most expansive event yet – a day packed with talks, panel discussions, industry advice and drop-in sessions that will inspire and inform writers from across the region and beyond."