Join us at St. John’s Church for live readings from captivating poets and writers including Tamar Yoseloff, Sarah Hudis, and Blake Morrison.
WordSpace is co-curated by Poetry in Aldeburgh, East Anglia’s premier poetry festival.
Meanwhile in Saxmundham Library, you will find zine-making workshops with Amy Wragg and an illustration workshop + book reading with Kate Rolfe.
| TIME | SESSION | SPEAKER(S) |
| 12–1pm | Reading + Creative Writing Workshop introduced by Poetry in Aldeburgh chair, Tamar Yoseloff | Sarah Bower
Tamar Yoseloff |
| 1–2pm | Dr Amanda Hodgkinson, University of Suffolk award winning novelist and academic, in conversation with crime novelist and Royal Literary Fellow, Dr Ruth Dugdall. | Ruth Dugdall
Amanda Hodgkison |
| 2–3:20pm | Three Poetry Readings followed by a discussion, led by Tamar Yoseloff. | Amy Adshead
Sarah Hudis Emily Hasler Tamar Yoseloff |
| 3:30 – 4.15pm | Poetry Reading, followed by discussion with Tamar Yoseloff | Blake Morrison
Tamar Yoseloff |
| 4.20pm – 5.20pm | Dr Amanda Hodgkinson, University of Suffolk award-winning novelist and academic, in conversation with Suffolk authors, Jack Cooke and Andrew Worrall | Jack Cooke
Andrew Worrall Amanda Hodgkinson |
| VENUE | TIME | SESSION | SPEAKER(S) |
| LIBRARY MAIN SPACE | 1pm & 2pm | Illustration Workshop (2 x 55 mins, different themes, ages 2-10) | Kate Rolfe |
| LIBRARY MEETING ROOM | 12pm – 4pm | Drop-In Zine Workshop (ages 11+) | Amy Wragg |
Tamar Yoseloff was born in the US and has lived in the UK since 1987. She has been active on the London poetry scene, initially organising a reading series at the Troubadour Coffee House in the early 90s. She taught for the Poetry School for many years, as a core tutor and a lecturer on the Poetry School / Newcastle University MA in Writing Poetry. She has also run site-specific writing courses for galleries including the Hayward, the Barbican, the Royal Academy, the National Gallery, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle’s Yard, MIMA, Somerset House and Tate Liverpool. She has published seven full collections and won several awards for her work including her debut book, Sweetheart, which won the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Prize and was a PBS Commendation.
To find out more about her work, find her website here.
Amy Adshead is a queer writer originally based in rural Norfolk. Specialising in experimental fiction and poetry, their writing is shaped by the fields and fens of their upbringing in the East Anglian countryside. After graduating from the University of Warwick with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, they became an environmental Writer-in-Residence for the National Centre for Writing, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and Suffolk Community Libraries, where they continue to work in close collaboration to organise and facilitate poetry workshops. For two years, they led a national award-winning magazine showcasing LGBTQ+ writing, art, and journalism. Their writing has most recently appeared in publications such as, T’ART Magazine, Butch Femme Press, and Fourteen Poems.
Sarah Bethan Hudis is from West Wales, and is based in Norwich. They usually write poetry and weird essays. They are grateful to been published in magazines and anthologies including Poetry Wales, Horizon Magazine, and Disappointment Magazine. They have pieces in upcoming anthologies of writing about rivers, and the queer pastoral, by River River books and 14 Poems. In 2025 they were a poet in residence with Suffolk Community Libraries and the National Centre for Writing, and they are part of the Bound/Unbound poetry collective. Currently, they can’t stop writing about water.
Emily Hasler’s latest collection of poetry was longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. Local Interest (Pavilion Poetry, 2023) celebrates and interrogates the land and waterscapes of the Suffolk-Essex border where she was born and has once again washed up.
Blake Morrison was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, and educated at Nottingham University, McMaster University and University College, London. After working for the Times Literary Supplement, he went on to become literary editor of both The Observer and the Independent on Sunday before becoming a full-time writer in 1995.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and former Chair of the Poetry Book Society and Vice-Chair of PEN, Blake has written fiction, poetry, journalism, literary criticism and libretti, as well as adapting plays for the stage. His best-known works are probably his two memoirs, “And When Did You Last See Your Father?” and “Things My Mother Never Told Me.” Since 2003, Blake has been Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. He lives in south London. For more information on Blake, click here
Sarah Bower is a novelist and short story writer who lived in Suffolk for over twenty years. Her most recent book, Lines and Shadows, was inspired by the history and mythology of Orford Ness. Now based in Norwich, Sarah lectures in creative writing at the Open University. To find out more about Sarah’s work, click here.
Coast/Lines Workshop with Tamar Yoseloff (12-1pm)
A workshop for writers of all levels of ability in which we find inspiration in the Suffolk coastline. No experience necessary.
Dr Ruth Dugdall is an internationally published crime novelist and a Royal Literary Fellow, She is celebrating the re-launch of her Suffolk-based crime series, featuring probation officer Cate Austin. The first book in the series, The Woman Before Me, explores post-natal depression and infanticide and won the Crime Writer’s Association Debut Dagger. Subsequent books in the series hold a mirror to current concerns, including: children who kill; human trafficking; addiction. Prior to her literary career, Ruth was a probation officer and her writing is heavily influenced by her professional background, bringing authenticity and credibility to these tense and pacy crime novels. For further information on Ruth’s work, click here.
Amanda Hodgkinson is an international bestselling author. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Suffolk and the Director for the Suffolk Centre for Culture and Heritage. Amanda is passionate about championing the pleasure of reading and the role of creativity in all our lives.
Amanda established and is publishing director for the University of Suffolk Talking Shop Press – an in-house publishing company, publishing annual student anthologies of original fiction. To find out about Amanda’s work, click here.
Jack Cooke is the author of The End of the Road: A Journey Around Britain in Search of the Dead (Mudlark 2021), and The Tree Climber’s Guide (Harper Collins 2016). He has appeared on BBC Breakfast, Newsnight and Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4. He grew up in Iken, Suffolk and went to primary school in Saxmundham. Find out more about Jack here.
Andrew Worrall’s Suffolk-based historical novel, The Inheritance of Peter Tye (Softwood Books, 2025), was longlisted for the Society of Authors’ McKitterick first novel prize. Andrew is the first PhD in creative writing from the University of Suffolk, where he was supervised by Dr. Amanda Hodgkinson. He had a career in secondary teaching and education management. Andrew was a title editor for Heinemann Educational, editing classic texts for school use. He lives in Ipswich.
Kate Rolfe Workshops:
Wolf and Bear Workshop
Inspired by Wolf and Bear, this warm and imaginative workshop explores friendship, feelings, and personality through character design. Children will create a character based on themselves alongside a sidekick or companion character, thinking about what makes each one unique. We’ll explore expressions, shapes, emotions, and storytelling through drawing and discussion. Suitable for ages 2–10, with activities adapted for different age groups.
(Workshop length: 55 mins)
Wiggling Words Workshop
Inspired by Wiggling Words, this playful and highly creative workshop invites children to turn letters into art. Together we’ll plant a letter garden, transform letters into animals and creatures, and explore how letters and shapes can combine in surprising ways. Suitable for ages 2–10, with flexible activities for both younger and older children.
(Workshop length: 55 mins)
Amy Wragg Workshop
A relaxed drop-in zine-making workshop suitable for ages 11+.