This is the entertaining story of a young cockney, who was something of a ‘wide boy’. Originally from London, Bert Healey’s story begins with tales of his life as a wayward boy in Brighton during the First World War. He also describes many aspects of his working life - from his first pay packet, when [...]
This is Olive Masterson’s tale of growing up in the Richmond Road area of Brighton between the Wars. Surrounded by her close-knit family and friends, she was the youngest child of four, and lived a varied and interesting life. In her narrative, she voices the hopes and fears that she experienced in making the often [...]
This autobiography gives a poignant insight into the life and expectations of a working class Brighton girl, who from the age of fourteen, was in service from 1910 to 1934. It describes her life as a young wife and mother, and the isolation she felt living in the countryside surrounding Gatwick Airfield. Daisy examines the [...]
This fascinating personal history describes John Langley's childhood in poverty in Hove before the First World War, his apprenticeship at the age of 13 on the railway in Brighton, the progression of his career as a railway carriage painter and the good and bad times of Brighton family life. The account of the harshness of working [...]
Gary Irwin survived major surgery to remove a brain tumour. In this book, he takes the reader on a journey that charts the progress of his illness, including the invasive and traumatic surgery that he underwent. He documents the long process of initial diagnosis, treatment and eventual recuperation. This first-hand account is narrated from the [...]
Bad Dog Wally is the story of a dog that was rescued from Battersea Dogs Home, consisting almost entirely of cartoons with only minimal use of the written word. Each page is based on an event in Wally's life, and contains one sentence that is graphically illustrated. At first glance, the cartoons appear naive and childlike, [...]
There is a huge distance between those who find the written word easy and familiar and those who feel unable to write, finding the whole process threatening and difficult. These stories are the product of a project called 'Go Write Ahead' and are intended to demonstrate how this gap can be closed. The story 'The [...]
However people personally define poetry, this anthology contains something for everyone. The poets all hail from the Brighton area and they reflect a wide range of ages and backgrounds. The poems can read by those who are looking for a pleasant read, by the poetry connoisseur or the serious academic. They include many different themes, [...]
Published in 1984 and written by a retired hospital porter, Alf Johns highlights what he saw as the failures of the government in the 1980s and early 1990s. Satirical and witty, this is a book containing political poems and cartoons, exhibiting a wry, often black sense of humour, the subject matter centres around the politics [...]
In brief autobiographies, eight writers share reminiscences of their childhood years of happiness and indulgence. The authors take us on a journey back to times and places where imagination was allowed to run wild and unfettered. Readers can gain insight into those bygone times of fun, fantasy and frolics, but it wasn’t only halcyon days [...]
This anthology contains poetry and prose from a QueenSpark Books women’s writing group, aged between 20 and 64 years, who met regularly to write and partake in group discussions and workshops. There is a strong feminist influence to the issues that are covered, encompassing the empowerment of women, particularly in today’s world, when women have to [...]
This anthology of short stories explores childhood themes from an adult perspective, often in a quirky and original style. The book recognises that writing fiction is part of a personal, subjective process and the stories in this collection reflect the individual experiences, ideas and inspirations of each of the writers. Through the writing process, it [...]
From Circle to Spiral is about the enjoyment of the writing process and the personal satisfaction that can be gained from it. It reveals the insights that creative writing can bring and also provides a useful, practical guide to a method of working that may be helpful to budding writers. The reader is taken on [...]
This publication is the product of a course on which participants were encouraged to tell stories of their childhoods. The atmosphere captured in the stories reflects the fun times that can be enjoyed by youngsters in their everyday lives. Some of the topics covered in this book include the important milestones of childhood, such as [...]
A companion work to Alt-History, this book is the result of a competition held to encourage people of all ages to think creatively about the city’s future. The entries were judged and edited before publication, and include a vision of text-messaging in 2045, a description of how 'Zero Tolerance' might operate on the city’s streets [...]
Published in 1997, anthology is the outcome of work that was produced by members of the Hove Writers Club. Including poetry and prose, it focuses on the details of everyday life through the medium of creative writing.
Serious Intent is the second book in the QueenSpark poetry anthology. It was intended to be a sequel to Poetry, our first collection of verse, but as it developed, it became evident that there was sufficient material of great depth and scope for it to be published in its own right. It is a collection [...]
This is an anthology of readings that were given at a QueenSpark performance evening. The recital took place at the Sanctuary cafe in Hove, which was a popular location in the 1990s for community events. For some people, this was the first time they had read aloud in public, although this was not reflected in [...]
Seven single parents share their personal hopes, fears, struggles and achievements on their respective journeys through parenthood. The book focuses on the challenges they face, particularly when taking on the role of both mother and father in their children’s lives. It acknowledges the effort and energy required of them, as they make important life choices [...]
Featuring large archive photographs of the cinemas and extracts from Tim Carder's Encylopedia of Brighton describing the cinemas featured and colour photographs of the site today. Also included are snippets from past QueenSpark Books recalling memories of cinema-going in Brighton & Hove.
The Migrant English Project at The Cowley Club offered language classes to newly arrived migrants to Brighton and Hove. This book is the result of a series of workshops where participants had the opportunity to tell their stories.
This work is the culmination of an eight-month creative writing programme that ran at QueenSpark from August 2001 to March 2002 and included two ten-week creative writing courses and four introductory sessions on writing autobiographically. Its aim was to involve new and diverse audiences and writers in the joys of creative writing. It utilised a [...]
Writers’ Reign is an anthology of creative writing that is the product of three Queenspark women’s writing groups that were set up in Brighton and Hove. It reflects, in the shape of poetry and prose, the way the writers see their worldviews and through their experiences, it provides a window into their imaginative worlds. Editorial [...]
This is an anthology taken from work that was produced by the Hangleton and Brighton Women Writers’ groups. The Hangleton group started meeting in July 1988 as part of the Hangleton and Knoll Community Festival. The aim of the programme was to introduce new writers and audiences to creative writing, to explore the central concerns [...]