Theatre puts new writing on the wall

THE writing will be on the wall for local writers in an exhibition that opens today.

The Hull Truck Theatre will form the backdrop for local authors whose day jobs range from accountants to cucumber pickers until June 1.

Sample pages of the work, book covers and information about 10 writers will be displayed in the upper foyer of the theatre on Ferensway.

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Several of the books are set locally, including gritty crime novel Broken Dreams by Nick Quantrill and Tim Roux's Missio, which uses Hull's lost trawlers as its basis.

Other works include the debut poetry collection by young writer and cucumber picker North Cave-based Holly Roach, and acclaimed poet Ian Parks, who was made a Hawthornden Fellow in 1991.

Organiser Richard Sutherland, marketing assistant at the theatre and author of one of the featured books – The Unitary Authority of Ersatz – said it dawned on him while working for Waterstone's previously what a wealth of writing talent there was in the city.

He said: "We had loads of people coming in from established authors to people just with hand-written drafts which hadn't even been typed up.

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"There are lots of writers everywhere, but so many who haven't shown their faces.

"One of the writers Robert Adams said authors tend to be like hermit crabs.

"Authors tend to be quite shy – so we are coming out of our shells," he said.

Admission is free and the featured books will be on sale from the theatre's Truck Stop, with some of the proceeds helping to fund future exhibitions.

This season, Hull Truck will be hosting several Humber Mouth Festival events, including talks by Roy Hattersley and Roger McGough.

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