It’s in memory of Kathleen Dayus, a writer whose books were set nearby. The BBC and Birmingham Mail have more info.

From now until February 2012, Birmingham Libraries are setting free 1,000 copies of Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson for people to read, review and pass on to a friend in the Birmingham Big City Read.

For more info, follow the link to Birmingham’s Big City Read and grab a book while they’re still available (if they’ve not all gone yet). The folks behind this are Transworld Publishers, in partnership with The Reading Agency. The plan is to build up a discussion about the book over here.

Open for entries from 12th September – 31st October, the judges will be accepting for short stories between 500 and 2,000 words in length. A selection of winning entrants will see their stories published in an anthology. The book launch for this collection will take place at The Book Barge, a bookshop uniquely located aboard a narrowboat on the Birmingham canal.

The panel of judges will include novelists Jean Ure, who was first published at the age of sixteen, and David Belbin, famous for his edgy stories dealing with crime and the lives of young adults.

Speakers include Sarah Ballard, literary agent whose clients include Julian Barnes and Blake Morrison, Catheryn Kilgarriff of independent publishers Marion Boyars, and Luke Brown of Birmingham based Tindal St Press. Performers include poets from Nine Arches, Dan Holloway of Year Zero Writers, and stand-up philosopher Matthew Hammond.

Tickets here and more info here.

The blurb from the press release says:

Soul City Arts welcomes acclaimed author, Na’ima B. Robert, to the city of Birmingham for the first time. She will be launching her controversial new novel about Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, ‘Far From Home’, exclusively at The Hubb.

In addition to discussing some of the original ideas behind her new book, Nai’ma B. Robert will be speaking about her inspiration as a writer and her journey to becoming a published author at Birmingham’s exciting Hubb Arts centre in Sparkbrook, Birmingham.

The Spring Thing is a short festival hosted by Birmingham Book Festival, on 9 & 10 April with workshops, performances and readings going on throughout both days.

There is crime (and cake!) with Sophie Hannah, performance poetry with Nine Arches Press, the Birmingham Poet Laureate and guests, John Hegley, workshops, pigeons, personae, city gardening with the BBC’s Alys Fowler, the launch of David Lodge’s new novel A Man of Parts, new voices in fiction with Tindal Street Press and intriguing audio installation Bodies In The Library.

They’ll also have a Festival Bookshop in the conservatoire from 11am – 3.30pm.

If you fancy some freebies, they seem to be having a bit of a giveaway on their Twitter at the moment, plus they currently have 10% off booking for festival events.

On 5 March it’s World Book Night, and as the nation prepare to give away 1 million books, Birmingham Central Library and The Birmingham Poetry Ultras are holding a couple of celebratory events, with a line up of writers, storytellers and poets.

Birmingham Central Library

From 6.30pm – 8.45pm, at Birmingham Library Theatre, three of the city’s best-selling writers RJ Ellory, Mike Gayle and Catherine O’Flynn will be joining readers and book givers to celebrate books, libraries and reading.

Free tickets for this are available from the Box Office on (0121) 303 2323 or from Central Library reception.

Saturday Night Reader then takes outside Central Library place from 9 – 10pm, as literary fans are invited to join Birmingham Poet Laureate, Roy McFarlane, former Young Poet Laureate Matt Windle, storyteller Katrice Horsley, and local writer Paul McDonald for an hour of rambunctious storytelling, poetry, laughs and free books.

Birmingham Poetry Ultras

Hosting an evening of poetry appreciation and discussion, Birmingham Poetry Ultras will be in The Old Moseley Arms, Balsall Heath, from 8pm.

They’ll also be giving out free copies of their selected book, Seamus Heaney’s “New Selected Poems 1966-1987”, on a first come first served basis.

This Saturday 29 Jan, Ikon will be hosting a free creative writing workshop in Erdington, joined by acclaimed writer Mandy Ross.

Inspired by historical photographs of nineteenth century Erdington resident Sir Benjamin Stone, creative writers and storytellers are invited to explore stories behind these photographs.

Ikon have had a rummage through the archives and collected images from the turn of the 20th century, including the Erdington orphanage, a society afternoon tea, agricultural workers and the inner workings of Big Ben.

All ages are welcome to drop by, with no booking needed. The workshop with take place from 12 – 3pm at Erdington Library, Orphanage Road, Erdington.

If you can’t make it on Saturday, fear not, Ikon are returning to Erdington in a few weeks, with another workshop on 19 February.

The event is their third annual gathering, attracting both emerging and established writers along with those involved in the writing industry, including publishers, producers, agents and various organisations. The day is a great opportunity to learn about the business side of being a writer and to network through a mix of panel discussions and Q&A sessions.

For more information on who’s attending and booking, take a look at the Writing West Midlands website.

The deadline for booking is Friday 12 November, and costs £32 (£26 concession).

Sssssssshhhh! Get your reading specs out because after a rare sighting, the Secret Library Card is back in circulation, hidden in books at Birmingham Central Library.

Check the last post from the Secret Librarians for the cryptic clue which will lead you to the current location of the Secret Library Card, where you can take up the task of the ‘Secret Re-shelving Ritual’.