Pages

Thursday 30 June 2011

More marching pictures, joint UCU/ NUS/ Unison March today















Final Amis event, 4th July

Don't miss the final Centre for New Writing literature event of the season. There are only a handful of tickets remaining so book now.
       
Monday 4th July 2011, 6.30pm
MARTIN AMIS PUBLIC EVENT
Tickets: £7 / £5

To book tickets please contact The Martin Harris Centre Box Office on 0161 275 8951 (Mon-Fri 2-4pm) or book online www.quaytickets.com

On American Independence Day Martin Amis will be joined by guests novelist Will Self and Literary Editor of The Times Erica Wagner. Together they will explore the influence of America on the literature and culture of the 20th and 21st centuries.

They will discuss the particular characteristics of American culture and thought, and ask how the American tradition has influenced writers and thinkers from other countries.

The event will be the final Martin Amis Public Event as Professor Martin Amis completes his four year tenure at The University of Manchester. After extending his time at the University by a year, Amis and his family are moving to New York, the home city of his wife.

His sell out public events at the Centre for New Writing have been hugely popular – attracting luminaries such as Howard Jacobson, John Banville, and Melvyn Bragg.

Of his time in Manchester Amis said: “Teaching creative writing at Manchester has been a joy. I've become very fond of my colleagues, especially John McAuliffe and Ian McGuire. I was impressed by the four instalments of 'youth' I encountered - they seemed to me impressively independent-minded and non-ideological. I loved doing all the reading and the talking; and I very much took to the Mancunians. They are a witty and tolerant contingent. We are moving to NY purely for family reasons. I will never quite leave London, and I hope to revisit Manchester regularly.”

Erica Wagner
Erica Wagner works as Literary Editor of The Times. She also reviews regularly for The New York Times, and appears frequently on radio and on television. Erica has published a number of books.

Will Self
Author, columnist and TV panellist Will Self is the author of eighteen books, including seven novels, three novellas, four collections of short stories and four collections of journalism.

 

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Humanities Teaching and Learning Showcase

The Faculty of Humanities is hosting a Teaching and Learning Showcase event on Tuesday 5 July 2011 in the main foyer of the Samuel Alexander Building.

The Showcase is an opportunity to discuss a range of approaches and technologies to improving student learning and the student experience. A number of presentations will be given highlighting teaching and learning practice from across the Faculty.

Further information about each of the presentations and about registering for the Showcase is available at:

UCU letter and petition

Dear colleague,

Today, the government unveiled its White Paper on the future of higher and further education in England. The proposed changes will have a substantial impact on UCU members wherever they work. You can read more about the White Paper here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13927710
As we feared, the government's solution to the problems faced by our sector is to increase competition, both between colleges and universities and by encouraging private 'for profit' providers. This dangerous experiment will, if unchecked, undermine quality, and lead to course, department and even institution closures. UCU members will be at the sharp end of an unprecedented squeeze on costs as many institutions seek to compete with each other on price, while a growing for-profit sector will be a disaster for our education system.

In the USA, upon which the government has modelled its reforms, 'for-profit' education providers now receive almost one quarter of all public subsidies in the form of student grants and loans. This has led to widespread 'mis-selling' of qualifications and legislators are now seeking to rein in the for-profit sector.

In my speech to UCU's Congress last month, I asked for your help to build in building a credible alternative to the cocktail of cuts and privatisation favoured by the government. So far, in response, I have received in excess of 500 detailed submissions from UCU members. Thank you.

One of the clear messages you have sent is that UCU should stand up for the sector as a whole in defence of public education. I share that view. That’s why I am asking you to do two things to help the union today:

1. No confidence in the government:

In response to many requests from members, UCU has launched an online petition to express no-confidence in the education policies of this government. Please sign it here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/noconfidence and then share the link with all your colleagues whether they are in UCU or not.

2. Lobby your MP now:

We are also working hard to put pressure on the government in parliament itself.  Please help us today by taking a couple of minutes to email your MP to urge them to sign a new early day motion against 'for profit' education. Click here to contact your MP: http://www.ucu.org.uk/notforprofit

I will write again to update you on our campaign shortly.  Thank you, as ever, for your support.

Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary

Tuesday 28 June 2011

CIDRA special event Call for contributions


CIDRA SPECIAL EVENT
School of Arts, Histories, and Cultures

LIVES AND LETTERS:  EPISTOLARITY AND (AUTO-)BIOGRAPHY
Wednesday 30 November 2011

Keynote speaker (confirmed): Prof. Mary Beard (Cambridge).
Mary Beard (Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge) is an expert on the modern reception of ancient letter-collections, as well as a well-known cultural commentator, the Classics editor of the TLS, and the author of the “Don’s Life” blog for The Times. Her work is notable for its interdisciplinary outlook.

Call for contributions:
This event aims to investigate the broad intersection between letters and biography/autobiography from antiquity to the modern period, drawing on the expertise of staff from across a range of disciplines in both the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures.

We invite contributions from across both Schools for this one day event: historical, literary, cultural and theoretical approaches are all welcomed. We envisage that talks will be some 25-30 mins in length, but we are open to suggestions of other formats.

Potential topics might include:
    letters and narrative/narrative in letters
    letters and letter-collections as biography/autobiography
    letters and the revelation/rhetoric of the self
    the use of letters in the writing of biography/autobiography
    what are published letter-collections for and how have readers consumed them?
    how are published letter-collections arranged (e.g. by theme, addressee, or chronology, etc.) and why?
    letter-collections and rise of the epistolary novel or autobiography
    What are archives of letters for and how do researchers use them?

Contributions on other relevant areas are warmly welcomed.

The context
How are letters used by biographers, historians and storytellers? Hundreds of letter-collections of different kinds have been preserved from the pre-modern era, and the impulse to use letters to structure a narrative or to illustrate a life has remained strong to this day. But what are the connections between letters, letter-collections and biographical narrative? In the modern era, letters by famous men and women are prized source material for biographers: the letters of Michelangelo, for instance, are central to every biography of the man written between 1568 and the present day. But in the ancient world, for example, the situation was rather different: even the most prominent of ancient biographers, Plutarch, writing about one of the most famous letter-writers of antiquity, builds his Life of Cicero largely from Cicero’s great speeches, rather than his extensive correspondence. A modern biographer (or his/her readership), by contrast, might regard the absence of letters, or an inability to access them, as a serious problem. Why are letters treated differently in ancient and modern biography? To what extent is this to be explained by differences in the types of letter-collection, differences in the genre of biographical writing or the influence of other kinds of narrative, especially the modern epistolary novel?


Please send a short abstract by 30 July (100-200 words), to roy.gibson@manchester.ac.uk or to andrew.morrison@manchester.ac.uk






Monday 27 June 2011

AHRC-Funded History Studentships for 2011-2012

AHRC-Funded History Studentships for 2011-2012

Keele University - Keele University Research Institute for the Humanities and University of Salford College of Arts and Social Sciences

The Research Institute for the Humanities at Keele University brings together over 100 academic staff and postgraduate students.  The College of Arts and Social Sciences at Salford is home to over 300 academic staff and postgraduate students.  The Universities are home to world-class scholars and research groups within the Arts and Humanities.  

Keele University, in conjunction with the University of Salford, has been successful in securing funding for AHRC postgraduate studentships in History for 2011-12. The following awards are now available:

Research Preparation Masters Studentship in History, MRes, to be hosted at Keele

For further details on the MRes course please visit: http://www.keele.ac.uk/pgtcourses/coursedetails/humanitiesmres/

For further details on the funding please visit: http://www.keele.ac.uk/pgresearch/choosingaresearchdegree/studentships/

Doctoral Studentship in History, to be hosted at Salford (in Military, Intelligence, International or European History)

For further details please visit http://www.pg.salford.ac.uk/page/funding

For further details of our research and the expertise of our supervisors and postgraduate programmes please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/rihums or http://www.salford.ac.uk/colleges-schools/arts.php

Full details of eligibility for AHRC-funded studentships is available on the AHRC's website:

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/GuidetoStudentFunding.pdf

The closing date for applications is 30th June 2011.

Applicants are strongly advised to discuss their interests with the relevant University and prospective supervisors

For studentships at Keele, please contact Susan Farrington for advice on the most appropriate contact point: phd@ihum.keele.ac.uk or tel. +44 (0)1782 734256.

For studentships at Salford, please contact Sara Lockett for advice on the most appropriate contact point:

s.lockett@salford.ac.uk or tel. +44 (0) 161 295 2811.

Full details and application procedures can be found on the Postgraduate websites of each University:

Keele: http://www.keele.ac.uk/pgresearch/choosingaresearchdegree/studentships/

Salford: http://www.pg.salford.ac.uk/page/funding

Music at Lunchtime, Weds

Dear All,

For those of you who like such things, there will be a free lunch-time choral concert at the Manchester Friend's Meeting House (close to Central Library) on Weds 29th June beginning at 1pm.

The concert will be given by Ars Nova Sacra, a chamber ensemble from Budapest with a repertoire that mixes early and contemporary music.

Best wishes,

Dr Michael Sanders
Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature

Friday 24 June 2011

Phd bursaries at Nottingham Trent University

AHRC funded postgraduate studentships for 2011-12

Nottingham Trent University is pleased to announce a series of AHRC funded postgraduate studentships for 2011-12. There are six studentships available; three for PhD research degree study and three for professional masters courses. The PhD Studentships include tuition fees (£3,732 pa) and a maintenance allowance (£13,590 pa) for three years. These are directly funded studentships for UK/EU applicants only.

There are three PhD studentships available in:

 *   Applied Arts and Crafts (1): this studentship will develop connections between research in textiles focusing on the physical realisation of innovative designs, integrating technical enquiries with creative design work situated in fashion.

 *   English Literature and Language (1): Applications are particularly welcomes in the fields of the Romantic Era, Post-Colonial Writing and the Early Modern Period.

 *   Fine Art (1): this Visual Arts studentship focuses upon critical/philosophical engagement related to concepts of irresolution, uncertainty and open-endedness.

For further information and an PhD application pack please contact:

Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2301

Email: adb.research@ntu.ac.uk

Thursday 23 June 2011

The Waste Land App (via ManchesterLitList)

T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land Is Top Grossing iPad Book App

Listen to this article. Powered by Odiogo.com
















T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land is the top grossing iPad book app in the Apple App store this week. The app, has been on the top grossing app list since its debut in iTunes last week. The classic poem knocks Marvel's comic book app out of the No. 1 spot. The Marvel app has been dominating the list for the past few weeks. Read more at ebooknewser...

Wednesday 22 June 2011

NW Drama Colloquium (tomorrow!)

Dear all,

I just wanted to send round the programme for next week's North West Renaissance Drama Colloquium (http://nwrdc.blogspot.com/) at the Rylands. The day includes a keynote by Nicholas Royle (Sussex) as well as presentations from four of our third year undergraduates, who some of you will have taught. Full registration is £10 (£5 students), but Manchester staff are very welcome just to drop by for individual panels if they are of interest. Just let us know via renaissance.drama@manchester.ac.uk or email me.

All best wishes,
James Smith


North West Renaissance Drama Colloquium
John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, Thursday 23rd June 2011

9:15-10:00 Registration/Welcome
10:00-11:00 Panel 1 Chair: Roger Holdsworth (Manchester)
Eoin Price (Shakespeare Institute, Birmingham), ‘The Phoenix and Political Privacy’
Lynsey Blandford (Kent), ‘Middleton and the Symbolism of Trees’

11:00-11:15 Convenience break

11:15-12:30 University of Manchester Undergraduate Presentations Chair: James Smith (Manchester)
Rosie Rees-Bann, Tristan Burke, Laura Swift, Jack Sullivan

12:30-12:50 Refreshment Break

12:50-1:50 Keynote Lecture Chair: Matthew Frost (Manchester University Press)
Professor Nicholas Royle (Sussex), ‘Miracle Play’ [on 1HenryIV]

1:50-2:50 Lunch provided by Katsouris Deli

2:50-3:50 Panel 2 Chair: Naya Tsentourou (Manchester)
Sophie Gray (Liverpool), ‘Embodied Texts and Textual Bodies in Doctor Faustus’
Gwilym Jones (QMUL), ‘“Play out the Play! I have much to say”: Parts of Falstaff and Hal in 1HenryIV’

3:50-4:10 Refreshment break

4:10--5:10 Panel 3 Chair: Jerome de Groot (Manchester)
Brian Schneider (Manchester), ‘“Sit, See and Hear”: The Visual and the Aural in Early Modern Prologues and Epilogues’
Mark Robson (Nottingham), ‘Surviving Truth’ [on Measure for Measure]

5:10-5:20 Wine service
5:20-5:50 Renaissance Poetry Reading
5:50-6:45 Wine reception followed by informal dining and drinks in Manchester

NUS briefing

Coming up next week:

30th June strike

On June 30th over 700,000 people will be taking direct action against the cuts.

Public sector workers will be taking to the streets across the country to picket and protest, to defend public services and strike for the alternative. This is the biggest day of action yet against the cuts. Join the Big Society Breakfast to support the people on the pickets.

The government are making everyone else pay for a crisis caused by the bankers. They’ve targeted students, pensioners, people with disabilities, the unemployed, NHS workers and patients, and now they are attacking teachers and other civil servants.

UK Uncut are used to sit-ins, now it’s time to stand up with the people going on strike and the trade unions who are challenging the government. There are alternatives to their cuts. Make the banks pay for the crisis they caused, and stop tax dodging by corporations and the rich.

Picket lines will form on the morning of the 30th. Choose one or more lines in your area (we'll have a map up soon), and list or join an action on the UK Uncut website. Join those on strike, bring them a mug of tea and a breakfast butty, and show them that we’re all in it together against the government. Make links with your local trade union branches and anti-cuts group to build a coalition against the government.

See you on the picket line!
www.ukuncut.org.uk/breakfast


Also:

No Confidence Petition

A national petition of no confidence in the Government's plans for Higher Education - http://www.noconfidence.org.uk/petition. This will be a way of highlighting the national anger at the Government's poorly thought-through and damaging plans for our Universities, whilst also providing a hub to showcase local actions in different institutions.

So please please spread the word about the website and the petition.

Best,
Amanda
--
Amanda Walters
Campaigns Officer
University of Manchester Students' Union

T: 07787422385
E: campaigns@umsu.manchester.ac.uk
Steve Biko Building,
Oxford Road,
Manchester,
M13 9PR

CoDE PhD studentship

The Cultures of the Digital Economy Research Institute (CoDE) invites high
quality applications for a PhD studentship in related disciplines to commence
in October 2011.

Applicants will need to demonstrate outstanding performance at both
undergraduate (preferably first class honours) and postgraduate (MA) levels.
This 3-year studentship will offer students high quality supervision in one of our key
research areas. As part of their application process, prospective candidates will be required to
submit a PhD proposal in one of the following areas:

Digital Humanities
Digital Performance and Production
Play and Serious Gaming
Social Media and Network Politics

CoDE is a network of academics working in media theory and network culture,
media archaeology, digital music and video, fine arts, video games,
production and performance, serious gaming and digital text, combined with scientific
contributions from colleagues involved with design and technology, audio engineering and
computer design and animation. 

The Institute fosters a critical and experimental interdisciplinary research
environment and through projects, seminars and published research aims to explore the role of
current and emerging technologies in a creative context.

CoDE is a crucible for thinking outside traditional disciplinary boundaries
and a catalyst for establishing connections with industry and local, national and international
communities. Its location in Cambridge provides it with excellent potential for
collaboration with entertainment, technological, scientific, arts and the heritage industries.

Successful applicants will receive a bursary at the AHRC rate*; a fee waiver;
and access to dedicated postgraduate office space.

For more information about this opportunity, or about CoDE, please contact
the Director, Dr Samantha Rayner (samantha.rayner@anglia.ac.uk) or see the website:
www.anglia.ac.uk/ code.

Thursday 16 June 2011

Adopt a Book!

[Adopt a Book logo]

Show your support for the Library, its collections and work, by adopting a book.

Demonstrate your interest in a particular item by selecting from our list of Special Collections items, or choose a subject area from our general collections. Whatever you decide, Adopt a Book is a meaningful way to support the work of the Library, students, researchers and teaching staff.

Every Adopt a Book member receives a certificate, and we create a bookplate with your chosen text for the adopted item. Bookplates are a valuable and affordable way to:
  • Mark and event:
    • a birthday or other anniversary
    • a marriage or partnership
    • your own or a colleagues retirement
  • Celebrate you graduation, or that of someone close to you
  • Remember the life of a friend, relation or colleague
Whatever the reason, your bookplate will be visible for all to see - a great way to share with others your event, special occasion or support for the work of the Library.

Details of the adoption are also added to the Online Register. Of course, you can participate anonymously if you prefer: the choice is yours.

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/adoptabook/

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Jane Austen Conference, September 2011



UCU National Rally

Calling TPS Higher Education members - an opportunity to tell the world you value your pension

UCU is joining ATL and NUT in a national rally in London on 30 June to protect members' TPS pensions.

At the rally each union has the opportunity for members to speak about why their pension rights are important.

A key theme of the day for all the unions is the importance of pensions for young people and we are looking for a volunteer TPS member from the HE sector who would be willing to speak. You would be speaking for a couple of minutes alongside a UCU member from adult education.

If interested don't be shy please contact Matt direct at mwaddup@ucu.org.uk.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Manchester Book Market, 17-18 June

Manchester Book Market
Dates: Fri 17th - Sat 18th June
Times: 10am-5.30pm
Location: St Ann's Square (just off Deansgate), Manchester

The popular Manchester Independent Book Market returns to St Ann’s Square for its fourth outing, offering book lovers the chance to sample new titles by the UK’s most exciting independent presses.
In a climate where major corporate publishing is becoming all the more conservative – banking on celebrity memoirs and novelty titles - the UK's independent publishing sector is leading the way in producing intelligent, original and challenging books and magazines.

The North of England in particular boasts some of the UK’s most innovative publishers of novels, poetry, short stories, and non-fiction, and the Manchester Independent Book Market brings them all to your doorstep. This year's market will feature over 30 publishers including Peepal Tree, Route, Comma, Crocus/Commonword, Dreamcatcher, Flapjack, Nightjar, Satchel/Suitcase, Thanatos Books, Hidden Gem, and many others.

Situated in the bustling St Ann’s Square, just off Deansgate, the market’s a great place to browse, grab a coffee, listen to live readings from a selection of talented performance poets and authors, and find the perfect gift for the book lover in your life.

It’s also a great opportunity for aspiring writers to network, and make face-to-face contact with representatives from the North’s independent publishers.

There’ll be live readings on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th June, from 12pm-5pm.

FRIDAY READINGS 12-1.30pm
Dominic Berry
Steven Garside
Tony Walsh aka Longfella
Gordon Zola
Mike Duff
Copland Smith
John Darwin
Maria Roberts
Peter Wild

2 - 3.30pm
Peepal Tree showcase compere by Adam Lowe
Seni Seneviratne
Nii Parkes
Desiree Reynolds
Simon Murray
Angela Barry
Sabeen Hussein
Baba Israel
Tim Lees
Conor Alwood

4 - 5pm
Marvin Cheeseman
Max Seymour
Claire Massey
Zahid Hussain
Alison Littlewood
Bill Rogers
Steph Pike

SATURDAY READINGS 12 - 1.30pm
Penultimate feat. Martin Stannage and Ben Mellor
Anna Tuck
Mark Mace Smith
Anna Percy
Chris Jam
Helen Clare
Conrad Williams
Chris Woods
Adrian Slatcher

2 - 3.30pm Flap Jack showcase
Jackie Hagan
Rosie Garland
Tony Curry
Fergus Evans
Dermot Glennon
Gerry Potter
Annie Clarkson
Rod Tame

4 - 5pm
Michelle Green
Anne Caldwell
Emma Jane Unsworth
Nabila Jameel
Zoe Lambert
Amanda Milligan

See https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=160994053965663# for the link to the facebook event page

Queer Theory of the Avant-Garde



Sunday 12 June 2011

Book Harvest

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you all for a successful Book Harvest collection last term. I am pleased to announce our next collection will be on Monday 27th June from 10am to collect any unwanted books. If you would like to take advantage of this service and perhaps indulge in an office clear out, please follow the steps below:

1- Place all your unwanted textbooks outside your office door before 10am Monday 27th June . Please note we are able to collect any book regardless of age, subject matter, condition but are unable to collect journals.
2- If you intend to leave your books outside your office before the collection date please leave a note on top to prevent early removal by cleaners etc.
3- Reply to this email with the your office number to indicate you want your textbooks removed, or complete our online form: http://www.bookharvest.co.uk/need-collection.html
4- Sit back in your newly streamlined office and enjoy the extra space you have created!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. I will send you a reminder email a few days before our collection.

Regards

Julian Kemp

Book Harvest

Friday 10 June 2011

EASSummer

Follow what we are up to over the summer via the blog (comments below) or #EASsummer - Alan Rawes in Spain, Natalie Zacek in Baltimore, John McAuliffe in Dublin, Laura Doan in Australia.... and so many more....

Thursday 9 June 2011

Contemporary fiction at the Library (from ManchesterLitList)

Come and join us for the latest event in our series looking at issues in contemporary fiction.

Kevin Duffy founded BLUEMOOSE BOOKS in 2006 in direct response to "all the celebrity & formulaic publishing that was on offer in the High Street." Together with family & colleagues, he wanted to create a publishing business that concentrated on "stories that engage and inspire. The story is everything - no tricks, bells or whistles, just great stories beautifully told."

Kevin has strong views on mainstream publishing & bookselling, on the world of agents & promotions and how independent publishers & bookshops can survive at perhaps the most challenging time in their history - and he is not backward in expressing them! This evening's event will look at all these issues, with the help of 3 Bluemoose authors, all launching their debut novels.

MICHAEL STEWART - King Crow
Paul Cooper is an outsider. When he looks at people, he wonders what bird they are. He finds making friends difficult especially when he has to move from school to school, so he obsesses about ornithology - until he meets Ashley. Ashley is everything Paul isn't, tough & good-looking with so much street cred....
their friendship and the life-changing events that follow lead to a flight that makes national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Think 'Kes' meets 'Fight Club'.
Michael Stewart teaches Creative Writing at Huddersfield University and is Director of the Huddersfield Literature Festival.

"Michael Stewart is a fascinating new voice, & King Crow is a fine debut novel...modern fiction at its best." Melvin BURGESS

ANNA CHILVERS - Falling Through Clouds
Kat, a 22-year-old student returning home to Devon for the summer holidays, meets Gavin on the train. They spend the summer together but he has something on his mind. He is plagued with nightmares after having been held hostage in Iraq & she soon finds she is out of her depth. When he disappears, Kat & a friend, in trying to find out what's happened to him, uncover instead strange links & parallels to the old 'Sir Gawaine & the Green Knight' legend......

Anna Chilvers is the Reader Development Officer for Calderdale Libraries.
"Anna's prose is razor sharp, her dialogue pitch perfect...it's a serious page-turner, moving & witty" Lesley GLAISTER

MARK A RADCLIFFE - Gabriel's Angel
Gabriel Bell is a grumpy 44-year-old journalist, irritated by the accompanying disappointments of life. If losing his job wasn't bad enough, getting run over and waking up to find himself in a therapy group run by angels REALLY annoys him. The group struggles with the therapy - if they do well, they may be allowed to return to Earth to complete their lives - if they don't, it's Hell or worse: lots more therapy.

Mark A Radcliffe's novel was voted Best First Novel by Guardian readers in their Book of the Year survey. "Gabriel's Angel is the perfect antidote to the glib platitudes of emotional quick-fix culture: tender, astute and very funny." Christopher BROOKMYRE

Thursday 9th June 6pm
Free, all welcome
Becker Room, First Floor,
City Library, Elliot House,
151 Deansgate
MANCHESTER M3 3WD

Come and enjoy what promises to be a most interesting (& possibly controversial!) evening.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Orange Prize 2011

(from the Manchester Lit List)

The winner of the 16th Orange Prize for Fiction will be revealed today at the Southbank Centre in London. According to the Bookseller, author Emma Donoghue is 2/1 to win the prize, with Aminatta Forna's second novel, The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury) second favourite at 3/1.

This year's shortlist comprises: Emma Donoghue's Room; Aminatta Forna's The Memory of Love; Grace Williams Says it Loud, by Emma Henderson; Great House, by Nicole Krauss; The Tiger's Wife, by Téa Obreht; and Annabel, by Kathleen Winter. You can reserve all the Orange prize shortlist from Manchester City library's online catalogue

This year's judges are: the historian Bettany Hughes; the actress and writer Helen Lederer; Liz Calder, the founder of Bloomsbury publishing; Susanna Reid, the journalist and broadcaster; and the author Tracy Chevalier. In 2008, the writer Tim Lott called the prize "a sexist con trick", asking: "Could the establishment of a men-only prize be justified?".

What do you think of an all women writing competition? Is Room a worthy favourite? Comments below or #EASOrangeprize

Friday 3 June 2011

Keep in touch over the summer

Summer may be around the corner, but EAS rarely takes a holiday, working 9-5 24/7 365 days a year. Even Christmas Day is a whole maelstrom of discourses, practices, texts and issues that need to be interpreted and thought through.

The EAS blog will have updates, news and information for all members of the EAS community from undergraduates to staff.

You are expected to spend a great deal of time reading in preparation for your courses in September. Preparatory reading lists for next year's Undergraduate courses will be listed here when completed: http://www.currentstudents.arts.manchester.ac.uk/ug/sa/eas/reading_list/index.htm

Tweet to tet us know what you are up to - reading, researching, or sunbathing - via @EASManchester or - or add to the comments on the 'What Are You Reading?' posting.

Remember the main departmental contacts are these:

Alan Rawes, Undergraduate Programme Director, Alan.Rawes@manchester.ac.uk
Simon Cummins, Undergraduate Administrator, Simon.P.Cummins@manchester.ac.uk