Anna Percy, who launched her first collection, Livid Among The Ghostings last month, is among the line-up of 24 performance poets competing for the BBC Poetry Slam title this year at Edinburgh, at BBC@Potterrow. The line-up of 12 women and 12 men also includes Scotland’s makar, Liz Lochhead. The 2013 slam, hosted by former Scottish slam champion, Young Dawkins, takes place over five nights - four heats followed by a grand final. The timetable is:  

Monday 12 August, 8pm: Anna Percy, Ross Sutherland, Paula Varjack, Robin Cairns, Cat Brogan, Colin McGuire. Tuesday 13 August, 8pm: Rachel McCrum, Martin Daws, Liz Lochhead, Dan Simpson, Michelle Madsen, Bram Gieben. Wednesday 14 August, 8pm: Jenny Lindsay, David Lee Morgan, Rachel Amey, Jim Monaghan, Lucy Ayrton, Harry Giles. Thursday 15 August, 8pm: Deanna Rodger, Tim Turnbull, Stephanie Dogfoot, Stephen Ferguson, Sophia Walker, Graeme Hawley. Saturday 17 August: Grand final, 8.15pm.
The events are all free. The Monday-Thursday heats are unticketed, but you need to apply for tickets for the final, and can do so here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/date/events/edfest_exclusives_20130817b

A former columnist with Write Out Loud, South Wales poet Mab Jones, is appearing with Phill Jupitus at Edinburgh. Mab, from Cardiff, will be supporting Jupitus in his guise as Porky the Poet with Carmarthen's Clare Ferguson-Walker at Zeitgeist Limbo, which opens in Edinburgh on 3 August.

"I first saw Phill fronting the Blockheads in place of Ian Dury at the Nozstock festival a few years ago," said Mab. "I was already a huge fan of his work - meeting him in person, and having his support for our own work as comedians and performance poets has been a dream come true. We're really looking forward to it, as well as to pretending we're much more famous than we are while up there!" Mab and Clare will be in Jupitus' show from 4-9 August, before they return to Wales for other commitments. The show takes place at 5pm each day in the Jam House, and is free to attend, although early attendance at the 300-capacity venue is advised.

Other shows to look out for in the first week of the Edinburgh fringe include Chris Redmond's Tongue Fu  at midnight from Wednesday to Sunday throughout August at the Gilded Balloon, Teviot - Wine Bar, with a different line-up each night. Luke Wright, Rob Auton, Ben Mellor, Stephanie Dogfoot, and Paul Varjack are booked for the first weekend, 2-4 August. There’s an all-female cast of spoken word stars promised at Other Voices: Spoken Word cabaret, hosted by Fay Roberts, from 3-26 August at the Banshee Labyrinth. Meanwhile Mel Jones and Alan Wolfson will be filling the air with “a volatile cocktail of filth and nonsense” in Friggers of Speech at the Royal Oak, Edinburgh, from 5-10 August. 

 

 

AUGUST

Stratford-upon-Avon poetry festival, until 4 August 

Edinburgh festival fringe, 2-26 August

Edinburgh book festival, 10-26 August 

Shambala festival, near Market Harborough, Northamptonshire, 22-25 August 

Arran, McLellan arts festival, 30 August – 8 September 

 

SEPTEMBER

Wigan Diggers’ festival, 7 September 

King’s Lynn poetry festival, 21-23 September 

Wigtown book festival, Dumfries and Galloway, 27 September - 6 October 

 

OCTOBER

Essex poetry festival, 2-5 October

Ilkley literature festival, 4-20 October, 

Morley literature festival, Leeds, 5-13 October

North Wales international poetry festival, Clywd theatre, 7 October ,

Manchester literature festival, 7-20 October 

Marsden poetry jam, jazz festival, Huddersfield, 11-13 October

Sheffield Off the Shelf festival of words, 12 October- 2 November 

Ryedale book festival, Malton, North Yorkshire, 19 October 

Torbay festival of poetry, 24-28 October

 

NOVEMBER

Aldeburgh poetry festival, 8-10 November 

 

Organisers, send us links to your festivals at news@writeoutloud.net, and we will endeavour to list them here, if they include poetry events. You can also upload individual festival events yourselves on our renowned Gig Guide.