Salena Godden is an award-winning novelist, poet and broadcaster of mixed Jamaican/Irish heritage. Her debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death won both the Indie Book Awards for Fiction and the People’s Book Prize. Her literary childhood memoir 'Springfield Road - A Poet's Childhood Revisited' and a new full poetry collection 'With Love, Grief and Fury' (Canongate) came out last year. Rough Trade Books published a hardback edition of Pessimism is for Lightweights - 30 pieces of courage and resistance in 2023. The title poem is on permanent display at The People's History Museum in Manchester. Godden has had several volumes of poetry published and has produced four studio albums - her self-produced solo poetry album 'LIVEwire (Nymphs and Thugs)' was shortlisted for The Ted Hughes Prize. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and often the headline act at literary festivals. An ardent supporter of poets and writers, Godden co-hosts the monthly arts and culture podcast Roaring 20s Radio, regularly judges mainstream book prizes like The British Book Awards and has facilitated workshops internationally, teaching poetry for schools and prisons, and creative writing for the Arvon Foundation among others.
'Poetry, prose, life and death. Salena Godden brings them together with ease. She is a wordsmith of the highest order' - Benjamin Zepheniah
'Here is necessary, beautiful work. Thank God for Godden' - Courtia Newland
'A poet whom I hold in the highest regard ' - Lemn Sissay
'Salena's poems bring me so much joy and make me so determined to live more, lust more and love more' - Hollie McNish
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Timetable
3.30-5pm: Arrival of participants.
5.30-6.30pm: Cocktails, tour and Introductory talk from Murphy.
6.30-8pm: The first writing workshop of the week. Salena will introduce himself and outline his plans for the week. You can explain what you’d like to achieve. There’ll be discussion, short exercises, and perhaps a spot of homework for Tuesday morning.
8pm: Dinner under the stars or in the billiard room
