“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.” Arundhati Roy

Very excited to be interviewing actor Adrian Lester and producer Lolita Chakrabarti for De Montfort University’s Cultural Exchanges Festival this Thursday 1st March. We’ll be discussing Lester’s directorial debut, the moving short film Of Mary. The Cultural Exchanges Festival, headed-up by lecturer Tony Graves, is a student-produced event that hosts great in-conversations with some of the UK’s leading cultural figures. Festival starts today and is well-worth a visit.

I’m running a workshop for Spread the Word on 25th March for those teetering on the edge of the writing plunge. The biggest block writers face is knowing how to start so I hope to provide sound encouragement. The workshop is part of Jump 2 a day dedicated to meeting the risks of creativity. More info and booking details here!

I was honoured to contribute to the Creativity Money Love book project headed up by Creative Blueprint (although I still think the last two words of the title  should be switched). Read my take on the topic here and take a look at the launch vid which I appear in…