Some insights into the 2024 LIVEwire Poetry project

Recapping a relatively large project which included live poetry events, workshops, and more

Some of the LIVEwire graphics created by Eamonn Dalton

Today’s post is a bit of a deep-dive on last year’s LIVEwire Poetry launch. What worked, what didn’t, and what I learnt on my most ambitious ‘producer project’ to date.

This project was the culmination of nearly 10 years of experience with Nymphs & Thugs. I felt like I needed a rebrand in order to evolve the organisation to the next level. And to be blunt, I also felt increasingly uncomfortable with the name.

I’m paywalling this post because again, I’ll be more candid with figures and logistics than I would be on social media. Also, it’s a detailed deep dive, and this is the content I always had in mind for paid subscribers.

Here are the areas I’ll cover:

• The live events in Leeds

• The live events in Manchester and Weston-super-Mare

• The online content and overall rebrand

• The workshops (online and in-person) and zine

• General organisational development

There are, of course, absolutely no catch-all solutions for any of this. But I believe that detailed and honest insights into recent experiences like this will always be valuable. Every project like this provides lessons and revelations!

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Also, I’m sending virtual hugs to the thousands of creatives who’ve been left battling Arts Council England’s Grantium shutdown over the last 36 hours or so. The portal collapsed due to being over capacity and still appears to be mainly down.

I somehow managed to gain access, only to find that my DYCP application was unsuccessful. I’m aware that many people are still unable to login, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!

You might find that the Royal Literary Fund’s hardship grants are a viable option to you. It’s certainly worth a look. Thanks to

Ralph Dartford

for the heads up. It seems that the word “hardship” isn’t quite representative of the grant’s core purpose.