Join us for a powerful discussion on class, creativity, and resilience in the arts. Against All Odds brings together a stellar panel of artists and writers who have challenged barriers and defied expectations. From poetry to fiction, from script to screen and from performance to activism, they have each carved a space for working-class voices in the cultural landscape. Featuring Joelle Taylor, Ashleigh Nugent, and Barrington Paul Robinson, this event will explore the struggles of working-class creatives, the systemic obstacles they face, and the triumphs they’ve achieved along the way. How do we dismantle these barriers? And how do we celebrate the successes? Expect an evening of passionate conversation, personal insights, and inspiration from those who have paved the way.
Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwright, and author, Joelle Taylor’s work focuses on identity, power, and resistance. She is the winner of the 2021 T.S. Eliot Prize for her collection C+nto & Othered Poems.
Ashleigh Nugent is a writer, performer, and director of RiseUp CiC, Ashleigh Nugent explores race, identity, and class through his work, including his acclaimed novel LOCKS, based on his real-life experiences.
Barrington Paul Robinson is an Ethical Producer, he broke into HETV in 2020 on award winning, BAFTA nominated drama, The Responder, then A Town Called Malice for SKY, Disney+, period drama, A Thousand Blows, returning home for the second series of The Responder. Based in Liverpool, he is Co-founder of the BFI Creative Producer Lab and founder of his production company Redbag Pictures. Inspired by the past – powered by the future….he ain’t done yet!
This event is a partnership between Writing on the Wall (WoW) and the Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN), an independent advocacy network which aims to bring together various stakeholders to amplify voices fighting against poverty and injustice, both regionally and nationally.
We encourage people to use public transport to travel to events where possible.
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG
£5.00
Date: May 27, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm
Ends: 8:00 pm
To kick off the WoWFEST 25th anniversary celebrations with a massive boot up the proverbial, we’re delighted to bring you Irvine Welsh: Resolution!
Date: May 2, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Writing on the Wall’s 25th Birthday Party with Special Guest Frank Cottrell Boyce
Date: May 4, 2025
1:00 pm
Find Out More
From 1979 to today, Phil Scraton’s research exposes decades of institutional abuse and the challenge of turning cases into issues.
Date: May 6, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Environmental writers and activist Mike Berners-Lee and Simon O’Brien plus guests from the Liverpool Shift Sustainability Network, invite you to join with them continue raising our voices to highlight the ongoing Climate Emergency, and share ways we can continue to force action.
Date: May 7, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Spycops is a powerful talk exposing decades of state-sanctioned abuse, where undercover police officers infiltrated activist groups and deceived women into intimate relationships
Date: May 8, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
the RIBA Writing Academy has become one of the most important institutions of our times, empowering Ukrainians all over the world to preserve their language, culture, literary heritage and to document and archive the war through poetry, prose, novels and non-fiction.
Date: May 8, 2025
5:00 pm
Find Out More
Join us for a special performance by internationally acclaimed poet and urban griot Levi Tafari, as he performs from his new powerful new collection, Being Human.
Date: May 9, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Dive into the raw, untamed heart of storytelling with 'Wild Writing,' a festival exploration of memoir, fiction, and the spaces in between.
Date: May 12, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Beyond Black America: Insights from Brazilian History is the focus of this compelling online talk by friend of WoW Professor Stephen Small, urging us to look beyond familiar narratives of the Black experience.
Date: May 12, 2025
6:00 pm
Find Out More
We're welcoming Kit de Waal back to WoWFEST to discuss her new novel The Best of Everything
Date: May 13, 2025
6:00 pm
Find Out More
Join our panel to reflecting on our shared experiences and learn from the evolving story of Ireland. It's more than just a conversation — it's about connecting the dots between communities and cultures.
Date: May 13, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Brian Bilston and Henry Normal appear together for the first time in a show which one critic has described as “two people reading some poems."
Date: May 14, 2025
8:00 pm
Find Out More
Join author Stephen May for an evening exploring Green Ink, a gripping reimagining of Victor Grayson's mysterious disappearance amid scandal, secrets, and post-war political intrigue.
Date: May 14, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
This event sees John Finucane MP, in conversation with Prof Paddy Hillyard of Queens University, Belfast to discuss the impact of MI5’s secret intelligence-led counter-insurgency strategy in the context of both the Stalker investigation and the killing of John’s father Patrick.
Date: May 15, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
A poetic exploration of Oglet Shore, a fragile green edgeland clinging to the Mersey that is being threatened by local industry.
Date: May 15, 2025
6:30 pm
Find Out More
Gary Younge returns to WoWFEST to highlight how black people, despite the huge role that they played in WW11, have been written out of the story.
Date: May 16, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Come together for an unforgettable night of music and spoken word, celebrating diversity and combating racism in one of Liverpool’s most iconic venues.
Date: May 17, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
The Singh Twins. 'Slaves of Fashion' explores diverse histories and legacies of empire and colonialism through the history of Indian textiles.
Date: May 18, 2025
2:00 pm
Find Out More
WoWFEST’s panel, featuring Chris Nineham, Niheer Dasandi, and Roger Hill, discusses democracy under attack—and how we can fight back.
Date: May 19, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
WoWFEST’s panel, featuring Chris Nineham, Niheer Dasandi, and Roger Hill, discusses democracy under attack—and how we can fight back.
Date: May 19, 2025
5:00 pm
Find Out More
Anthony Anaxagorou, lisa luxx, and Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah explore the Palestinian crisis through poetry and discussion, amplifying marginalized voices and advocating for justice and peace.
Date: May 20, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Sam Wetherell discusses his critically acclaimed work Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain, a profound exploration of the city’s role in shaping the narrative of modern Britain.
Date: May 21, 2025
8:00 pm
Find Out More
At this special hybrid event we will be joining all schools together for a sharing performance event, as well as announcing competition winners.
Date: May 22, 2025
Find Out More
When more than ever before politics feels like parody, what role does satire have left to play? Can laughter still challenge authority, expose hypocrisy, and spark change — or has the joke already worn thin?
Date: May 22, 2025
8:00 pm
Find Out More
Whether it be the amazing professional artists and writers we’ve worked with, some of our thousands of project and festival participants, or our dedicated staff, we want to raise a glass to all that women have achieved through Writing on the Wall.
Date: May 23, 2025
Find Out More
WoW are delighted to welcome back historian John Rees to present his compelling work of narrative history, The Fiery Spirits: Popular Protest, Parliament and the English Revolution.
Date: May 27, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Against All Odds brings together a stellar panel of artists and writers who have challenged barriers and defied expectations.
Date: May 27, 2025
6:00 pm
Find Out More
‘From Spellow to Southport…with Love’ is a day for all families, young people and children, featuring three of the UK’s best, and best-loved poets, lyricists and performers, Michael Rosen, Jackie Kay and Jordan Stephens,
Date: May 28, 2025
12:00 pm
Find Out More
Join us for a special evening of remembrance, reflection, and resistance, as we celebrate the life and work of Refaat Alareer
Date: May 29, 2025
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Join us for a special evening of conversation and performance with English performance poet Dr. John Cooper Clarke.
Date: May 30, 2025
7:30 pm
Find Out More
Calling creatives, commissioners, health providers, community/voluntary sector organisations and individuals with lived experience connected to arts and health. Health inequities are on our doorstep – avoidable and unfair differences in health across the Liverpool City Region which, if left unaddressed, will only get worse, resulting in poorer health outcomes for the most vulnerable people in our region. Whilst these …
Date: March 18, 2025
10:00 am
Find Out More
Writing on the Wall’s Pulp Idol 2025 Grand Final is Here! For seventeen years the Pulp Idol competition has uncovered the best new novelists the city of Liverpool has to offer and 2025 is no different. Many new novelists, including Ariel Khan (Raising Sparks, Bluemoose Books), James Rice (Alice and the Fly, Walk, Hodder and Stoughton …
Date: February 21, 2025
7:30 pm
Find Out More
Join us for the launch of Silent Victims: Part One by Gary Millar! In 1958 Thalidomide, marketed as a new ‘wonder drug’, was first used in the UK, promising relief from morning sickness for expectant mothers. It’s impact was devastating, leading to countless miscarriages and causing over 10,000 children to be born with a range of severe …
Date: February 27, 2025
6:30 pm
Find Out More
The Great War to Race Riots tour, delivered since our first Black History Month festival in 2016, explores anti-black race riots that occurred in Liverpool and other seaports across the country in 1919.
Date: October 6, 2024
11:00 am
Find Out More
The Dorothy Kuya Walking Tour explores the impact of Dorothy Kuya's anti-racist activism in modern Britain as we explore the Liverpool and the L8 area.
Date: October 13, 2024
11:00 am
Find Out More
We're thrilled to welcome Diane Abbott and Gary Younge to BHM 24 to discuss Diane's new book: A Woman Like Me
Date: October 23, 2024
7:00 pm
Find Out More
Join us in remembering and celebrating the impact and legacy of sound system culture in Liverpool, with an evening of discussion, deejays and dancing. Featuring music from the original Strugglers' Sound System, from the days of The Frontline.
Date: November 23, 2024
6:30 pm
Find Out More