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Saturday, 21st June 2025
10am — 12pm , Urmston Books and Board Games
Setting the tone: Creative writing workshop
with author Robert Graham
Want to explore writing in more depth or working on your next masterpiece? Join us for a creative writing workshop with author Robert Graham, looking at some of the ways that you can use your setting to affect the reader and create emotional tone.
During the workshop, Robert will help you explore setting in discussions and writing exercises, with the opportunity to share and discuss your own work across the session.
Formerly a Programme Leader in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University, Robert is the author of two novels, Holy Joe and The Former Boy Wonder, and two short story collections, The Only Living Boy, and When You Were A Mod, I Was A Rocker. He is co-author of The Road To Somewhere: A Creative Writing Companion, and author of How To Write A Short Story (And Think About It).
Tickets for the workshop are available to book below at £10. Workshop participants can also purchase a copy of Robert's latest book, The Former Boy Wonder, at the special event price of just £5 (£12.99 RRP).
The Former Boy Wonder
Robert Graham
It’s a rainy August in Manchester and music writer Peter Duffy’s life is falling apart. He’s knocking on fifty, his career is flatlining, his marriage is failing, and his teenage son barely speaks to him. And then a friend from university days invites him to a party at the manor house where he met his first love, the dazzling Sanchia Page. All the old gang are going to be there, and although it's a long shot, maybe she will, too, which wouldn’t be helpful. Or would it?
The Former Boy Wonder is a bittersweet comedy that takes a sidelong look at first love, fathers and sons, and fidelity. With an irresistible plot and an impeccable sense of place and time, Robert Graham asks if it's ever too late to grow up.
"Such a funny, sad and tender story"— Horatio Clare
"Warm, funny and affecting. A page-turning delight."— Caroline Smailes
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