Liverpool International Horse Show pirates at Tall Ships

A crew of hearty pirates from the Liverpool International Horse Show will be on the iconic waterfront at the 'Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta' and 'Bordeaux Wine Festival' from 25 May to 28 May 2018.

The 'Bolesworth Buccaneers' will have a booty of cut price tickets for the International Horse Show, which will be staged, at the Liverpool ACC, on 28 December to 31 December 2018, features world class sport with live music and spectacular family entertainment.

The pirates will be joined on the Waterfront, at Pier Head, near the Royal Liver Building, by the 'Yo Ho Ho' ponies who'll be giving free pony rides to children.

Liverpool International Horse Show promoter, Nina Barbour said:- "Shiver me timbers! We thought the Tall Ships and Bordeaux Festival was a great chance to have some fun on the waterfront.  We have a team who'll be there to entertain visitors and we're looking forward to introducing children to our 'Yo Ho Ho' band of pirate ponies."

Along with the top show jumping and dressage action, the Liverpool International Horse Show will have live music, its own 'Grand National' of Shetland ponies and a breathtaking display from the Arena cross Freestyle Motocross crew.

The Liverpool International Horse Show will be the finale to Liverpool 2018, which is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Liverpool's triumphant tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2008.

Liverpool International Horse Show is famous for its world famous VIP Hospitality packages and exclusive viewing boxes with fine dining and excellent views of all the action. And for equestrian fans looking to spend some of their Christmas gift money, there'll be a huge shopping village, selling everything from jodhpurs to jewellery, stirrups to sparkling champagne.

There is a great Early Bird Offer until 31 May 2018 of 20% off all general admission tickets, which will be live until the end of May 2018.

Prices start at ₤14 per person per session (plus booking fee) for a family ticket and are on sale and available online or by calling:- 0344 8000 400.

Penguin Random House looking for new and under represented writers from Liverpool

THE UK's largest publisher, Penguin Random House UK, is looking for new and under represented writers from Liverpool and the North West to apply to its WriteNow programme. In partnership with New Writing North, Penguin Random House will be coming to Liverpool on Saturday 15 September to host a free workshop for 50 writers about how to get their book published, with advice and insights from established authors, literary agents and other industry experts. The event will also give each attendee the unique opportunity to receive 1 on 1 feedback, from a Penguin Random House Editor, on their manuscript. Penguin Random House will be holding similar workshops in London and Nottingham, with budding illustrators from around the country invited to learn more about becoming a picture book illustrator at the event, in Nottingham, on 29 September 2018.  10 exceptional writers / illustrators from across the 3 workshops will be invited to join a year long mentoring programme, during which time they will be paired with a Penguin Random House with an editor or designer with experience and expertise in their genre to develop their manuscript or illustrations further. Penguin Random House is calling for unpublished writers in fiction, non-fiction, and children's / Young Adult genres, as well as illustrators of children's picture books, who consider themselves under represented in publishing to apply. 50 talented writers will be invited to attend the free workshop in Liverpool in September, with 10 illustrators invited to attend the Nottingham event. The application period is open until midnight, on Monday, 9 July 2018 (for writers) and midnight, on Monday, 23 July 2018 (for illustrators), with further information about how to apply can be found online.

WriteNow is Penguin Random House's flagship campaign which aims to seek out, mentor and publish new and under represented voices on the UK's bookshelves. This includes writers and picture book illustrators from BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) or LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer) communities, those who have a disability, or come from a socio economically marginalised background. This is also the 1st year that Penguin Random House is calling for entries from picture book illustrators; an area of publishing which has historically seen less representation.

WriteNow is already achieving real change: of the 23 writers who are currently part of the WriteNow mentoring programme, 5have already been offered publishing deals, with the 1st book by a mentee - Charlene Allcott's The Reinvention of Martha Ross - published in July this year. 2 further current mentees are from Liverpool: Emma Morgan, whose literary debut A Love Story for Bewildered Girls has also been bought by Penguin; and Christine Brougham, who is writing a memoir about growing up with cerebral palsy. Penguin Random House wants to find more talented voices from the Region this year.

Speaking of her experiences of the WriteNow programme, current mentee Emma Morgan - whose book A Love Story for Bewildered Girls will be published by Penguin in February 2019 - said:- "WriteNow has been a great introduction to a publishing industry that seemed incredibly remote to me, and a year long writing class with a top-notch editor. If, instead of calling myself 'someone who likes to write', I can now call myself 'a writer', it's really all down to this fantastic opportunity."

Christine Brougham added:- "Not only does the Write Now program provide talented writers with a unique opportunity to improve their skills and confidence, it is also an important platform in terms of social diversity which affords writers like me an opportunity to demonstrate the validity of lives less ordinary."

Tom Weldon, CEO of Penguin Random House, said:- "When launching WriteNow in 2016, our aim was to seek out talented new writers and different stories that represent everyone in our society. 2 years on, the programme is already achieving real change: reaching communities of writers we haven't before and adding new and exciting voices to our lists. We hope that by also inviting illustrators of children's picture books to apply we are further breaking down barriers to publication. Seeing yourself in books is important at any age, but especially for our youngest readers."

Claire Malcolm, Chief Executive of New Writing North, commented:- "We're delighted to be working with our friends at Penguin Random House to bring another WriteNow event to the North of England. Liverpool is a City full of great writers and it will be fantastic to open out this amazing opportunity to the North West and to help to support the breadth of engagement that Penguin are serious about having with writers across the UK."