Well hello again. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I spent most of December away from this fair city, in North America and the Lakes (credit crunch? what credit crunch?). But now I’m back and have dozen of things I need to write about, starting with this:

Left Your Heart in Manchester?

Rainy City Stories wants your love. We also want your love stories and poems. In honour of Valentine’s Day, we’re offering a wonderful prize for the best Rainy City Love Story we receive in the next month.

Whether you’re an old romantic or a cynic, we invite you to tell us your tales (real or imagined) of falling in, out, or over love in our city. But don’t restrict yourselves to traditional romances; we’re willing to interpret “love story” in a wider sense. The winning submission could be about a more abstract kind of love. It could even be an anti-love poem, or a rant against all things loved-up.

The winning piece of writing will be published on our website on the eve of Valentine’s Day amid a shower of cupids and lace bows and twinkly-eyed kittens. And the winner will receive a big fat £50 Borders gift voucher (the kind of thing that really makes us writer-types swoon), kindly donated by our friends at the Manchester Literature Festival.

Here’s the lowdown: Entries must be submitted by close of business on Tuesday, February 10. Please submit short stories or poems through the mechanism on our website and put the words “love contest entrant” at the top of the story. Entrants should only submit their own original work, and writing that has not previously been published. Also, by entering the competition you grant RCS the right to publish the piece online.

Just a quick heads-up about three blogging workshops that Kate of the Manchizzle and I are running next month:

BLOG LAB
On Saturday 8 November, 1pm-3pm
At Manchester Digital Development Agency, 117-119 Portland Street, Manchester M1 6ED

Stuck on posting images in Blogger? Need someone to walk you through switching platforms? Want to pimp your blog up with all the latest cool widgets, or just get some feedback on your new site? Two experienced bloggers will be on hand to help solve your practical blogging problems in these open ’surgery’ sessions. Some computers available, or bring your own and use our wireless. Drop in whenever you like during the session, but please let us know you’re coming.

BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS
On Saturday 22 November, 10am-12pm
At Gorton Library, Garratt Way, Gorton, Manchester M18 8HE

On Saturday 29 November 10am-12pm
At Crumpsall Library, Abraham Moss Centre, Crescent Road, Crumpsall, Manchester M8 5UF

So you think you’d like to create a blog, but you’re not really sure where to start? In this workshop we’ll take you through the basics, and by the end of it you’ll have your own blog.

All three sessions are free – but space is limited and the previous workshops have been packed out, so get in there early if you’re coming. To book, call the Manchester Literature Festival office on 0161 236 5555 or email admin at manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk.

What with No Point in Not Being Friends, Reverberate, If P then Q, Transmission, the Manchester Review, the literature festival and so on, are we already in danger of hitting saturation point for the city’s literature scene? Hopefully not, especially as two more magazines will be launching here soon:

We Are Young And We Are Trying: ‘We are an art and literature zine with a cause. Each volume includes a piece of writing and a piece of art from ten different people. Five of which are primarily writers, five of which are primarily artists. Many creative people who primarily make images will write or have an idea towards writing but think “oh well, I’m not much of a writer” and will not build on their work. Similarly, many writers will make images or have an idea towards doing so but think “oh well, I’m not much of an artist” and will not build on their work.’

‘This is not the case. We believe that all creative output should be valued and we try to encourage young people who are doing something. It is important.’ Visit their blog for more information on what to submit and where to submit it.

Martyrdom Is The Lowest Form Of Wit: ‘A new magazine showcasing the best writing, graphics and photography that Manchester and the North West of England has to offer. Get in touch (via Facebook) if you want to contribute – aiming to have the first issue on the streets by December 14.’

Seems to be the peak time to launch a literature project with a long-winded name! Even their respective acronyms (WAYAWAT and MITLFOW) are a mouthful.

This year’s Manchester Literature Festival launched yesterday and while my involvement, Rainy City Stories, is ticking along nicely (7,000 views and a very healthy number of stories submitted in its first seven days), there are of course plenty of real-life events worth checking out between now and 26 October:

Past Crimes – Historical crime writers Lee Jackson, Andrew Martin and Anne Perry talk about their work in the ’suitably gothic’ surroundings of the John Ryland’s Library. Today, Friday, 7pm. Free

Between the Panels – An illustrated discuss with a panel of three graphic novelists. Whitworth Art Gallery, Sunday 19 October, 3pm. £4/£3

School of Manchester – A demonstration of the city’s strength in literature education, as three graduates – including Joe Stretch – talk about their debut novels. The Deaf Institute, Sunday 19 October, 7.30pm. £5/£3

Portico Prize Preview – Featuring shortlisted authors from the biennial Portico Prize for a book set mainly in northern England. Manchester Central Library (pity it’s not at the Portico library…), Wednesday 22 October, 1pm. Free

Manchester Blog Awards – The third annual blog awards, for which Mancubist is nominated, this year feature a new award, CityLife Blog of the Year. Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club, Wednesday 22 October, 7pm. Tickets £3/£2

Comma Film Premiere – Five new films adapted from short stories published in the North West, plus the film-makers and writers explaining the adaptation process. Cornerhouse, Thursday 23 October, 6.30pm. £4/£3

It looks like you’re writing a letter – Ross Sutherland and Tim Clare give a lecture on the relationship between language and mathematics, bizarrely. Followed by Tony Walsh’s Zeroes and Ones, which ‘compresses 14 billion years of science and philosophy into one byte-sized poem’. Museum of Science and Industry, Sunday 26 October, 2pm. £5/£3

And those are just select highlights! Pick up one of the ridiculously bright brochures – or visit the festival website – for the full programme. Well done to Cathy and Jon for putting such a substantial festival together, and for using more than just the usual venues.