Literature may still be new but does it continue to make waves? BayLit, the Academi’s annual bilingual festival will try to find out. Expect the young, the new, and the alternative.

An extensive list of events during Shock of the New can be found below -

Wednesday 8 October

LUNCHTIME LIT
1.00 pm
Borders, The Hayes, Cardiff
Free event
Check in at Borders to buy a signed copy of Joanna Davies’ debut novel, Ffreshars, (Gomer, 2008) and follow a group of students’ sexual exploits and drunken antics during their first year at Aberystwyth University. Welsh-language event.

WORLD POETS’ TOUR
6.00 pm
Kemi’s Café, Craft in the Bay
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00
The Poetry Translation Centre’s World Poets’ Tour arrives in Cardiff. Choman Hardi introduces Farzaneh Khojandi from Tajikistan, Noshi Gillani from Pakistan and Kajal Ahmed from Kurdistan. The dynamic nature of the visiting poets’ cultures and their rich literary traditions are revealed by this exceptional all-female line-up.

SPEEDY SCRIPTS
7.30 pm
Bar Cwtch, Cardiff Bay
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00
Comedian Daniel Glyn introduces new and exciting Welsh playwrights Ceri Elen, Huw Foulkes, Lleucu Siôn, Elis Gomer and Gwilym Dwyfor. Enjoy gripping performances and relax with some cwtchy cocktails. Welsh-language event.

POETRY, PROSE AND PINOT GRIGIO
7.30 pm
Bar One, Wales Millennium Centre
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00
Join poet, critic and newly appointed editor of New Welsh Review Kathryn Gray as she introduces an evening of poetry and prose, featuring some of the best young writers from Wales. The impressive line-up includes Zoe Brigley, Meirion Jordan, Louise Walsh, Tom Anderson and Joe Dunthorne.



Thursday 9 October

LUNCHTIME LIT
1.00 pm
Borders, The Hayes, Cardiff
Free event
A great opportunity to attend the first reading of the engaging and musically deft debut collection Moonrise (Seren, 2008) from Meirion Jordan.

PO-LIT-ICS
6.00 pm
Siambr Hywel, T? Hywel, National Assembly for Wales
Free event
Get yourself heard and make your vote count. Do politics and literature mix? The BBC’s Betsan Powys leads a stimulating debate with some of Wales’ loudest voices including writers Catrin Dafydd, Dewi Prysor and Barn Editor, Dyfrig Jones. Welsh-language event.

THE BIG GIG AND POETRYFILM
8.00 pm
The Point, Cardiff Bay
Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult
Tickets: £8.00 / £6.00
After successful screenings at Glastonbury, the Cannes Film Festival, and both the Poetry Café and Tate Britain in London, PoetryFilm now takes on BayLit. Experimental film and performance combined with live readings from Lois Barrar, Rhys Iorwerth, Iwan Rhys, Tiffany Atkinson, Richard Marggraf Turley and Anna Lewis. Followed by live music from Jamie and the Lionhearts and Derwyddon Dr Gonzo.



Friday 10 October

LUNCHTIME LIT
1.00 pm
Borders, The Hayes, Cardiff
Free entry
Make a lunch date with Eurig Salisbury and let his charismatic cynganeddion captivate you as he reads from his debut collection Llyfr Glas Eurig (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2008).

THE RHYME MACHINE
7.30 pm
The Wharf, Schooner Way, Cardiff Bay
Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult
Tickets: £6.00 / £4.00
24 clicks, 24 projections, 24 poets. Cymdeithas y Rhyfeddod attempt to define the imagination with this extraordinary experiment using multimedia technology. Featuring poetry recordings by 24 familiar voices in Welsh-language literature. Followed by a DJ set. Welsh-language event.



Saturday 11 October

SQUADS ON SCREEN: THE WORKSHOP
9.00 am - 3.00 pm
Japan Room, Wales Millennium Centre
Closed Event
Write, Camera, Action. Acclaimed poet Mererid Hopwood leads a high-tech workshop with local Young Writing Squads. With the help of our friends from Media Education Wales, the Squads will shoot their own short films to act as a backdrop to their new pieces of poetry. Welsh-language workshop.

WORKSHOP: TECSTLYNION
10.00 am
The Academi Glyn Jones Centre, Cardiff Bay
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00
Join Eurig Salisbury as he introduces his revolutionary new take on cynghanedd. Charge your phone ready to send your very own englynion via text. Places are limited; book early to avoid disappointment. Welsh-language workshop.

WORKSHOP: THE CREATIVE ART OF BLOGGING
11.00 am
Seligman Room, Wales Millennium Centre
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00
How can emerging writers approach blogging as a unique creative space which can influence practice, learning and professional development? Yemisi Blake looks at the possibilities, the people and ideas in the blogosphere. Low and high-tech bloggers and writers welcome. Places are limited; book early to avoid disappointment. Event in association with literaturetraining. Piece originally commissioned by the National Association for Literature Development (NALD) in 2008.

LUNCHTIME LIT
1.00 pm
Borders, The Hayes, Cardiff
Free entry
Meet Fflur Dafydd and be one of the first to get your hands on her black comedy, set on Bardsey Island. Twenty Thousand Saints (Alcemi, 2008) explores secrets and losses and how the most important things always happen off-camera.

RURAL WRITING
2.00 pm
Terra Nova, Mermaid Quay
Tickets: £3.00 / £2.00
Is Rural the new Urban? Authors Horatio Clare, Cynan Jones and Tom Bullough join local farmer Hugh Cory to discuss missing cows, a love of the soil and the rebirth of the rural novel in Welsh literature.

SQUADS ON SCREEN: THE PREMIERE
3.00 pm - 4.00 pm
Seligman Room, Wales Millennium Centre
Tickets: £3.00 / £2.00
After a day of workshops in Cardiff Bay creating original poetry and shooting short films, the Young Writing Squads unveil their work to a live audience. Introduced by Mererid Hopwood. Welsh-language event.

SHOCKED YET?
4.00 pm
Terra Nova, Mermaid Quay
Tickets: £3.00 / £2.00
What is shocking and new in 21st century Welsh literature? Join David Llewellyn, author of Eleven (Seren, 2006), as he poses this question and reflects on the Festival so far.

AISLE 16: SERVICES TO POETRY
8.00 pm
The Wharf, Schooner Way, Cardiff Bay
Tickets: £8.00 / £6.00
Can poetry exist on the M25? Services to Poetry is the result of top poetry collective Aisle16’s destination-less tour of motorway service stations. Luke, Ross, Joel and Chris created a bizarre poetic travelogue of these soulless strips of consumerist hell. Each poem is a desperate postcard home from nowhere, backed by grainy camera visuals and the dullest holiday slide show ever. DJ set to follow.



Tuesday 14 October

POETRYLIVE!
10.45 am - 3.00 pm
The Donald Gordon Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre
An opportunity for GCSE pupils to see and hear live performances from the National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke, and from Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, Dannie Abse, Sheenagh Pugh, John Agard and Imtiaz Dharker.
A limited number of tickets are available for the general public priced at £14.00 each.