That's What She Said LDN feat. Sophia Blackwell

"The biggest spoken word night in London for women" (Evening Standard) is back for a rabble rousing 2018!

Shortlisted for Best Spoken Word Night in the UK (Saboteur Awards, 2017), That's What She Said showcases the best new writing and performance by women, featuring iconic and emerging authors with a mix of performance, poetry, storytelling, slam and more.

Sophia Blackwell (@sophiablackwell) is a performance poet, author and host. Her first collection of poetry, Into Temptation, was published in 2009 and her most recent collection, The Fire Eater’s Lover, was published in May 2016 by Burning Eye Books. She is also the author of one novel, After My Own Heart (2012) and her poetry has been anthologised by Bloodaxe, Nine Arches, and The Emma Press. She hosts Below Stairs, the monthly literary salon at Blacks Club, Soho.

Ellen Waddell (@ellenstarbuck) is a writer, director, and comedian. She is a BAFTA x Crew member and associate producer with To The Moon, a London based theatre, comedy and new writing company. In 2015 she was a recipient of an iShorts funding award from Creative England and the BFI.NETWORK for her comedy short Stages, which she wrote and directed. She started performing comedy in 2015 and her last two full-length comedy shows, ‘Jean Luc Picard and Me,’ and ‘It’s Better to Lie than to tell the Truth and End up alone in a Ditch Crying,’ have both sold out London and Bristol runs, been part of London’s Tellit Festival, and done the gauntlet of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Stormzie Speaks (@StormzieSpeaks) is spoken word artist whose poetry is crafted around the themes Love, Relationships, Psychology and the Metaphorical Ties that Binds humanity together. She has a deep interest in tackling Slavery, Politics, and Religion and was a part of the Nationwide Voices campaign. Stormzie has been writing poems consistently since the age of eight, has been performing spoken word pieces for three years and is currently part of the EntertainLynx brand.

Josa Keyes (@JosaYoung) was born in Kent and ran wild in the countryside from the moment she could walk until she was sent to boarding school at 7. She immediately found she could read and did nothing much else for 10 years. At Cambridge she wrote abysmal short stories and danced around in red camiknickers singing in German. A Vogue Talent Contest alumna, her editorial career started on the magazine. An early novel, One Apple Tasted, was picked up and published in 2009, reigniting her creativity. Her second novel, Sail Upon the Land, came out in 2014 and was long listed for an Historical Novel Society award. Since then, due to various pressures, she's only been able to write poetry, and her first poem, Kissing, was published in the first issue of new magazine The Amorist in May 2017.

Zhaleh (@IKWRO) is a London-based Iranian who has grown up in the UK. She trained in acting at the London School of Dramatic Art, Identity School of Acting and YAT and has performed for both theatre and screen. Zhaleh is a full-time student and part-time Project Worker at IKWRO, delivering training and workshops on healthy relationships and so-called “honour” based violence. Zhaleh first performed ‘I am here’ at the House of Lords in October 2017. The spoken-word is written by Lesley Delmenico, Associate Professor at the Department of Theatre and Dance at Grinnell College, in Iowa, the United States who worked closely with IKWRO’s clients, frontline advisers and counsellors to develop the piece. IKWRO is an award-winning charity providing advice and advocacy, counselling and a refuge for women and girls from Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan communities at risk of “honour” based violence, forced marriage, FGM and domestic violence. IKWRO trains frontline professionals, works in schools and colleges and campaigns for improvements in law and policy.

Lucy Bird (@lucybirdstudio) is an artist and poet studying a Masters in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. In her current practice, she is exploring how standardised objects can be changed through the idiosyncrasies of human thought, speech, and touch.

T.T. Ashokan is a British-born Sri Lankan Tamil writer with an unmistakably Australian accent. Poetry helps. She lives in London.

WHAT THEY SAY...

"To put it bluntly, I'd never come across a spoken word night with such a fantastic lineup. 'How have I never come across this before?', I kept asking myself, 'this is everything I've ever wanted from a night out...'

I was blown away. I left feeling inspired, with renewed confidence in my own abilities, and almost missed my tube stop on the way home trying to write down scraps of poetry and prose.

Not only is That's What She Said a great place to see talented literary performers, for everyone and not just women, but it provides a space for women to shout and scream their anger, their frustrations, their desires; a space without censorship, without objectification and without the dreaded “it must be her time of the month” quip. I think For Books’ Sake is doing some really important work." (Thanks SexyVeg for this recent review of one of our London shows!)

Open mic walk ups on the evening are welcomed but with limited places it might be advisable to email paul@forbookssake.net if you have a burning desire to speak
out and speak up.

Get your tickets for only £7 now while you can, or come along on the night for £10 on the door.

And remember - For Books' Sake is a volunteer led, community organisation so all your pennies will be going back into championing women writers!