Ah, so the exciting news is that in two days (on Sat, Feb 21), my short play “Everything’s Normal” will be performed as part of the UNHEARD 2015 Festival, exploring themes around sexual abuse and violence through performance.  No, not the most feel-good of themes, but very important, given how many people are affected by such crimes.  It’s been quite intriguing for me, especially to sit in on rehearsals and hear some very talented actors speak lines I’ve written.  Anyway, I’ve written an article for The Huffington Post here on the creative process involved and the background to the festival.

Do come if you can!  Tickets are only £ 7 and proceeds will go to nia, a non-profit in London dedicated to ending violence against women and children.  There’s also lots of other great events at UNHEARD, taking place at The Bread and Roses Theatre in Clapham. This includes a poetry/spoken word night and several performances of The Vagina Monologues.  My play will be the closing piece in Scratch Night One on Saturday, Feb 21, starting at 7:30 and finishing around 8:45.  There will be one performance only, so hope you can make it!

I’ll be reading at a few upcoming events here in London!

On Sunday, June 22, you can come to the free Quick Fictions event on the final day of the fantastic Literary Kitchen Festival.  It’ll be 2-3pm at the Peckham Pelican in South London, but get there on time –   Quick Fictions short stories are very brief (300 words or less)!  I’ll be reading my short story ‘Nabateans,’ which should later show up on the very nifty Quick Fictions app from Myriad Editions –  rated one of the Top 10 Apps by The Sunday Times last year.

On Wednesday, July 2, I’ll be performing at L A Noble Gallery in Dalston, East London. It’ll be an evening exploring their current exhibit on Johanna Ward, whose art “draws upon myth, fairy tales, private emotions, and environmental destruction” (i.e. right up my alley).   Johanna herself will give an artist talk, followed by spoken word performances from myself and some of my fellow writers at Goldsmiths.  Only 5 pound entry, from 6:30-8pm!

Other than these bits, I’ve been traveling a lot recently (Paris, Newcastle, Jordan, Cumbria, and Belfast).  In Newcastle, I was a guest at the fantastic Thinking Digital 2014 conference, where I learned a great deal about a whole load of things I don’t normally think about (i.e. the design of the new XBox system and other techie things).  Later, I tromped around Hadrian’s Wall on my own, and a few days later continued haunting Roman ruins on a much-needed holiday in Jordan.  I also went to Petra, which has been on my must-visit list ever since I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  GO TO PETRA if you get a chance.

In fact, I wrote the short story ‘Nabateans’ while on the flight back from Jordan, inspired by  my trip to Petra.  So you can hear my take on it at the Quick Fictions reading on June 22 and later on their downloadable app!

Petra selfie! Me in front of the Treasury building, rather sweaty from trekking down the Siq

So this HuffPost writing is now sort of a weekly thing.  My second post for them went up last week, featured in HuffPost Women, and you can read it here:  ‘On the Anniversary of Your Rape.’

In the coming weeks, I hope to use this platform to explore issues surrounding sexual assault, and how it’s handled in our society through policy, contemporary attitudes, and representations in the media.  Please do Tweet or share this around, if it’s an issue that’s important to you.  My writer page for The Huffington Post is here and you can also follow me on my newly-revived Twitter account: @winniemli  – Thanks!

Hey, that’s cool.  The Huffington Post featured my article on their “front page” today!

The title is: “Dear Harvard: Your’e Not Winning (This Article Is About Rape, Not Basketball” and it’s effectively a response to “Dear Harvard: You Win” — the shocking op-ed written by an anonymous Harvard undergraduate student earlier this week.  In the earlier op-ed, the student blasts Harvard for their mis-handling of her sexual assault case.  In my response, I reflect on this from my perspective as a Harvard alum and a rape survivor.  Many thanks to those you who have already shared it round – please continue to do so.  I’m hoping that if enough people speak up, we can advocate a change in the policy towards sexual assault at Harvard and other colleges.  At the moment, it’s simply too easy for date rape cases to go ignored and un-pursued at educational institutions.  And the consequences for victims can be devastating.

Hi everyone

Just an update on where I am and what I’m doing.  After my book launch in Singapore in August 2012, I actually moved to Singapore for a short 6-month stint this year.  This involved wrapping up my work with the Doha Film Institute (where ultimately I had overseen 300+ screenings of 200+ art-house/foreign films and was very tired) — and leaving Qatar.

In Singapore, I worked as a Project Consultant for Temasek Holdings, on a future nature-themed tourist attraction.  Fascinating work, and thematically right up my alley, but ultimately I missed the time to write my own stuff.

Hence my second move this year, back to London, where I’m currently blazing ahead on a new novel and learning loads about literature and writing practice, through the Creative Writing MA at Goldsmiths, University of London.  After years of boardroom meetings, Blackberry messages, and delayed bureaucratic approvals, I have to say being a student and having the time to be creative on my own terms is a breath of fresh air.  I highly recommend it, if you’re the creative type!

I still do freelance work, so if anyone’s in need of a film programming consultant, copy writer, script editor, or general creative conceptualizer (whatever that means) …. give me a shout!

Next up, I’m working on becoming a philosopher-king (whatever that means).  Or maybe a warrior-poet.  (They won the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  Don’t mess.)