Dancing in Heaven – Writing Workshop with Suzanne Elvidge

Suzanne Elvidge is running a writing workshop at Derby Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 12 December, from 11:30am to 12:30pm. It's a free session, and it's open to everyone from absolute beginners to experienced writers, so you don't need a portfolio or a published clip to join in.

The workshop is built around the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, and the goal is to create stories inspired by that period. Elvidge is the author of Dancing in Heaven, a collection of monologues that draws on interviews, news stories and historical events to give voice to people who've been lost or forgotten. Her work tends to sit in the space between fact and fiction, and this session follows that same thread.

Dancing in Heaven was her first solo collection, and it focuses on the women who played all too often unrecognised roles during the crisis. It's been published by Reconnecting Rainbows. The workshop is part of a wider project of the same name, which also included an artist talk at the museum where Elvidge explained how the book began and what role Derby played in it.

Beyond the writing, there's a bit of a personal side to the story: Elvidge lives on the North Yorkshire coast with her illustrator wife and several dogs and cats. The workshop itself is for adults only and booking is essential, so you'll want to get your name down in advance. It runs from 11:30am to 12:30pm at the museum on The Strand, and it's free.