'Hidden Stories' - a new book reveals the untold history of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter

This month sees the publication of Hidden Stories, an illustrated collection of original writing inspired by the history of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter and the mills of the North Derbyshire town of Glossop.

The book is a literary exploration of people’s relationships with post-industrial places, expanding on the stories in our app of the same name, and features work by writers including Sarah Butler, author of Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love; Irfan Master, whose novel A Beautiful Lie won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize; Divya Ghelani; and Leicester-based poet and playwright Carol Leeming FRSA.

Hidden Stories explores – through poetry, plays and flash fiction – the life of former industrial buildings in Leicester and Glossop and the relationships between the people who used them. Each author brings fresh perspectives to the locations featured in their pieces, enhanced by stunning original artwork by artist Mateus Domingos.

Commissioned as part of Affective Digital Histories, the individual works featured in the book have already garnered award success and media attention. Carol Leeming’s choreopoem Love the Life You Live … Live the Life You Love won the Leicester Writers’ Club Siobhan Logan Award, while Divya Ghelani’s An Imperial Typewriter is now being made into a short film through B3 Media’s TalentLab scheme for Black, Asian and minority ethnic artists.

The Hidden Stories book will be launched on Tuesday 31 March at a special event taking place from 6.00 – 7.45pm at Phoenix. There’ ll be live performances from the writers and the opportunity to meet them over a glass of wine or local ale. The event is now fully booked, but you can join the waiting list by emailing sarah.vallance@phoenix.org.uk

Hidden Stories is part of Affective Digital Histories: Recreating De-Industrialised Places, From the 1970s to the Present, a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and based at the University of Leicester. Phoenix, De Montfort University and Cuttlefish Multimedia Ltd are project partners.