Author, Stephen May, Inspiring Creative Writers at A New Leaf Book Shop

By Sheila Frampton - As a member of the local creative writing group at A New Leaf Book Shop in Slaithwaite, I was surprised and delighted when Stephen May, called into our much-loved, independent bookstore to lead a writing workshop, providing insight into his own creative writing process and answer questions on his latest novel, ‘Green Ink.’

It’s not often that aspiring writers, from novices to the more experienced, get the chance to work with an award-winning author and playwright like Stephen May, who has already produced six novels, along with two helpful books on creative writing. As readers, however, we are often able to chat with writers at author-events organised by the book shop’s owner, Jane Taylor-Barron, held in a variety of venues in and around Slaithwaite. Over the last few weeks, several published authors have ‘dropped into’ one of the shop’s eight, extremely popular, book groups.

During the writing session in Slaithwaite, Stephen, who still teaches creative writing, introduced a selection of photographs and postcards to spark our imagination. Stressing the importance of paying attention to the smallest details and all those things that most people miss, he inspired us to draft short, character-centred, stories. His idea of each finding a separate space and reading our work aloud caused more than a little amusement and resulted in a cacophony of creative voices! Some of the drafts produced had promise and could certainly be worth developing further.

Stephen May, a fascinating man and talented author, I found Stephen May as interesting as any character in a novel. In an interview with The Independent he confessed that, for the first 10 years of his adulthood. He ‘drank too much and ran around too much’ and ‘wasted too much time.’ I would suggest that his interesting and varied work history has added depth to his writing. (www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/stephen-may-my-stories-say-things-that-are-not-being-said- ). After graduating from university, Stephen was employed as a bartender, warehouse worker, museum attendant, television writer and teacher. He worked for the Arts Council and organised residential creative writing courses for the Arvon Foundation at Ted Hughes’ old house, Lumb Bank near Hebden Bridge.

The first of Stephen’s six novels, ‘Tag’ was written as part of his MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Whilst acquiring an agent is often the hardest part of the journey to becoming a published author, Stephen was taken on by his first agent in 2005 but finding a publisher proved more difficult. ‘Tag’ was eventually published in 2008 by Cinnamon Press and went on to win the Reader’s Choice Prize after being shortlisted for the Welsh Book of the Year in 2009.

‘Green Ink: a novel with strong local connections. For those of us who live in the Colne Valley, Stephen May’s latest novel ‘Green Ink’ is of particular interest. The novel was inspired by the mysterious disappearance in 1920 of Victor Grayson, an independent Labour Party Member, famed for his sensational and unexpected victory at the Colne Valley by-election in 1907 which led to his seat in the House of Commons between 1907 and 1910. In 1907, Grayson gave a rousing victory speech outside Slaithwaite Town Hall. Prior to the author event, hosted by a New Leaf Book Shop at Empire House earlier this year, Stephen May was completely unaware that Empire House was formerly Slaithwaite Town Hall and that Victor Grayson had addressed the local workers just yards from where Stephen was sitting that evening. Of course, Stephen had to pop out for a quick photoshoot!

Part political thriller, part history, ‘Green Ink’ is a blend of fact and fiction that was described as ‘funny, scurrilous, revealing and memorable’ (The Historical Novel Society) No-one will ever know what exactly happened to Grayson who vanished after threatening to expose Lloyd George’s involvement in a cash-for-honours scandal. Was he murdered or did he fall, drunk, into the River Thames? You’ll have to order ‘Green Ink’ from A New Leaf Book Shop to discover Stephen’s take on that! Yorkshire’s rich literary landscape.

Yorkshire is a county with a rich literary landscape, producing and inspiring some of our country’s most famous authors. The work of the Bronte sisters is inextricably linked with the dramatic moors around Haworth, JB Priestly came from Bradford, Alan Bennett came from Leeds and Ted Hughes was born in Mytholmroyd. Simon Armitage, the current Poet Laureate, grew up in Marsden, Joanne Harris lives in Almondbury and crime writer, Lesley McEvoy, was born and raised in Yorkshire and uses the local area as a backdrop for her stories. If you enjoy reading books set in and around Yorkshire, just ask Jane for recommendations. Creative writing for all at A New Leaf Book Shop. Becoming a published author can be a long and arduous process but creative writing is, in itself, a great form of self-expression, allowing us to use our imagination or our experience to create stories, characters and unique settings. Depicting new worlds can help us escape everyday life for a while, explore our own creativity and tell stories that, otherwise, might be lost. As part of a creative writing circle, sharing our stories or poems with others can help us connect with others on a deeper level.

You don’t have to be an experienced writer to join a local creative writing group or circle; you don’t even have to have written anything as yet. At The New Leaf Book Shop, we will be running a new creative writing group on the second Friday of each month, from 6 pm to 8 pm. Starting on Friday, 13th June 2025, each session will be structured, starting with a writing warm up and an exercise focusing on a theme such as setting or character. During the second part of the evening, those working on a particular project – a novel, short story or poem – will be able to share their work with the group and receive helpful and supportive comments. Those whose ideas haven’t yet ‘got off the ground’ will be able to gain some feedback from the group. All you have to do is book with A New Leaf Book Shop, the cost for the evening is just £10.

Writing can be a solitary, lonely hobby and working collaboratively on a project can be very rewarding. With this in mind, at the new creative writing group, we hope to ultimately use our themed writing to produce a series of short stories, each with a different character from a different background experiencing and responding to the same, single, life-changing event. It’s going to be a case of ‘watch this space!’