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As part of Polish Arts Festival, a writing marathon, Once Upon a Deadline in Translation, is coming to Southend.

Participating writers are asked to create a 1,500-word short story in one day whilst traveling around a city. These stories are then read aloud during a live public ‘read-off’.

The event was devised by writer and filmmaker Robert Mac and was first produced in Sydney in 2005. In 2008 and 2010 Once Upon a Deadline opened the Writers & Readers Week at the New Zealand International Arts Festival.

In 2011 Polish Arts Festival staged the première of Once Upon a Deadline in Translation. In this format, Polish writers were brought to Southend and wrote their Deadline stories in Polish, then with the help of co-writer / translators, the stories were translated into English prior to the evening’s ‘read-off’ event. London based Off_Press produced and printed a hand bound book of the stories in English.

Building on the successful 2011 event Once Upon A Deadline in Translation will take place in 2012 in 2 cities. Gdansk in Poland, and Southend.

Event details:

1. Günter Grass Gallery, Szeroka 34/35, Gdansk – Sunday 26 August 19:30

Five UK writers travel to Gdansk and will be taken to six secret locations, in and around Gdansk. With a scheduled hour at each writing spot, creative short stories will be inspired by the birthplace of solidarity, ship building, and the home of the printing press on the Baltic Coast. The stories are translated from English into Polish overnight and presented in Polish at the ‘read-off’, Günter Grass Gallery on Sunday 26 August at 19:30. The readings will be filmed and broadcast via the internet. This event is timed to coincide with the closing days of an exhibition of paintings by Günter Grass, and will be presented in association with with the British Council, Gdanska Galeria Miejska, and the Creative Writing Centre at the the University of Essex.

2. Kursaal Gallery Space, Southchurch Avenue, Southend-on-Sea – Sunday 2 September 18:00

Five Polish writers travel to Southend-on-Sea and create their 1500 word Southend inspired stories. Overnight, the stories are translated from Polish into English, and at 18:00 on Sunday 3 September, read aloud in English at a live public ‘read-off’ at the temporary Kursaal Gallery Space. The Polish writers have now been confirmed as: Justyna Bargielska, Julia Fiedorczuk, Przemek Gulda, Mikolaj Lozinski and Adam Wiedemann.

Project partners include: The Poland Book Institute, Off_Press, British Council, Gdanska Galeria Miejska, Creative Writing Centre at the University of Essex, Arts Council England, and the Polish Cultural Institute (London).

Read more here.