Projects

Diversifying Children’s Literature

Diversifying Children’s Literature

Joseph Coelho X Apples and Snakes x Otter Barry books We believe representation matters and that’s why we are working with Joseph Coelho, Waterstones Children’s Laureate, and Otter-Barry Books on a project which aims to help diversify children’s literature by developing voices traditionally underrepresented in children’s literature. Funded by Arts Council England, the project includes…

Kindness Competition 2023

Kindness Competition 2023

Kindness Poetry Competition 2023 What does kindness mean to you? What does kindness look or feel like? Write a poem on kindness and enter SPINE Festival 2023’s competition for the opportunity to have your poem published by Otter-Barry Books! This competition is judged by Waterstones’ Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho! Winners will be announced at the…

Telling Tales

Telling Tales

Telling Tales is a free six-week creative programme for 7-11 year olds. Participants get to work with an experienced writer to create stories and poems! At the end of the six weeks the young people present a sharing for family and friends and are certified with a Discover Arts Award. They are provided with a…

Behind The Words

Behind The Words

“Poetry is like water, it takes on the vessel it’s in” Joelle Taylor (BBC Radio 4: Front Row – 11 Jan 22) Apples and Snakes celebrate turning 40 in 2022, and with any significant anniversary comes a time of reflection. We have thought long and hard about how we came together, what we’ve achieved and…

Poetry Off the Page

Poetry Off the Page

“Poetry Off the Page” is a five-year project directed by Dr. Julia Lajta-Novak from the University of Vienna and supported by an ERC Consolidator Grant and the START-Prize of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Spoken word poetry has been going through a noticeable boom for more than half a century. Movements such as Beat poetry,…

Plot 17

Plot 17

A hip-hop garden block party for audiences aged 7+ Four pieces of wood Eight nails And a hammer Some compost A hand full of seeds And some water A playlist and some speakers all you need to get you started then by the time that you finished you’ll know How To Make A Garden Join…

Spine Festival 2023

Spine Festival 2023

Spine 2023: What’s On KINDNESS: 10 APRIL – 10 MAY 2023 Launching on 10 April 2023, SPINE Festival 2023 continues the exploration of KINDNESS with children and families in sixteen London boroughs. This year features spoken word and arts activities delivered by local artists, touring poetry SPIN show, a series of engaging workshops and imaginative…

The Gatherings

The Gatherings

Apples and Snakes, in partnership with Create to Transform Dialogue Spaces, are hosting a series of empowering, no-nonsense conversations as part of our commitment to evolve the poetry in performance and spoken word scene.  Our series of fortnightly online Gatherings will shine a spotlight on some of the most pressing issues in the UK poetry…

Apples and Snakes: The Podcast

Apples and Snakes: The Podcast

Join Jerwood Compton Poetry fellow, poet and playwright Yomi Sode as he hosts the first season of Apples and Snakes: The Podcast. Through conversations and performances from award-winning poets, rappers and artists such as Caleb Femi, Kat François and Eklipse, Yomi will explore what it means to be Black, British and a poet or spoken…

Featured Video Play Icon

The Hatchling

A spectacular dragon hatched in Plymouth City Centre on 14 August 2021, growing to the size of a double-decker bus. The Hatchling is a ground-breaking outdoor theatrical performance that unfolded over a weekend of events and reached an extraordinary finale over the coast of Plymouth, on 14 and 15 August 2021. The beautiful visitor hatched…

Cece’s Speakeasy

Cece’s Speakeasy

Apples and Snakes in association with Jazz re:freshed and The Albany present:  Cece’s Speakeasy  As global temperatures rise, the quality and quantity of our crops decreases. In the not-so-distant future, coffee bean production will halt – caffeine will become extinct. By 2050 there will be no more chocolate.  Step forward into 2031… Welcome to Cece’s…

Open House

Open House

Open House has been running as part of SPINE festival since 2017. The project is specifically for refugee communities in London libraries, allowing participants to creatively explore language through culture. The groups meet for a series of workshops culminating in a final gathering at which participants exchange recipes & dishes from their home countries. The…

Hippodrome Young Poets

Hippodrome Young Poets

Apples and Snakes was thrilled to be able to work in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome to deliver a new artistic development opportunity for poets and writers aged 16-30 living in or near Birmingham, with additional support from Birmingham Literature Festival and Verve Poetry Press. Hippodrome Young Poets is a writing programme to support young poets…

Library Takeover

Library Takeover

Library Takeover is a unique intergenerational training programme. Library staff and young people work together in a team to learn the process of being a creative producer from marketing to budgeting, after which the young people take over their local library for an event which they plan and produce themselves.  What happened at our last…

Poetic Theatre Makers

Poetic Theatre Makers

In 2019, Apples and Snakes presented the country’s first programme designed to develop the presentation of spoken word poetry in theatre: Poetic Theatre Makers, a twelve-week workshop series, was led by theatre makers Chris Thorpe and Somalia Seaton. The artists creating work as part of Poetic Theatre Makers 2019 were: Adaya Henry, Casey Bailey, Jasmine…

Storycraft

Storycraft

Family learning at its very best, Storycraft mixes storytelling and crafts. Sessions are engaging, interactive, fun and fire the imagination. Led by an experienced storyteller, Storycraft is aimed at dads, mums and carers with children aged 2–5, and encourages families to enjoy stories together in an active and fun way. Using hands-on crafting, props and…

Write.Speak.Feel

Write.Speak.Feel

Write.Speak.Feel is our bespoke programme of workshops developed with Lewisham Children’s Services which aims to build resilience in children and young people through spoken word and creative activities. Sessions are tailored around specific themes such as identity or healthy relationships.

End of content

End of content