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QueenSpark Books Archive - Free Full Text Books
A unique searchable archive of the books published by QueenSpark Books up until 2010. Free to view and full text this collection features voices that tell the story of Brighton and Hove, across the 20th Century, in their own words. The majority of these titles are now out-of-print.
You can buy those still in-print, and newer titles, with this link.
Write from the Beginning - Special childhood days
Author(s): Irene Andrew, Dorothy Fuller, Gilbert Grover, Dave Huggins, Wendy Jones, Kit Keay, Lee Lacy, Kathleen Malenczak, Saviour Pirotta, Kathleen Wilson, Michael Wilson
Published: 2002
This work is the culmination of an eight-month creative writing programme that ran at QueenSpark from August 2001 to March 2002 and included two ten-week creative writing courses and four introductory sessions on writing autobiographically. Its aim was to involve new and diverse audiences and writers in the joys of creative writing. It utilised a variety of techniques and methods to explore two central themes; one of which was writing for children and the other was looking at childhood memories. This anthology contains work from the Vallance Memories Group and the Brunswick Older People"s Project and as well as being an enjoyable read, it provides a stimulus for reminiscence work, particularly with older members of the community.Paper on the Wind
Author(s): QueenSpark women writers
Published: 1984
This anthology contains poetry and prose from a QueenSpark Women's group. This was a group of women aged between 20 and 64 years, who met regularly to write and partake in group discussions and workshops. There is a strong feminist influence to the issues that are covered, encompassing the empowerment of women, particularly in today's world, when women have to balance multiple tasks in their daily lives. Paper on the Wind is relevant to all people regardless of age, disability, gender, religion and sexual orientation. It offers a forum for people to explore and experiment with their own creative writing processes and to take the necessary steps that will enable people to start writing for themselves, as well as providing encouragement to all those budding writers out there!Those Lost Years
Author(s): Mary Adams
Published: 1995
This absorbing book tells the story of Mary Adam's life. Born in Birmingham in 1930, she describes a wartime childhood that was spent in convent schools and documents the abuse she suffered at a "farm school" for children with learning disabilities, along with the forty-seven years that she spent at St. Mary's residential unit for women, where, after a difficult start, her life steadily became more enjoyable. From such inauspicious beginnings, she subsequently extols the gradual development of a new life and independence, until, sadly, her life was ironically and tragically cut short by her death from cancer in March 1995 - just as her story was being prepared for publication. So, this is Mary"s legacy, ensuring that she will never be forgotten as long as her special memories live on.ZAP - Twenty-five years of Innovation
Author(s): Jonathan M Woodham, Neil Butler, Roger Ely, Liz Agiss, Ian Smith, Simon Fanshawe, Sian Thomas, Richard Paul-Jones, Paul Kemp, Mark Waugh, Polly Marshall, Gavin Henderson, Paul Collard, Jane McMorrow, Dave Reeves, Rebecca Ball, Karen Poley
Published: 2007
Although not strictly speaking a QueenSpark book, this wild ride across the diverse cultural terrain of live entertainment in Brighton and Hove was produced in collaboration with QueenSpark. It tells the story of one of the UK's most cutting edge, creative producers. Over the last two and a half decades Zap Art has gone from establishing the iconic Zap nightclub, which transformed night life on the Brighton seafront to taking over the streets in most major cities and towns across the UK with large scale outdoor events.The Landlord Cometh
Author(s): Jack Cummins
Published: 1981
Born in 1894 in London, Jack Cummins lived in Brighton from 1959. This book was published on the day of his death – 9th October 1981, so sadly, it also becomes his memorial. Jack was a religious young altar boy who worshipped in the Chapel of St. Anselm and St. Cecilia in Sardinia Street, London. As a boy, he played football for Bourne Athletic Club in Holborn, expressing an interest in physical fitness as well as in spiritual matters. As an adolescent, he became a Labour and suffrage activist and a conscientious objector to wartime activity. As an adult, he surprised everyone, least of all himself, by joining the army in the First World War as, paradoxically 'the only pacifist who took up arms'.The Sudden Change in My Life
Author(s): Gary Irwin
Published: 1995
This is a powerfully honest account of one man's triumph against the odds. Gary Irwin survived major surgery to remove a brain tumour. In this book, he takes the reader on a journey that charts the progress of his illness, including the invasive and traumatic surgery that he underwent. He documents the long process of initial diagnosis, treatment and eventual recuperation. This first-hand account is narrated from the patient's subjective point of view as opposed to a medical perspective and is a fascinating and compelling read.Shops Book - Shopkeepers and Street Traders in East Brighton 1900-1930
Author(s): Neil Griffiths
Published: 1978
Shopping plays a major part in all our lives: we are all affected by rising prices and the changes that have taken place to shops in our local areas. This book is about shopkeepers and street traders – drawing together their various experiences in East Brighton. Shops have certainly changed greatly in the last hundred years - as large firms, supermarkets and superstores have replaced the small-scale local producers and craftsmen. The reader is better able to understand these changes through reading of first-hand experiences, in this comprehensive study of a bygone era.Bangla Brighton - Voices from the Bangladeshi community in Brighton
Author(s): Members of the Bengali community
Published: 2006
Poetic and passionate, lively and lyrical, Bangla Brighton is a series of moving true life accounts of life on the South coast by Brighton and Hove"s Bangladeshi community. At times heartbreaking, but always full of hope, these stories offer the reader a glimpse into a fascinating culture. As intriguing as it is informative, Bangla Brighton gives one of the lesser heard voices in our community a chance to be heard. I have visited many, many areas, many places but finally Brighton gave me a little bit of my village life. In this sense it is my village.Stories from the Nights at the Round Table
Author(s): Dawn Bartram, Margaret Bearfield, Marion Devoy, Gill Donocick, Peggy Eaton, Julie Everton, Sarah Griffiths, Clare Halstead, Ruth Lonsdale, Eve Peel, Sheila Smith, Pauline Streeton, Margaret Ward
Published: 1998
This is an anthology taken from work that was produced by the Hangleton and Brighton Women Writers' groups. The Hangleton group started meeting in July 1988 as part of the Hangleton and Knoll Community Festival. The aim of the programme was to introduce new writers and audiences to the notion of creative writing, using a variety of methods, to explore the central concerns and themes that impact on women's lives and to draw on their life experiences. For many women, it was the first time that they were able to see their work in print, and this was a positive and uplifting experience for them.Missing the Nile - Experiences of Sudanese people in Brighton
Author(s): Sudanese people in Brighton
Published: 2005
Published in January 2005, this fascinating book examines the customs and culture of the Sudanese community in the Brighton and Hove area. The British and Sudanese cultures are very different to one another and the narrative includes comparisons of the two cultures, as well as giving first-hand descriptions of festivals, celebrations including weddings and funerals, and food. The text is written in both English and Arabic, making it accessible to the widest possible audience and will be especially enjoyed by the second generation of the Sudanese community, living in the Brighton and Hove area. It also fulfils the function of recording a culture's history for future generations.