What could be more festive than getting round a roaring fire to chill your bones with some Christmas ghost stories?

The Christmas ghost story has been a British tradition for hundreds of years. Of course, today we primarily think of Charles Dickens and his redemptive spirits of past, present and future, but A Christmas Carol is just part of a rich heritage.

Here, we pick our five favourite ghosts to put a shiver in your December.

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Newark Castle is feeling the festive spirit this Christmas with special displays of lights and music as well as a stunning decorated tree in the bandstand.

Organised by Newark and Sherwood District Council, the festive illuminations will transform Newark’s historic heart into a sparkling spectacle which all the family can enjoy from Friday 10th to Thursday December 23, while the 10ft tree arrived yesterday.

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Writing East Midlands is excited to announce its new WEMtern programme for 18- to 25-year-olds!

The programme is inspired by WEM’s desire to listen to young voices, and especially those of the next generation of East Midlands writers. We aim to provide valuable opportunities for young people to share their insights into the writing industry and what we do here at WEM.

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The HCE magazine team have created another list of online literary open mics, events and workshops, to help you plan for the weeks ahead. Don’t miss out on taking part. It’s an opportunity to “travel” far and wide to attend events overseas, while they’re still easily accessible…

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Global warming is the big issue of the day, disproportionately affecting developing nations. As the world heats up, the changing climate will likely be the greatest challenge future generations face; whether this be environmental, or socio-political (though the two seem to walk hand in hand…) We can’t think of a worthier topic for writers to explore.

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The fifty-eighth Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is open for entries from photographers of all ages, nationalities, and experience levels, and will close on Thursday 9 December at 11.30am GMT. The international jury of industry experts has been announced, and the entry fee for photographers entering from 50 countries will be waived.

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The Awards celebrate the very best historic places and cultural sites across the globe, offering a window to history that exists all around us.

This year’s Awards called on photographers to scour their photographic archive and share their most astonishing imagery of those places which dominate our past.

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The winter solstice signals the shortest day of the year – our winter solstice guide explains what it is, when it takes place in 2021, ways to celebrate it, and the best places to catch a spectacular sunset in Britain.

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Our Midlands 'Oscars' are a platform to honour the local films released in the previous 12 months – whether they be shorts, features, animation, documentaries and more. We reward the region’s talent across 16 categories such as ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Actor / Actress’, ‘Best Director’ and many others.

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Film speaks in a universal language, yet they also reflect the times and places they were made in. Our regional coverage showcases the originality, diversity and richness of local films, and also spotlights the unique position of what makes the Midlands great.

Check out the latest local releases below which give a window into the Midlands, with its mix of contemporary and historical culture encapsulated across a variety of film genres.

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Prince Charles has acknowledged the “appalling atrocity of slavery”, describing it as something “which forever stains our history”, during the ceremony marking Barbados’ historic transition to a republic.

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Deadline 7th Jan

Surface invites artists from across the world to participate in our annual International Postcard Show.

All submissions will be included in this vibrant and hugely popular exhibition. The International Postcard Show will feature hundreds of original creations in an array of different media by established and aspiring artists from all over the world.

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These magazines and outlets publish poetry of various kinds. Many of them also publish other genres, like fiction and nonfiction. Some of them pay. Most, but not all, are open for submissions now. They are listed in no particular order.

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The world as we knew it is coming to an end, and it’s up to us how it ends and what comes after. It’s the end of the age of fossil fuel, but if the fossil-fuel corporations have their way the ending will be delayed as long as possible, with as much carbon burned as possible. If the rest of us prevail, we will radically reduce our use of those fuels by 2030, and almost entirely by 2050. We will meet climate change with real change, and defeat the fossil-fuel industry in the next nine years.

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Get £500 to test and develop a new idea for a show, performance or production with no strings attached from Nonsuch Studios & Derby Theatre.

Nonsuch Studios & Derby Theatre are looking for 4 individuals or theatre companies from Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire to receive one of 4, £500 Open Access micro-commissions to help support the initial development of a new project or idea.

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The Solstice Prize is our annual showcase for young writers, seeking imaginative short stories and provocative poems. With prizes on offer for winners in two age groups 11-13 and 14-17.

The winning entries are often full of powerful and poignant language which makes us laugh or cry, or simply shines a light on something truly original. Many also had a subtext which made us stop and think and kept us guessing to the end.

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NNRF has joined groups across the country to oppose new legislation which will harm asylum seekers.

We asked you to show your solidarity by sending in your photos of yourself holding up an orange heart - as part of the Together with Refugees campaign.

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Young people have said they feel "betrayed" by the COP26 plan to phase down rather than phase out coal.

Students from Bristol and Bath said the resolution's lack of urgency was "frightening and upsetting".

A recent study has shown immediate government inaction on climate issues is "inextricably linked" to "eco anxiety" in people under the age of 25.

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Researchers have expressed relief that the meeting did produce an agreement, but some left COP26 dissatisfied at the lack of stronger commitments to reduce emissions, and failure to agree “loss and damage” finance for countries that are vulnerable to climate change.

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The Manchester Writing Competition offers the UK’s biggest literary awards for unpublished work, offered by the country’s most successful writing school. The Competition was established in 2008 by Carol Ann Duffy (UK Poet Laureate 2009-19) and has awarded more than £200,000 to writers.

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John Challis is writer-in-residence at Seaton Delaval Hall as part of the Curtain Rises project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.. He is a poet, researcher and teacher living in the North East. His debut collection of poems The Resurrectionists was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2021. A pamphlet, The Black Cab (Poetry Salzburg), appeared in 2017 and was a New Writing North Read Regional title. He has received a Pushcart Prize, a Northern Writers’ Award, an Authors' Foundation grant from The Society of Authors, and was highly commended in the 2021 Forward Prizes for Poetry. His work has appeared on BBC Radio 4, in Ambit, The Guardian, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry London and elsewhere.

As part of his Residency at Seaton Delaval Hall, poet John Challis is running a creative writing course for emerging writers.

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Young Creatives Nottingham has teamed up with local poet (and former LeftLion Editor) Bridie Squires to deliver a series of poetry workshops with young people at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy...

The Young Creative Awards is an annual competition open to anyone aged 11 to 24 who lives, works or studies in Nottingham. In recent years, however, it’s become more than just a competition as the charity that organises the awards has been piloting a series of creative projects in the local community, to inspire the next generation of young creatives.

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The British Library and Hay Festival are delighted to reveal the shortlist for the 2022 Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer’s Award. Awarded annually to two writers in the early stages of a new book relating to the Americas, the £20,000 prize is now in its eleventh year. The 2021 winners were the novelist Pola Oloixarac and historian Imaobong Umoren.

The 2022 shortlist is notably dominated by non-fiction, with four works of history appearing on the six-strong list. Reflecting the international scope of the prize, the shortlist spans a broad range of countries; including authors from Ecuador, Ireland, Spain, the UK and USA and ideas spanning a further range of countries and cultures.

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Diplomats, scientists, charities and NGOs have been commenting on the adoption of the “Glasgow climate pact” at the end of the Cop26 conference. Here are some of their initial thoughts.

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A deal aimed at staving off dangerous climate change has been struck at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal, the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.

The deal also presses for more urgent emission cuts and promises more money for developing countries - to help them adapt to climate impacts.

But the pledges don't go far enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5C.

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There was a rapturous reception in the conference room earlier after an emotive plea from Tuvalu's representative, who said his nation was disappearing as a result of climate change.

Climate minister Seve Paeniu said his government had been optimistic after hearing the “passion, commitment and pledges” made by world leaders in the first two days of COP26.

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World leaders will have to return to the negotiating table next year with improved plans to cut greenhouse gases because the proposed targets agreed at the Cop26 summit are too weak to prevent disastrous levels of global heating, the three architects of the Paris agreement have warned.

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Young Creatives Nottingham has teamed up with local poet (and former LeftLion Editor) Bridie Squires to deliver a series of poetry workshops with young people at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy...

The Young Creative Awards is an annual competition open to anyone aged 11 to 24 who lives, works or studies in Nottingham. In recent years, however, it’s become more than just a competition as the charity that organises the awards has been piloting a series of creative projects in the local community, to inspire the next generation of young creatives.

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Countries are being urged to strengthen their carbon-cutting targets by the end of 2022 in a draft agreement published at the COP26 Glasgow climate summit.

The document says vulnerable nations must get more help to cope with the deadly impacts of global warming.

It also says countries should submit long-term strategies for reaching net-zero by the end of next year.

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The British Library and Hay Festival are delighted to reveal the shortlist for the 2022 Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer’s Award. Awarded annually to two writers in the early stages of a new book relating to the Americas, the £20,000 prize is now in its eleventh year. The 2021 winners were the novelist Pola Oloixarac and historian Imaobong Umoren.

The 2022 shortlist is notably dominated by non-fiction, with four works of history appearing on the six-strong list. Reflecting the international scope of the prize, the shortlist spans a broad range of countries; including authors from Ecuador, Ireland, Spain, the UK and USA and ideas spanning a further range of countries and cultures.

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The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing is an annual short story competition open to writers across the globe. The prize awards £10,000 to the best short story that has food and drink at its heart. Three runners up also receive awards of £250 and all shortlisted entrants have their stories published on The Mogford Prize website and in linen-bound booklets that feature in The Oxford Collection’s five star hotels and restaurants in Oxford, UK.

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Congratulations to all who took part in the semi-final stage of the competition this weekend. The standard was truly outstanding.

Further congratulations to Alexander, Louis, Sapphie, Benjamin, Sebastian Congyi, Danielle for progressing to the final stage of the competition which takes place on Sunday 21 November 2021 at 6.30pm at The University of Nottingham Djanogly Recital Hall.

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I am running a marathon at the Antarctica on the 14th December. I would really appreciate if by the 14th December you can donate the price of a drink to this fundraiser. I'm sure we're all heading out for a Christmas drink with friends so why not donate to Bowel Cancer UK?

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Barack Obama has called on young people to "stay angry" in the fight against climate change at the COP26 summit.

The former US president urged them to apply political pressure to make a change, but warned they would need to accept compromises along the way.

Mr Obama said the world is "nowhere near where we need to be" to avoid a future climate catastrophe.

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COP26: Updates as hundreds of protesters took part in Nottingham demonstration

Hundreds of people gathered in Nottingham in a stand against 'climate injustice'.

Protesters descend on Forest Recreation Ground before a march down Mansfield Road towards Old Market Square.

The event, organised by the COP26 Coalition for Climate Justice, was one of dozens of large demonstrations around the UK and the world.

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Welcome to this new group specifically for online poetry events, including hybrid events that allow online viewing and/or participation.

As the pandemic continues, some of us are still shielding, and some of us are being very cautious. Also some of us are housebound or excluded from “in-person” events by lack of disabled access, or just a long way from events we would like to attend.

Please post online events you know of, recommend recordings of events still available to watch online, and feel free to comment and discuss related topics. And please invite your poetry-loving friends!

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