We are thrilled to be joined by JoJo Spinks for this free, Heritage Open Days walking tour, exploring the Working Class built heritage of Exeter's historic Quayside, past and present. The event is free but booking is essential. This event builds on our previous community writing workshops with JoJo and Interwoven Productions CIC where participants were inspired by their personal heritage connected to the Quayside to have a go at creative writing. We were also delighted to be joined by JoJo in 2023 for an in conversation event which celebrated the People of the West Quarter, supported by the testimony and images of those who share this Working Class heritage. The walk will take place along the Quayside near to the Custom House and will be on wheelchair accessible terrain. Please bring suitable clothes and footwear for the walking tour.

Workshop for 9-17yr olds, led by Sara Hurley & Katy Cawkwell Come and learn the basics of how to take a short folktale, myth or legend and turn it into your own spoken-word storytelling performance. A great opportunity to explore storytelling and meet other young people interested in bringing the old tales alive. Run by Artemis Storytelling www.artemis-storytelling.co.uk Participants are invited to: a. Bring along a short myth/folktale that they'd like to work with (we'll also have material available to chose from) b. Take part in an informal performance opportunity on 22 Oct (optional) This workshop is for young people aged 9-17yrs. Attendees must be dropped off and collected by a named responsible adult. We require the names and contact details for two emergency contacts, as well as any medical and allergy information. Please make sure to fill out the required questionnaire.

A caberet performance to celebrate new storytelling voices in Devon as part of Young Storytellers Week (sfs.org.uk/ysw [http://sfs.org.uk/ysw]). Each teller will bring us a short spoken-word performance of a favourite myth or folktale. All welcome to come and listen. If you're 9-25yrs old and you'd like to perform, please contact the host Katy Cawkwell, Artemis Storytelling, [email protected] (under 18s, please ask your parent to contact Katy in the first instance). Nb we recommend you attend our introductory workshop on 29th Sept [https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/literature-works], but if you're not able to, please do still get in touch.

'Together' is a series of POP-UP dining events happening inside the historical Custom House on Exeter Quay, brought to you as a collaboration between a group of Indian students and an experienced local chef. These events are happening every Friday & Saturday evening throughout October and consist of a 5-course fine dining menu of South Indian food. Wines and other drinks are available to buy on the night. Only £45pp for the full 5 course menu. See the website for more details and how to book.

We're really pleased to welcome Michael to Exeter to talk to us about Late Light - winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2024. Late Light combines natural history with memoir in the story of Michael's journey as an Indonesian Australian making a new home for himself in England. Late Light is about migration, belonging and extinction. Through the close examination of four particular 'unloved' animals - eels, moths, crickets and mussels - Michael Malay tells the story of the economic, political and cultural events that have shaped the modern landscape of Britain. About the Author Michael Malay is a teacher and writer based in Bristol. He spent his early years in Jakarta, Indonesia, before moving to Australia with his family at the age of ten. He is the author of Late Light, a book about migration, belonging and extinction, and is now working on a book about John Berger. This event will be in-person at Exeter Custom House. You can find out more about the accessibility of the Custom House here. [https://quaywords.org.uk/about/access/] If you have any access needs youd like to discuss with us before the event you can contact us on [email protected]. We can offer free carer tickets if you need help to support you to attend.

Join us in welcoming Eva Meijer to Exeter Custom House, as part of her UK-tour in collaboration with Peirene Press. Eva will be in conversation about the recent publication of the English translation of her book Sea Now. About Sea Now The country is flooding. Every day the sea claims another kilometre of land. The prime minister holds a daily press conference. Scientists try to find an explanation, without success. Sheep drown in the fields, weighed down by their waterlogged fleeces. The museums are emptied of their valuable works. Some people stay. Most leave. Once the evacuation is complete, and the rest of the world is already moving on, a climate activist, a young poet and an oceanographer voyage across the new sea. They are drawn back into the heart of a changed nation, seeking what they have lost in the deluge. Eva Meijer is a philosopher, visual artist, writer and singer- songwriter. Their fiction and non-fiction has been translated into over twenty languages. Since the publication of their first novel in 2011, their works have received numerous awards, including the Halewijnprijs honouring their oeuvre. Meijer's books have been met enthusiastically by the Dutch but also international press including reviews in the Guardian, Der Spiegel and New York Review of Books.

Chris will share his narrative song-cycle, developed over the course of his residency, telling tales from Exeters Quay. We're also delighted that Chris will be joined on stage by renowned historian of Exeter's past Professor Mark Stoyle, who will talk about the history that has inspired Chris's songs. About the authors Chris Hoban is a writer, musician (songwriter/composer), performer & lyricist who has worked extensively in the UK and abroad. Also an educator, Chris specialises in projects which have a strong historical or natural aspect to them in order to explore connections between other environments and times and our own. For 2025, Chris was made a Cultural Fellow at Exeter Universitys history department, writing songs inspired by early modern wills for The Material Culture of Wills, 1540-1790. A singer who plays guitar, piano, piano accordion, cello, mandocello and guitar, he has performed and worked alongside many artists from a number of musical fields, including Billy Bragg, Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), KT Tunstall, Jerry Dammers (The Specials), Kate Rusby, Chris Difford (Squeeze), Steve Knightley, Phil Beer, Miranda Sykes and Jim Causley. Chris has written regularly and performed occasionally with the Devonian folk roots band Show of Hands, adding songs such as Hallows Eve. He co-wrote the RNLI bicentennial 2024 Christmas single Pull Away with James Studholme of Police Dog Hogan; he is also a highly regarded choral composer and arranger for amateur, community and professional choirs. Professor Mark StoyleFRHistS is an English historian of the Tudor and Stuart periods, specialising in the English Civil War, the history of witchcraft, and the history of the South West peninsula. He is Professor at the University of Southampton, and has published many works on the history and landscape of Exeter where he previously lived and taught.