Author calls on storytellers to submit their tales

Jo Zebedee is seeking to create a literary 'map' of the borough as part of the Everyday Magic project, supported by the Arts Council and National Lottery.

The local writer explained: "Having found myself unexpectedly underemployed – due, mostly, to Covid-19 – I returned to a project I first conceived of last autumn.

"The project idea began forming when I worked on an original piece of short fiction to accompany the wonderfully imaginative Big Telly theatre company’s The Worst Cafe performance. The remit was to take the streets around the venue, deep in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, and set a fantasy story there that pulled on the area’s history, and its current atmosphere.

"I loved working on that - I enjoyed the practical research and I loved the sense that this story had a very particular place. As anyone who has read my Irish novels, Inish Carraig and Waters and the Wild, will know, sense of place is very important to me when I write.

"I explored why that project felt so very right – and freeing – to me, and decided it was about the different reflective space it gave me. Belfast of now is built of Belfast of old, and both form our culture and understandings of the city; all places are like that. And so, I started to explore the possibility of maps linking with stories to deepen our understanding of our place and history."

Everyday Magic will be piloted in Mid and East Antrim, with stories attached to a map of the area as well as being featured on Jo's blog. There is also the possibility of a dedicated website further down the line.

"I will be completing the Mid and East Antrim map first to get a firmer idea of how the resources work and to see what sort of time is involved in the project," Jo said. "I hope, with time, to be able to share the map I create with community groups, schools, historical groups and any that enhance local communities and allow them to flourish."

Jo is appealing for fellow storytellers to get in touch with their own tales. "These don’t need to be grand, big stories (although those are welcome), but can be small. Something that happened that you’ve never forgotten about, that seemed magical at the time. A person who inspired you, and why. A place that you go to for solace. But I do need to know both the story and the place.

"Secondly, I need people to share the call! This is a project for communities, not one person. It’s not me collecting ghost stories and then writing them down – it’s real stories, that aren’t always widely known.

"What will I do with the stories? Well, it depends – some I might record and link the recording to the map, others I will link as the story came to me. For those who have a story but are nervous about writing it themselves, I might write it out and see if it captures the story the way the owner would like. If anyone wishes to remain anonymous, that’s absolutely fine.

"If you have a story, or want more details of the project, please contact me at [email protected], and I’ll come back to you."