Simon Heywood

storyteller, songwriter, composer, folklorist

Latest News

May News

The big news is that The Legend of Vortigern is finally out, with attendant launch publicity – see Forthcoming Events for details, but there’s big events over the summer at Festival at the Edge and Treadwell’s Bookshop in London. Feedback and reviews so far have been very positive. I’m still working on book number 2 – South Yorkshire Folktales – with Damien Barker.

April News

Sheffield Folk Festival started it off, with an evening of songs and stories about Joe Mather, the great radical Sheffield songwriter. The Legend of Vortigern is now out and proud, along with the rest of the Ancient Legends Retold series. There are launch events for the whole series and individual volumes up and down the country – see Forthcoming Events on this site for details.

March News

Busy times. There’s a growing number of signings for the launch of The Legend of Vortigern – currently Sheffield, Derby, Barnsley and Rotherham – see Forthcoming Events for details. I’m working on some online content to spread the word about the book (a short podcast of excerpts) – watch this space.

February News

The long silence is nearly over, and the results approach tangibility: The Legend of Vortigern is very nearly ready to hit the presses and is due for release in April. It’s already available for pre-order on Amazon – here.

October News

The big excitement of the moment is the BASE Awards. Gilgamesh won the award for Outstanding Collaboration. Commissioned by Stories from the Tree of Life and premiered at Huddersfield Literature Festival in 2009, Gilgamesh was adapted and performed by Tim Ralphs and me. Big thanks to Mai Lin Li, who offered the commission, and Tim, who generously invited me to share it.

Spring News

Very busy times … in a very quiet way, so apologies for any air of hermitage. Mainly I’m working on two books – an Arthurian saga and a collection of South Yorkshire Folktales.

September News - Stop Press!

Hi everyone

Just a quick note to all you aspiring storytellers – there’s a looming competition deadline for some fabulous prizes – and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your armchair – a rare treat for a storyteller! Check out this link for details. Deadline 25th September.

August News

Some not-so-upbeat news for a change. For the last few years I’ve been working on a trilogy of shows based on Irish mythology, and in recent years I was developing them with Adverse Camber Productions. After The Twisting Field and The Middle Yard, we had a third and final part in preview, working title The Plain of Towers.

July News

Um … sorry for the silence.