Events

Invite us to speak at your event

Research from Professor Baden at the University of Southampton provides important insights into how to use fiction most effectively to inspire greener behaviour, and about how to motivate sustainable practices more generally. Denise is happy to talk at writing and/or sustainability-themed events or as a guest lecturer on creative writing courses about her research and how to write to change the world or for a cause.

UPCOMING EVENTS

20th April 2024. 7.30-9.15 pm. Southampton Central Library, UK. Murder in the Citizens’ Jury. Booking link here.

The event will be live streamed from https://www.youtube.com/@greenstoriesuk/streams.

This is a one-man play of 25 minutes written by Denise Baden, from the University of Southampton and performed by award-winning actorĀ Jack Klaff (Star Wars and others). It is a drama exploring the ethical crisis of the Director of Public Prosecutions who has to decide whether to prosecute a murder. If he does so, he will alienate his family, and it will mean the end for citizensā€™ assemblies ā€“ a form of direct democracy which many believe could be the silver bullet to avert a climate crisis.

This dramatic monologue is based on the novella ā€˜The Assassinā€™. The play raises awareness of the potential of Citizensā€™ Assemblies as a way to reboot our democracy and allow it to make more sustainable climate-friendly decisions.


26th- 28th April 2024 Bournemouth Writing Festival

Bournemouth Writing Festival is a celebration of the written and spoken word, offering talks, workshops, panel discussions and writing activities for writers of all levels. It is a three-day event that celebrates the written word taking place on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April 2024.

Denise’s talk is at 5-6 pm on Friday 26th April at Ocean Theatre, get the tickets here.

Previous Events

Denise was speaking at several events at COP28, Dubai.

4th Dec 2023, 10.45 ā€“ 11.45: Greening Education Hub.

6th Dec 2023, 12.30 at Climate Change and Education Conference, University of Dubai.

8th Dec 2023, 11.45 on positive visions and engagement through climate fiction at the Green Zone Innovation and Technology Hub.

11th Nov 2023, One-Man play ‘ Murder in the Citizen’ Jury’.  University of Southampton 3pm – 4pm. Book here. The event will be live streamed from https://www.youtube.com/@greenstoriesuk/streams

19th October 2023. Comedy Stand up at October Books
19th October 2023. Comedy Stand up at October Books. Photo by Steve Cross

4th October 2023, 7.30 pm – 9pm. Talk at Southampton Central Library on eco-themed rom-com Habitat Man, set in Southampton. Free entry. Please book here.

UKASFP Conference in Oxford 2023 6th and 7th July. Denise is giving the key note speech about how we need to adopt a solutions-based approach.

Media Production & Technology Show/ Albert Sustainability Conference. 10th May 2023, Olympia, London. Denise Baden is speaking on a panel at 11am on Writing Sustainability In Your Stories: Why Climate Content Matters.

April 19th 2023, Bournemouth University: Writing the Earth. SH001 Lecture Theatre, 10am-5pm. The keynote speaker is Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Practice, University of Southampton, founder of Green Stories.

22nd March, 2023. SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION 2023. Accelerating Sustainability in the Creative Economy and Creative Industries. 12.45 Readersā€™ Emulation of Green Behaviours in Fiction: A Case Study of Habitat Man; 15.15 The Role of Fictional Characters in Consumer Culture. Register now

13th October 2022 pm, BBC Television Centre, London and virtual. Denise spoke at the Responsible Media Forum annual flagship conference, ‘Mirrors Or Movers’ about the role of scriptwriters in tackling the culture of consumption https://mirrorsormovers.com/event?event=10

The role of scriptwriters in cultures of consumption

She spoke alongside Emma Stewart, Netflixā€™s Sustainability Officer, on the success of Donā€™t Look Up and what it means for sustainability storytelling and partnerships; and Gaby Hornsby, TV Lead for Sustainability, BBC, on ten years of impact across the BBC and Jonathan Wise, Co-Founder of Purpose Disruptors and The Comms Lab, who will speak about the role of marketing in a net zero world and its role in shifting consumption patterns towards sustainability.

COP 27 7th Nov 3pm (GMT + 2). Carbon Punk: Imagining CDR Futures through Speculative Fiction. – Carbon Removals at COP D.A. Baden, Andrew Dana Hudson and Reena Shah.

COP27 Tuesday, November 8, 17:30-18:45 D.A. Baden on panel: COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH. Live streamed.

Invite Professor Denise Baden to speak at your school /university /writing group.

Professor Denise Baden offers sessions to schools, colleges, universities and writing groups talking about climate and storytelling and introducing the free Green Stories writing competitions. She can offer virtual talks to creative writing students or run workshops in person in the Southampton region (including Eastleigh, Winchester) sustainability. Events last ideally 1-2 hours (although there is some flexibility), with 20-60 attendees in any session. If interested email Denise directly to discuss.

Denise recently gave one of her ‘Writing for a Sustainable Future’ workshops at Bitterne Park School, here’s a video of how it went:

Writing for a Sustainable Future Workshop with Denise Baden at Bitterne Park School

Earlier events

  • University of the Third Age. Talking about Habitat Man, Wildlife Gardening and the Green Stories project 3rd May 2022.
  • Eastleigh Book Club 12th April 2022 speaking about Habitat Man.
  • Presentation for ‘Sustainable Development Goals Impact Lab’ at Oxford University 28/2/2022
  • ‘Inspiring sustainable practice: moving beyond preaching to the converted’ The Marjon Academy Lecture Series, in association with SCION RKE Group. Wed, 2 February 2022 12:00 ā€“ 13:30 GMT. 
  • Denise is a special guest for Hampshire Writersā€™ Society, 8th Feb 2022 7.30 pm. See here for details.
  • Tues 18th Jan 7.30 ā€“ 9pm October Books, Southampton Denise talked about two key sustainability projects: Sustainable Hairdressing, the Green Stories Project and her eco-themed romcom Habitat Man, see HERE
  • ā€˜Writing for a Sustainable Futureā€™. Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, Dec 9th 2021
  • ‘Writing Green Storiesā€™ Anthropocene and More-Than-Human World, hosted by University of Nottingham Dec 8th 2021
  • Bristol Climate Writers Nov 10th 7.30 – 9pm. ‘Writing for a Sustainable Future’.
  • Writing Workshop, 20 Nov 2021 ‘Imagining a Sustainable Future via Green Stories’.
  • Writing for a Sustainable Future year 9 workshop, Bitterne Park School.  Nov 9th 2021
  • Ethical Consumer week 21st Oct 2021  7pm – 9pm: ‘Inspiring Green Behaviours’.
  • Book Launch Habitat Man 22nd Oct 2021  6.30pm – 9pm. October Books, Southampton
  • Self-Publishing Conference 23/24 Oct 2021 ‘Writing for a Cause: Do’s and Don’ts’.
  • Irish Writers Centre Climate Writers Group. 6th Oct 2021  ‘Writing Climate Fiction’. Online 119.35 – 21.00
  • World Forum on Climate Justice 22nd Sept 2021  ‘Inspiring Green Behaviours: How to Move beyond Preaching to the Converted’. Online 11.00 – 11.15
  • Talk on ‘writing to change the world’ at the Writers Weekend 26th June 2021. There are four wonderful days of events and talks for writers 24-27 June including a talk by Denise Baden on writing to change the world – see https://writersweekend.uk/2021-programme/
  • Green Stories Workshop ā€“Writing about Nature and the Climate with Professor Denise Baden. 20th February 2021. This workshop will give tips on how to write to change the world. Sign up for the free event by clicking here
  • Free Prize Giving Event, Regents University, London on 27th Jan 2020 7pm – 9.30pm.Talks by industry professionals, readings of winning entries and opportunity to network https://www.eventbrite.com/e/green-stories-prize-giving-event-tickets-86337641209
  • A writer’s workshop, University of Southampton 1st/2nd Feb 2020. A writer’s workshop is being hosted by the judges to generate ideas ā€“ see https://store.southampton.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/southampton-business-school/events/green-stories-writing-workshop
  • Book launch for ‘Resurrection Trust’ October Books, Southampton 28/3/2019. ā€˜Resurrection Trustā€™ is a collection of funny, dark, mad, bad, upbeat, downbeat and fantastical short stories about living sustainably from the University of Southampton’s Green Stories writing competition. From eco communities to singing buildings, and sharing economies, these stories showcase a myriad of different ideas about how humans can live more harmoniously with nature, and each other. Foreword by Caroline Lucas and review by Jonathan Porritt. Resurrection Trust is available from October Books, online from Amazon, or even better https://www.hive.co.uk/
  • Writer’s workshop 19/20 January 2019 at University of Southampton.

Prize Giving Event for short story competition 21/6/2018 October Books, Southampton. This celebrates the winners of our Green Stories competition, and pick up a free mini-anthology to give you a taster before the full one is published early 2019.