Caryl Phillips: Writing about being a Football Fan

Renowned novelist Caryl Phillips spent his childhood in Leeds and remains a committed Leeds United fan. While known around the world for his powerful fiction, he’s also frequently written about being a football fan, including the complexities of being a Black fan of Leeds United in the 1960s and 70s.

As part of the Voice of the Fans exhibition, in conversation with Professor Andrew Warnes, Phillips discusses his experience as a fan, of writing about football and what Leeds United means to the city he grew up in.

Football Heritage and Fandom: A Research Showcase

This panel event brings together experts on football heritage and fan culture, including Professor Richard Haynes (The Football Imagination), PhD researchers Cameron Huggett and Aurélien Gerard, and curator Dora Petherbridge. Topics will include the rise of football fanzines, solidarity movements in the 1980s, and Andrew Watson’s XI—an all-star fantasy team of Black footballers and footballers of colour in Scotland, developed through a National Library of Scotland project celebrating football’s roots, culture, heritage, and communities.

Voice of the Fans Now

Fan-led media occupies a unique space in the world of football, from a handful of photocopied fanzines sold outside football grounds in the ‘70s, to the global reach of today’s multimedia platforms. Join the British Library and Leeds Libraries to explore fan-driven publishing in the present moment, including its role in the wider media landscape, what it offers audiences, why it’s important and how it has endured despite changes in the globalised game.

Zine Culture/Zine Life

Punks are taking over! Attitude Problem Zine editor Steve Hyland will introduce his collection of zines from the mid-80s to the present day and talk about how zines represent part of the counterculture within the DIY punk scene and beyond.

Rock out to a playlist of specially curated punk rock from across generations whilst you check out Zines from Ska to Oi! to Hardcore Punk to Riot Grrrl! Limited bar service available.

Nature: Sensory – exhibition

Showcasing work by  five artists, this second iteration of Nature: Sensory reimagines how we experience the environment.

The show explores alternative sensory engagements with nature that are more than just visual, such as the tactile qualities of materials or the rhythm of movement.

Showing work created by disabled artists and those living with long-term health conditions, the exhibition offers fresh, unique interpretations of Wakefield’s green spaces that challenge traditional perceptions of landscape.