BUDDING poets and authors will have a chance to showcase their work at a new literary event in Portishead.

Local writers Clive Birnie and Jo Carrington are launching a poetry and storytelling open mic evening at Coco’s Cafe Bar at the marina.

The monthly event will feature a published author or poet with the rest of the evening given over to open mic slots for aspiring writers to read their poetry or short story. Anyone can sign up for the open mic or simply go along and listen.

Businessman, blogger and poet Clive lives in Portishead with his wife and daughter and has had poetry and short stories published by numerous literary journals. In 2011, he completed a seven-poem commission for The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton and most recently was short-listed in the Wells Festival of Literature Poetry Competition.

He said: “There are loads of good literary open mic nights in Bristol and other towns in the South West so we thought something similar was needed here in North Somerset.”

Jo, who has just completed her first novel and whose short stories have been read on Radio 4, added: “The Coco Cafe Bar is the perfect venue for this type of evening - it will be a relaxed event where anyone can get up and read their writing or just tell a story or recite a favourite poem.”

Jo lives in Pill where their first guest author, Gareth Powell also lives.

The first literary open mic night, for which there is no charge, will take place on April 19 at 7.30pm when science fiction writer Gareth will be reading from his novel The Recollection, published by Solaris Books in 2011.