LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH - OPEN MIC EVENT

Mill End Sports and Social Club,  Penn Rd, Mill End, Rickmansworth, WD3 8QN 

From 6:30pm

Step into an evening of suspense, comedy, and delicious food as the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust invites you to a brand-new Murder Mystery Evening — a social night out that’s perfect for friends, family, and anyone who loves solving a good whodunnit. 

(The Murder Mystery is written by Watford Writers' very own Chris McDermott)

Watford Writers are invited to form a team or teams of 6 - 8 people.

£18 pp.

For full details and booking details, please CLICK ON THE LOGO (Right).

Should be a memorable evening!

It was with great sadness that we advised of the passing of our dear writing friend Sue Pettit. 

Sue was one of the founding members of Watford Writers in February 2005, and was a wonderful supporter to the group throughout the last 20 years. Always upbeat and very jovial, Sue was an inspiration to the group and always encouraging of fellow writers. 

Watford Writers expressed their sincere condolences to Sue's family, and there was appropriate representation at Sue's funeral on 9 January 2026. Sue's husband Tony invited Sumi Watters to say a few words at the wake and Louise Welland recited Sue's poem My Secret.

Sue will be sadly missed by all of us at Watford Writers.

Photo: Sue (centre) winning our writing competition The Secret in September 2018, pictured with fellow WW members Mike Lansdown and Rob Summers.

It's many congratulations to our Chris.

Chris's article, An Analysis of the Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Working Life of the Headteacher is to be published early in the new year in 'The International Journal of Excellence in Smart Learning.’  This article focusses on the importance of emotional intelligence in the working life of the headteacher, and is based on their responses to questions, using both quantitative and qualitative data, relating to a survey and then interviews. Chris was motivated by a concern to give those being surveyed a voice, whilst recognising the importance of emotional intelligence in their working lives. The structure of the survey and interviews is built on the concept that emotional intelligence relates to both intra-personal and inter-personal factors. Will be an interesting read indeed.

As a footnote to Chris's news, he was also invited by Professor Khadeegha Alzouebi, who is a professor at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai, to submit a second article, of which an extract was read by Chris at our last in-person meeting. We are delighted to say Chris's second article has been accepted. Its title is Leadership and Change. Personal Reflections of Principalship in Dubai'. It is quite different in style in that it is not, strictly, an academic piece as such, but is a reflection of Chris's personal experiences, using metaphors to illustrate his thinking.

MARCH 2025

Following on from Jo's winning entry in our Eclipse Flash Fiction competition (April 2024) Jo later resubmitted the writing to fit the theme of Things Left Unsaid in the Motherhood Uncensored competition.; and it's exciting news...!

Jo's piece is now being published in a book, which is launching this month. Woohoo!

You can check it out here: https://shorturl.at/69FzK  Proceeds from the sale of the book will be shared with Make Birth Better and PND Awareness and Support (Pandas foundation).

There are several free launch events throughout the country. Jo be at the London event on 22 March, with free tickets available here: https://shorturl.at/Og9mw

Jo would like to say thank you to all fellow Watford Writers for the support!

Well done our Jo - a splendid achievement indeed.

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NOV 2024

Many congratulations to Joanna Bawa. Jo submitted her DeathDefy story to the City Writes writing competition (run by City Lit, City University's short courses team), and it has been selected as a winner. She has been invited to read it on their City Writes Zoom 'event' in the company of various literary figures on Wednesday December 11th at 7pm. Anyone can log in, so if any of Watford Writers want to hear another rendition of the story and the other winners, they can. A link to register to attend the event:   https://blogs.city.ac.uk/cityshortcourses/page-3/

In addition, you may remember that Jo’s piece from April, Eclipse, got through to a shortlist for a competition run by Motherhood Uncensored, and she asked people if they would mind voting for it? The piece has been selected for publication, with a planned release date of March 2025. Jo wants to thank anyone who voted for her, although she says everyone should be reassured to hear she’ll never know whether they did or didn't!

Jo added, ‘I must say, being part of Watford Writers seems to have set off a surge of creativity which I am feeling really happy about.’

We are always happy to receive this sort of feedback and to know that we are inspiring others to write.

Many congratulations Joanna, keep up the great work!

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JUNE 2024

Watford Writers' Joanna Bawa entered the Victory Radio Station Pick of the Pops competition 2024 with her story, Total Eclipse of the Heart, and we are delighted to confirm Jo's story achieved a Top 40 placing. Well done our Jo!

For the full Competition Finalist listing, please CLICK HERE