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HAY FESTIVAL 2021
Now On!
26 May to 6 June 2021.
34th spring edition, broadcasting for free online from Hay-on-Wye to the world 26 May–6 June. Over 12 days, more than 200 acclaimed writers, global policy makers, historians, poets, pioneers and innovators join us to inspire, examine and entertain in events for all ages. All events will be closed-captioned and available to watch for free 24 hours from their live broadcast.
WIGTOWN POETRY PRIZE COMPETITION 2021
Scotland's International Poetry Prize, open to all!
Founded in 2005, the Wigtown Poetry Prize is one of the UK's best established writing competitions and a launchpad for many writers' careers.
Refreshed and rebranded in 2019, Wigtown Poetry Prize welcomes entries from poets writing in English wherever they may live. Separate categories celebrate the best of Scottish Gaelic and Scots language poetry, a special category acknowledges a rising talent in Dumfries & Galloway, and a pamphlet prize is named in memory of Alastair Reid - local poet and one of Scotland's foremost literary figures.
The competition closes on 31 May 2021, with a prize-giving at Wigtown Book Festival in the autumn.
NATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2021
Now open for entries!
The judges this year are Fiona Benson, David Constantine and Rachel Long, and they are looking forward to reading your submissions.
The Poetry Society are commissioning brand new writing resources from previous winners and judges of the competition to get you in the National Poetry Competition mood. These will be posted on The Poetry Society’s website throughout the duration of the competition – look out for mentions of them on social media and in e-bulletins.
Please familiarise yourself with the rules of entry before submitting your poems. If you have any questions about the entry process, check the FAQs page to see if the answer is there.
Congratulations to Brian
May's Flash Fiction theme was 'Disappointment.' Many congratulations to Brian who takes first place this month with 'Separate Lives.'
1st Place: Brian Bold 'Separate Lives'
2nd Place: Jan Rees 'The Gipsy Fair'
3rd Place: Ann Crago 'Not Waving, But Drowning'
4th Place: Susan DeSilva 'The Wrong Side of 40'
To view all the entries, PLEASE CLICK HERE
COURSES in CREATIVE WRITING, POETRY and ENGLISH LITERTURE
(Courses via remote delivery)
Cambridge University's Institute for Continuing Learning is now taking bookings for the following courses, which will be delivered via live Zoom teaching sessions across one or more days.
For more details about each course and in order to book your place, please click on the links below:
Complete List of Creative Writing Courses
Blogging and Writing for an Online Audience - Louise 'Daisy' Johnson
24 May to 11 July.
An Introduction to Writing Poetry - Dr Joanne Limburg
24 May to 11 July.
Creative Writing Retreat (2 retreats on offer) - Dr Sarah Burton and Professor Jem Poster.
1st Retreat:
Starts: 11th July. Retreat Duration: 6 days
2nd Retreat:
Starts: 14 August 2021. Retreat Duration: 6 days
For more details:
The Academic Centre Administration Team: Creative Writing, Literature, Film Studies
Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge
Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge CB23 8AQ
OPEN LEARN - FREE WRITING and POETRY COURSES
What is Poetry?
Have you always wanted to try to write poetry but never quite managed to start? This free course, What is poetry?, is designed to illustrate the techniques behind both the traditional forms of poetry and free verse. You will learn how you can use your own experiences to develop ideas and how to harness your imagination.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE
Writing What You Know
Do you want to improve your descriptive writing? This free course, Writing what you know, will help you to develop your perception of the world about you and enable you to see the familiar things in everyday life in a new light. You will also learn how authors use their own personal histories to form the basis of their work.
Creative Writing and Critical Reading
This free course, Creative writing and critical reading, explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer’s development at the postgraduate level. You will gain inspiration and ideas from examining other writers’ methods, as well as enhancing your critical reading skills. Examples will cover the genres of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scriptwriting.
Form and Uses of Language
In this free course, Form and uses of language, we will consider how language can be used in different ways for different purposes. To do this we will use the theme of memorial and commemoration. In the first section we briefly discuss the life of the poet Siegfried Sassoon before examining both his poetry and his prose. Through this we will see how Sassoon conveys meaning in different ways for different audiences using different forms. Following this we discuss more generally how different meanings can be conveyed using prose and poetic language.
Start Writing Fiction
Start Writing Fiction - Characters and Stories
This free course, Start writing fiction: characters and stories, helps you to get started with your own fiction writing. It provides a practical, hands-on approach, focusing on the central skill of creating characters. You will listen to established writers talk about how they started writing and consider the rituals of writing and the importance of keeping a journal. You'll learn how to develop your ideas and the importance of reflecting on writing and editing, and you'll hear other writers talking about their approaches to research and consider ways of turning events into a plot.
This course is intended for those with an interest in starting to write fiction or improving their fiction writing, and does not require any previous experience of studying this subject.
For a complete list of all the Open Learn Courses
THE EXTRA MILES - NOW AVAILABLE!
Ten years after I published ROAD WORKS, a nostalgic travel memoir told through the prism of family car journeys over forty years, I’ve co-written a sequel, THE EXTRA MILES – on roads still to travel.
Not so many cars this time, and just ten years of travels, but lots of wry humour from my co-writer and travelling companion, Anne-Marie. For all of us, every journey is a personal experience and we relate ours together with over hundred coloured pictures.
We hope you’ll enjoy riding with us across England, Ireland, Scotland, France and New Zealand perhaps recalling some of your own visits and maybe discovering new places you want to explore.
THE EXTRA MILES by Brian Bold with Anne-Marie Groves is currently available as a paperback from www.lulu.com and hopefully soon from Amazon too.
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION
Long term supporter of Watford Writers is Linda Spurr who has written a super beginner's guide to writing fiction.
25 chapters cover everything from the reason to write, forming an idea and taking this right through all the important stages to editing and finishing.
Linda was a journalist for newspapers and the BBC for 20+ years, specialising in sport. Linda then became a freelance travel writer for magazines. Now she write novels and a writing blog.
Linda's novel Pathway To the Gods was shortlisted in the Wilbur Smith Adventure Prize four years ago. Read here for details.
A Beginner's Guide to Writing Fiction is a must for all those who write fiction.
STORY WRITING FOR CHILDREN - FREE ONLINE COURSE
Mini Maestro Writing Course
12 LESSONS; 0.75 HRS VIDEO CONTENT; COURSE NOTES
Keep children entertained and engaged with twelve inspiring video lessons from David Walliams, free! The course is designed to help children aged 7-12 write their own amazing story, with lessons on things from coming up with a character and setting, to how to create a basic structure. It comes with a downloadable exercise book full of activities to get the ideas flowing. Stories can be submitted to a prize draw to be in with a chance of winning a writing lesson with David himself and a signed illustration, with ten from age group 7-9 and ten from age group 10-12 being randomly selected.
MSt in Writing for Performance
Calling all playwriters in the group
You may be interested to know about this course being offered by Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education:
MSt in Writing for Performance
The Master of Studies (MSt) in Writing for Performance is designed for postgraduate students who wish to develop high-level theoretical skills, and a vibrant and innovative creative practice within writing for a range of performance mediums. Writing for Performance is defined as scripts for theatre, film/TV, radio drama, comedy, or text for performance art/poetry/installations, and for digital platforms. The programme aims to facilitate experimental creative writing practices, while developing students’ ability to think conceptually about performance theories, histories, traditions and forms.
HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY WATFORD WRITERS!
Hard to believe that this week Watford Writers will reach it’s 16th Birthday!
Thank you to Louise Welland who made this great cake shown in the photograph above. We managed to distribute a piece to the majority of the group (who live locally) before Monday night’s Valentine and Birthday evening, along with a candle and holder. So we all lit our candles, sang happy birthday and then ate the cake, or at least those that had resisted eating it during the day were able to! We followed with readings from our favourite poets or our own poems, short stories and even a love song, then two great quizzes. Some really moving and thought provoking writing . We went over time and finished up nearer to 10.00pm, but it was OK, nobody had to drive home after a couple of drinks! Thank you to everyone for my birthday wishes as well.
WATFORD CELEBRATED IN VERSE
Watford Writers very own Jan Rees celebrates our wonderful town with her specially written prose. To see this excellent presentation and hear Jan's superb recital performance:
POETRY WORKSHOP - CONNECTING FROM HOME
Poet-in-Residence, Dan Simpson is holding a series of creative poetry workshops, connecting you to the cathedral, the world - and yourself...
Broadcasting from a hidden space in St Albans Cathedral, you'll see the building in a new light and reflect on your own meaningful spaces. Dan will take you from inspiring poetry through to accessible prompts, guiding you to generating your own writing - with the chance to share back. Dan creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere that will allow you to tap into your creativity and express yourself uniquely.
WATFORD WRITERS' CHRISTMAS PANTOS!
On 21 December, Watford Writers got together in festive mood and presented a set of pantos like no other... oh no they didn't... oh yes they did.
CLICK ON THE TREE TO RIGHT TO SEE ALL THE FUN
We celebrate the publication of Susan's book
A THANKLESS CHILD
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGIANA JANE HENDERSON (1771 - 1850)
This book provides a flavour of a period of history known as the Enlightenment through the eyes of a young girl born in 1771. Georgiana Jane Henderson (nee Keate) was known to actors, actresses, artists, naval men, emigres and even a South Sea islander and visited England's spa towns. She had her portrait painted by Angelica Kauffman RA and John Russell RA.
Meet The Author
Susan Bennett MA is an Honorary Faculty Fellow at Brighton University; and Honorary Secretary of and Editor for The William Shipley Group for RSA History. Susan is also a dedicated member of Watford Writers .
It's a double congratulations to Mike
Mike Lansdown has achieved "Runner-Up" position in this year's Hertfordshire Year of Culture Friends and Family creative writing competition. His poem, entitled Welcome to the Family was highly praised by the judges who commented: ‘Welcome to the Family was wonderfully ambitious with a truly panoramic reach. There were some memorable lines - 'Antecedent and ancestral, Antediluvian' which demonstrated a real love of language.’
TO READ MIKE'S POEM - PLEASE CLICK HERE
As a runner up, Mike's poem, along with that of the winner and the other shortlisted entry will become part of Herts Memories the Online Community Archive. The results of the competition will also be announced in the Year of Culture September newsletter for September which will include a copy of the three shortlisted entries.
Mike has also been recognised this month for his work with 'Penn Pushers' - a writing group focussing on autobiographies at Mill End Community Centre. Mike was presented with a Volunteer's Medal by the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire.
Many congratulations Mike from all of us at Watford Writers.
THE FIRST LIE by A J Park - out on 25 June 2020
Watford Writers welcomed Karl Vadaszffy back in February, who kindly told us about his writing career and the stages that led to the successful publication of his book The First Lie,
(written using his pen name: A.J. Park) in 2019.
The paperback is to be published on 25 June 2020.
For a summary of Karl's evening with us, please scroll below to the News Item.
Signed copies of The First Lie, written by A.J. Park, are available to order from Chorleywood Bookshop @CWBookshop
Priced at £8.99 (collection can be in person or postal cost is £2.80). Telephone: (01923) 283566 Email: info@cwbookshop.co.uk
Published: 25th June 2020.
NATIONAL POETRY LIBRARY
National Poetry Library have a large collection of brilliant, moving, funny and groundbreaking poems that you can read online, as well as a quote-finding service.
Well worth a look and signing up to their newsletter.
