SouthWest Fest 2017

SouthWestFest is back for another year and so am I, your faithful creative writing workshop leader!

So if you're interested in free creative writing sessions, come by. There are three sessions:

3rd, 4th & 7th of July | 6.00pm -7.00pm | Pimlico Library

You can sign up for a free place at http://southwestfest.org.uk/event/sw-oneworld-creative-writing-workshop but (shh!) just for readers of this blog - even if the sessions say they are booked up, just come by. Tell me you saw it on my blog and I'll squeeze you in!

Off to the British Council Creative Writing Summer School in Athens!

Only one week to go. In just seven days I will be packing my bags, ready to head of for a week of chatting writing for the internet with the wonderful students of the International Creative Writing Summer School in conjunction with the British Council and Kingston Writing School.

We'll be building blogs, talking Twitter, writing for Wattpad, how to get work copywriting and, of course, all about creative writing and the internet - all together now: all the sins!

I'm hoping to get some collaborative digital writing going and to have some fun work to share with you all.

I'm also hoping to survive the heat. I always think I love hot weather but then find myself teetering on the edge of death when it goes above 80F/25C. I'm a pastey northern european no matter how many US summers I've survived (I barely survived one summer in DC...oh, the humidity!).

Fortunately, I'll have writing, writers and Greek food to get me through. What else could you want?

Co-editing The Seethingographer

In what is quickly becoming a very busy year, my latest project is co-editing the next volume in The Seethingographer series of chapbooks published by Sampson Low Ltd. I heard you murmuring and, yes, you're correct: they are the publishers of such esteemed works as Noddy and Lorna Doone, and even a work or three by Bram Stoker. (cue my swooning love of Dracula [itself not a Sampson Low publication] and my strident reminder that Stoker is Irish)

Yes, yes, you say, we know Bram Stoker is Irish. You say it all the time. The question we have is: What on earth is a chapbook? Well, dear reader, a chapbook is a delightful morsel of art. A collection of poetry, or short fiction, sometimes combined with art and, in this case, a soon-to-be perfect alchemy of all three. The Sampson Low chapbooks are designed to fit into a small bag or pocket (only A6) and are just 16 pages long. They are perfect for a commute, a wait at the doctor's office or a maybe a lunchtime read in the sun. 

I was invited to participate in this venture by the wonderful poet and psychogeographer, Lucy Furlong, and I'm excited to start reading submissions soon! If you're interested in submitting, here are the details and you can find out more on the Seethingography website:

Theme: Going Home
Flash fiction <170 words
Poetry <20 lines
High res photography/art also welcome
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Submit to: seethingography@gmail.com
Payment: A fabulous copy all your own - it'll be a framer!

Only a few days left, so get scribbling, snapping and sending. Can't wait to see what you've got.

Kingston Writing School Reading Series

The exciting news this week is that my fab co-editor, Lisa Davison, and I will be talking writing and all the sins at the Kingston Writing School reading series. We're looking forward to talking with readers and writers and to sharing the stage with the wonderful, Vicky Newham.

Hope to see some of you out there!

Wednesday 22 March 2017

6.30pm doors - 7pm start 

JG0001 

Kingston University

Penrhyn Road

Kingston-Upon-Thames

KT1 2EE

Off to Athens with the British Council!

It's official! I mean, they've spelled my name wrong on the website, but, still, I'm pretty sure they mean me.

This summer, from June 19-23, 2017 I will be teaching a one week course for the British Council and Kingston Writing School's Creative Writing Summer School. My sessions will be on writing for the internet including blogging and internet-based publishing. I'm really excited and busy building some fun, hands-on sessions to help writers get comfortable and gain confidence in writing for all you lovely internet readers.

We'll cover all sorts of topics like finding and maintaining a readership, finding your niche, the basics of SEO, various platforms, tone, length, visuals, whether print is dead and what that means to digital writing and, of course, my passion project, the amazing all the sins. If you are wondering about editing or just being published in an online publication, find out all that entails and get a peek behind the scenes. I'll be telling our secrets and giving you the tips you need!

If you're interested, the price is fantastic: €340 per week with discounts for residents of Greece (15%), European Youth Card holders (25%!), and anyone who registers before 10 April (10%) for full week classes and €200 for three day classes. There are clases throughout the month of June on flash fiction, fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and publishing/editing in addition to my week on internet writing, and are three hours every evening, with a reading on the Saturday night. It's a great opportunity to focus intensively on your writing with motivated teachers. And, hey, it's in Athens - how far wrong can you go there?

If you're interested, check out the full line-up from Forward Prize winner Mona Arshi to New York Times bestseller Julia Stuart at the British Council website.