Birmingham Writers’ Group

Here are two extracts from Judith Allnatt’s newsletter.

I also enjoyed meeting writers who came to my workshop on the short story at Mickleover, Derby. This proved to be a popular workshop so it will be running again on 21^st April if anyone is interested in coming along. Details are at http://www.derby.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/library-events/writing-short-fiction-with-judith-allnatt/

 I’m delighted to have been asked to take part in a panel discussion with David Edgar and William Ivory on the theme of writing from history. As novelist, playwright and screenwriter respectively, we will discuss the challenge of writing about an historical event bound, to a degree, by the facts of the story. ‘Do Facts get in the way of a Good Story?’ will be at the Derby Theatre Studio on Friday 27^th Jan. http://www.writersguild.org.uk/news-a-features/events/232-do-facts-get-in-the-way-of-a-good-story

Wed 29th February 2012 6.30pm (for 7.00pm start) @ Birmingham Library Theatre, Central Library, Birmingham (This is a free event)
To book your free ticket(s), please contact the Reader Development Office on 0121 303 2895/0121 464 2690 or email: reader.development@birmingham.gov.uk
Live, love, read, it’s your library

The book: BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP is the story of Christine, a fortyseven year old writer who, following a catastrophic accident in her mid?twenties, is incapable of forming and maintaining new memories for more than a day. Trapped in an existence in which she wakes every day believing herself to be single and with a whole lifetime of choice ahead of her she discovers instead that she lives with her husband, Ben, with most decisions already made. The novel charts her attempts to make sense of her world. When Christine learns that she has been meeting with a doctor who is helping her to recover her memory ? and that following his suggestion she has been keeping a journal in order to record her fragmentary recollections and piece together her past ? she is hopeful that she may be cured. But the story that emerges is to set in motion a terrifying voyage of discovery that will ultimately have startling consequences for her and all who love her, leading her to question whether the truth is sometimes better left forgotten.
Before I Go to Sleep is the stunning debut novel from British newcomer SJ Watson and was the winner of both the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for best debut novel of 2011 and the Galaxy National Book Awards Crime & Thriller of the Year 2011. The book has attracted world wide acclaim and has been sold to over 30 territories around the world and translated into over 30 languages. Before I Go to Sleep has been also been acquired for film by Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free, with Rowan Joffe (28 Weeks Later; The American) to direct. The novel has been acclaimed by some of the most respected and bestselling contemporary authors and SJ Watson has since been widely recognised as one of the most exciting new authors of 2011 by national newspapers and magazines.
2012 has already seen Before I Go To Sleep as the number one selling book in the Sunday Times bestseller list. It has also been selected for The TV Book Club and is featured in Richard & Judy 2012 Book Club.
The writer: S J Watson was born in the Midlands, lives in London and worked in the NHS for a number of years. In 2009 Watson was accepted into the first Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ Course, a programme that covers all aspects of the novel?writing process. Before I Go to Sleep is the result. For more information about Steve and his work, please visit: http://www.sjwatson-books.com
How to book tickets: Please note a guest list will be in operation for this event. To book seats, please email: reader.development@birmingham.gov.uk or call 0121 303 2895/0121 464 2690.
For more details about this and other author events at the Library Theatre, please contact Nikki Bi (nikki.bi@birmingham.gov.uk). We are now also on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to be the first to know about upcoming author events at the Library Theatre, Facebook us at ‘Birmingham Reads’ or follow us on Twitter: @BirminghamReads.

This is a regular Spoken Word event, where Chris Lowe often contributes:

SW@N Club

New Hampton Inn

Richer St

Wolverhampton

1st Monday of every month, 8pm

Chris will also be at Alcester Winter Warmer Folk Festival

Susan Hampton, a friend of Birmingham Writers’ Group who visited us a few months ago has sent the following news:

My first novel for adults is now live online and can be downloaded from Amazon to read on Kindle. It will soon be available through I-bookstore, Kobo and Googlebooks too. An audiobook version will follow in a few weeks. I went up to a studio in Soho yesterday to start recording the audiobook, above a space where the Beatles used to rehearse!

It’s called ARIA, and it’s the story of two mature sisters on holiday, inspired by Sense and Sensibility and set in Florence and then Positano.The ISBN is 97819086830201. They’re categorizing it under Fiction General and Fiction Romance. This is the link to find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARIA-ebook/dp/B006YVC8YK/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326865181&sr=1-3

Even if you can’t read it this way yourself do tell others who might be interested. And stand by for the launch of Leslie’s e-book, HEAD AND HEART, a collection of love poems to me.

We’re looking for the finest piece of short fiction, based around the theme of “cities”. Stories can be set anywhere and at any time, as long as they talk about the urban experience.

All stories will be read and judged by our panel of judges: Times critic and chief of the Soho House Literary Salon Damian Barr; literary agent Ed Victor; GQ Editor Dylan Jones; GQ Literary Editor Olivia Cole; GQ Deputy Editor Bill Prince; design director of Land Rover Gerry McGovern; literacy agency Diane Banks Associates’ Diane Banks; and House magazine editor Justin Quirk. The short list of ten stories will be printed in a special summer reading supplement with the June issue of House magazine, and the winning entry will be published in the August issue of GQ. The writer will be a guest of Land Rover at the Hay Literary Festival 2012 and will receive a commitment to be repre­sented and have their work developed by literary agent Diane Banks for 12 months.

Entries must be no longer than 1,000 words and must be e-mailed to citystories@sohohouse.com as a double-spaced Word document by 31 January 2012. The competition is not open to writers who have already been published professionally or those who have already signed a publishing deal. Best of luck…

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2012-01/03/gq-short-story-competition

http://fantasywritingcontest.com/

Prizes and publication on offer, with an emphasis on drawing out new talent.

Writing Magazine columnist, Lorraine Mace and co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist, Maureen Vincent-Northam, will be leading a weekend workshop at the beautiful Baskerville Hall Hotel near the book town of Hay on Wye this spring.

Arthur Conan Doyle was a regular visitor to Baskerville Hall and, although the final story was set in Devon, the idea for one of his best-loved works, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, was born after hearing of the local legend.

The two workshops, which cover non-fiction writing and flash fiction, will be held on Saturday 19 May 2012 with an overnight stay for attendees at the historic hotel. Topics covered include finding ideas, developing characters, plots, interviewing, the value of photographs and writing winning query letters.

Places on the course are limited and the cost is £135 per person, which includes both workshops, hotel accommodation and meals plus a book and prize draws.

Website: http://writersabcworkshops.lorrainemace.com/

This is an open call for submissions from ALL authors (including those writers already published, or are due to be published, by Spectral).

What we are looking for are ghostly/supernatural tales of between 5,000 and 10,000 words, set around the time of the Christmas/Mid-winter celebrations.

The deadline for stories to reach us is June 30^th 2012

There WILL be a small payment for each story accepted, plus copies of the physical book for each author.

http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/its-here-call-for-submssions/

Room 204 is for emerging writers living or working in the West Midlands who are looking for career development. It will support 15 -20 writers per year.

Check the website for details on the support & eligibility

http://www.writingwestmidlands.org/room-204/

THE TERRY PRATCHETT ANYWHERE BUT HERE, ANYWHEN BUT NOW FIRST NOVEL AWARD

Anywhere but here, anywhen but now. Which means we are after stories set on Earth, although it may be an Earth that might have been, or might yet be, one that has gone down a different leg of the famous trousers of time (see the illustration in almost every book about quantum theory).

The closing date for the competition is 31st December 2012

See more http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/?p=1348