Mills & Boon talk from Michelle Styles
Five of us from Ripon Writers’ Group have just been to a talk and workshop at Knaresborough Library in connection with the Mills & Boon ‘New Voices’ competition.
Novelist Michelle Styles gave us many useful tips and I particularly appreciated her advice on coping with ‘sagging middle syndrome’.
Mills & Boon are one of the few publishers to welcome unagented submissions and have an excellent reputation for developing new writers. Their requirements are stringent but, with a wider variety of impressions than ever to choose from, I’m thinking of having a go.
Posted 01/09/10 - Post the first comment on this story
Sally Quilford
As an admirer of prolific writer Sally Quilford, I was delighted recently to win a prize in one of her competitions. A piece of flash fiction earned me a copy of the latest Bristol Short Story Prize anthology.
As well as being a columnist with Writers’ Forum, Sally provides a wealth of information through her website, blog and writing calendar:
http://www.sallyquilford.co.uk
http://www.sallyquilfordsblog.co.uk
http://www.writingcalendar.com
Posted 26/08/10 - Post the first comment on this story
Swanwick finale
The day passed in a whirl of activity - final part of Roger Ellory’s course, the A.G.M. and the ‘dregs’ party.
The highlight, though, was definitely actor and writer Ben Crystal’s bravura performance.of ‘Shakespeare: Love, Sex & Comedy. What a guy!
Posted 12/08/10 - Post the first comment on this story
Yee haw!
More crime writing tips from Roger Ellory and a hilarious talk from Will Randall were the literary events of the day for me.
The highlight of the evening was the very versatile Mark Iveson’s ‘Country and Folk Night’.
In some numbers, Mark was ably assisted by Julia Pattison.
What a hat!
Posted 11/08/10 - Post the first comment on this story
Halfway through!
Tuesday always marks the halfway point at Swanwick and an afternoon outing.
Three of us chose to go to Chatsworth and enjoyed looking around the many areas of the house open to the public. Unfortunately, this didn’t allow as much time as we’d have liked to view the gardens.
The evening saw a special reception for subscribers to Writers’ News/Writing Magazine and it was interesting to meet the team behind them, particularly editor Jonathan Telfer. Wine was served and slices of a magnificent cake commissioned for the occasion!
Posted 10/08/10 - Post the first comment on this story