Apr—Jun 2013 Why do we write? I often hear authors say that they need to write. I can identify with that feeling: I am no stranger to frustration, even guilt, when a day goes by without my constructing a sentence or ten. But why do we write? I used to think it was a way of making sense of the world - then I thought it was a way of surviving it. Now I’ve come to the conclusion that, at least for me, writing is an escape. Life is fragile, unpredictable and, at times, scary. Writing provides a sense of control. There can still be danger, excitement and surprise but, ultimately, the author plays puppet-master. Of course, I’m missing something, the other reason we write, and the reason we joined New Writ- ers UK. For our work to be read. We want others to enjoy the worlds we have crafted, experienc- ing our creations in their own unique way. Every reader’s head will be filled with their own images, so much so that our words will be interpreted in as many different ways as we have readers. So much for control! Once the writing is over, the fate of our books is no longer in our hands. The control is gone, handed over to agents, editors, readers and reviewers. If there is a point to take from my ram- blings it is this: don’t give up the control of your writing until you’re ready. Books are our babies and they won’t fair well until they’re ready to leave home. I must finish with a few thank yous: Firstly, Stephen Booth, not only is he speaking at our Chilwell and Gedling events but he’s agreed to help present the prizes in our over 55s writing competition for Nottinghamshire residents. It really helps to receive the support of an established author. Sec- ondly, Cathy Helms, cover designer extraordinaire, for her work the on the new cover for our over 55s anthology. Thirdly, to Richard Denning, for allowing our members to sell at the popular Games Expo, and finally, to all of the great writers that have agreed to give talks and workshops at our events. We are particularly excited by the line up we have put together for the Gedling Book Festi- val. Keep writing! John Baird
Transcript
Apr—Jun 2013
Why do we write? I often hear authors say that they need to write. I can identify with that feeling: I am no stranger to frustration, even guilt, when a day goes by without my constructing a sentence or ten. But why do we write? I used to think it was a way of making sense of the world - then I thought it was a way of surviving it. Now I’ve come to the conclusion that, at least for me, writing is an escape. Life is fragile, unpredictable and, at times, scary. Writing provides a sense of control. There can still be danger, excitement and surprise but, ultimately, the author plays puppet-master. Of course, I’m missing something, the other reason we write, and the reason we joined New Writ-ers UK. For our work to be read. We want others to enjoy the worlds we have crafted, experienc-ing our creations in their own unique way. Every reader’s head will be filled with their own images, so much so that our words will be interpreted in as many different ways as we have readers. So much for control! Once the writing is over, the fate of our books is no longer in our hands. The control is gone, handed over to agents, editors, readers and reviewers. If there is a point to take from my ram-blings it is this: don’t give up the control of your writing until you’re ready. Books are our babies and they won’t fair well until they’re ready to leave home. I must finish with a few thank yous: Firstly, Stephen Booth, not only is he speaking at our Chilwell and Gedling events but he’s agreed to help present the prizes in our over 55s writing competition for Nottinghamshire residents. It really helps to receive the support of an established author. Sec-ondly, Cathy Helms, cover designer extraordinaire, for her work the on the new cover for our over 55s anthology. Thirdly, to Richard Denning, for allowing our members to sell at the popular Games Expo, and finally, to all of the great writers that have agreed to give talks and workshops at our events. We are particularly excited by the line up we have put together for the Gedling Book Festi-val. Keep writing!
John Baird
3. Notes from the Editor Rachel Littlewood
4. Why Reviews are Important Yasir Hayat
5. In Focus D Michelle Gent
6. Competition Awards
7. Off The Beaten Track Philip Baker
11. Teddy Goes to Buckingham Palace Susan Beecroft
12. UK Games Expo Richard Denning
13. Workshops at Melton Library Fiona Linday
14. Those were the Days my Friend Gloria Morgan
17. Proof of the Pudding Michael Smedley
18. Full Marks Neal James
20. Competition Catherine Cooper
23. Gedling Book Festival Programme
25. New Members
28. Next Events
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Book TrailersBook TrailersBook TrailersBook Trailers
now on the websitenow on the websitenow on the websitenow on the website
I mentioned in the last Newsletter about promotion and mar-keting, there’s usually something in each Newsletter about pro-motion and how to help yourself. It’s not easy and no matter how much hard work you put into it there’s absolutely no guarantee of any return. So why bother? Because it does matter and while it may seem like there’s no immediate pay off, that’s not necessarily the case. It’s small steps, a bit by bit process that starts with hours and hours of preparation and time spent cultivating contacts and building up a network. All of that takes a huge amount of time and that’s the hardest commodity to find these days. Social Networking sites like Face-book and Twitter are an art in themselves, you can spend all day on there, liking and following, sharing and retweeting, building up your own followers and friends. Then you get to the point where you realise that actually, you can’t go on today. You have some-thing else to do, or you want to go on holiday. What happens? Do you leave it? Not necessarily the cleverest of ideas, once you drop off the radar, you’ve got to build it all back up again. What about press releases? Are you sending them to the right person? Have you thought about TV stations? Magazines? What ‘hook’ do you have that you could get more publicity from and bring you and your books more publicity? Do you have the time for all this? Work? Home? More writing? There may be ways we can help, why not drop me an email be-low and we can see what can be arranged? [email protected] Speak to you soon!
Why reviews are important
“I'm not usually a horror reader but still I enjoyed this book all the way through. Basically it's a horror story but the horror story is embellished with humour, ro-mance, and poetry. The story is helped by beautifully described scenes and amazing action sequences. The scenes, places and moods change with every chapter but the story remains loyal to its main line of horror. The writer has given his full attention to all of the characters; it's just amazing how he brings the char-acters to life. The best thing about this book is that it does not let you get bored. The story line grips your attention all the way through. I would definitely recom-mend this book. It's horror with a whole lot more!” Book – Memoirs of the Damned Review - taken from Amazon.co.uk
A view on reviews I once asked a friend of mine, a graphic novelist, why are reviews so important? He was slightly perplexed at my naivety, he explained to me in simple terms that reviews are the currency of trust. Have you seen mafia films where wise guys get asked by bosses, “Do you vouch for the guy?” well similarly a review is someone vouching for you. I realised this first hand when I was about to buy a computer game. The first thing I looked at was other people’s views; eventually I saw a pattern in their reviews. I have decided now not to buy the game, then it clicked, reviews are the difference between glory and failure. If people put stock in you then other people’s faith will automatically coincide, this also works for the negative side. Reading the review of my book above, do you think it’s a good book or a bad book? Each to their own tastes of course but real-istically speaking doesn’t the review sing the book’s praises? So now I am on a crusade, I am going around blogsites, websites and anyone who does reviews to see if they will rate my book. I have faith in my story but I am always ready to be slated. Even though I have three 5 star reviews so far, I don’t mind having constructive criticism. I don’t even mind if people slate my book, pro-vided they read it. You see having variety and diversity in views allows other people to gauge the landscape of the book. Too many negative or even positive reviews will cause doubt to seep into people’s perception. The world of reviews is an incredible as-set or enemy, treat it with respect and you won’t go wrong. Yasir Hayat http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk/yasirhayat.html
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In Focus—D Michelle Gent
What made you decide to join New Writers UK? I’m a County Councillor and I work at County Hall where Julie Malone works. I saw one of the flyers for the Children’s Competition and decided to take a look and have a chat with Julie. I was impressed with the organisation and thought I’d enjoy meeting like-minded people – I was right. How many books have you written? I’ve written three full novels and six short stories in my Y/A series What do you like to do when you're not working or writing? Not working or writing...? How does that work? What has been your most embarrassing moment? Far too many to mention... far, far too many. Who has been the greatest inspiration to you? My husband Trev and my daughter Dani. Trev never stops working – never. He encourages me to write and is always delighted with everything I do. Dani has been through so very much in the last few years and if she hasn’t given up – on everything – then I can’t either. If you had access to the T.A.R.D.I.S, where and when would you go? I’d visit Boudicca/Boudicea, Queen Elizabeth I and any number of other wonder-ful redheads throughout history. What's next for you? Next I’m going to be Director of one of my own stories. Dusty the Demon Hunter is coming to the big screen! As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Anything I damn well pleased – and I do! Not sure I’ve grown up yet through. If your book(s) were to be made into film, who would you like to see in the cast? Garry Oldman or Anthony Hopkins as Anton. Charlise Theron as Hazel/Red. Demi Moore as Elizabeth. Wes Bentley as Darius. What three songs make up the soundtrack to your life? Trouble – Pink Always a Woman – Billy Joel Trev’s ringtone for me is Bad Things – Jace Everett
Competition Awards
The 2012 Creative Writing Competition for Children concluded on 22 Feb-ruary, 2013 with the presentation of their published entries to the 27 young peo-ple selected as winners. If these young people continue in their enjoyment of writing and using their imagination, we are quite definitely looking at the future ‘stars’ of the literary world. And, just remember, we found them first!
You may have seen some of Cathy Helms’ work gracing the covers of Helen Hollick’s books or Jane Grey’s Bitti Chai. Her amazing artwork will soon be seen by even more people as she has designed the cover for the very first Silver Scribes an-thology. Cathy is also currently redesign-ing the covers for Jae Malone’s trilogy for the subsequent re-launch.
Off The Beaten Track. Philip Baker Some years ago, when writing my book Not Quite A Judas, which is about two fic-tional youths - one English, the other German - I had to do research by 'following' them as they took a 16 mile walk together, and spent the night camping on Dart-moor. The Moor is about as far off the beaten track as I had ever been myself, and I found those 16 miles to be a most rewarding, even though tiring, exercise. Up on The Moor, things happened to me - and so to John and Erich - that I could never have dreamed up in month of Tuesdays when seated at my word processor. Erich was a member of the Hitler Youth, and whilst researching that I had acquired a Fahrtenmesser - which translates literally as 'Travel knife'. (Equivalent to the Boy Scout's sheath knife, and definitely not - as usually described - a dagger.) Knowing that a sharp knife could be useful in an emergency, and that I'd be 'role-playing' up there, I had 'Erich's' knife on my belt. The day was perfect for walking, bright sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze kept the temperature just right. The naturally muted Moor colourings were at their brightest; Skylarks high overhead were singing their heart's out. Whilst I was beside a high stone wall, a head suddenly appeared., and asked. "Would you like a cup of tea?" A lone walker was brewing up on his little spirit stove, and for a few minutes, I abandoned my young 'companions' and joined him. Unfortunately I could not use this chance encounter in my story. Refreshed, I went on my way, heading for Erme Pound. The little roofless Bothy there has stone seats lining three of the waist high walls. I settled down inside and explored my packed lunch. The large tomato delighted me, and with it a kitchen-foil screw of salt. How better to apply salt than to slice that tomato in half - and I had a sharp knife too! It took but a moment, though my anticipation turned to ashes in my mouth. To prevent rusting, I always keep such blades well oiled - and I had forgot-ten to remove it. Believe me, Three-in-One oil makes a rotten Salad Dressing. But - there and then - I wrote how Erich, using his Fahrtenmesser, had cut their bread and given the first slice to John, with the exactly the same result. As I sat there eating, a solitary cloud came up - almost the biblical 'Cloud as big as a man's hand.' When it passed across the sun, the result was dramatic. Every Skylark vanished, the temperature dropped like a stone, the wind seemed to double in strength, yet there was almost silence, and all the colours had darkened by three shades. I am not normally affected by 'atmosphere' but I found myself wondering 'if this can happen in high summer, what must this place be like in win-ter?' I looked around me, at Three Barrows Hill with its so prominent burial mounds, and at the huge stones gathered by long dead people who created Erme Pound. 'Nobody who is worried by 'spooky' things would want to be here now.’ I thought. And in that very moment I discovered that Erich, my brave, strong, tough Hitler Youth - had an Achilles heel!
Cont…
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Minutes later I had written:- Although it was ridiculously early, I (John) suggested Erich might like to pitch camp somewhere near The Pound. Before replying he had a quick, almost furtive look around the hillside. “No. Not here John.“ He’d said that clearly enough, but I certainly was not meant to hear his softly murmured afterthought of “Zuviel Menschen!“ It was ridiculous for Erich to say “Too many people” because we hadn’t seen a single soul since leaving the Western Beacon almost three hours ago. But, in spite of that, I knew exactly what he meant. So many men, and their families too, had lived up on the Moor, labouring through the centuries and so many of them still lay close by, in long forgotten graves, or beneath the cairns and barrows I had shown him. Erich was only too well aware of that. He set off, striding purposefully away from all those ’Menschen.’ Later that afternoon I - in the role of John - cashed in on Erich’s newly found ‘little weakness’. I wrote, of the lads lying in their fogbound tent. “Didn‘t you hear it?” I asked, for the third time. But Erich had heard nothing at all. “That was Thomas the Tinner,” I whispered, “surely you must have heard a soft moaning and a sort of shuffling sound?” Erich shook his head emphatically. “No? Well ... one foggy night, many many years ago, a party of Tin Miners returned from an evening of heavy drinking, too fuddled to do anything but fall into bed. In the morning they realised Thomas was missing, and he never did turn up - not alive that is - but it soon be-came clear he had strayed into one of the quags or mires and perished. On nights such as this, he can still be seen - and heard - crawling on hands and knees, in search of the Bothy and his bed.” I suggested Erich should go out and see for himself, implying I had already seen Thomas on an earlier visit to the Moor. Erich was too afraid of ghosts to do this. The next day I told this invented tale to a local historian of the Moor, and he was most upset. “Never,” he told me, “never invent a Legend, because in five years it will have become firmly established as a centuries-old legend, one that its almost impossible to erase.” During the rest of my trek I discovered two more locations which I worked into my story. Had anybody seen me acting out the roles of John and Erich, they would probably have thought me totally deranged. But, having physically 'done it', I found it so easy to write my fiction convincingly.
Teddy Goes To Buckingham Palace . . . and where else? Since launching her first book at the NWUK Festival at County Hall last September, Sue Beecroft has been de-lighted with its recep-tion. She has been given many compli-ments on her story and Howard Barton’s beau-tiful illustrations. The first printing quickly sold out and she has had to order more cop-ies. Sue has now received a surprise approach from a charity called “Teddies for Loving Care” which raises money to provide ted-dies for children in dis-tress, such as when they are rushed into hospital or are involved in an accident where the fire brigade is involved. Sue has been asked about the possibility of her writing a new illustrated story about Teddy to be sold specifically to raise funds for this charity. Sue said: “I just can’t believe it. I never dreamed when I launched, only four months ago, that something like this could happen.” Sue and Howard will be sitting down together soon to discuss the new project.
UK Games Expo—Richard Denning UK Games Expo is on 25th and 26th May this year at the expanded venue of the NEC Hilton Metropole Hotel. As a director of UK Games Expo and NWUK mem-ber I have arranged a small area of the venue for authors at no cost to them. Space will be shared so authors may only get part of a table but they are wel-come to attend and sell books, hand out material. UK Games Expo is the UKs largest hobby game convention with 2800+ visitors. Many are Sci-Fi and fantasy fans and families. I am also looking for authors will-ing to speak at and run a seminar on self-publishing and eBook publishing. Ide-ally (as I will be massively busy running the convention) someone willing to RUN the seminar. The seminar would allow a panel of 3 to 5 authors to discuss pub-lishing and get in a mention of themselves and their works. This event is vast fun and great for families so bring the kids. We have a TARDIS, daleks, Starwars storm troops and huge numbers of games and activities. Check it out: www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk and email [email protected] to get involved.
Fiona Linday Sat 20th April Melton Library 2-3.30 A free writing workshop & readings from Fiona Linday's Life Writing atMelton Arts & Crafts Festival, tickets available at library. Join in an exercise to explore writing about a unique part of your interesting story. Please book on 0116 305 3646 A series of further workshops with writer Fiona Linday. Starting Friday19th April until 24th May 10.30-12.30 Embrace Arts, Leicester University Life Story Writing Workshops- Six writing workshops designed to generate new memoir material for partici-pants that will give licence to interpret, to create, to fabricate to make sense of life, or part of that life. Future sessions will follow. To find out more book via my contacts page at www.fionalinday.co.uk A £20 deposit holds your place or drop in @ £6 per session. A taster Creative Writing workshop in Harby village, near Melton. Join Fiona Linday in a group Life Story writing workshop. As part of Adult Learners Week, Wednesday 22nd May. £5 includes a cuppa! Readings, activities and exercises to explore writing about a unique part of your interesting story. Book via website www.fionalinday.co.uk contacts page.
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For independent book reviews visit
www.ibreviews.co.uk
“Those Were The Days, My Friend” Gloria Morgan Two years ago I helped my friend, Ken Marsland, publish his life story. He was 87 years old and wanted to leave a detailed record for his grandchildren of his many intricate memories of his childhood, early life, war time experiences, working life and retirement. He presented me with 60 thousand words painstakingly typed on his computer in more or less one continuous stream of thought, and said: “What do I do with this now?” Over the ensuing months we worked on the manuscript, first deciding how best to arrange the material, then going through the process of organising it into chapters. Then it was cut and paste, cut and paste, over and over again, eliminating repeti-tion and creating a good flow to the story. What we did next was plunder the fam-ily album for illustrations. Every fading portrait and long-preserved snap from a box Brownie was pored over as Ken chose those to be included. At long last the completed manuscript went to the printer, the proof was read and amended and eventually Ken had in his hand a smartly produced paperback enti-tled “Those Were The Days, My Friend”, of which he was justly very proud. Last week my old friend died, and I am so glad he actually did what so many peo-ple talk about doing but never, in fact, get around to. I met Ken shortly after I moved to Kimberley 26 years ago. He was well known as a local historian, a campaigner, and fund-raiser. He was a member of the Royal British Legion, had served a stint as Chair of the Parish Council and had been made a Freeman of the Borough for his services to the community. Ken was in-terested in everything, and knowledgeable on many subjects. He was a great rail-way enthusiast and loved his volunteer job as a signalman on the preserved steam line at Butterley. We became firm friends and had some memorable times together. For about ten years we organised a series of coach trips to places of interest. These started as part of the local Historical Society but eventually took on a life of their own as ‘M & M Tours’. We visited working museums where we watched people making leather goods, porcelain, chocolate, nails, bathtubs. We went down a coal mine, into army bar-racks, listened to a mighty Wurlitzer and walked on stilts. We always had a full bus and our little not-for-profit venture donated more than £1,500 to charity. Ken and I enjoyed some particularly good days out together to celebrate Ken’s birthday. For his 80th we went to Scotland for the day. We had breakfast at East Midlands airport and boarded the 9am flight to Glasgow, with all the businessmen. We took a conducted tour of Glasgow City Hall and afterwards caught the train to Edin-burgh for lunch – haggis and neeps, of course – followed by an open-top bus tour. The 5 o’c flight from Edinburgh airport got us back home in time for tea.
Cont...
When Ken turned 85 we went to the National Memorial Arboretum for the day. Ken had his photo taken at the REME and Fire Service memorials as he had proudly served in both. Because there was a lot of walking involved, Ken was offered the hire of a mobility scooter for the day. He agreed, as it would be a new experience to try. He was given a quick lesson and in no time was zooming round the car park. I spent the day racing after him on foot as he sped about the site, having the time of his life on his new toy. As soon as he got home he was on the internet finding out where he could get hold of one for himself. I do believe, if there had been a double-0 seven model that sprouted wings and had flames coming out the back, he would have had one of those. The publishing of Ken’s biography was a huge achievement and I was very proud to be able to help him realise this ambition. The book is successful because it catches Ken’s energy, his enthusiasm and zest for life. Ken was a good friend to me. He was always ready to listen to my ideas, come round with his tool box, drive me anywhere, look after my dog, bake me a cake. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have him as a friend. I shall miss him very much will treasure my copy of “Those Were The Days, My Friend” and the very happy memories of helping him get his book into print.
The Proof of the Pudding Michael John Smedley
For the last issue of the newsletter I wrote a tongue in cheek article entitled ‘Mankind or Machines.’ About ten days after my article had been submitted I met up with a group of friends I have known for over ten years. We were all on the same computer course for senior citizens at South Notts College in 2002 and ever since we have met three or four times a year at an excellent café in West Bridgford for coffee and a sausage sandwich. It seems we all have similar tastes; multigrain bread, brown sauce, spicy sausages and a good old natter. One of the ladies lives at the top end of W.B.; a part of Bridgford with big, ex-pensive, detached houses with swimming pools, security gates, double garages and pots of money. Her husband is a dedicated technology nerd, (a lovely fellow really I’m sure.) In the basement is a computer which controls the entire house. It is linked to security cameras, it controls the swimming pool, opens and closes the security gates, the doors and windows, the curtains and the blinds and switches the lights on and off to convince would-be burglars that the house is oc-cupied. It even controls the flushing of the toilets. One morning my friend set off with her handbag to enjoy the shopping delights of Central Avenue. Then there was a power cut in that part of the suburb. Oops! That did it. When she returned home she could not get into the house or through the gates. Her husband could not get out. The gates, the doors and the windows remained stubbornly closed. Nothing worked. It even became impossible to use the toilet. He was stuck inside. She was stuck on the outside. Never the twain could meet – or so it seemed. ‘Isn’t there some sort of manual means to open the gates?’ We asked our friend. ‘Oh yes, there is a winding handle for the gates but it’s in the garage.’ He couldn’t get to the garage from the inside and she could not get in from the out-side. What you might call an ‘impasse’ all round, that is until power was finally re-stored. ‘When I go shopping,’ our friend finished, with a sad little shake of her head, ‘I can’t be expected to carry a dirty great winding handle in my handbag can I?’ Perhaps she should!
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Derbyshire author, Neal James, releases his fifth book – ‘Full Marks’ (ISBN 9781782282631) on April 4th 2013.
Dennis Marks thought he had seen it all. That was before Solomon Goldblum crossed his path – after that, things were never the same again. The trauma which the old Jew had inflicted upon him had brought about a near psychological collapse. That the DCI had been able to conceal the fragility of his mental state from the shrink whom the Met had forced him to see had been down to his sheer determination. Now, all of that effort was about to be challenged by one of the most daunting figures at New Scotland Yard – Superintendent Eric Staines. The Independent Police Complaints Commission were about to take Marks’ life apart, profession-ally and personally, and Staines, as one of its fiercest inquisitors, was not a man inclined to show mercy. A month was all that the DCI had to prove his innocence of a range of charges dating back to his days as a detective sergeant. A career spent putting away the dregs of London’s criminal world was to hang in the balance, and he was, he believed, for the first time...alone. The story tracks the fortunes of one of the Metropolitan Police’s finest officers as he tries to clear his name. A raft of accusations, laid before the IPPC, threat-ens to undermine everything that he has achieved in over thirty years in the force.
Powerful forces, ranged on either side of the investigation, are set to determine the course of DCI Dennis Marks’ profes-sional and personal life. Following on the heels of ‘A Ticket to Tewkesbury’ (2008), ‘Short Stories Vol-ume One’ (2009), ‘Two Little Dicky Birds’ (2010), and ‘Threads of De-ceit’ (2011), ‘Full Marks’ is the latest in Neal’s growing portfolio, and can be ob-tained from the publisher, Pneuma Springs, at discounts of 40% for order of 50 copies or more per title.
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WIN ~ an exclusive handmade copy of Catherine Cooper's The Leg-end of Howling Hill... The Legend of Howling Hill tells the story of how a very large fire-breathing Dragonair became the last of its kind. Every dragonair had a personal name, a title, which it earned by its deeds, and a part of its body that denoted which family it came from. The dragon at the bottom of Howling Hill belonged to the SILVER family; Em-ber Silver Horn the Magnificent, was her name. Ember's mother was called Runkle Silver Claw the Fearless. There were many Dragonairs in the Silver family and your task is to name, draw and describe any of Ember Silver Horn's ancestors. In particu-lar, we'd like to know which part of the dragonair's body was silver. Should your dragonair be chosen, it will appear in the Legend of Howling Hill and your prize will be a unique, handmade book of the legend, the only one on earth. The winner and runners up will receive an ebook of the legend. Please email your entries to [email protected] by the 30th June 2013. The winner will be notified by 31st July 2013 and in due course will receive their handmade book.
Gedling Book Festival—July 12-14
Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham. A free to attend programme of talks, activities and more. Friday 12th 11.00am - Welcome 11.30am - Spanish Civil War Join David Ebsworth, author of The Jacobites’ Apprentice and The Assassin’s Mark, and prepare to be informed and entertained. 12.15pm - Youth Led By Youth Find out how Philip Baker’s novel Not Quite A Judas, led to him publishing the three volume reference work Youth in Nazi Germany. 1.00pm - 1066, King Harold and The Normans Novelist Helen Hollick will speak about life in the 11th century, including the Battle of Hastings. Suitable for people aged 7 and over. 2.00pm - The Vikings Take Nottingham! Learn about Nottingham’s Vikings with children’s author Ian Douglas and the Not-tingham History Roadshow, with plenty of gruesome facts, quizzes and a scary story. Suitable for those aged 7 and over. 3.00pm - Medieval Murder, Mystery and The Inquisition Karen Maitland will be talking about the research behind her medieval thrillers, from King John's spies to the deadly secrets of an Icelandic cave. 4.00pm - Panel Q & A Session A chance to fire your questions at a panel of historical novelists including Karen Maitland and Helen Hollick. 5.00pm - The Flower of Arnold Writer John Ward looks at the people of Arnold’s contribution to the war at sea (1942-45).
Saturday, July 13th – Children’s Day 10.00am – Welcome 10.15am – Home is where the Heart is Arnold-born YA author Fiona Linday explores the theme of ‘home’. 12.30pm - The Art of Oral StorytellingPete Davis, founder of Storytellers of Not-tingham, will perform a story or two and explain how he does it.
11.15am - Writing Books for Children Join the award winning children's author Catherine H Cooper and discover the se-crets of writing children's fiction. 12.30pm - The Art of Oral Storytelling Pete Davis, founder of Storytellers of Not-tingham, will perform a story or two and explain how he does it. 1.30pm - Picture This The prolific children’s author Steve Bowkett will conduct a workshop for children, using images to encourage creative writing. 2.30pm - Organised Mayhem with Michael Cox The unique and always enter-taining author of A Grisly History of Nottinghamshire takes a humourous look at the county's spine-chilling past. 4.00pm - The Pre-War House and Other Stories Alison Moore, shortlisted for last year’s Man Booker Prize, will talk about her new book, a debut collection of short stories. Sunday, July 14th – Crime Day 10.15 Welcome 10.30am – The Ten Most Influential… Join the thriller writer John Baird as he highlights ten of the most significant crime novels of all time with a glance at the stories behind them. 11.30am - Royal Writers perform, ‘A Criminal Act’ A criminal collection of prose, poetry and other new work from The Royal Writers, part of the 55+ arts programme based at the Theatre Royal. 12.30pm – Thoughts About Writing The talented Nicola Monaghan discusses her books which include literature, genre fiction and a crime novella entitled The Okinawa Dragon. 1.30pm - Nottingham Murders and Murderers Author David Bell discusses real-life Nottinghamshire murder cases from the dis-tant and recent past, from ‘Nurse Death’ to Michael Sams. 2.30pm - A Sense of Place Meet the best-selling crime writer Stephen Booth, author of the Cooper and Fry novels, and hear him discuss his use of locations. 3.30pm – Silver Scribes, Awards Presentation Presenting the prizes and anthologies to the finalists in the Notts over 55s creative writing competition will be the Mayor of Gedling Bob Collis and Stephen Booth. To appear below the programme: Please note: the programme may be subject to change.
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New Writers UK
Creative Writing Competition for Children and Young People of Not-
tinghamshire 2013
Launch - Saturday, 15th June 2013
All entrants must be pupils in the following academic years during 2012/2013.
Group One: Primary School Years 4, 5 and 6
Group Two: Secondary School Years 7 and 8
Group Three: Secondary School Years 9 and 10
Group Four: Secondary School Poetry
1st Prize in each group:
Shield and WH Smith Gift Voucher to the value of £40
2nd Prize in each group:
Silver Medal and WH Smith Gift Voucher to the value of £35
3rd Prize in each group:
Bronze Medal and WH Smith Gift Voucher to the value of £30
Three Runners-Up in each group:
Certificates and WH Smith Gift Vouchers to the value of £15.
Prizes will be presented at our 9th Book Fayre and Festival at Nottinghamshire County Council Head-
quarters, County Hall, West Bridgford, NG2 7QP
on
Saturday, 5th October, 2013.
Finalists will be notified during the second week of September, 2013.
A compilation of the winning entries will be published and presented to the winners during the Feb-
ruary 2014 Half-Term holiday (Venue to be confirmed).
However, should that not be possible, we can accept typed entries which should either be posted to
New Writers UK, PO Box 9310, Nottingham, NG5 0DZ
or handed in to your local Nottinghamshire Library.
Closing date for entries Tuesday, 30th July 2013 For further information and Rules of the Competition, please visit: www.newwritersuk.co.uk
15
What would you do if you were a part-time DJ, but the rest of your existence was like a record, playing at the wrong speed? You’re pushing thirty, in a dead end job, your best friend’s living with a meat head, whilst your own romantic situation is more problematic than trying to play a CD on a turntable!! Meet Alex Smith, avail-able for weddings, parties and bar mitzvahs, NOT available for sorting his own life out!! His first e-Book ‘Always the DJ was published in November 2012 via Amazon Kindle.
Myella Jayne McCarthy was born in Camberwell London. She has lived in Broad-stairs and Ramsgate in Kent, and now resides in Hemel Hempstead. When Myella was at Michael Farraday primary school, she won a writing competition and re-ceived a book of Shakespeare’s works. In 2007 Myella entered a poetry competi-tion run by Dens the homeless charity, and won. Her poetry was on sale in a cal-endar and a pamphlet. The proceeds went to Dens. Washday Blues, a play she wrote, was performed at Watford Theatre. A compassionate piece Myella wrote about the tragedy of Haiti was read out for 2,000 people at the Seventh Day Ad-ventist church in Watford. Most recently, Myella was interviewed for Dacorum Ra-dio, and she has had numerous pieces of poetry published.
We now have a page on our website for
young writers.
Just click on the home page link to find all the
information you need about young
writing contests as well as writing hints and
tips.
New Writers UK
Website www.newwritersuk.co.uk
Events www.newwritersuk.co.uk/newsevents.html
Blog newwritersuknews.blogspot.com
Facebook search: New Writers UK
Twitter @NewWritersUK
www.newwritersuk.co.uk
NEXT EVENTS
2013 EVENTS
APRIL Sun the 7th
BARTONS PLC, CHILWELL Nottingham
MAY
Sat the 25th & Sun 26th UK GAMES EXPO
NEC Hilton Metropole
JUNE
15th & 16th ARNOLD CARNIVAL
Launch of the 2013 Children’s Creative Writing Competition
Sat the 29th HUCKNALL BOOK DAY part of BYRON FESTIVAL
Central Methodist Church, Hucknall, Nottingham Book Fayre
JULY
Fri the 12th, Sat the 13th & Sun 14th BOOK FESTIVAL, ARNOLD, NOTTINGHAM
Gedling Civic Centre Book Fayre, Talks and more...
AUGUST
Tues the 27th at West Bridgford Library
2.30pm Talks
Sat the 31st
Festival - National Association of Writers' Groups WARWICK
OCTOBER
Fri the 4th & Sat the 5th New Writers UK Book Festival
at County Hall, West Bridgford, Nottm
FOR FURTHER INFORATION ABOUT AN OF OUR EVENTS, PLEASE GO TO THE DIARY PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE
