A Sense of Place

Stoke-on-Trent Central Library is hosting a series of poetry workshops titled "A Sense of Place". The workshops will be lead by Dinesh Allirajah, a founder member of the North West writing group, Asian Voices, Asian Lives. You can find more info on Dinesh by clicking here.

The workshops take place on the following Saturdays: 2nd May, 16th May, 30th May, 13th June and 27th June, at 10.00 a.m. (to end at 1.00 p.m.). Actually, the press release calls this a course, so you may be expected to attend all the workshops rather than just one -- this isn't made clear. I suggest that you phone the Library to check: 01782 238455.

The workshops are free (a nice touch in these hard economic times) but booking is essential. Ring the above number to book your places.

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Write On, and on and on...

The Stoke-on-Trent Library has announced The Write On Anthology. This book will be published later in the year, and will contain a mix of prose and poetry. The submission date is 1st September 2009 -- so get your pens, typewriters and keyboards cooking...

Each contributor may submit prose up to 1200 words or verse up to 40 lines, or a combination of the two (on a pro rata basis). The anthology is only open to the participants of the various Stoke workshops held over the past 18 months. Every contributor will receive a copy of the book and will be able to purchase further copies (approx £5 each).

The Library's press release states: no salacious, libellous or offensive material; submissions may be edited; submission does not guarantee acceptance; and contributors must keep copies of all their work in case stuff goes missing.

Send submissions (preferably on disk plus a hard copy) to:

Write On Anthology (c/o Emma George)
City Centre Library
Bethesda Street
Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 3RS

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More online publications

Many thanks to Jenny for sending me the following links -- more online venues for your fiction:

http://www.strangehorizons.com
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com
http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/

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Just a minute

The minutes from the latest SToW meeting, held on 4th April, are available. If you would like a copy via email please contact us on stokeonwriting@gmail.com

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Competition links

The following are links to websites detailing story and poetry competitions. Often there is an entry fee -- so competitors beware: I have no idea how these competitions function. If you have experience of these and you want to pass it on please contact me. And send me updates and corrections and news of any other competitions.

http://www.pw.org/content/grants_amp_awards_your_guide_writing_contests?was=/mag/grantsawards.htm
http://www.biscuitpublishing.com/comp/index.html
http://www.chapteronepromotions.com/competitions/open-short-story-competition.htm
http://www.writersbureau.com/competition/
http://www.jbwb.co.uk/writingcomps.htm
http://seawoman.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/the-commonwealth-short-story-competition-2009-united-kingdom/
http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/going-out/Short-story-competition-2009/v1
http://www.britishfantasysociety.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=43
http://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/user/Competition.php

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Online short story markets

These links all head off to websites that seem to publish short stories. I can not comment on the quality of the fiction, so it's try and buy -- except you don't actually have to pay for anything. If you know of any other sites, let me know, and let me know if any of these are worth revisiting on a regular basis.

http://www.pantechnicon.net/
http://www.short-stories.co.uk/
http://www.short-fiction.co.uk/
http://www.fringemagazine.org/
http://www.hubfiction.com/
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/
http://www.indianchild.com/short_stories.htm
http://www.storiesville.com/

And this sites appears to be about short fiction:

http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/

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Date of next Meeting

The next SToW meeting is scheduled for Saturday 9 May at 10.00 am at the Bentilee Community Centre.

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Public Lending Rights

The Government has responded to a petition regarding public leanding rights. The petition was concerned about the cut in PLR funding. Here is the Government's response:

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does understand how many authors significantly depend on Public Lending Rights (PLR) payments for income. The Government remains firmly committed to the PLR scheme, and since April 2008 has worked with the PLR on a number of efficiency measures to ensure that the organisation spends the minimum amount possible on administration. Consequently, in 2008/09 the rate per loan has been maintained.

It is now not possible to reopen the PLR’s funding allocation until the next Government Spending Review. Making funding allocations always involves weighing priorities, and in the circumstances of the last spending round, the allocation made to the PLR represented a fair settlement given the broad range of competing pressures. The Government has demonstrated its support for PLR and for writers through significant increases in previous spending rounds - in 2002/03 funding was increased by 35%, from £5.2m to £7m, and in 2000/01 the rate per loan increased by 58%, from 2.67p to 4.21p.

From: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18782
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2009 BBC National Short Story Award

The 2009 BBC National Short Story Award was launched on 26 March. This year's panel of judges are: singer-songwriter Will Young, broadcaster and journalist Tom Sutcliffe (chair), author Dame Margaret Drabble, Orange Prize winner Helen Dunmore and BBC Radio 4’s Editor Di Speirs. The shortlist will be announced on Friday 27 November with the five stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday before the winner is announced. The five stories will also be published in a special collection. Entries are now open for the Award. The deadline for entries is 5pm on 15 June 2009

Go to the Beeb for details.

Investigating Crime with Margaret Murphy

The Crime Writers’ Workshop, held on Saturday 15 March in Hanley Library, was a great success. About a dozen want-to-be writers turned up (including someone from London) and were entertained by, and learned from, Margaret Murphy. Margaret is the author of several crime novels, including The Dispossed and Now You See Me – copies of these two were available for purchase. We also discovered that Margaret is due to take over the Chair of the Crime Writers Association and that she was a founder member of the Murder Squad. The workshop was very relaxed and friendly. It’s a cliché, I know, but it is difficult to imagine such a charming person behind a series of crime books.

The workshop began with a look at villains, how to make them appear more natural – more human – rather than as ciphers. The first exercise was to write a paragraph or two to introduce the villain, who showed elements of empathy, a character who was perhaps monstrous but not grotesque. A few brave souls volunteered to read out their efforts.

After lunch, Margaret gave a talk about CSIs – they used to be called SOCOs in the UK, but our American cousins influence all aspects of our culture, including crime detection. Actually, a Crime Scene Investigator makes more sense than a Scene of Crime Officer since those involved now include civilian scientists and not just policemen and women. The talk, with PowerPoint presentation, covered advances in DNA and fingerprint evidence. Fascinating.

We discussed the extended metaphor, and then the final exercise of the day was to write a piece based on the elements covered earlier in the workshop. Margaret provided two opening sentences. Unfortunately, time was running out and there was no opportunity for everyone to read out their pieces. Personally, I was surprised at how easily I found it to write in a crowded room. Of course, my piece was a tentative first draft and will require a lot of work, but it did provide an idea that I hope to use in the future.

This was a jolly good session, and more importantly, it was inspiring. To find out more about Margaret Murphy visit her website.

© Peter Coleborn