Formed over forty years ago, our Writers Circle is based in Felixstowe, Suffolk. Meetings are held in The Room at the Top in Felixstowe Library, normally on the first and third Tuesday of each month commencing at 7.30pm and finishing by 10.00pm. Check this weblog for details of meetings.

There is an annual November to November fee of £30, April to November is £20 and June to November £15. For members preferring to pay at each meeting the charge is £5 per meeting. To contact Felixstowe Scribblers simply email scribblers.1@btinternet.com or the Secretary, catherine.stafford1@ntlworld.com

Monday 28 March 2011

OUR NEXT MEETING

Just a reminder to the Scribblers - there is no meeting tomorrow. Our next meeting is on Tuesday April 5th in the Room at the Top, Felixstowe Library. Start 7.30pm. Homework assignment 1,000 words on 'Chimney'.

Sunday 27 March 2011

Unbound Press Short Story Award Results

1st Place Samuel Wright Simple Present ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 2nd Place Laura Grace The Clockmaker’s Wife ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 3rd Place Richard Smyth The Trespasser’s Bible ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Shortlist Rico Craig – Skyrocket; Emily Munro – The Funeral Shroud; Thomas Woods – Suitably Framed ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Honorable Mention Colette Bernhardt – The Rail Enthusiast; Alex Cox – Sealed; Andrew Graham – And into the Summer; Ryan Hardgrove – The Other Side; W.F. Lantry – Saaki; James McIntyre – Glass Cow Town; Daniela Norris – In Search of a Hero. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The winning and shortlisted entries will appear in our annual print anthology due for publication November, 2011. Honorable Mentions will appear in Spilling Ink Review: Issue 5 due June 1, 2011 (pending author agreement). Thank you to all who participated in the Short Story Award. This is a very happy day for me because I love being able to publically acknowledge talented writers and I love being able to deliver £425 in prizes. Amy Burns

Friday 25 March 2011

Short story competition

Laurel House Creative Workshops
Short story competition

As an introduction to our work here at LHCW, we are running a short story competition.
Each story entered will receive a 400 word critique.
The winner will receive £100, a full and comprehensive LHCW critique with suggested markets, an online tutorial and publication in the first LHCW anthology.
First runner up will receive a full LHCW critique and publication.

Submission Guidelines
We’re looking for innovative fiction. Stories that make us sit up and take notice. Give us well-rounded characters, sharp dialogue and an ending that avoids cliché! Stories should be up to 4,000 words – double spaced, in a word document. Entries are judged anonymously so please include a cover sheet with your name, email address, home address and title of story.

Submit
Please email your stories to laurelhousepublishing@gmail.com
Entry fee £4.00 Payable via PayPal at above email address.
Deadline July 4th 2011
You can also sumbit by post to Laurel House Creative Workshops, Laurel House, Groesfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF72 8NS
We will respond to submissions by email.Website address: http://laurelhousecreativeworkshops.webs.com/index.htm
http://lyndanash.webs.com/

Thursday 24 March 2011

Hi Scribes

I hope all your 'Chimneys" are smoking with prose for the next meeting's homework, but put a slight damper on it for now as we have no meeting next Tuesday. The next one is due on the 5th of April, so enjoy the sunshine for now.

See you all on the 5th.

Barry.

And the Winners of PenTales "Borders" Contest Are...


It's been a long and difficult journey, but PenTales has finally selected the winners of our story contest on Borders. We received over a hundred innovative and inspiring takes on our theme. Submissions hailed from all over the world, making this a contest of truly international proportions.
PenTales would like to thank everyone who participated in the contest and extend a special thanks to comedian Seth Herzog who reviewed our first-place story "Border Crystal" by John Washington and to writer Dee Sulaitis who picked and ranked from a veritable treasure trove of stories the top five works.
Oh, and heads up! It's not too late to submit your photo or text to PenTales's latest story competition on travel, The IT.A.CÀ Contest.

Here's to Spring 2011,
Saskia, Stephanie and the entire PenTales Crew hailing from 20 cities around the world.

"Border Crystal" by John Washington of Tucson, Arizona

The piece that won PenTales’s inaugural story contest on “Borders” is part of a novel-in-progress by the author.

He said that he came to work, not to cross the wall this time, but just to work in some of the factories along the border, and I believed him.

He told me that he was religious, and I believed him about that, too. And he found a job, like he was looking for, in a factory within sight of the border-wall. His plan was to work for a few years, save up enough money to buy a house, and then get married. He was only in his twenties. He told me that some of the other men at the factory were better workers than he was, and that they were making more money because they were installing the circuits faster than he was. For awhile, he said, he thought that they were just better workers than he was, that he was used to farming and that they were used to machines, but then one day they told him their secret.

They showed him the crystal, which was a meth rock, and they showed him how to smoke it, and they admitted it was a drug but a drug, they said, that you could live with, a drug that you could work with, and they told him that they weren’t even addicted to it, that they were only smoking for a few years, to make money, to do their jobs better, and that they would stop and go back to their land, that they would return to their tierra, just the same as him. Continue reading...

A Review of "Border Crystal" by Seth Herzog

I’ve never done meth (as far as I know), but after reading John Washington’s “Border Crystal”, I think it’s time. I find myself tending toward the lazy end of the spectrum at times and yes, I’m not afraid of a little procrastination, but now I see all I need is a little dose of some good ol’ fashion meth. I could be getting a lot more done, and without all that messy “sleeping” or “eating” to distract me.

Our story is told secondhand from someone who heard from the source (allegedly…) about a young man (I’m assuming who lives in Michigan and is working in a factory in Canada) who longs to make some money so he can provide for his future wife, future kids, and make payments on his future farm. He seems so sure of this “future family,” like he saw them as an apparition, as one might in a Christmas-themed movie wherein our hero then has to change his ways to make sure he achieves the suburban dream Hollywood urges us to aspire to. (But I digress.) In our hero’s zest for making money he wants to work harder and his colleagues introduce him to crystal meth. Continue reading...

Other Winning Stories

Created in New York City by two childhood friends who loved to swap tales, PenTales empowers people to share stories (in photography, illustration, and writing) on the topics that unite us all.

Monday 21 March 2011

Monday again..

March 21 issue of WritingRaw.com is now online!

New in this issue:

FICTION:
Contest by Housten T. Hale IV
I Got You Babe by Ralph Bland
Keeping Time Stephen Black w/ Ronnie See
Letters by Christina Murphy
Seeing Things Rick Maloy
Support Ken Sieben
The Boy and the Peach Trevor Hackley
The Great Planetary Shower by Andrew Vastag
The New Balkan Empire by Tom Sheehan
Vegas I by Jon Cass

SERIAL:
really BAD Shakespeare - Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8
Toy Soldiers: Chapter 25 by Peter Neville

POETRY:
Arcades and Freedom by Ron Koppelberger
Condemned to Write by David Clarke
End Of Times by Una Clarke
Good Bye My Angle by Tyler W. Stinson
Like In Ramallah by Elaine Rosenberg Miller
The Spectacled Scrum by David Clarke
Tinnitus On The Shortwave by Andrea Broxton
Untitled by Anna Noneya
What Are You Thinking Now by G David Schwartz
Words For A Dead Daughter by Jorge Salavert
Women by Barbara R. DuBois
Worthy by Ariel Bell

ASSORTED:
Silence with the Storm, 4: A Life's History by Rattan Mann
The Seduction of a “High" Society by Amita Murray

INTERVIEWS:
Matthew Gallaway
Olen Steinhauer

ART:
Tanner Smitt

REVIEWS:
Allbooks Review
Between the Sheets: The Manticore by Robertson Davies
FLASH REVIEW by Ditch: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Rib Reads

Now, some announcements:

· really BAD Shakespeare starts with repeats this week - starting with Season 1. Two expanded episodes will appear in each issue for 12 weeks... building to the start of Season 3.

WritingRaw also supports other sites that help writers: www.WritingRaw.com believes in reaching out to other sites, writing groups, forums, and organizations. Contact us on how you can place a FREE banner, announcement or link on our site! Or, perhaps you would like to partner in some way with WritingRaw (column, monthly essay, writing tips, etc.). We are open to ideas…

Or, use the Writing Raw Book Store to promote your novel or poetry collection: If you have a novel or collection that you would like to place in our store, we would be more than happy to do so – for FREE. Just send us a copy of the cover of the book (jpeg, bmp, etc. – please don’t send pdf), a brief synopsis, and a link as to where the material can be purchased.

We are also looking for people to write weekly columns, such as – book and publishing news, exercise and tips, or… well, we are always open to suggestions to help make the site one of the most informative and innovative out there. Let us know if you would like to help in this aspect. All columns will have your byline, your bio information (with hot links to your site), and you will retain all copyright.

The archive has been somewhat purged (after 2 years of material, we needed to clean up some) but, if your material was on WritingRaw.com before the purge and is no longer listed in the archive, we will be more than happy to place it back. Just contact me at weeb@writingraw.com and let me know.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop in and discover a new and emerging voice today.

Weeb
www.WritingRaw.com

Saturday 19 March 2011

Congratulations

Our Beryl is being published in Spilling Ink, Volume 1 'A Collection of Fiction, Nonfiction and Prose Poetry. Available soon....
(see next post for details of how to pre-order your copy)

Spilling Ink Review



Read it online


Oh, that's right! It's time to do a happy dance. Published by Unbound Press our wait is over (almost):
This anthology is near and dear to my heart for many reasons; not only because it represents the first year of hard work at Spilling Ink Review but also because it contains some damned excellent writing. Spilling Ink: Volume 1 is a collection of international, award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and prose poetry. From the entertaining to the thought-provoking, these short stories, flash fictions, micro-bursts and essays will keep you reading from cover to cover.
Order Your Copy Now - will be available for shipment the first week of April, 2011.Spilling Ink: Volume 1 Features the Following Fine Writers & Poets
Fiction
Rosie Adams, Viccy Adams, Christina Brooks, Joanna Campbell, Brindley Hallam Dennis, Matthew B Dexter, Max Dunbar, Dorothy Fryd, Wayne Lee Gay, Alan Gillespie, Louise Halvardsson, Steve Howe, Simon Kewin, Helen McClory, Caroline Moir, Christina Murphy, Kirsty Neary, Valerie O’Riordan, Robert Peett, Carly Pluckrose, Mark Romasko, Kerry Ryan, Beryl Sabel, Marc R Sherland, Kathrine Sowerby, Charlie Taylor, Lynne Voyce, Mark Wagstaff, Simon Wroe
Nonfiction
Kurt Caswell, Wanda Ernstberger, John G Fainella, David Francis, Alan Gillespie, Gill Hoffs, Kirsty Logan, Moy McCrory, Julia O’Byrne, Bob Tomolillo, Mary Wilson
Prose Poetry
Ian Crockatt, Dylan Gilbert, Emilie Vince, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
100 Words or Less
Viccy Adams, Nick Boreham, Brindley Hallam Dennis, Benjamin Judge, Sam Porter, Hila Shachar, Stephen R Smith
Other Unbound Press & Spilling Ink Anthologies:By Invitation Only & Loose Leaves

Still Time to Enter!2011 Spilling Ink Flash Fiction Prize
Closing Date: April 1st
500 Word Max / Postal & Email Submissions Accepted
See Guidelines for more details
1st Prize – £250, publication, 1 free copy of annual print anthology
2nd Prize – £125, publication, 1 free copy of annual print anthology
3rd Prize – £50, publication, 1 free copy of annual print anthology
Shortlisted Entries* – publication, 1 free copy of annual print anthology
Entry fee £5


Spilling Ink Flash Fiction Prize
Closing Date April 1st!
500 Word Max
£425 Cash Prizes, Publication/Free Anthology

More Information About Spilling Ink Literary Competitions OR
Information About SIR's Sister Company:Unbound Press Literary CompetitionsIncluding2011 Best Novel
• • • • •
If you haven't had a chance to check out Spilling Ink Issue 4, now's your chance!
We publish quarterly but read year-round. Here are our Submission Guidelines.
• • • • •
We'd love more Facebook and Twitter (@spillinginkling) friends... you can find us here:
• • • • •
Don't forget about Spilling Ink's Friends:Writer and Web DesignerKenny Mooney has a cracking new web design & development company:Branduvan.com
Email directly for information and quotes:hello@branduvan.com
• • • • •
Lorraine Mace @ Flash500has just released a wonderful new page of Writers' Resources
• • • • •
Unbound Press authorBrindley Hallam Dennishas a new publication fromPewter Rose Press
• • • • •

Friday 18 March 2011

Report from our last meeting

Members present: DAVE, DICK, JACK, JANE, ANGELA, BERYL, MARTIN, TRISH, STEPHEN, LES AND BARRY.
Apologies: Liliane, Tony

The homework was pre set periods in our time.

Once more Scribblers, the meeting was excellent. The pieces presented ranged from very interesting history lessons to stories using real or legendary characters woven into real or imagined articles.

'The Future,' was the period for Dick and his piece was entitled Deadly Cargo concerning weird creatures on a spaceship.

Jane offered an atmospheric piece called 'The Angel' set during the Roaring Twenties.

Jack (last minute writing, as usual) gave us a clever story from Anglo Saxon times called 'AD791.'

Angela gave us the true story of Flora Sandes, who fought in Serbia during the first world war
called 'The forgotten heroine of WW1'

'Norman England; 1066 and all that (followed)' was Dave's contribution

My (Barry) humble piece was from English folklore of the King Arthur's Middle Ages called 'The Green Knight.'

Roman Britain was from Les with 'A letter home,' a missive from a Roman Soldier serving in England, seven years after leaving home.

Trish gave us a fascinating history lesson on the Vikings and their influence in later years.

Stephen entered the fray with an extremely thought provoking piece called 'The time Machine' taking us through pre-history.

The English Civil War and Stuart England came from Martin with another very interesting piece called 'Father and Sons'.

'Water Music' came from Beryl, a story from Georgian times of Handel's music played on a Royal barge.

I felt positively shamed by the recall and knowledge of our members concerning the history of Great Britain.

My only lasting memory of the subject was of King James V1 and 1, the King with a Scottish and an English title and his marriage to Ann a lively 14 year old from Denmark. Still that's another lesson altogether.

An extremely interesting exercise taking many of us out of our writing comfort zone, producing more work of the highest calibre.

The next meeting will be held on the 5th of April when the homework subject will be 'Chimney or chimneys".

Thanks to all who attended and to those scattered around the world with enough interest to follow the group activities.

Barry

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Historical moments in time

This year the quality of work provided at Scribblers meetings has shown immense progress with standards increasing with each subject. Tonight the historical theme took most members out of their comfort zone yet produced some memorable work with short stories, myths, facts and fiction. Tremendous stuff!

Sad to say that we now have three weeks wait until the next gathering, Tuesday 5th April when the 1,000 word topic will be 'Chimney/s'. Doubtless the ideas will soon be stacking up...

Keep scribbling!

Monday 14 March 2011

Our Next Meeting

Tomorrow! Tuesday 15th at the Room at the Top, Felixstowe Library. Up to 1,000 historical words on your personal allotted subject...

One wonders if there is history in the making????

Keep Scribbling!

Ruth Dugdall's second novel out in June

Legend Press are very excited about the launch of Ruth Dugdall's second novel 'The Sacrificial Man' this summer on 25th June 2011. As a sneak preview below is the pitch for this great book:

What I want to say is that suicide is my choice. No-one else is to blame. Man seeks beautiful woman for the journey of a lifetime: Will you help me to die?

It's Monday again...

Writing Raw is a FREE weekly literary magazine dedicated to new and emerging writers. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple - to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill. New in this issue:

FICTION:
Cryonics by Andrew Vastag
Loving To Own by Abulele Mafuya
Luz De La Concha by Bruce Payne
Skandalon by Mark Rittmann
Snapshot by Benjamin Daniel
The Juror by Karin Carstens
Transition by Don Clifford
Yangtze Incident by Tony Culver

SERIAL:
really BAD Shakespeare: Season 1, Episodes 5 and 6

POETRY:
Alone by Snezana Hutchinson
Approaching Deaths' Doorstep by Brian D. Roth
Creativity by Maliya Mzyece Sililo
Dead Letter by Dibyendu Ghosal
Flower Press by Casey O'Malley
Fly By Night by Erin Baliya
My Death - My Life by Dorin Popa
My Love by Snezana Hutchinson
The Lake That Shimmers by Autumn T. Klaw
The Passing of Stumpy Shore by Merv Webster
Transformation by Theresa Cocolin

ASSORTED:
Road Trip Report: Part 4 by Keith Murphy
Silence with the Storm, 3: A Life's History by Rattan Mann

INTERVIEWS:
Roderick Gordon
Grant Jerkins
Dana Stabenow

ART:
Sylvia Klaus

REVIEWS:
Allbooks Review
Between the Sheets: The Manticore by Robertson Davies
FLASH REVIEW by Weeb: The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Rib Reads

Now, some announcements:

· really BAD Shakespeare starts with repeats this week - starting with Season 1. Two expanded episodes will appear in each issue for 12 weeks... building to the start of Season 3.

WritingRaw also supports other sites that help writers: www.WritingRaw.com believes in reaching out to other sites, writing groups, forums, and organizations. Contact us on how you can place a FREE banner, announcement or link on our site! Or, perhaps you would like to partner in some way with WritingRaw (column, monthly essay, writing tips, etc.). We are open to ideas…

Or, use the Writing Raw Book Store to promote your novel or poetry collection: If you have a novel or collection that you would like to place in our store, we would be more than happy to do so – for FREE. Just send us a copy of the cover of the book (jpeg, bmp, etc. – please don’t send pdf), a brief synopsis, and a link as to where the material can be purchased.

We are also looking for people to write weekly columns, such as – book and publishing news, exercise and tips, or… well, we are always open to suggestions to help make the site one of the most informative and innovative out there. Let us know if you would like to help in this aspect. All columns will have your byline, your bio information (with hot links to your site), and you will retain all copyright.

The archive has been somewhat purged (after 2 years of material, we needed to clean up some) but, if your material was on WritingRaw.com before the purge and is no longer listed in the archive, we will be more than happy to place it back. Just contact me at weeb@writingraw.com and let me know.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop in and discover a new and emerging voice today.

Weeb
www.WritingRaw.com

Thanks from Caz for your support

Just wanted to thank all those who walked and supported Cancer Research UK in 'The Jack Wilkinson Memorial Walk' back in September it raised a massive £1230.76. We'll be doing it all again in September, so if you fancy a 9, 5 or 1.5 mile walk around Felixstowe, then do come and join us and raise money for a very worthwhile cause.

Saturday 12 March 2011

Our thoughts are with the people of Japan at this terrible time.

The Felixstowe Scribblers.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Hallo, liebe Freunde

Yes, that would be "hello, dear friends" in German. Maybe we were inspired by the fantastic showing at the first PenTales Vienna last month, where organizers Nini and Lieschen and their friends celebrated Austrian Crime & Punishment stories and songs..


Feeling like celebrating some stories of your own? We think it's high time you organize a LIVE PenTales event in your town - whether you bring together 5 friends to talk about LOVE, or 60 friends to swap stories on FREEDOM, your stories need some telling. Check out our full list of topics and how to get started!


While you're planning your first gathering, we hope you'll enjoy very talented (and at the time very pregnant) writer Lauren Frey Daisley's story, shared at the most recent PenTales New York.


Bis nächste Woche, Saskia, Stephanie and the entire PenTales Crew hailing from 20 cities around the world.


PS - PenTales will be at the South by Southwest conference in Austin next week and we hope to see you there. Follow our techie/musical/cinematic adventures there on Twitter
PenTales Pick of the Week












Lauren at PenTales NYC

Beats any Toy by Lauren Frey Daisley

After my parents’ divorce, our family’s house became Dad’s house. Weekends there became not normal weekends, but very exciting trips. Mom had taken our beds with her when we moved out, so at Dad’s my brother slept on the couch and I got to fold my three-year-old body into one of those chairs from the 70s that was shaped like a half sphere. We’d go to IHOP Saturday morning and then to K&B where Dad would buy us each a toy of our choosing. My poor mother...READ ON

Behind the Story with Lauren: "With which fictional character do you most identify? --> Pizza the Hut.
Created in New York City by two childhood friends who loved to swap tales, PenTales empowers people to share stories (in photography, illustration and writing) on the topics that unite us all.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Welcome to the BBC writersroom newsletter.

32 Brinkburn Street Screening and Q&A
--------------
BBC writersroom North invite you to the premiere screening of the BBC One daytime drama 32 Brinkburn Street, followed by a Q&A with the writers Karen Laws and Alice Nutter.This new five-part drama idea was developed by Karen Laws as a result of a writersroom Drama Development Day which took place in Newcastle.The event will take place at Side Cinema, 1-3 Side, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3JE, on Monday 21st March 2011 at 6pm. To find out more and book your FREE place, visit the writersroom opportunities page:http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/32_brinkburn_screening.shtml

Laughing Stock 2011
--------------
We received an impressive 1808 entries for our Laughing Stock comedy competition. Our readers are currently working their way through the scripts in search of comedy gold. So far recurring themes have been student sitcoms, hapless men, mockumentaries, and the recession. If you've submitted a script for Laughing Stock and haven't yet received an email confirmation from us, please email writersroom@bbc.co.uk with your name and the title of your script.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2010/12/laughing_stock_2011.shtml

Scripts
-------
Our scripts are in PDF format - if you can't read them, download Adobe Reader from http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/acrobat/acrobat.shtml?intro

SherlockThe Blind Banker by Steve Thompsonhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/sherlock_the_blind_banker.pdf

An Imam and a Rabbi by Shakeel Ahmedhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/an_imam_and_a_rabbi.pdf

Silent Witness
Bloodlines by Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/silent_witness_bloodlines_s14.pdf

Men Behaving BadlySeries 6: Episode 1 - Stag Night by Simon Nye http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/mbb_s6_ep1.pdf

Garrow's Law
Series 2: Episode 1 by Tony Marchant
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/garrowslaw_s2_ep1.pdf

Don't forget you can browse through all of the scripts in our script archive.http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/script_archive.shtml

Submitting your script to BBC writersroom
-----------------------------------------
Want to write for the BBC? Find out what to send us on our script submissions page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/submissions_writersroom.shtml

Blog
----
Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton blog about killing off and resurrecting Dr Harry Cunningham in Silent Witness, Ceri Meyrick gives an update on BBC Continuing Drama, and Shakeel Ahmed shares his writing tips and talks about writing An Imam and a Rabbi for Radio 4.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/

Opportunities
-------------
10 Tiny PlaysDeadline: 07 March 2011Action Transport Theatre are looking for 10 writers to each write a 5-minute play about being young.http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/ten_tiny_plays_20111.shtml

Kali Theatre Company: Writer Development ProgrammesDeadline: 10 March 2011Development opportunity for Asian women writers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/kali_theatre_writer_development.shtml

Soho Theatre: Verity Bargate Award 2011Deadline: 11 March 2011£5,000 prize and a residency at Soho Theatre for a new play that stands out from the crowd.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/verity_bargate_award_2011.shtml

Guiding LightsDeadline: 11 March 2011High-level mentoring scheme supporting upcoming UK-based writers, directors and producers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/guiding_lights_2011.shtml

First Draft Theatre: April Showers 2011Deadline: 11 March 2011
Have your short play performed as part of First Draft's new writing festival.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/april_showers_20111.shtml

Write Foot ForwardDeadline: 14 March 2011
Apply for a free place on a six week coaching and development programme for produced writers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/write_foot_forward_2011.shtml

International Radio Playwriting Competition 2011Deadline: 31 March 2011
£2,500 prize for a 60 minute radio drama for theBBC World Service.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/int_radio_playwrighting.shtml

Papatango New Writing Festival 2011Deadline: 01 April 2011
Opportunity for new writers to have their plays produced at the Finborough Theatre.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/papatango_2011.shtml

New Blood FestivalDeadline: 04 April 2011
Submit a play exploring multiculturalism in Britain and win the opportunity to have your play performed, and a £750 prize.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/new_blood_festival_2011.shtml

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2011Deadline: 06 June 2011
Opportunity for new playwrights to win £16,000 and a year's attachment to the Royal Exchange.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/bruntwood_prize_2011.shtml

Writers AvenueDeadline: 01 June 2011
Platform for playwrights to develop their skills through new writing events.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/writers_avenue_2011.shtml

Monday 7 March 2011

Start your week off right....

Writing Raw is a FREE weekly literary magazine dedicated to new and emerging writers. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple - to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill.

New in this issue:

FICTION:
A Fine Vacation by Dave Frazier
A Grown Man Crying at Dawn by Dylan Houle
Alpha-1 by Andrew Vastag
Altiplano by David Bassano
Dust and Horns by Eli Graves
Milan Carl Liskart, Coalman by Tom Sheehan
Our Bus Driver, Fred by Jack Bristow
They Seem To Know, and it's Alright by Eric L. Marsh
War Pigs of Suburbia by Emma Eden Ramos

SERIALS:
really BAD Shakespeare: Season 1, Episodes 3 and 4
Toy Soldiers - 24 by Peter Neville

POETRY:
A Personal Growth by John Grey
Adapt or Die by Edward Rodosek
Dull by Peter Yates
First Violin Chair by Eric L. Marsh
Ms French by John Grey
Port O Punters (Mary's Poem) by Peter Yates
Reason by Ariel Cochran
The Director by John Grey
The Only Genuine Truth by Edward Rodosek
The Prisoner by Edward Rodosek
This Is Why First Sex Should Be Left To the Experts by John Grey
Who Are You by Una Clarke

ASSORTED:
A Passion for Learning by Gina Iafrate
Road Trip Report: Part 3 by Keith Murphy
Silence with the Storm, 2: A Life's History by Rattan Mann
Writing with Grandma Savvy by Marcella Simmons

INTERVIEWS:
Sheldon Russell
Lisa See

ART:
RE Heinrich

REVIEWS:
Allbooks Review
Between the Sheets: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
FLASH REVIEW by Weeb: The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch
Rib Reads

Now, some announcements:

· really BAD Shakespeare starts with repeats this week - starting with Season 1. Two expanded episodes will appear in each issue for 12 weeks... building to the start of Season 3.

WritingRaw also supports other sites that help writers: www.WritingRaw.com believes in reaching out to other sites, writing groups, forums, and organizations. Contact us on how you can place a FREE banner, announcement or link on our site! Or, perhaps you would like to partner in some way with WritingRaw (column, monthly essay, writing tips, etc.). We are open to ideas…

Or, use the Writing Raw Book Store to promote your novel or poetry collection: If you have a novel or collection that you would like to place in our store, we would be more than happy to do so – for FREE. Just send us a copy of the cover of the book (jpeg, bmp, etc. – please don’t send pdf), a brief synopsis, and a link as to where the material can be purchased.

We are also looking for people to write weekly columns, such as – book and publishing news, exercise and tips, or… well, we are always open to suggestions to help make the site one of the most informative and innovative out there. Let us know if you would like to help in this aspect. All columns will have your byline, your bio information (with hot links to your site), and you will retain all copyright.

The archive has been somewhat purged (after 2 years of material, we needed to clean up some) but, if your material was on WritingRaw.com before the purge and is no longer listed in the archive, we will be more than happy to place it back. Just contact me at weeb@writingraw.com and let me know.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop in and discover a new and emerging voice today.

Thank you.

Weeb
www.WritingRaw.com

Sunday 6 March 2011

Thanks from Ruth

Many thanks to all of you who voted for 'The Woman Before Me'. I am delighted to say it is one of the 3 winners (Winter fiction category) to go forward to the final in July. I'll keep you posted!

Peoples Book Prize - a showcase for new authors in UK - vote for your favourite book www.peoplesbookprize.com

Libraries across Britain are showcasing new book titles from independent publishers every month. Dame Beryl Bainbridge is the Patron Only members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite books on the The Peoples Book Prize ('TPBP') website or at their local library

Thursday 3 March 2011



Happy March, dear Friends:

Three things:
1) We're collecting stories (in photography, illustration and writing) on the topic Travel for the IT.A.CÀ Travelers and Migrants Festival in Bologna, Italy. Jurors include Steven Guarnaccia, Director of The Parsons School of Design's Illustration Dept. and former Art Director of The New York Times Op-Ed page, Liesl Schillinger of the New York Times Book Review, children’s book author and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier, and award-winning photojournalist Barth Falkenberg. Have something to say about Travel? Share!

2) Arts London News likes PenTales. The article gives a good overview of what we're doing and what we care about. Read more!

3) Psst! We're working on a new interactive site right now that we hope will make sharing your stories easier and more fun. Stay tuned!
Stay (or get) creative,

Saskia, Stephanie and the entire PenTales Crew hailing from 20 cities around the world.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Report of our last Meeting

Meeting Report for the 1st of March 2011

Those present;DAVE, DICK,TONY, LILIANE, JANE, JACK, BARRY, BERYL, ANGELA, GEMMA, STEPHEN, TRISH, MARTIN, LES.

Apologies from Ruth and Wilf.

I suppose I could precis every story written every time at every meeting, but, that would be a story in itself. Suffice to say that this well attended meeting, brought forward the usual diverse and excellent pieces.I cannot stress enough the point that the writing gets better and better.

The stories were;

BERYL; DAFFODILS
ANGELA; THE SPRING IN HER STEP
GEMMA; THE MEADOW
STEPHEN; BLUE BERRIES AND BANANAS
TRISH; REFLECTIONS
MARTIN; SPRING FLOWERS
LES; SPRING IS SPRUNG
BARRY; THE JAGUAR
DAVE; PREDICAMENT
DICK; THE SPRING OF DEATH
TONY; OHME
LILIANE; THE COMING OF SPRING
JANE; PUTTING THE SPRING BACK
JACK; A CASE OF SPRING

The meeting ended on time for a change with everyone commenting on an enjoyable evening.We bid bon voyage to Liliane; off on her Ozzie jaunt for a month, lucky thing.

The next meeting will be on a period in time; slips with different times on were handed out by Dick. Anyone not at the meeting will either have to contact me or just bring 1000 words on TIME itself.

The meeting will be on 15th of this month.
Keep scribbling.
Barry.
ps Thanks to Les for the cakes.....

A message from our Ruth

The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall has been featured on the Lesley Dolphin show on BBC Radio Suffolk, following its longlisting for the New Angle Prize for Literature.

Ruth's hotly anticipated second novel The Sacrificial Man is published by Legend Press on 25th June 2011.You can listen to the feature by clicking here and going to 1:55hr:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00dytqc/Lesley_Dolphin_World_book_night_and_the_New_Angle_Prize_for_Literature/

I'm still doing a lot of events - I'm visiting different book groups every night this week and on Saturday this is happening:


Celebrate World Book Night with
Ruth Dugdall
The Woman Before Me
WATERSTONE'S IPSWICH
Saturday, 5 March 2011,
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Local author Ruth Dugdall will be in store to help us celebrate World Book Night.
She will be signing her books 'The James Version' and the prize winning 'The Woman Before Me'. Both available to purchase on the night.

So as you can see things are very busy. I'm also in the middle of the final stages of The Sacrificial Man but I am hoping my local book launch will be on Wednesday July 6th. I shall confirm nearer the time but I shall be inviting all my Scribbler friends.

Please don't think I've forgotten about Scribblers - I haven't - but as you can see things are very busy. Good luck to everyone with their writing!

Ruth

Tuesday 1 March 2011

If you missed it.....

You will have missed yet another fantastic evening of stories at Scribblers. The writing just gets better and better.....

Keep Scribbling!!!!

An exciting production coming up



And Scribbler Tony is in it too.....

The 2011 Wigtown Poetry Competition

The 2011 Wigtown Poetry Competition is open for entries until Tuesday 3rd May. The competition has three sections:

Main Prize: First Prize £2,500, Runner-up £500 and eight commended prizes of £25
Gaelic Prize: £300
Scots Prize: £300

Full details including information about this year’s judges, competition rules and entry fees can be found on our website and entries can also be submitted electronically at www.wigtownbookfestival.com/poetrycomp or by post using the attached form, or requesting one by telephone on 01988 402036.

Anne Barclay
Festival Manager
Wigtown Book Festival
Wigtown Festival Company
County Buildings
Wigtown
DG8 9JH

Wigtown Book Festival 23rd September - 2nd October 2011

Registered charity number: SC037984

www.wigtownbookfestival.com

The Woman Before Me

The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall has been featured on the Lesley Dolphin show on BBC Radio Suffolk, following its longlisting for the New Angle Prize for Literature.

Ruth's hotly anticipated second novel The Sacrificial Man is published by Legend Press on 25th June 2011.

The second biennial award of the East Anglian based New Angle Prize for Literature closed for entries in January. A broad field of nearly 40 entries has given the judges - Mark Cocker, Nicci Gerrard and Gill Lowe - a difficult task. Mark Cocker declared: "the depth of the challenge for the New Angle judges is proving the competition's worth... It is extraordinary how East Anglia stimulates such a full spectrum of writing."

The judges have just released their initial recommendations in a long-list of thirteen from which the final shortlist of six will be selected.

Aftermath by Ronald Blythe (Black Dog Books, 2010)

Water Marks: Art in East Anglia by Ian Collins (Black Dog Books, 2010)

The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall (Legend Press, 2010)

The Aldeburgh Scallop by Maggi Hambling (Full Circle Editions, 2010)

The Breakfast Machine by Helen Ivory (Bloodaxe Books, 2010)

Death Watch by Jim Kelly (Penguin, 2010)

Rumour by A.C.Lawrence (Sandlings Press, 2009).

The Last Weekend by Blake Morrison (Chatto & Windus, 2010)

The Wake by Jeremy Page (Viking, Penguin 2009)

The King of the Norfolk Poachers: His Life and Times by Charlotte Paton (Old Pond Publishing, 2009)

Norfolk Red: The Life of Wilf Page, Countryside Communist by Mike Pentlelow, (Lawrence and Wishart, 2009).

Lost Country Houses of Suffolk by W.M. Roberts (Boydell Press, 2010)

A Flora of Suffolk by MN Sandford & R J Fisk (Sandford & Fisk, 2010)

The shortlist is expected to be announced on March 28th.

More details (including a downloadable copy of the long-list with judges' comments)are available from the New Angle Prize website: www.ipswichinstitute.org.uk/NAP.html

Our next meeting: TONIGHT!

1,000 of the best on Spring!!!!!

Spilling Ink Review: Issue 4 Publication Day!


Three Cheers for an Early Launch!

Excellent news! Spilling Ink Review: Issue 4 is online a day early and you're invited to stop by for a good read.

But before you start flipping through the cyber pages, I want to thank our talented contributors. As an editor, I find myself in the enviable position of being in regular communication with artists and writers from around the world. I feel a great sense of satisfaction when Spilling Ink is able to provide a home for excellent fiction and nonfiction. With that in mind, here's wishing you the very best from Arts Unbound, Unbound Press and Spilling Ink Review. We hope you enjoy reading Issue 4 as much as we enjoyed publishing it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meet the Writers: Spilling Ink Review Issue 4

Mike Berlin – Morning Crossword
Ryan Burden – Making it Right
Sarah Evans – Windswept
Gill Hoffs – Acceptance
W.F. Lantry – Harmony in Blue and Gold
Stephen McQuiggan – Dust by Sunlight
Michael Onofrey – Photography
Marc Taurisano – Call Me If You Need Me
Nathan Wellman – Spoiled Waffles


Monica J Casper – Danish Folk Tale
Dylan Gilbert – To Catch Us
Emma Hardy – Phil and Kathy
Martin Shaw – Conflict & A day of remembrance
Luke Thompson – and Alex was frustrated

Susan Nyikos – 1-800-WONDERWOMAN

Darren Carlaw – Walking Here
Vivien Jones – The Solway Wind
Sara Sather Pimental – September Planes
Dan Powell – A Father’s Arms
Thomas Sullivan – The Setting Sun

The Evolution Continues with WritingRaw.com

NEW Material Every Monday – to start your week off right.

Writing Raw is a FREE weekly literary magazine dedicated to new and emerging writers. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple - to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill. New in this issue:

FICTION:

A Gorgeous Mistake by Mhairi McIntyre
An Important Decision by Alexei Edwards
Nothing is Free by Paula Sophia Schonauer
Pie or Die by Jerry Guarino
Sacrifice Fly by Tom Sheehan
Susan's Diary by M.J. Fievre
The Man Lying In Bed by Sam Mills
The Other Sort of Monster by BT Smith
The Last Bus to Brickford Lane by Bill Anderson
Wraith 17 by Andrew Vastag

SERIALS:
really BAD Shakespeare: Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2
Toy Soldiers - 23 by Peter Neville

POETRY:
3 Poems by Mike Berger by Mike Berger
3 Poems by P.A. Levy by P.A. Levy
3 Poems by Ron Koppelberger by Ron Koppelberger
Candles That Like Wine by Akili Amina
Dark Deadly Red by Scott Malley
Metaphors for Steps Away by Gina Hickman
The Death of Love by Maliya Mzyece Sililo
The Lie by Hayley Lawson-Smith
The Power of a River by Rashmi Mann

ASSORTED:
Road Trip Report: Part 2 by Keith Murphy
Silence with the Storm, 1 A Life's History by Rattan Mann
Snakes are Snakes, No Matter How You Dice Them! by Marcella Simmons
Yes But No But by Fabian Acker

INTERVIEWS:
Warren Fahy
Michael Palmer

ART:
Una Clarke

REVIEWS:
NEW: Allbooks Review
Between the Sheets: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
FLASH REVIEW by Ditch: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Rib Reads

Now, some announcements:
· really BAD Shakespeare starts with repeats this week - starting with Season 1. Two expanded episodes will appear in each issue for 12 weeks... building to the start of Season 3.
· Between the Sheets - Super Sad Love Story by Gary Shteyngart, is online now. Our next book will be, actually, three books: The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. If you would like to send in your own review of this book, please send it to Weeb@writingraw.com.

WritingRaw also supports other sites that help writers: www.WritingRaw.com believes in reaching out to other sites, writing groups, forums, and organizations. Contact us on how you can place a FREE banner, announcement or link on our site! Or, perhaps you would like to partner in some way with WritingRaw (column, monthly essay, writing tips, etc.). We are open to ideas…

Or, use the Writing Raw Book Store to promote your novel or poetry collection: If you have a novel or collection that you would like to place in our store, we would be more than happy to do so – for FREE. Just send us a copy of the cover of the book (jpeg, bmp, etc. – please don’t send pdf), a brief synopsis, and a link as to where the material can be purchased.

We are also looking for people to write weekly columns, such as – book and publishing news, exercise and tips, or… well, we are always open to suggestions to help make the site one of the most informative and innovative out there. Let us know if you would like to help in this aspect. All columns will have your byline, your bio information (with hot links to your site), and you will retain all copyright.

The archive has been somewhat purged (after 2 years of material, we needed to clean up some) but, if your material was on WritingRaw.com before the purge and is no longer listed in the archive, we will be more than happy to place it back. Just contact me at weeb@writingraw.com and let me know.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop in and discover a new and emerging voice today.

Weeb
www.WritingRaw.com

New writing courses

Sion Hill Courses sionhillcourses@hotmail.com>

I'm writing in the hope you'll find news of the two courses I'm running interesting, and distribute the information to the Felixstowe Scribblers.

How to write a novel -
The workshop will concentrate on the central aspects of story telling, plot and character, together with some crafty techniques for writing page-turning prose.
London 3rd May/Birmingham 7th May/Oxford 8th May/Exeter 21st May/Bath 12th June 2011 -
10.00am - 4.00pm - £50

How to sell a novel -
The workshop will show you how to put together a package that will get you picked off the slush pile, including: covering letter, first page and synopsis.
London 24th May/Exeter 4th June/Bath 3rd July 2011 -
10.00am - 4.00pm - £50

I'm a best selling novelist and experienced creative writing teacher, currently the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Bristol. I write about the craft techniques of writing on my blog www.sarahduncansblog.blogspot.com.

I hope you'll pass the details on to the group, and any other writers who might be interested. If you want further information on the course then contact me, or you'll find the details on my website www.sarahduncan.co.uk. Alternatively, if you provided an address, I could supply some leaflets about the courses.
Best wishesSarah Duncan

Kissing Mr Wrong Shortlisted for the RNA Novel of the Year 2011
www.sarahduncan.co.uk