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

Sunday 29 March 2015

No meeting this week...

Just a reminder that there is no meeting this week, in fact our next gathering is on 7th April just after the Easter break. The homework theme for the meeting is 'HORTICULTURE' - this was chosen from all the words used in our last meeting, the four word creative session. Best of luck with it... I'm sure you can weave a web of terrific words for the evening!

A note about Les. Mairead informs us that Les has moved wards in Felixstowe Hospital and is now in TRIMLEY WARD. He still retains his marvellous sense of humour but relishes the day he will be able to go home again. We're all thinking of him.

Keep Scribbling!

Tuesday 24 March 2015

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK

Weds 25 Mar 2015 1900-1930
FXR, Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 60
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman 
Four Paupers and a Villain by Tony Shearman
The Rebel by Beryl Sabel

Performers: Stella Day,Ryan Guilder, David Miller, Debbie Coveney, Sheila Martin,
Alan Dix,Robin Saunders, Angela SilburnBecci ClarkeMartin Jarvis.

Fri 27 Mar 2015 1230-1300
ICR, Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM or via the internet
Program 54
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
The Road Hill House Murder by David Morrison (theme by Sarah Jane Scouten)
The Parasite by Jane Bailey
Performers: Angela Ashby, Ryan Guilder, Brian England, Angela Silburn, Sheila Martin, Tony Shearman, Robin Saunders, Alison Miller,Su Stedman, Alan Dix.

Hope you enjoy them,

Tony

Monday 23 March 2015

Sunday Paper Review and a competition

Did you hear Richard on BBC Radio Suffolk on Sunday morning. You didn't? Then you can listen to the recording af 1hr40 of Jon Wright's show. Here's the link you need:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018z672

If any other scribblers are interested in reviewing the papers then please let me know or contact Radio Suffolk direct.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

'DOG DIARIES’  
Working Dogs Short Story
Competition   
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
 
Dog Diaries is an invitation from Ouen Press for writers to submit their own original short work of fiction. Winning authors will receive cash prizes and be published in an anthology at the end of the year.

Many breeds of dogs in all shapes and sizes like to work - freelance, fully employed, lone worker, team player or in secret. This is the overarching theme the judges will be looking for in the submissions.

As we all know, support and assistance from dogs comes in many different guises – in the home, in the field, in the street or off the beaten track – in an emergency or during more ordinary every-days. Employing the skills we teach them, or allowing us to take lessons from their positive qualities such as loyalty, lack of prejudice, and eternal optimism.

Add a dash of your imagination to this rich resource of inspiration and yours could be the winning entry.

'The ideal submission will elicit a strong emotional response - we have an opportunity here to highlight the incredible positive impact dogs have on human lives’

Deadline for entries is 15th July 2015 - full information and rules of the competition, which is open to writers worldwide, can be found at www.ouenpress.com

Paula Comley
Principal

OUEN PRESS

Saturday 21 March 2015

ARVON CREATIVE WRITING COURSES & RETREATS 2015

I am writing to you from Arvon, a literary charity renowned for our five day residential creative writing courses and retreats. Booking is now open for our 2015 programme.
Courses take place at our three historic houses in beautiful rural locations across England, in Devon, Shropshire and Yorkshire. Genres include Poetry, Fiction, Screenwriting, Playwriting and Writing for Children and Young Adults. The weeks are led by published authors including Monica Ali, Paul Muldoon, Neel Mukherjee and Helen Macdonald. Explore all 83 courses here. 
Importantly, financial grants are available to support writers to come to Arvon. These are awarded on the basis of financial circumstances not writing ability. So if you'd love to spend a week writing with us but can't afford to, we may be able to help. There's information here. 
If you would like to receive copies of our brochure for yourself or your writing group in the post please drop us a line at communications@arvon.org.
Happy Writing!
Emma and the Arvon team

Reviewing the papers

BBC Radio Suffolk this Sunday 7.30 - 8.00 am. Our Richard will join Jon Wright in the studio to review the Sunday papers. Here's hoping Felixstowe Scribblers will get a mention! Good luck Richard!

You will find Radio Suffolk on line at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiosuffolk or tune in to  103.9, 104.6, 95.5 or 95.9FM.


Friday 20 March 2015

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on Tuesday 17 March 2015

Present: Dave, Beryl, Liliane, Richard, Suzy, Tony, Mairéad, Cathy

Apologies: Barry, Tom, Gerry, Dick, Jane, Caz

Notes from Dave:

It was really nice to welcome Mairéad back to Scribblers after what seems a long time. She called in to see Les, along with Dick, on his first afternoon in Felixstowe Hospital after his transfer from Ipswich. Les apparently has a 22” pin in his leg which must be very uncomfortable for him.

We have had an email from our very talented writer Hattie who says she has returned from her job in Austria, after having a skiing accident that resulted in her being unable to continue in her work. It was soft tissue damage to the elbow (luckily not the arm that she writes with!), but after a few weeks at home she’s fortunately on the mend and says she would love to return to Scribblers! We hope to see her with us very soon and wish her a full recovery.

Richard volunteered to go along to BBC Radio Suffolk one Sunday to review the papers. Jon Wright of the radio station is aware and will liaise with Richard to arrange a date.

Regarding the Felixstowe Book Festival, Dave met Ed Broom – winner of last year’s short story competition – to work out a plan for the Flash Fiction event that Ed and the Scribblers will organise. We have an agreed slot of 2-3pm on Saturday 27th June which, incidentally, is National Flash Fiction Day. Although we have pooled our ideas we may need to do some fine tuning. Ed has been very helpful and will also be there on the day to help with the organisation. This will take place in the Big Room at the Orwell, and this is where we will be situated too. Watch this space for further news of the event.

Don’t forget that Ruth’s book launch will be in the Library on Saturday 11th April at 7pm. Her new book, Humber Boy B is likely to be another top seller. Please let Debra at the Library know if you are going to attend – this is to ensure there is sufficient wine available.

Here's a website that might interest you... The writers hub which can be found herehttp://www.writershub.co.uk/news.php

New writing group in Felixstowe: 

The new group, Orwell Writers, is going to be held twice monthly at the Orwell Hotel, between 2 and 4 on Thursday afternoons.  Currently the hotel is allowing free use of a room, so the only cost to anyone attending is the purchase of tea/coffee to be enjoyed during the session.  The main thrust of this new group is in getting together to focus on enjoying stimulating and thought provoking writing exercises and activities during each meeting. For any members who wish it, there will also be the opportunity at the beginning of each meeting for a group review of individual work that has been brought in to share.

Cathy, Suzy and Richard, along with another writer who cannot attend evening sessions, had a trial run on 12th March, and now that they are confident that the above format works, are keen to invite new members to join them.  In the first instance, anyone interested needs to contact Cathy to check session dates. Either by phone (01394 275542) or email (catherine.stafford1@ntlworld.com). Regular attendance isn’t essential. We hope to keep attendances to an average of ten/twelve at a time, so that those there can get the most from the meetings, but if anyone wants to just drop in to give it a try, or come along occasionally when they happen to be free, then that would be great! Feel free, too, to get in contact if you’d just like to know a bit more in general.

Creative writing  - four word exercise:

This is always a challenge, and this time was no exception!  Everyone set to, and spent thirty minutes writing a piece that contained all four of their selected words.  There was a fair bit of muttering and groaning at the start, (which was understandable, given some of the word combinations below!), but the end result was eight very different, well rounded pieces of work, all of them interesting, and some of them funny enough to have all of us laughing from start to finish.

Several members freely admitted to not enjoying this particular writing challenge, but agreed that they always find it useful, if only for the fact that having to complete a piece of work in thirty minutes is good for focussing the mind!

Words:

Suzy: glazing, detected, skimpy, nice
Tony: braked, spirits, fun, darkest
Dave: container, love, resplendent, fall (Titled ‘And the wind blew’)
Cathy: amaze, corner, earth, inconclusive
Richard: sunset, celebrity, window, horrific
Liliane: installation, parachute, escalate, horticulture
Beryl: evolution, archaic, service, pickle
Mairéad: precedent, affluent, pasture, awesome (Titled ‘The morning the President died’)                                                                    

Next meeting: Tuesday 7th April, when the topic for the 1000 word homework is ‘Horticulture’, 

Thursday 19 March 2015

Worth a look - The Writershub...

This site looks interesting and possibly worth further investigation...

http://www.writershub.co.uk/news.php

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Our creative writing meeting

Although a number of members were missing for this meeting, those who attended produced some thought provoking words and some excellent short stories in the 30 allocated minutes. For most this is an enjoyable exercise and certainly helps the thought processes and creativity under a strict time limit.

All in all this was a really good meeting and one that kept everyone interested to the very end.

The news on Les is that Mairéad called in to see him today at Felixstowe Hospital and he still remains cheerful despite his problems. Let's hope he improves especially now he's nearer home.

Our next meeting is in three weeks time, Tuesday 7th April when the homework assignment will be up to 1,000 words on Horticulture or any aspect of it.

Until then, 

Keep Scribbling!!!

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2015: Call for Entries

I am delighted to announce that the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is open for entries. Now in its eighth year, the Prize is an internationally renowned award presented by Aesthetica Magazine that enables emerging and established writers to showcase their work to new, international audiences.
Judged by industry experts including Arifa Akbar, literary editor of The Independent and inewspapers, the prize awards £500 to each winner in Short Fiction and Poetry as well as publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual, a compelling anthology of new writing.
This is a great opportunity for budding and established writers at Felixstowe Scribblers.
Please find some copy below to share this with your network.
Facebook/ Website/ Enewsletter
The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is open for submissions. Now in its eighth year, the award is an internationally renowned prize presented by Aesthetica Magazine and judged by industry experts including Arifa Akbar, literary editor ofThe Independent. Prizes include £500 and publication in an anthology of new writing, giving you the chance to showcase your work to a wider, international audience.
Prizes include:
  • £500 Poetry winner
  • £500 Short Fiction winner
  • Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
  • One year subscription to Granta
  • Selection of books courtesy of Bloodaxe and Vintage
  • Complimentary copy of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
There are two categories for entry: Short Fiction (maximum length 2,000 words each) and Poetry (maximum length 40 lines each).
Deadline for submissions is 31 August 2015. Entry is £15 plus VAT.
Twitter
Writers: enter your #poetry #shortfiction to @AestheticaMag Creative #Writing Awar to win #publication & morehttp://tinyurl.com/ckktess
Images can be downloaded from www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewritingor you can contact me.
If you have any questions please do get in touch.
Best wishes,
Alexandra
Alexandra Beresford
Marketing Coordinator
Aesthetica Magazine
PO Box 371
York
YO23 1WL


We hope your organisation would like to stay informed about the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. However, to unsubscribe from our mailing list pleaseclick here

Update on Les

Caz has informed me that Les is being transferred to Felixstowe Hospital today. There are no other details at present.

Dave

Monday 16 March 2015

The Spa Pavilion

Posted on Facebook today by Chris Gosling... something very positive about our beloved Spa Pavilion :

Here's what's happening at the Spa Pavilion - here's the press release:

Felixstowe’s iconic Spa Pavilion is now in new hands and is set to re-open later this year.
Negotiations have been completed with the preferred bidder for Felixstowe’s Spa Pavilion and their plans are at an advanced stage.
Contracts now in place will see the new arrangement come into force on 15 May 2015, delayed until then to enable to nearby works to the historic Seafront Gardens to move away from the Theatre and Car Park.
The new owner, NRG Theatres, is to hold an informal event at the Spa to introduce themselves, launch their plans and engage with the community and other interested parties on 5th June 2015, between 11am and 1pm.
NRG has been formed specifically to save The Spa, and whilst it has already secured sufficient financial backing to refurbish the building it also wishes to work closely with local theatre groups and other community ventures to put The Spa on to a sustainable commercial footing. The aim of the venture is to act as a catalyst in the regeneration of the theatre, partnering with all groups able to create productions which will fill the auditorium.
The exciting plans for the Spa include a cosmetic refurbishment of the front of house, kitchen, bar & restaurant areas to enable a short summer season of touring events and the re-opening of full restaurant and bar facilities, in partnership with a well-known caterer.
This will be followed by a full refurbishment of the auditorium and back of house areas, designed to enable the production of a wide-ranging program of theatre and entertainment later in 2016. 
NRG Theatres intends to include both local and national theatre alongside music and comedy. It has pledged to work closely with the various interested local groups to ensure that, as far as possible, their needs can be accommodated by the business plan. More information on the NRG team and plans will be unveiled at the event on 5 June.
Ray Anderson, Chief Executive of NRG Theatres said: “We have been working with the Council for several months to find a solution which will enable our backers to invest the required funds to allow us to restore the Spa to its heyday.”
“Although the theatre equipment is now very out-dated, we are confident that we can deliver the refurbishments, enhancements and contacts needed to attract the calibre of entertainment which will fill the theatre. We really look forward to working energetically with the local community to drive this project to completion.”
Suffolk Coastal District Council confirmed that the arrangements had been complex to negotiate, due to the out-dated nature of many of the fixtures and fittings in the Spa and the Council’s wish that it remain as a theatre but without any burden on local taxpayers.
Although the precise terms of the arrangement remain confidential, Suffolk Coastal will not be required to invest any of the money needed to restore the theatre to full operation.
Cllr Geoff Holdcroft, Suffolk Coastal’s cabinet member with responsibility for Planning, whose portfolio includes the theatre, said: “I am extremely pleased that NRG Theatres Ltd is taking on Spa Pavilion Theatre and look forward to seeing a rejuvenation of the building under its new ownership.”
“Over the past two years, there have been a number of critics who have suggested that the Council demolish the theatre. I am delighted that our belief and perseverance has finally produced a result which I hope residents and visitors to Felixstowe, as well as the wider district can support.”
If you would like an invitation to the launch event, or wish to find out more about the opportunities for local theatre productions, please contact Ray Anderson at ray.anderson@spapavilion.net by 18th May.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Our next meeting and other items...

Hello Scribblers...

I called in to see Les earlier in the week and am glad to say he seemed quite cheerful despite all the problems he has faced recently. I know others have either seen him or have promised to visit. His anticipated stay in Needham Ward is likely to be a long one so, if you can, I am sure he would love to see you. Visiting is from 2pm to 7pm.

Our next meeting is rapidly approaching. This will be on Tuesday 17th March at 7.30pm. It will be one of our four word creative writing sessions which I hope you will come along and enjoy. Please bring along four words on a separate small slip of paper and drop them into the hat ready for the fun to begin!

One of our 'lucky' members could be invited along to Radio Suffolk to be a Sunday Morning paper reviewer! All you would have to have cup of tea or instant coffee, sit on a sofa and skim through the big pile of Sunday papers from which you would need to select four or five articles which would then be discussed on air for aound thirty minutes (7.30-8.00am). If you are interested then please let me know!

A message from Debra Rowe at the Library: You may have  heard of author Ruth Dugdall is launching her new novel, Humber Boy B, here at Felixstowe Library on Saturday 11 April at 7pm.  As you may know this has been chosen as the Festival Read this year at Felixstowe Book Festival where Ruth will be making an appearance.  I am delighted to report that  five book groups who use the library will be reading her new book before the end of June. Regardless of whether you will be reading it as a group or even if you are coming to the Festival you are all invited to attend Ruth's book launch. Ruth is very approachable and an excellent speaker.  This is a free event where Ruth will give an introduction and read from her new book and will do a book signing.  Books will be available to purchase on the night. You don't need a ticket but if you could let me know if you are intending to come by 4th April I can pass numbers on to Ruth so she knows how much wine to bring! Family and friends are welcome too. 

Our details on the IPscene Community Website have recently been updated and can be found at  http://www.ipscene.co.uk/writing/#felixstowescribblers A poster explaining everything they can help with will be available at the meeting.

Keep Scribbling!

Wednesday 11 March 2015

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK

Weds 11 Mar 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 58
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Road Hill House Murder by David Morrison (theme by Sarah Jane Scouten)
All the time I the world by Richard Payne

Performers: Giles Meehan, Ryan Guilder, Sheila Martin, Debbie Coveney, David Miller, Martin JarvisAlison Miller,Alan DixBrian England, Tony Shearman,
Richard Payne.

Friday 13th Mar 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM, or via the internet
Program 52
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
The Road Hill House Murder by David Morrison (theme by Sarah Jane Scouten)
Morning Sunshine by Tony Shearman
Performers: Angela Ashby,Ryan Guilder, Brian England, David Miller, Sheila Martin,
Debbie Coveney, Alan Dix, Martin Jarvis, Robin Saunders, Peter Guilder.

Hope you enjoy them.

Tony

Monday 9 March 2015

Blackadder for Comic Relief

Just a bit of blatant publicity for Rushmere players next production   
of Blackadder (Back in Time) at sir John Mills Theatre Ipswich from   
Wed 25 March to Sat 28 March with a matinee on Sat. Tickets from   
Eastern Angles website or tel the box office weekdays 10am -2pm (see   
poster for details). 






















Alan (General Melchett) Dix 

National Geographic Traveller editor speaking

The following event is free and open to all:

HAVE BLOG, WILL TRAVEL

Please join Jo Gardner, Associate Editor of National Geographic Traveller, for a workshop on travel writing.

Jo will explain what is required to become a successful travel blogger and go through some practical exercises for developing your writing. She will also discuss how digital technology continues to change the media business and give her best tips for getting internships and jobs.

Open to all writers at all stages of their careers.

No tickets are required and the talk is free.

Date and Time: 25/3/2015, 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Waterfront Building W309
Information: d.ben-aaron@ucs.ac.uk

Saturday 7 March 2015

Meeting Report

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on Tuesday 3rd March 2015

Present: Dave, Dick, Beryl, Liliane, Jane, Richard, Suzy, Tom, Cathy

Apologies: Gerry, Les, Carolyn, Mairéad,,Derek Les, Tony and Caz.

Les: he had another fall and has broken his thigh bone. He had a successful operation to pin the bone on Tuesday. Should you wish to send a card or visit him, Les is on Needham Ward at Ipswich Hospital, Heath Road, Ipswich IP4 5PD. Visiting times are between 2pm and 7pm.

Carolyn: she feels it's best to take a little step back for the coming months. She has some intense family travel planned to Australia and U.S. in the next few months, including her son's wedding in the U.S. later this year. Meanwhile she’s plugging away on her Paris memoir, but promises to join whenever she can, and hopes to see us at the forthcoming book festival.

Derek:  he was hoping to attend last night’s meeting but unfortunately was unable to make it. He emailed Dave, saying ‘Looking at my diary it will not be until sometime in May that I can next attend, so perhaps with regret I should 'resign' my membership. I very much enjoyed the few meetings I attended and if it was not for the fact of meeting a lady who lives in Yorkshire you would find me boring you with my stories at every meeting. Please give my regards to everybody and thank them for welcoming me to the Group.’

I don’t think any of us were ever bored by his stories – quite the reverse! I know we’d all welcome him back if he ever feels he has opportunity to visit us.

Mairéad: is so sorry she couldn’t attend. Unfortunately she is still having some health problems but hasn’t given up on our group and hopes we won’t give up on her. She really misses us all. She has been writing in preparation for some meetings, but then couldn’t attend on those nights. Her stories are mostly unfinished because of her poor health, but she is hoping to finalise them at some point. She looks forward to the day when she can make it to a meeting again. Mairéad sends her warm regards to Les and all the group and her apologies for non-attendance, saying ‘There is nothing I would love more than to be there.’

I’m sure we all send her our best wishes, and look forward to her joining us again when she is able – we miss her too!

Ruth:  she informs us that her publishers have just sent the launch invite out for her new book, ‘Humber Boy B’. She has forwarded it to the Scribblers and is hoping her Scribbler friends will join her at 7pm on April 11th at Felixstowe Library. Plans are afoot to organise a Scribblers evening with Ruth around the Book Festival, ideally on 7th July.


Promotion of Scribblers with a view to gaining new members: Jane has spoken to Ruth, who is happy to promote the group in any of the local press/radio pre-launch publicity that she will be involved in.


Felixstowe Book Festival: we need to know who is prepared to take part in the festival, give readings, chat to public etc.  The basic plan is that we have a display area, a presence there on both days, (volunteers required, i.e. ‘you, you and you’ in Dave’s words!!), plus regular hourly readings of our short stories. Dave has a meeting in the next week or so with the organiser of the Flash Fiction element of the festival, and he’ll get back to us with more information on that very soon.

Homework readings:

What an enjoyable meeting! Dave’s choice of homework topic, ‘In the moonlight’ certainly got the creative juices flowing, and we were treated to subjects as diverse as grave robbers, mermaids, werewolves – even a poem about the moon and its power over the universe.

There was time for members to give feedback on everyone’s work too, which was an added bonus, and led to some lively discussion.

Synopses:

Jane: A grave situation – no synopsis available

Dave: In the moonlight
The country farm is about to be raided by the police to catch a drugs gang. PC Johnny Chambers, hiding in the bushes, hears someone dragging a body along the ground. As the farmhouse raid begins Johnny confronts the mystery man who opens fire at him... Does Johnny survive?

Tom: Moonlight behind you
Clyde wakes up with injuries and blood .During the early morning there is an incident outside across the common. A young couple have been brutally murdered. He remembered in Carpathian mountains years ago three kids were brutally murdered by a beast. He discovers that he was bitten and is now the Beast.

Beryl: In the moonlight
One moonlit night Nick sees a mermaid. He joins her on the beach. They dance together, she in the sea, he on the sand. She gives him a conch shell. Next morning Nick thinks it must have been a dream – until he finds the shell under his pillow.

Suzy: Cristo or Dio
A short poem in blank verse admonishing a child not to look at the moon in the night-time, but to look for it in the daytime.
(A moon curved like a C for Cristo  is dying, or waning. When the moon is curved like a D it is expanding, or waxing.)

Liliane: Beneath the moon
Gerardo, as she calls him, goes to meet his cousin Aline in a graveyard - her idea. To his dismay she wants them to have sex on a tombstone. He does not really want to go in for this and  when he tries to do what she has in mind, he becomes as it were, possessed by the man buried under the stone.

Dick: The moonlight visitor – no synopsis available

Richard: In the moonlight – no synopsis available
  
Next meeting: Tuesday 17 March, 7.30, Room at the Top, when we’ll be taking part in the four word exercise.




Tuesday 3 March 2015

Tonight's meeting

It started with more bad news from our dear friend Les. He had another fall yesterday and broke his thigh bone in a different place to his last break. We understand he had an operation this afternoon which was successful but will remain in hospital for a time. He is in Needham Ward at Ipswich Hospital if anyone would like to send him a card or visit.

There are positive plans for the forthcoming book festival whilst we understand our former regular, Ruth Dugdall has her new book released in April. Entitled 'Humber Boy B', it will be launched at Felixstowe Library on Saturday 11th April at 7pm.

Tonight produced another cross section of top rate thousand word stories and one poem on the homework assignment 'In the Moonlight' and, guess what? Not a romantic story to be heard! A great evening again and thanks to everyone who attended.

Next meeting in two weeks time, a four word creative writing session which takes place on 17th March. Until then,
Keep Scribbling!


SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCAST THIS WEEK

Wed 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 57
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Road Hill House Murder by David Morrison
Rallying Cry by Tony Shearman
Animals/Lightning by Jack Wilkinson

Performers: Giles Meehan,Ryan Guilder, Stella Day, David Miller, Debbie Coveney
Sheila MartinPeter GuilderMartin JarvisBrian EnglandAlan Dix, Su Stedman,
Alison Miller.

No ICR this week due to possible world record attempt.

Hope you enjoy it.
Tony

WRITING RAW

After a 4 absence, WritingRaw is back! To all of our new readers we say welcome; and to those returning, we apologize for vanishing without notice. You may be asking yourself: "What the HELL happened? I spent years with you and you dumped me like yesterday's trash. No phone call, no email…" For this, we are sorry. There is no better explanation except to say that life took over and suddenly became complicated and I lost my creative spirit for a while. Well, guess what, I've found it again. It took some time and soul searching to realize that my truest love in the world is the written word, and nothing can ever change that - no matter what complications occur. So with that said, let us begin again. To quote the immortal words of T. S. Eliot: "So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing." With that being said, baby, I'm ready to dance in the creative light of words again.




Submission Guidelines

All works posted on the WritingRaw website are copyrighted by the author. If a piece is sold, please let us know so we can all celebrate together with an announcement on WritingRaw. We would also like to stress that the author of a given piece is the sole creator. If there are grammatical or spelling mistakes these are the authors and not WritingRaw. Our purpose is not to edit or change any given piece - thus, the Raw aspect of the site. If changes are needed, WritingRaw will contact you and ask for permission before changing anything. Thank you for your understanding.
_____

Submission Guidelines

IMPORTANT: All submissions MUST be in a text format - WORD preferred, but not mandatory. PDF format is NOT accepted.

Manuscript formatting should be in proper manuscript formatting style: double space, indent each paragraph with a tab and NOT spacing (spacing should never be used for indentations, centering, etc., always use tab or center function of your word processor), hard carriage return after each paragraph and NOT after each line (your writing program will wrap your text for you), if you are using page numbers place them in the HEADER of the file and NOT within the actual text, one space between punctuation and NOT two, spell check your manuscript. Always provide a brief 2-3 sentence synopsis of the manuscript to entice the reader. These are placed on the home page of WritingRaw - in the "table of contents."

Poetry formatting: single space, and use TABS and NOT spaces for indentations. That's about it for poetry since the structure of the poem can vary from piece to piece.

What We Publish: We publish original fiction, poetry, assorted (non-fiction, plays, and various other writings that do not fit in the fiction or poetry category), writing related articles, book reviews, and author interviews. As for content, we are open to new ideas and concepts as well as traditional.

The assorted category is open to virtually anything - originality and expanding ones talent in other aspects of the writing field (that does not fall easily into the fiction or poetry category) are submitted here. This can range from plays, general essays, experimental, etc. This page is designed to let your imagination and creative style free.

All articles should be related to some form of writing and publishing - a writer's life, the art of writing, publishing, etc. We will look at non-related nonfiction articles and make a judgment based on content.

What We Won't Publish: Anything that is deemed illegal in the United States and the World - child pornography, bestiality, etc, and fanfiction. Use your common sense when submitting to WritingRaw.com. Our main goal is to not limit the author in any way, without breaking laws in the process.

Simultaneous submissions: We accept simultaneous submissions but would like to be notified immediately if the piece has been accepted elsewhere.

Length Recommendations: We have no length requirements. What we do is place the first page of the piece on the site with a link to open a pdf of the story.

Rights: All rights - other than first electronic and non-exclusive archival rights (we keep material online, on our Bio's page, until requested to remove it), ALL copyrights are and remain the sole and exclusive property of the author.

Getting to Know You: For all submissions, please compose your own short bio and include it to save our editors and yourself time later if/when your piece is accepted for publication. We suggest sharing a little about your background, occupation, geographical location and other writing credits. If we already have your bio on the site, you do not need to submit a new one unless there are changes.

How and Where to Submit: Submissions are accepted only through email. Please send to the following:submissions@writingraw.com (some people are having problems sending to this address... if you are, please send directly to me at weeb@writingraw.com )

Be sure to include your name and email address in the body of the email, a two to three sentence synopsis of the piece submitting, and your bio.

We also promote books - FREE!
Send a jpeg of the book's cover, a very brief synopsis, and ordering information! We will place these between stories, poems, articles, etc.

Thank you.

Weeb