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

Saturday 27 May 2017

FBF etc

Regarding the forthcoming Felixstowe Book Festival, we are told that ticket sales for the workshop events including ours, is very low at present.

Please remember that this year there are no free entries to any workshop - to come along to ours on Sunday 2nd July for our flash fiction event - labelled in the programme as a Microfiction Workshop in The Furneaux Suite at the Orwell Hotel. The cost is £8 for ours (and also that of our sister group the Orwell Writers League) whilst there is a day ticket for all events in the Furneaux Suite on the Sunday at the cost of £35. Please can I count on your support for our event, which runs from 10.45am until 12.00 midday, to make it a success? There Proceeds go towards the hefty financial burden on the Felixstowe Book Festival Weekend.

Our anthology is approaching the final editing and hopefully it will be delivered to Gipping Press on 1st June. Stillwater Books have agreed to sell it both in the shop and also at the Festival itself. It has a few more pages than originally proposed and less photographs.



The regular Crime Readers News can be found on their website at:

Details of the Welsh Poetry competition can be found here

Our next meeting seems a long way away but it will be on Tuesday 6th June when we will provide Mairead with some feedback on her work for her novel. Everyone else is invited to write up to 1,000 words on 'Unrequited Love.'

Until next time,

Enjoy the bank holiday (despite the thunderstorm outside!) and...

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave

TODAY....

Tune in to ICR on 105.7fm or via the internet, tune app, and various 
others today at 13.30 for
The Suffolk Reading Festival.
On the show:-

The Sword of the Kings by ADW Shearman.
(Chapter - Nilbog Central pt2
Richard Bradshaw reads the book.
Ryan Guilder the Brackets
Robin Saunders is Allirog
Brian England is Zschiddte ver Brainnze

Oh Whistle and i'll come to you my lad by M R James
Debbie Coveney is Narrator
Brian England is Parkins
Peter Guilder is Boots

Drifting by Dave Feakes
read by Robin Saunders

Hope you enjoy them.


Tony

Tuesday 16 May 2017

What a meeting!

Tonight's meeting at Scribblers was one of the very best for a long time. Members had requested we reverted to a four word flash fiction evening and this provided quite a mix of words that somehow, however illogically, all fitted into the short stories we provided.

Having two new members at the meeting helped to boost the evening and, goodness, what good work they produced. The rest of us will have to be on our toes from now on!

Every story was tremendous and testament to the high level of creativity our writers achieve. They are good - but whatever you do don't mention exploding pens to Liliane, nor 'hand' to Tony! Those who attended will know why!

Talking of Tony, our best wishes go to him for the important bridge tournament he has in Northampton. Good luck!

Our next meeting is in THREE weeks time on Tuesday 6 June and will stray from the usual format. Mairead will provide around 2,500 words from her novel to gain some feedback on her work whilst other writers are asked to provide 1,000 words on "Unrequited love."  

Until next time...

Keep Scribbling!

Monday 15 May 2017

Our next meeting

Tomorrow night (Tuesday 16th) in The Room at the Top... one of our 'four word' flash fiction events. Simply bring along four words, each written on a separate small slip of paper and drop them into the hat on the table. Everyone present will then draw out four of these slips (not their own) and then use them somewhere within the story they write. Estimated writing time - depending on attendance - will be thirty minutes thus allowing time for the stories to be read.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Until then, 

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave 

Thursday 11 May 2017

Workshops, Limericks and the Suffolk Reading Festival

FREE taster workshops from the National Film and Television School. Details can be found here

The Writers Bureau Limerick Competition. Details can be found here.


Tune in to ICR on 105.7fm or via the internet, tune app, and various others on Friday 12th May at 12.30-1300. for
The Suffolk Reading Festival.
On the show Friday:-
The Sword of the Kings by ADW Shearman.
(Chapter - A Short cut to Humbugs pt4
Beryl Sabel reads the book.
Ryan Guilder the Brackets
Robin Saunders is Allirog
Tony Shearman is Willmade Gro Carrot
Debbie Coveney is Deepli Konserned
David Miller is Sam Wunnells
Sheila Martin is Eimer Deville
Peter Guilder is Wellused Darc Grobag
Brian England is Zschiddte ver Brainnze
Andy Sindle is Heart

Floating in the Wind by Tony Shearman
David Miller is Andy
Sheila Martin is Barbara
Angela Silburn is Carole
Peter Guilder is Dave
Invaders by Richard Bradshaw
read by Richard Bradshaw
The Blues in New Orleans by Les Smith
read by Les Smith
Hope you enjoy them.
And if you miss it. Catch the repeat at 13.30 Saturday 12th May.

Cheers all  
Tony  


Saturday 6 May 2017

Sad news

Hi Scribblers,

Many of you will remember Belinda who was a member here for some time before returning to her native Australia with Geoff where they were soon to marry. A lovely couple who some of us knew extremely well with Belinda at Scribblers and both Geoff and Belinda at the Record Office where he was researching his family history.

A lovelier couple you could never meet. 

I heard today that Geoff collapsed and passed away at work from a heart attack on Thursday 4th May. It is so tragic and almost unbelievable that he is no longer with us. His funeral is planned for Friday 12th May Belinda tells us that it will be a full military service and they have offered a gun salute with military pall bearers. Geoff's wish was to have a bagpiper play Amazing Grace. Geoff will be cremated then at some point the plan is to release his ashes to the ocean.

Please send your thoughts and wishes to Belinda who has lost her husband and soulmate. And if you should hear Amazing Grace playing, please think of Geoff.

Dave.

Meeting report

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on Tuesday 2 May 2017

Present:  Dave, Steve, Beryl, Liliane, Daniel, Anne, Gerry, Tony, Dick, Cathy
Apologies:  Mairead, Jim.

Business: 
Dave advised the group that the launch of Ruth Dugdall’s new book, ‘My sister and other liars’ is at Felixstowe Library on Saturday 6 May, from 6 – 8. Free, and all welcome. Let’s hope several of us will be able to go along and enjoy this.

Thanks to Dave for providing chocolate treats in Mairead’s absence – how would we have survived without our chocolate fix?

Bill Budner competition:
Beryl and Dick were our readers again, and our thanks must go to them, and to Tony, who calculated the votes after the readings.
Dave clarified the rules for marking, then we sat back to enjoy listening to the entries, and it really was a pleasure to hear all eight of them  – a wonderful variety of themes and ideas, and all excellently written. It says much about the standard of work that every single story got votes, and there was a three-way tie for second place.

The well deserved first place went to Steve, for ‘The Age of Innocence’

Second places went to Dave, for ‘That sinking feeling’
                                     Tony, for ‘The long dark dingy winding road to singleton’
                                      Dick, for ‘A dip into the training manual’

No third place was awarded.
The remaining entries were:
Anne – The complaints department
Daniel – The storyteller
Beryl – The island
Liliane – The course of destiny

Our previous winner, Jane, wasn’t able to be with us to present the trophy to Steve, so Dave stood in for her.  Photos were duly taken, both of the presentation and of the entire group. Thanks to Gerry for helping with this.

Next meeting: this will be on 16 May, and is a flash fiction evening. This time we are returning to the format of each of us bringing in 4 different words on separate slips of paper, to be put ‘in the hat’ with everyone else’s, ready for the group each to select four slips (not their own) and spend thirty minutes writing a story that includes all the words they have drawn out.  


Wednesday 3 May 2017

Ruth's invitation

You have all been invited to the launch of Ruth's new book, 'My Sister and Other Liars' this Saturday, 6 May at 6pm in Felixstowe Library. Hope you will be able to attend and support our Honorary President.

Dave 

Tuesday 2 May 2017

The battle for the trophy

What a great evening of entertainment The Bill Budner Trophy provided. It was an honour listening to all the eclectic stories that were entered into the competition. Read in turn by Beryl and Dick, the stories kept everyone riveted to their seats.

In the end there was one winner, and three joint runners-up.

Steve (left) receives the trophy
from Dave
A new name will go on the Trophy this time. Congratulations to Steve Barnes who produced a very humorous tale entitled 'The Age of Innocence'. A worthy winner.


The joint runners-up were 'The Dip into the Training Manual' by Dick, 'The Long Dark Winding Road to Singleton' by Tony and 'That Sinking Feeling' by Dave.

Steve will hold the trophy for six months.

Dave reminded everyone that our Honorary President Ruth has invited all the Scribblers to the launch of her new book 'My Sister and Other Liars' this Saturday, 6 May at 6pm in the Felixstowe Library. Hope you will be able to attend.

Our next meeting is on 16 May for a Flash Fiction evening when, by popular demand, everyone is asked to bring along four words, each on a separate small slip of paper. These will be deposited in a hat and then everyone draws out four words which must be included within the flash fiction work. More details on the day!

Until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

Tonight...

Just a reminder that The Bill Budner Trophy takes place this evening in The Room at The Top. Usual 7.30 start time!

Normal rules apply.

See you there!

Dave