Word Soup #2

The second Word Soup event was held last night at the New Continental and for those of you unfortunate enough to have been elsewhere, here's a roundup of the night...

Dave Hartley who blogs here and is currently attempting the mammoth feat of writing a short story a week for a year, read a new story especially for us on the theme of the night which was SKIN.

(Annie Clarkson reading from Winter Hands. Photo by James Brunton)

Special mention has to go to Preston Writing Network contributor and my personal highlight of the night, Richard Hirst, who read a post modern letter to an imaginary giant millipede. I could write that it was very funny (which obviously I just have) but it's a bit of a beige thing to write and doesn't do justice to Mr Hirst or his giant millipede. So why not have a look at it yourself right here.

Jenn (and her lovely skirt that I secretly want to steal) introducing the next reader. Photo by James Brunton)

After a break and music from Mr and Mrs (more of them later) Manchester writer, Annie Clarkson, read some powerful poetry from her collection, Winter Hands.


Andrew Hurley won the "most tenuous link to the theme" prize for the night with a passing reference to dinosaurs in his reading from his collection, The Unusual Death of Julie Christie. The passage described the dynamic between a couple at the start of their relationship and his new girlfriend's growing bond with his son. Andrew is a confident public reader and I think he made a great impression at the event.


And finally was Emma Lannie who came all the way from Derby and read Proxy, a slowly building, increasingly disturbing story that one member of the audience described as 'kind of erotic, creepy and depressing at the same time.'

(Mr and Mrs. Photo by James Brunton)

Then just before the drinking, socialising and general after show scandal which I can not possibly tell you about here there was more music from the rather talented and rather more intense, Mr and Mrs. Think Bright Eyes but with a small plastic keyboard that you play like a recorder or alternatively, make up your own mind and listen to them right here!


The next event is on the 23rd of June and is going to be a poetry slam.

Find more photos from the event here!

Find out about James Brunton who took all the great photos of the night here.

Lake District Poetry Workshop

info for you via Literature Training

George Wallace and Geraldine Green are tutors on a poetry workshop in the beautiful Lake District.

Location: Pendower, Portinscale, Keswick, Cumbria, UK
Start Date: 08 Jun 2009
End Date: 12 Jun 2009
Cost: £25 per person, per day, includes light lunch

When: Monday June 8th to Friday June 12th 2009
Time: 10am - 4pm
Book via: geraldinegreen1@aol.com

Accommodation, if required, is available in Portinscale Village, Keswick and surrounding area, from camp-sites to hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and homely inns info on accommodation can be found here.

There'll be a Poetry Reading mid week at the Bluebell Bookshop, Penrith, Cumbria - 20 minutes away. There'll be time for walks in the stunning surrounding area, including visits to Kurt Schwitters' MerzBarn at Chapel Stile, Coleridge's house, Greta Hall, Keswick, WH Auden's cottage, at Wescoe and poetry readings at The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere

More info on tutors: New York/Cumbrian Poets and University Lecturers, George Wallace and Geraldine Green, can be found on Poetry Bay.

Word Soup #2

Last reminder for Word Soup - which is tuesday night, at The New Continental from 8pm.

£3 on the door or follow us from home #wordsoup

Click here to check out our fantastic line-up. Emma's already blogged about the event, as has our very own Richard Hirst. We're looking forward to hearing Dave Hartley, who was recently featured by our friends over at Manchester Writing, and we're ready to welcome Andrew Michael Hurley, our newest blog contributor.

UPDATE: I've had a few questions about Open Mike - we didn't have it at Word Soup #1, and we're not having at at Word Soup #2, but from our next outing onwards there'll be a chance for members of the audience to take a turn at reading their work.

With strict three minute slots, it's going to be a rapid-fire treat of the freshest local writing, and a chance for new writers to strut their stuff in front of an audience.

If you're interested in the open mike, remember we work to a theme, and you can check out dates and times here.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Bloggers' Meetup, for those of you who couldn't make it this time. Credit for images goes to James Brunton.

Spotlight: Tonight

Go here for news of the very first Lancaster Spotlight to be held in the New Storey Building. With appearances from Rosie Robinson and Mark Charlesworth, among others, its bound to be a treat.

Preston Bloggers' Meetup: The Aftermath

Just a little post, as I'm oh so weary after two nights on the trot away from my house, my little desk and my computer.

Preston Bloggers' Meetup #1 was fantastic - a lively workshop by Andy Dickinson, full of advice on what to write, what not to write, how to keep your public and private lives separate, deal with spam, generate traffic and even make money from your blog.
With tips on everything blog from typepad to technorati , the blogger beginners in the crowd left the Snug that night itching to get home to their keyboards...

After the questions were over, at least thirty of us stayed behind for a natter (networking, I believe, is the official name) and I got to meet a few people IRL whose blogs I'd read and enjoyed. Somehow, we managed to break twitter about half way through the evening, so even though there are a few updates on at #prestonbloggers, you're better off visiting Ed, Chris, Gemma and Rick, who've all blogged the event already.

Were you there? Are you starting a blog? Post your link in the comments, and we'll put you in the links and very probably feature you in the Blogging Round-up post by Mr Viv. Special thanks go to Ed, Andy, Robyn and Kerry who all played massive, massive parts in making the night as successful and enjoyable as it was.

Now I'm wondering what's next for Preston Blogging? One of the ideas I floated during the networking session, during a discussion about what exactly qualified as a 'good blog' was for an annual Preston Bloggers' Prize - recognising all the different kinds of community, arts, journalism, personal, family and technology blogs that we've got going on in Preston and the hundreds and hundreds of words that are written, read, commented on and discussed by our active blogging community. We're growing into a writing city, and we're certainly a blogging one. Getting some sponsorship and putting that together as an event is possible - what do you think? Any blogs that you'd nominate?

And if, by some small chance, you're not interested in Blogging - check this out. Someone's writing a sequel to Catcher in the Rye.

Preston Bloggers Reminder

Last chance to book a ticket. If you're a blogger, want to be a blogger, are interested in what blogging can offer your group, society, community or business, want to meet wother bloggers or are interested in taking part in discussions about future blogging events, awards and festivals, click here for info on how to get your ticket - they're FREE.


May 13th, 7.30pm The Snug, The New Continental, Broadgate.

Or follow us #prestonbloggers

Litfest: Exploring Live Literature

Via Litfest

Exploring Live Literature
What might you create with five days access to our auditorium space, critical friendships with Litfest's Artistic Director Andy Darby and Flax editor Sarah Hymas, and a materials/expenses budget of up £500?

We're interested in receiving a written expression of interest that answers that question and inspires us to work with you on your project.

To find out more about this research and development opportunity visit Exploring Live Literature.

Workshops Booked and Bloggers Wanted

KITSCHEN WRITERS SERIES WORKSHOPS BOOK NOW

Taking place in Dormouse and the Teapot, Kitschen, W2/218, Woodend Mill 2, Mossley, Lancashire. This new workshop venue has beautiful views over the Tame River and the Huddersfield canal with good rail links to Manchester and Huddersfield. There is ample parking. See venue photos at the above link and here

The Kitschen Workshops 2009 (June - August) will be led by Helen Farrall, Gaia Holmes, Zoe Lambert, Andrew Oldham and Ian Parks. The workshops will include the sensory detail in poetry, re-writing, character based scene writing, narrative poetry, workshop for ongoing work, creating fictional characters and short stories. All workshops take place on a Saturday morning (10:00AM-1:00PM) and will include tea and refreshments.

The workshops take a maximum of 12 students in each and cost 30UKP each.

BLOG: LOOKING FOR AUTHORS

It's not paid work but check out the new Incwriters blog here. It's free to use and is taking Incwriters one step closer to working with members, promoters, publishers and readers on a grass roots level. If you are a blogger or just want to contribute to the blog (you must have a passion for reading or writing!), you can email us at blog@incwriters.co.uk. We want to use this blog to stay in touch and create wider networks. This is a chance to promote your work or just tell us what you think of Literature.

From: Claire Summers
On Behalf Of

The International Network & Community of Writers Society (Incwriters)

info@incwriters.co.uk
www.incwriters.co.uk
www.incwriters.com

Route call for submissions

From Route publishing:

A deadline has been set for the current open short story submission. All stories should be to us by 3 June 2009. Reading will take place through June and July and selections made. Also in this period final readings will take place for The Route Book at Bedtime, a process which is severely overdue and we apologise to all writers who submitted to that collection and are still awaiting a response.


This is the current story call. For details of how to submit click on www.id-publishing.com


Route will be publishing another instalment in its series of contemporary stories in 2010, for which submissions are now invited. Stories should be sharp, fresh, relevant and, most of all, contemporary.


With our first publication in January 2000, Route is coming up to being a decade old. Throughout this turbulent first decade of the 21st Century, we have chronicled contemporary preoccupations in real life terms through people's stories. What's the next and final chapter in this decade's story?


Route always looks for the answer hidden in the depths of its submissions pile.


Stories should be no more than 5000 words long.


*** Deadline for submissions 3 June 2009 ***


To contact Route please use info@route-online.com

May Creative Writing Classes

As well as the blog and our fine events programme, Preston Writing Network is also pleased to present a summer programme of creative writing classes held in The New Continental, Broadgate.

On Sunday 17th May we've a gentle taster session for absolute beginners or those who used to write, but haven't written in a while. There'll be a friendly atmosphere, no obligation to read aloud and a small class of no more than 15 people. Spend a sunny Sunday afternoon (okay - I can't promise you the sun) learning the very basics. £15 per person

Shortly afterwards, Wednesday 20th of May sees the first in a series of eight evening workshops. Meeting every Wednesday evening for eight weeks during the summer, the course will cover character, theme, plot, description, point of view, setting and dialogue. You'll practice in class with writing prompts, discussion and reading aloud and you'll give and get feedback to help you shape and edit your work. There'll also be a little bit of homework. Attending a longer course like this is a great way to develop a writing discipline, network and get the support you need when you're emerging as a writer. Attendees on this course will be supported and encouraged to read at Word Soup events (although this is not compulsory). £120 per person.

The tutor: Jenn Ashworth is a published novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, A Kind of Intimacy was selected for the Waterstones New Voices 2009 promotion. In 2008 she won a Manchester Literary Festival award for her blog. Currently working on various freelance writing and literature development projects, Jenn has experience teaching small groups and individuals, has acted as a reader for the Prison Reform Trust annual creative writing competition and as an editor for the Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.

For more information on the courses, or to book a place, contact Ruth or Robyn on 01772 499207.

Word Soup #2

The month has flown by and it's Word Soup time again. Hooray!

We've got a great line-up again and are pleased to present

Emma Lannie.

Coming to us from Derby, Emma is a writer, blogger and performer whose short work has been published widely on-line and in print. As well as that, she helps organise Hello Hubmarine, Derby's newest Live Lit night, and, along with her friends in the Time Travel Opportunists, publishes themed chapbooks. If we're really lucky, she may even bring some with her.

Annie Clarkson

Annie is the author of a collection of micro-fiction, Winter Hands and features in Flax Books' latest digital anthology, Unsaid Undone which you can read online here. or read an interview with the lady herself here. She's an experienced and talented reader, specialising in prose-poems and I've heard a whisper she's writing something special to read to us on the night.

David Hartley

In his own words, David is 'currently churning out stories at a high rate' on his blog. 'I am trying to write a short story a week for a year. It's going well - I've just passed the halfway mark - some of them are good, some are bad and some look like they've been written in half an hour to meet a deadline (which they probably have).' Can't wait to hear what David comes up with for SKIN.

Andrew Michael Hurley

Andrew is the author of two short story collections: Cages, and The Unusual Death of Julie Christie. He's a regular performer at Lancaster's Spotlight Club and the latest addition to the Preston Writing Network Volunteer Bloggers' Club (okay - I made it up. There isn't a club.)

Richard Hirst

A graduate of the Manchester's MA in Creative Writing, Richard writes a blog, is a regular contributor to Scunt and is a volunteer contributor here at PrestonWN blog. He's not telling us what he's planning, which scares me a bit...

Tim Woodall

We've poached Tim from his spot at No Point In Not Being Friends and got him on the train for Word Soup 2. Tim is a contributor to We Are Young and We Are Trying and here's a sample of the treats to come in the form of a short story of his at Dogmatika.

we're going for gold again with music and short films as well as the readings - details of these to be confirmed!

Meet us on Tuesday 19th May in the New Continental Events Space (entrance through the pub). £3 on the door or follow us from home on #wordsoup

CETH's Clan-u imprint 2009 launch

May 1st saw the launch of the latest crop of books published by Clan-u Press.

Clan-U is the publishing imprint of UCLAN's Centre for Employability in the Humanities. Students taking humanities degrees at UCLAN can opt to take one of their course modules in the Clan-u Press headquarters and work throughout the academic year in a realistic working environment.

The students apply for posts on the projects and during the year work on the commissioning, editing, production and promotion of books. The aim of this is to give them a chance to explore the way that their academic discipline can be applied to industry, and to increase their chances of finding employment in a field relating to their degree once they leave.

Friday's launch in the Media Factory was a lively, friendly affair. There was a real sense of celebration and achievement (and lots of balloons) not only on the part of the students who had put together the finished books, but also the writers, artists and community members who had partnered with the university.

The three books launched were Responses - a chapbook style collection of art produced by participating students at Beaumont College along with written reflections on the pieces by their tutors. The second was Michael Molyneux, Selected Poems and the third is Memories From Frenchwood - a collection of oral reminiscences transcribed and collated by student editors designed to celebrate the recent renewal of this area as well as capture something of its history. Each of the authors and contributors, as well as a representative for the students at Beaumont College, talked of how much they'd enjoyed the process and how pleased they'd been with the finished product.

Julian Millward, an English and Creative Writing Student who worked on the Frenchwood anthology, said the highlight of the experience for him had been the first time he'd seen the 'end product' after a year's hard work transcribing and editing.

Michael Molyneux, who is a graduate of UCLAN, a poet and the author of four other published works published by Littoral Press was very happy with the arrangement. He'd approached UCLAN with the idea for a collection and was pleased with the opportunity the project had given him to publish his collection of poetry.

The leader of the publishing element of CETH is Kay Boardman, who stressed that the students are always in need of new projects and that she'd be happy to hear from groups or individuals who had an idea for a publishing project. She can be contacted via the CETH email address here. She's also interested in expanding the Clan-U imprint into digital publishing.

It is worth noting that if you're considering approaching CETH with a project, authors and contributors are asked to cover their own printing costs and that the Clan-U imprint does not offer much in the way of sales and distribution. Seeing your book in Waterstones or recovering your initial outlay is unlikely unless you're willing to do most of the leg work yourself. As Kay says, 'sales and marketing are the weak point' of the project, but with the new MA in Publishing about to commence, including modules on Sales, Marketing, Digital and E-publishing, the imprint is sure to develop in these areas.

For more on the pros and cons of self publishing go here. To buy the books launched on the evening, contact CETH.

Preston Bloggers Meetup

We're all set for our first Bloggers Meetup to be held on the 13th May. It's going to be held in The New Continental Snug from 7.30pm.

Because it's a little venue, we can only take 40 and entry is by a ticket (FREE) that you can book here. They're disappearing fast, so get one quickly!

The meet-up is a joint venture between Preston Blog and Preston Writing Network with logo design by Kerry Sholicar, hosting and marketing support by The New Continental and a free blogging workshop by pro-blogger and online journalist Andy Dickinson.

Preston's got a growing blog scene and we're looking forward to meeting the faces behind some of our favourite blogs. If you don't have a blog yet but you're thinking about taking the plunge, this evening would be a great opportunity to meet other online writers and get tips and advice. If you want to bring your lap top you can but it isn't essential.

Book your tickets while there are still some left!

Insanity

The blog seemed to go insane for a while there. I am sorry. You should know though, that if there's an opportunity for me to shame myself in public, I will take hold of it with both hands.

In case you missed it, here's our special interview with Emma Darwin to celebrate the paperback release of her second novel, out today (well, yesterday - I'm burning the midnight oil tonight). There's a chance to win a copy of A Secret Alchemy too. Ace!