New Entry – The Biography Club
A new online biography writing club.

Our biography club is a newly-launched venture for book lovers and budding writers. We specialise in biographies. The website features new book releases, news reports from the world of biographies, interviews, a chat-room, online seminars, advice pieces from authors, and more.

Email:[info@thebiographyclub.com] for further information.

Posted by Jennie Jones
The Biography Club
www.thebiographyclub.com

Are you interested in a Poetry Group that meets in Nottinghamshire?
On my AA map Blidworth is underneath the word ‘Sherwood’, as in Sherwood Forest.  This group would love to see some of you at their meetings. 

Bards at Blidworth meets every third Saturday of the month at Blidworth Library.
Telephone: 01623 794068:
email: – blidworth.library@nottscc.gov.uk
We meet from 10.00am. – 12.00pm.

We are a small, friendly group of poets (and sometimes listeners!).  At meetings we have readarounds so that round the circle we can hear each other read one of their poems and invite feedback if they want it.  Those that would like feedback are advised to bring copies of the poem they would like feedback on.

On alternate meetings we have workshops with the aim of producing a poem or draft of a poem at the time followed by a readaround.

We look to having the occasional visiting speakers.
We have so far run one national poetry competition and will do so again.
We are starting to collect poems for a publication ‘Bards at Blidworth and Beyond.’
Sent by Chris http://www.christinemichael.org

The Mind Sports Olympiad
The dates are 21^st -30^th August, 2010.

My name is Alain Dekker. I am a volunteer helper with the Mind Sports Olympiad, which has been running since 1997.
The 14th annual event will be staged this year at the Soho Theatre, London. Full details about events to be held, accommodation suggestions, etc can be found on the official website at www.boardability.com. 

Of particular interest to NAWG members would probably be the Creative Thinking World Championship which will be run by Bill Hartson: Sunday 29^th August 2010 from 2:30pm to 6:00pm

There will also be a number of other high quality fields in Chinese Chess, Go, Entropy and many other games. Spectators are welcome (free entry).
 Posted by Alain Dekker abdekker@gmail.com

Greenacre Writers invite you to a Creative Writer’s Afternoon:
Saturday 18th September 2.00pm – 5.00pm 

Write Convincing Dialogue

He said, she said, they said . . . but how did they say it? The aim of the afternoon is to meet with fellow creative writers, to work on creative writing exercises, share your work to receive supportive feedback and ideas in a friendly and stimulating environment.

There will be a small charge to include refreshments:
Members £5; Non-members £10
Venue: Finchley, London N12

For further information or to reserve a place contact:
Rosie Canning – MA Writing 020 8346 9449
Lindsay Bamfield BA (Hons) Literature 020 8343 7181

email: greenacrewriters@gmail.com
http://greenacrewriters.blogspot.com/  

Unpublished Fiction Writers Open Reading
Date of Event: 19^th September 2010

The event ‘Unpublished Fiction Writers Open Reading’, will be held on19th September 2010.
Venue Hornsey Library N8 9JA
Time 12noon – 4pm

Cost £5.00 (Free if reading)
http://blackbookevents.co.uk/#/writers-events/4541606283

Calling all aspiring writers and amateur literary scouts! If you dream of publishing your unknown work of fiction – (whether a novel, play, short story, or poem) – then here’s your chance to spread the word (literally) during this open reading. If you’re not a writer but one who enjoys listening to others’ work, you’ll find this immensely enriching.
This message was sent by: NAWG member Carol Hawthorn
email: admin@blackbookevents.co.uk

Calling all writers and photographers.
My name is Dawn O’Connor.  I’m a photographer.
I suggested to the owner of SEnine magazine that we start a similar magazine for Bromley, to my surprise he agreed so I’m now a partner in the Bromley venture, very exciting and all new for me as well. But I need some help looking for writers and photographers who would be interested in writing and/or just shooting photographic articles for this new Bromley community magazine.

Volunteer writers would be interviewing some very interesting folk and writing an article of approximately 200-500 words.  This is an unpaid position as the publication is a community magazine.

We have had the SEnine magazine (http://www.senine.co.uk/) up and running for 45 months. The journos/photogs that write/shoot the articles for SEnine are usually students who are glad of the experience to add to their CVs. There are also older folk who are interested in meeting local people covering stories.

All our stories are “Good News” tales, nothing political or to do with council issues.

You would be usually asked to cover one or two stories per month, but more if you like. Expenses can be claimed if for example you are asked to cover a play at a theatre or dining at a local restaurant.

If anyone’s interested please contact me on dawn@a1councilexchange.co.uk for more details.

Thanks – Dawn OConnor 07982 885232

Cyprus Well is calling all writers group members in the South West to complete their survey.
Filling out the survey will enter your group into a draw to win the very latest ‘Writer’s Handbook’ and ‘Writer’s and Artists’ Yearbook’. The survey closes on 1st December 2010.
Cyprus Well is the literature development agency for the SW of England and our role as a charity is to raise funds in support of the region’s vibrant literature community to enable them to take part in more of the things they love. Writer’s Groups are at the heart of what we do, so please spend a few minutes telling us about your group, and what support, information or opportunities you’d like to see offered by your region’s development agency. 

To find the survey go to: http://www.cypruswell.com/

 NB This survey is only open to members of existing writers groups.

Suspense Magazine
Suspence magazine is reaching out to all your members to offer them a very special offer. We are giving away 4 Free Electronic issues of our magazine, to increase readership and awareness, so readers and authors know they have an outlet to help feature their work. We are dedicated at helping authors with their work and bring the world of suspense/thriller together. All your members have to do is email me: – editor@suspensemagazine.com and they will have the magazine sent to them ASAP. 

The Really Big Dream Company, based at Les Cerisiers, an 18th century farmhouse set in the beautiful hills of Southern Burgundy, offers the ideal location for people who wish to fuse their pursuit of a leisure interest with having a marvellous holiday.

Whether attending one of our tutored events or hiring the house for your own group activity, you can be sure that the tranquillity, surroundings and atmosphere will blend to make this an amazing experience.

Writing events currently on offer include Kick-start your writing with Jessica Duchen, Discover your voice through expressive writing with Tony Watts, Feel the Fear and Write it anyway with Sonia Duggan and, soon to be announced, From Memoir to fiction with Miriam Halahmy.

In addition to your chosen pass-time, why not take the opportunity to sample the excellent wines and culinary treats that the region has to offer, try your hand at archery at our on site range, wander the footpaths that meander through the surrounding hills and valleys. With horse riding, boating, golf and historic sites near by, there is truly something for everyone.

Please visit www.thereallybigdreamcompany.com for more details

Writing events at The Really Big Dream Company, Burgundy France
Feel the Fear and Write it Anyway
A unique creative writing / coaching retreat with Sonia Duggan CPCC ACC
This is for you if you:

• wish you could write and lack the confidence to try
• have lost the plot in your career as a successful author
• or are somewhere in between

Using a unique blend of creative writing exercises and coaching techniques, Sonia will help you to:

identify the Saboteur in your own life story

• learn how to deal with it so that you’re free to achieve your dream as a writer
• keep your identity as a writer fizzing with energy and creativity

with an optional 1:1 coaching session for those who want it.

When? 19-25 September 2010
Where? Les Cerisiers, a traditional 18th century farmhouse with barn and extensive grounds in the gentle rolling hills of Southern Burgundy, and home grown, homemade or locally sourced food, enhanced by a local wine tasting on your first evening.

Other attractions?  10 metre flood-lit swimming pool ∞ archery ∞  walks in the beautiful Charollais hills ∞   bread-baking using the traditional wood-burning bread-oven ∞  visits to local historic towns and castles, master chocolatiers, honey and bread producers, and working farms.
For more details of to make a reservation please visit www.thereallybigdreamcompany.com

New Poetry Course at Lumb Bank
6^th - 11^th September 2010  

Poets Amanda Dalton and Ian Duhig will be tutoring at Lumb Bank, the Ted Hughes Arvon Centre in Yorkshire, 6^th -11^th September 2010.

This course is for anyone who wants to write poetry for pleasure, for fun, or for personal enrichment. poetry isn’t just something to be studied by academics; it can enrich and enhance your daily life. Seek inspiration in your own experiences, and the wild and beautiful environment around Lumb Bank.  http://www.arvonfoundation.org/pc569.html [1] 

The course is fully residential, from 6pm on Monday 6^th September to10am on Saturday 11^th September 2010. The course fee is £595 or £545, which includes all accommodation, food and tuition. We have grants available for those on low incomes; if you would struggle to afford the fee, you are encouraged to apply.

The Ted Hughes Arvon Centre at Lumb Bank is an eighteenth century mill owner’s home, set in the stunning Pennine hills above Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. The Arvon Foundation is a registered charity, running week-long, residential writing courses for over 40 years. Our courses offer writers an informal, supportive environment in which to share, learn, discuss and progress their work. Each course has two established, published writers as tutors, as well as a mid-week guest reader.

Alongside Poetry, courses include genres such as Fiction, Playwriting, Screenwriting and Starting to Write.

Our full programme and more details can also be viewed at www.arvonfoundation.org  [2] 

Or from: Ilona Jones
Administrator of Lumb Bank
The Ted Hughes Arvon Centre at Lumb Bank
 Heptonstall,
Hebden Bridge,
West Yorkshire
HX7 6DF 

Tel/Fax: 01422 843714 

Online: www.arvonfoundation.org [3] 

Writers’ Services Worlds Literature Festival Workshops  News, from Writers’ Centre Norwich  
Re-envisioning and Redrafting the Poem with Mimi Khalvati
25th September, 10am-5pm, Prices: £60/£40 conc, Writers’ Centre Norwich If you wondered whether that poem was really finished, or are struggling to decide whether to leave out that initial stanza then come along and make the most of Poetry School founder, poet and teacher Mimi Khalvati’s knowhow. 

BOOKING:
Call: 01603 877177 For any other information on the workshops:- 

Writers’ Centre Norwich
14 Princes Street
Norwich
NR3 1AE
Tel: 01603 877177
Fax: 01603 625452
www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk
email: info@writerscentrenorwich.org.uk 

Writing Events Bath,  Alex and Jude, bringing writers together…
Thursday 16th September 6.30pm-8.30pm  

Writers’ Clinic on ‘Point of View’ with Alex and Jude and guest tutor Kate Mitchell at Mr. B’s Bookshop Bath.  £20 
The first of our Writers’ Clinics will be an intensive exercise based workshop looking at some of the more interesting and unusual points of view. Things look different depending on who is doing the looking and their vantage point. And whose thoughts does the reader have access to. Come prepared to work! 

For more details and booking info please go to    www.writingeventsbath.co.uk

Discover your voice through expressive writing with Tony Watts
10th – 16th October 2010
Bien venue’ to Les Cerisiers, a family run creative arts centre nestling in the Charollais hills of Southern Burgundy. We are delighted to welcome writer Tony Watts as he guides you to find your own distinct voice and the ability to reach inside yourself to access the inspiration to write something that can touch other people – through their minds, hearts or spirit.
’The whole process of expressive writing is bound up with your very being. It can open up parts of your mind and memory that you thought were buried.  Your life, your experience, your memories and the knowledge you have gained along the way are assets you can apply to create work with real depth and significance’. This event is designed to assist that process – like persuading a flower to open.
For many people writing has an additional benefit: it helps heal or resolve the past, enabling you to reframe experiences in the light of your understanding now, and move your life forward.  The sessions that Tony runs are supportive and designed to build your confidence – allowing you to express yourself with freedom. 

Les Cerisiers provides an idyllic location for creative pursuits, looking out across meadows of grazing cattle and the wooded slopes of Mont St Cyr. There is a real sense of space and tranquillity yet we are only a short distance from castles, vineyards and the historic town of Cluny. Take time to discover some of the many other joys of the locality: walking, wine tasting, site seeing or just relaxing in the gardens. Non writing partners are welcome.

 For more details of to make a reservation please visit www.thereallybigdreamcompany.com

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators British Isles Conference 2010
13^th - 14^th  November, University of Winchester Main Campus, SO22 4NR

Our third, two-day, annual conference offers the opportunity for those who are published or unpublished to network with other authors,

Illustrators and publishing professionals, to work on their craft and learn more about marketing their books and the realities of today’s children’s book market.
Speakers include Marcus Sedgwick, Lynne Chapman, Mini Grey, Linda Chapman and David Fickling. A limited number of one-on-one manuscript and portfolio reviews with editors and art directors will be available.
 We will also be offering individual website reviews with a professional web designer. There is an optional critique meet on the evening of Friday the 12th, an open portfolio exhibition on Saturday 13th and various competitions for authors and illustrators.
Join us to celebrate 10 years of the SCBWI-BI and our members’ recent success at our exclusive party on Saturday night!

Booking is now open at:  http://www.britishscbwi.org/conference2010/
Limited places available.

Bekki Hill
bekki@bekkihill.com
Conference Chair
SCBWI British Isles Annual Conference

 Kick-start your writing: Burgundy! With Jessica Duchen
19-23 November 2010

 “I’ve always wanted to write, but…”
There’s always something to stop you from writing: time, space, or simply not knowing where to start.
Do you want to ‘get rid of the buts’? If so, this inspirational workshop is for you – whether you are a complete beginner, wish to take your existing writing further, or are an experienced writer in need of fresh enthusiasm. Learn how to release those blocks and start to plan your story.

 In a small group setting in an ancient farmhouse set amid the rolling hills of Southern Burgundy, novelist and journalist Jessica Duchen helps you explore ways into writing through discussions, exercises and practical pointers. Her engaging sessions with their focus on positive group dynamic cover such subjects as ‘Why we want to write’; ‘Why we stop ourselves from writing’; ‘Finding the best stimuli’; and ‘The concept of flow’. By the end of your stay, you will go home with the tools you need to start creating YOUR novel.

 The launch of your writing is set to coincide with the launch of 2010’s Beaujolais Nouveau making this event a real French experience.

 For more details of to make a reservation please visit www.thereallybigdreamcompany.com

 Writer in the Landscape
Walking and Writing Course – 20-24 September 2010 (Mon-Fri) 

 This walking and writing course is for anyone seeking to develop their work through inspiration from the natural world and man’s complex relationship with nature. Come and explore Brittany’s immensely varied landscape as a pathway to creative resources. 

 Location:          BRITTANY,  NW FRANCE
A fantastic coastline and rich interior of forests and moors strewn with neolithic remains. 

Date:                20-24 September 2010 (Mon-Fri)
Content:           Each day will involve walking and creative writing, with short prescribed exercises, original work, group discussion and time for individual reflection. 

 Course material will be provided to stimulate ideas and offer hints of geology, archaeology and history to make the most of your experience in this remarkable region, but the focus will be on individual development in a friendly and positive environment. 

 Cost:    £365, including full board accommodation in shared rooms in a quality walkers’ gîte/traditional Breton house, transport to and from walks. Travel to Brittany is not included. 

 Course Leader:        Experienced writer and Brittany resident, Wendy Mewes. 

Details :                        http/brittanyheritageservices.com/courses.htm 
Contact:                       mewes@orange.fr 

Writers’ Retreat in Rabbie Burns Country
13^th -17^th  September 2010 

writing unlimited is heading up over the border to Dumfries, to the heart of Rabbie Burns’ country and the glorious setting of Friars Carse Hotel where Burns was inspired to write many of his well-known works. 

This rather special retreat is for writers looking for the time and space to make progress with their writing. As writers ourselves we’re more than happy to leave you alone to crack on with it, to wander in the grounds, walk by the river, take a trip into Dumfries and follow the tourist trail. 

And in the evenings, you can meet up with fellow writers and talk shop over dinner and drinks. 

Cost: £380 per person in spacious, comfortable, single occupancy en suite rooms, 4 nights, DB&B and informal lunch. 

See contacts below for more details.  

Shirley Bailey: 01772 624 757
& Sheila McAnulty: 01204 389 327 

writing unlimited
free yourself up, be inspired
96 Victoria Road
Fulwood
Preston
PR2 8NN
writingunlimited@hotmail.co.uk

The Historical Novel Society 
UK Conference 2010 - Sunday, 17th October, 2010
Mechanics’ Institute,
Manchester

 www.historicalnovelsociety.org  for more details.

The Historical Novel Society’s conference this year offers our best ever industry line-up!

• Jim Gill is a literary agent with an unmatched reputation for launching new historical fiction authors.
• Katie Espiner has specific responsibility for historical fiction at HarperCollins, editing Tracy Chevalier and Conn Iggulden amongst others.
• Marcy Posner is a senior New York agent who has just joined a new agency with a remit to find new historical fiction and YA authors.

In addition we have an amazing line up of author speakers and panels, as well as workshops and the chance to pitch to an agent or discuss your writing with an experienced reader.  The authors will include Jerome de Groot, Jean Fullerton, Elizabeth Hawksley, Doug Jackson, Ben Kane, Robert Low, Orna Ross, Mary Sharratt, Harry Sidebottom, and Ann Turnbull, as well as industry experts Katie Espiner (HarperCollins), Jim Gill (United Agents), and Marcy Posner (Folio Literary Mgmt).  See http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/uk-conference-2010.htm

 We are working together with the Manchester Literature Festival and the Manchester Libraries’ Pages Ago promotion.  Manchester Libraries’ Readers day is at the same venue on 16th October, and speakers include Alison Weir, Maria McCann and Sarah Dunant. 

 Fees are £65 (non-members), or £55 (members and special concessions) if you sign up before 31st August, and include lunch and refreshments.

 For press enquiries please contact: 01626 891962
Email: richard@historicalnovelsociety.org
www.historicalnovelsociety.org 

Associated information from    www.myfanwycook.com.