NAWGfest

Annual Festival of Writing

NAWGFest 2024...

We'll be online again this year

Our festival of writing is held in the first week of September

and we will be online.

Jennifer Margrave (writing as Jay Margrave) is a writer, of novels, poems and plays, and also was part of a group that ran a small publishing house from 2004 to 2022, (a victim of Covid and, sadly, co-directors dying). She is convenor of Guildford Writers and also runs workshops.

Kris Johnson: the power of imagery. Imagery is at the heart of poetry. In this session we'll explore how poets create images that are resonant and powerful. We'll consider the range of devices and tools we have at our disposal and explore how we can use them in our own writing.

Ellie Stevenson: crafting your memoir. In this workshop you will examine the difference between memoir and autobiography; discover your purpose and what you want to share in your book; understand the considerations which make memoir writing different from other types of book including motive, truth and compassion; gain insight into using photos and illustrations and develop a timescale with action points

Steve Bowkett: genre fiction will look at the basic elements and structure of narrative and these ideas will apply across the range of genres. I intend then to take a look at a few specific genres. My favourites and the ones I write in are Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror (including ghost stories) and, latterly, supernatural thrillers.

Simon Whaley: how to win competitions. You can’t guarantee winning a writing competition, but there are steps you can take to increase your chances of success. This workshop will examine what a writing competition is, how to research the competition and judge to assess what sort of material they like, how to get your entry drafted, edited, and submitted on time, and how to ensure your entry gets through to the judging process.

Helen Corner-Bryant: Q&A session discussing literary agents.Helen Corner-Bryant spent several years in editorial at Penguin before setting up Cornerstones Literary Consultancy in 1998. In 2016, she opened Cornerstones US, creating the world’s first transatlantic literary consultancy. Cornerstones is known for teaching self-editing techniques, providing editorial feedback on all genres, scouting for agents, and launching many writers published by global industry giants including: HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Bloomsbury, Bonnier Books, Chicken House Books, Picador (Pan Macmillan), Faber & Faber, Macmillan USA, Amazon Publishing, and more. Helen is a guest lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre for Publishing, Department of Information Studies at UCL. She is the co-author of On Editing: How to Edit Your Novel the Professional Way (John Murray, 2018) and director of the Cornerstones/PWA online course, Edit Your Novel the Professional Way.