Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

from everyone at Norwich Writers' Circle.

Season's Greetings From Toad Hall

Lyn Fountain - writing as Marilyn Fountain - has had a short story entitled Welcome To Toad Hall included in an anthology called The Wind In The Willows Short Stories, published by The Kenneth Grahame Society.

The book is currently available through Lulu.com, in a casewrap hardcover and as a paperback.

The anthology will also soon be available from Amazon, and is destined to be a popular read over the festive season.

Christmas Celebration

Tonight at The Assembly House, Norwich Writers' Circle held its annual Christmas Celebration in The Pierce Room.

The well-attended festive evening featured food and drink, plus party games and a raffle, along with some seasonal entertainment provided by Circle members.

Our writing group, plus some additional friends and family, were entertained by a few Writers' Circle members who featured in a couple of comedy sketches. These sketches included a couple arguing about their cat, written by Anne Olerenshaw, and a witty take on A Christmas Carol, cheekily spoofed by Séan Hindle.

An enjoyable evening was had by everyone who attended.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Stuart's Success

In October 2008, new Norwich Writers' Circle member Stuart McCarthy was a joint runner up in a short story competition run by globalshortstories.net.

The story, entitled I Always Get Away With It, is now available to read online by going here.

We hope you enjoy the read, and share in our congratulations.

Jean Fullerton: Making History

This evening, following her visit to us in April, Jean Fullerton returned to Norwich Writers’ Circle to adjudicate our Historical Novel Introduction Competition.

Jean was impressed by the different writing styles, and the range of historical periods covered by our competition entries. The award-winning saga writer also offered some useful pointers on how we could improve the formatting of our prose in future.

After listening to Jean’s humorous and grounded feedback, we had the opportunity to hear all the competition's winning entries.

The competition winners were:

1st

The Apothecary's Niece

by Sally Newton

Joint 2nd

The Last Weybourne Run

by Anne Funnell

Joint 2nd

Pathway To The Future

by Doreen Rosser

In additional to gaining points towards our annual Competition Cup, Sally also won a signed copy of Jean Fullerton's latest book, A Glimpse At Happiness, which available to buy now.

Next week – 8th December – is our annual Christmas Celebration in The Pierce Room. We hope to see you there.

Sultan's Success

New Norwich Writers’ Circle member Sultan Walpole has had a short story published. The story, A Mother’s Blessing, is part of the anthology Foreign Parts, published by Gatehouse Press.

The recently published book is now available to buy from the publishers, and is a recommended read.

Right Here Write Now

Norwich Writers' Circle's 2009/10 programme continued tonight with one of our regular Manuscript Evenings.

Our welcoming group heard a wide variety of work read aloud, including poetry and several extracts from work-in-progress novels - all of which lead to healthy and interesting discussions.

Tonight, once more, proved popular, and saw several visitors join our members for another enjoyable and engaging meeting.

On 1st December, at our next meeting, saga writer Jean Fullerton will be adjudicating the Historical Novel Introduction Competition. Please feel free to come along.

Anthology Update

Following our succcessful Open Poetry Competition last year, we currently have a handful of the Winners' Anthology left to buy. The paperback, entitled When The Tide Is Right, features all the winning poems along with an introduction from the competitition's adjudicator, Keith Chandler.

To purchase this highly enjoyable read for only £6.00, please contact Doreen with your details.

Esther Morgan's Poetry In Motion

Tonight, as part of Norwich Writers’ Circle’s ongoing programme, noted poet Esther Morgan held a workshop, which launched our second competition of the year.

Competition Two gives Circle members the opportunity to write a poem, a maximum of 40 lines long, on the theme of 'Encounters'.

The popular workshop was based around several free writing activities, all of which were designed to highlight the numerous ways we could approach our latest competition's theme.

Esther also illustrated to us how other writers have used the ideas of encounters within their work. An important shift in action, plus the use of dialogue and a interesting setting were all suggested as useful points to consider when writing poetry.

The Norfolk based poet recommended visiting poetryarchive.org to hear a variety of poems read aloud by their famous authors.

Our next meeting, on 17th November, will be one of our regular Manuscript Evenings. We hope to see you there.

Lucy McCarraher: On Demand

At The Assembly House this evening, Norwich Writers' Circle's 2009/10 programme continued, in a packed Sexton Room.

Our latest meeting featured Lucy McCarraher, who discussed her writing career to date, and how she became an author.

Lucy described to us how her previous publishing experiences with Macmillan led to her books being sold over the internet. The visiting writer stated that she believed that print on demand was the future of publishing, due to the amount of control it gives the author. The only downside to being published using POD is that, once your book has been published, and for any chance of success, you must be prepared to organise the promotionial work yourself.

The evening ended by Lucy taking part in a Q&A session, which gave visitors and Circle members the opportunity to ask questions raised by the author's interesting talk.

Esther Morgan will be hosting a Poetry Workshop at our next meeting on 3rd November. We hope to see you then.

Simon Scarrow: History Man

Norwich Writers' Circle's 2009/2010 programme continued this evening with a visit from historical novelist Simon Scarrow.

The well-attended meeting started with Simon discussing the importance of history and how it shapes who we are, where we came from and where we are collectively going.

The novelist, whose latest book The Gladiator is currently riding high in the bestseller lists, also shared with us the importance of historical accuracy in fiction. Scarrow stressed that the plot was key, and that we must not to get too hung up on meaningless details. He added by saying that whilst storytelling is important, a balance must be made between keeping the plot moving and describing your characters' living era.

Simon's humorous and insightful talk was soon followed by a spirited discussion on the various subjects raised by the visiting writer, and much more besides.

The next NWC meeting at The Assembly House is on the 20th October. This meeting will feature another visiting author, Lucy McCarraher, who will be talking to us about fiction writing and publishing on demand.

We hope to see you next time.

Open Poetry Competition Launched

We have recently launched our Annual Open Poetry Competiton.

The competition - Norwich Writers' Circle's 39th - has the following prizes in the Open Category:

1st

£200.00

2nd

£100.00

3rd 

£50.00

In addition to the above, there are also prizes for Minimalist, Humorous and poems on the theme of The Family.

The competition closes on the 16th February 2010, and this year will be judged by local poet Hilary Mellon.

A prizegiving evening, featuring adjudications and readings, will then take place on the 20th April 2010 at The Assembly House. This evening also sees the launch of the Competition's Anthology, which will be able to be purchased from the night onwards.

For more information on the competition, please go here.

Paws For Poetry

They run like things gone mad,

Their long bodies bent in the middle.

Thick, fluffy fur of many colours

Flashes as they streak past.

Strong, clawed feet move in a blur

As they scamper over all surfaces.

Small, beady eyes seek out fun

Or the next meal.

A tangle of brizzly bodies,

Writhing like snakes

As they roll around.

They run up and down their tunnels

Noses quivering.

They squeak and squeal, bark and chatter.

They are never still but run all over the place.

Put your head around the door

And they come to you,

To stick their head in your pockets looking for treats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above poem about ferrets was written by Victoria Bartlett, and was featured in Norwich Writer’s Circle's recent Open Evening.

Since our mid-September meeting Victoria’s poem has been published in a fundraising book. The book, entitled Paws For Thought, has been published to raise awareness and money for the Wymondham based PACT Animal Sanctuary.

We hope you enjoyed the read.

Competition One Clarification

During our recent Open Evening, several visitors and Norwich Writers' Circle members asked for clarification of what is required for our Historical Novel Introduction Competition.

For this competition, which closes on 20th October, you will need to write the first 5 pages of an Historical Novel, using a maximum of 1,500 words.

The competition's adjudicator, Jean Fullerton, believes 'history' to cover time from 3,000BC to 1945. Jean has requested that the manuscripts are in a 12 point font, double spaced with wide margins, as standard. Finally, we have also been advised that we do not need to put the copyright symbol - © - on our entries.

For our In-House Competition Guidelines, please go here.

Open Evening

Norwich Writer's Circle's 2009/10 programme began tonight with an Open Evening, which saw several new members join our popular writing group.

The meeting itself gave an opportunity for the new NWC members to discuss their own writing interests, plus how they hope that joining the Circle will enhance their skills further.

One of the evening's highlights was the reading of several manuscripts, some of which were written by Circle members. These varied readings included poetry, a short story for children and the beginning of a historical novel.

Further historical novel excerpts were also read out to offer an idea of what is needed for NWC's first competition of the year. Amongst the first chapters read and discussed were books by Jean Fullerton and Simon Scarrow - both of whom are writers who will be visiting Norwich Writers' Circle in the coming months.

Simon Scarrow will be the visiting writer at our next meeting on 6th October. The famed historical novelist will be giving us the chance to hear his guide to writing in this bestselling genre.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Contessa 32 Magazine Success

Congratulations to Circle member Jean Shackleton who has had two articles published in Contessa 32 magazine.

The interesting articles on yachting life, entitled News From The East and Boxing In The Baltic With Another Bob, can be found in the magazine's Summer 2009 issue.

The articles will also be available for everyone to read from our 15th September meeting onwards.

2009/10 Programme

Details of our 2009/10 programme are now available online.

Highlights for the year ahead include historical novelist Simon Scarrow, poet Esther Morgan, and a visit from Jean Fullerton, who will be adjudicating the Circle's first competition of the year.

Our first meeting, on 15th September, will be an Open Evening. The free evening will be a chance for the Circle to introduce themselves to new members and visitors. The meeting will also feature some readings, which will help set the scene for our Historical Novel Introduction Competition.

Further details of the programme can be seen here.

We look forward to seeing you at The Assembly House.

AGM Prizegiving

Following the Summer Garden Party, our AGM took place on the 7th July. This lively and well-attended meeting also included our annual prizegiving. The prizes awarded acknowledge Circle members successes in the various group competitions held during the previous year.

The prizes awarded during the evening were:

The Colin Sutton Cup for Humour
Maureen Nisbet

The Ivy Ferrari Award
Anne Funnell

The Competition Cup
Anne Funnell

Congratulations to all the winning writers.

Summer Garden Party

On 27th June, Norwich Writers' Circle held its annual Summer Social. The event - one of the year's most popular meetings - was held in once more in our Chairman's Poringland garden.

The party was enjoyed by the many Circle members who attended. It is also the last opportunity for NWC members to meet before our 2009/10 programme begins on 15th September.

Welcome

Thanks for visiting Norwich Writers' Circle's The Write Stuff Blog.

Our Blog postings will feature details of our regular meetings, including visiting writers, members' successes and news of our popular In-House Competitions, and much more besides.

Your valuable comments and feedback are more than welcome.

We hope your enjoy your Blog visit, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.