Recent Successes

Victoria Bartlett’s poem was highly commended in this year’s Open Poetry Competition. “Gumbo” is featured in the 2012 Anthology which can be bought for £6 plus £1 P&P.

Please send your cheque made out to “Norwich Writers’ Circle”. to

The OPC Secretary, 1 Stannard Road Norwich NR4 7JD

Maureen Nesbit’s article “Black to Nature” entered in Walkopedia 2011 Travel Writing Competition is to be published on their website. Although not a prize winning entry it was judged as an excellent piece and will have a permanent place on their site.

Lyn Fountain’s short story: “The Bantam Menace” published in 19th May 2012 edition of Peoples Friend.

Open Poetry Competition Results

17th April 2012

The winners of the 41st Open Poetry Competition,

adjudicated by Helen Ivory:

1st Mother by Dorothy Fryd

2nd Hotel Small Hours by Gina Shaw

3rd Love, the Verb by Dana Smith

Family: My Parents Staying by Nicolette Golding

Humorous: Epitaph for our Time by Gerard McKee

Minimalist: Little Stars by Chris Hardy

A further sixty-two poems were selected from the 622 entries and featured in this year’s anthology with ten “Highly Commended” and twelve “Commended”.
The evening was made very interesting as many of the poets had travelled to Norwich to hear the results and read their poems. Altogether it was a very successful year and the evening was most enjoyable.

 Chairman Adrain Dearnley

 Judge Helen Ivory

 Vice President Elizabeth Bencze presents 1st Prize

Dorothy Fryd reads winning poem "Mother"

Open Poetry 2012

Our 2012 Open Poetry Competition has been launched.

The competition - Norwich Writers' Circle's 41st - has the following prizes in the Open Category:

1st

£300.00

2nd

£150.00

3rd 

£75.00

In addition to the main prizes, we also have sponsored ones for Minimalist and Humorous poetry, plus another on The Family.

The competition closes on the 21st February 2012, and this year, as previously announced, will be judged by Helen Ivory.

A prizegiving evening, featuring adjudications and readings, will then take place on the 17th April 2012 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.

To read the Competition rules and much more, please visit the dedicated section of our main website by going here.

Anthology Anniversary

Our Open Poetry Competition Anthology is still available to buy.

A new trailer for the book is now available to view on our popular YouTube channel. Please go here to watch the short film.

The book is available to buy by sending £7.00 per copy to our PayPal account. Please note, if you are purchasing the book outside Europe, the retail price is £10.00 a copy.

PayPal reference - norwichwriters@hotmail.co.uk

The Winner's Anthology can also be purchased by sending a £7.00 cheque made payable to Norwich Writers' Circle to:

Mrs M Nisbet
1 Stannard Road
Norwich NR4 7JD
England

Poetry United

United Press have recently launched their biggest ever free poetry competition.

Over 250 winners are selected every year, each one representing a different UK town or area. All winners are published in the anthology and all receive a free copy of the book, and one overall winner will receive £1,000.00. To enter you can submit up to 3 poems, all of which must be no more than 25 lines (each blank line counts as one line) and 160 words each.

To see how to enter the competition, which closes on 30th June, please go here.

Sell Out Success

Following its launch less than a fortnight ago, our latest Open Poetry Anthology's 1st edition has already sold out.

The book's 2nd edition is now available to buy via our main website. To purchase your copy of the anthology, please go here.

Anniversary Anthology

Our popular Open Poetry Competition Anthology is now available to buy, following its recent launch at the Prize-Giving Evening.

To purchase the book, please go here.

Poetry Prize-Giving

At The Assembly House this evening we held the prize giving for our Annual Open Poetry Competition.

This year's competition, which had over 500 entries, was adjudicated by Martin Figura. The Joy Of Six member commented on the variety of the poems entered, plus also how much he enjoyed judging the competition.

After the compeition prize-winners were announced, a selection of poems from the Anthology were read aloud by the poets to a packed, and very appreciative, Kent Room.

The main competiton winners were:

1st - £300.00

The Explosion

by Howard Wright

2nd - £200.00

Growing Hippastrum

by Gill McEvoy

3rd - £100.00

The Yare At Rockland

by Melissa Collin

In additon to the above, the OPC's sponsored prizes were also announced. The winners in these catergories were as follows:

Family - H G Powell - £35.00

Just Jacaranda

by Wendy Klein

Humorous - John Coleridge - £15.00

For The Good Of Her Health

by Bob Sheed

Minimalist - John Lewis (token) - £10.00

Early Snow

by Tim Lenton

All the winning poems are now featured in our competition's 40th Anniversary Anthology, which was also launched this evening.

The popular Winners' Anthology is also now available to purchase via our website, by going here.

Please visit norwichwriters.org.uk to see the full list of winners.

In West Somerton Churchyard

Congratulations to NWC Vice President Elizabeth Bencze who has had a poem commended by the Fakenham Poetry Circle, as part of this year’s Open Competition.

Elizabeth’s poem, entitled In West Somerton Churchyard, was adjudicated by Ronald Blythe, who is best known for the book Akenfield: Portrait Of A Village.

The poem will now be included the competition winners' anthology, which is available now for £3.50 from:

The Secretary
31 Hayes Lane
Fakenham
Norfolk NR21 9EP

Our very own Open Poetry Competition is now accepting entries. For more information, please visit norwichwriters.org.uk/poetry.

Still Keeping The Fire Going

A short film promoting our Open Poetry Competition 2010 Winners’ Anthology is now available to watch online.

Keeping The Fire Going was an immediate sell-out when it was first published earlier in the year.

To discover more about this popular read, and to order your copy of the Anthology, please go here. Alternatively, why not check out our new YouTube channel to view the book’s trailer.

Anne's Anthology

Congratulations to Norwich Writers’ Circle member Anne Olerenshaw, who is having a short story published next month.

Anne's story, which focuses on the thoughts of a dying man stranded in the desert, will be included in the Flesh And Bone anthology published by Gatehouse Press.

We look forward to reading this intriguing tale.

Gentle Footprints

Today's Hay Festival saw of the launch of the wildlife short story anthology, Gentle Footprints, by Virginia McKenna.

This evening, the famed actress and wildlife campaigner appeared on Sky Arts' popular Book Show - broadcast live from the Festival - to promote the anthology's recent publication.

Amongst the 19 short stories featured in Gentle Footprints is The Last Big Cat, written by NWC committee member Lyn Fountain.

Lyn's recent appearance on BBC Radio Norfolk, promoting the anthology and her short story, can be heard by clicking here.

To purchase the book, which has has been published to raise funds and awareness of the Born Free Foundation, please go here.

Keeping The Fire Going

Following last month's immediate sell-out of our latest Open Poetry Competition's Winners' Anthology, the book is now available to purchase once more.

To order your copy of Keeping The Fire Going, please go here.

Open Poetry Competition Anthology Success

Due to an overwhelmingly positive response, within days of its launch, our latest Poetry Anthology's first run has sold out, and is currently being reprinted.

The book, entitled Keeping The Fire Going, features all 70 winning entries in our Open Poetry Competition, alongside a foreword by OPC adjudicator, Hilary Mellon.

To order your copy of this highly enjoyable read, please visit norwichwriters.org.uk.

When The Tide Is Right

Following our previous annoucement, we now have only a few copies of our 2009 Open Poetry Competition Winners' Anthology left to buy. Entitled When The Tide Is Right, the £5.00 paperback features all the winning poems, plus an introduction from Keith Chandler, the competition's adjudicator.

To purchase your copy of the Anthology, whilst you still have the opportunity, please contact Doreen with your details.

Walk On The Wild Side

Norwich Writers' Circle member Lyn Fountain has had her short story The Last Big Cat accepted for inclusion in a forthcoming anthology called Gentle Footprints.

The wildlife story collection, due to be published in June this year, on behalf of the Born Free Foundation, by Bridge House, also features a new short story from Richard Adams and a foreward written by the charity's patron, Virginia McKenna.

For read more about this exciting forthcoming publication, please visit gentlefootprintsanimalanthology.blogspot.com.

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.

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.

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.