Keith Bennett of New Forest Poets adjudicated the Ode to April poetry competition and commented on the high standard of entries.
Highly Commended: Gill Hollands with April
Author: Catherine Griffin
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April Competition Winners 2013
1st – Hilary Hares with April 2nd – Hugh Gidlow with April 2013 3rd – Sue Spiers with a sonnet Fool -
An Evening with Christopher Reid and Julian Stannard
Report by Carole Hastings
Edward Fennel from the Hyde900 group was the special guest at this, the 8th event in our ten event programme. He invited everyone to join six The Art of Conversation discussion evenings starting on April 17 when visual artist Anna Cady is interviewed by Jenny Cuffe [File on Four – BBC Radio]. For details of programme and other Hyde 900 news.
David Eadsforth introduced our main speakers: Christopher Reid poetry writer and publisher. He won the Costa Best Book of the Year 2009, the only poet to win this prize other than Seamus Heaney, for his anthology, A Scattering, a monument to his late wife Lucinda. Julian Stannard poet and tutor at the University of Winchester shared the platform.
We enjoyed a number of readings. The first from Julian were set in Genoa where he lived for some time and evoked the atmosphere, deftly slicing Italian into the English. They ranged from the birth of his son, walking around Genoa and a poem about a woman he no longer loves, The Parrots of the Villa Gruber Discover Lapis Lazuli, also the name of his anthology. We listened to lunches, walked along the Burlington Arcade and sympathised with his need for a cigarette alone in the mountains with just a dog for company.
Christopher praised Julian for his comic and voluptuous spirit. He said generally his own poems were a versified, rather than a prosaic, response to grief, loss and unhappiness.A Scattering was written in three sections: the first whilst his wife was dying, the second after his wife’s death in a hospice and the final third, a widower’s dozen. He read Songbook, Dream and Afterlife and the audience were moved. He then read from his Nonsense anthology a piece about his character Professor Winterthorn – a man in search of some relief from his grief at a conference with an old student.
Julian started writing poetry as a teenager and “didn’t grow out of it” and Christopher started at eight years old inspired by light verse in The Pick of Punch 1951. Both writers prefer verse and feel that it seizes you with excellence and surprise whilst novels often don’t. Poetry gives you something to hang onto that prose cannot provide.
Christopher edits his poems as he writes and doesn’t revisit at a later date. When building an anthology he uses a yardstick of Ted Hughes [whose letters he has edited & published] which is the book needs to reach resolution and lead you to the last few poems. He does not tailor the poems themselves but uses this to determine what goes in and what order.
Brian Evan-Jones commented that Julian seems to weave humour into his work with ease and asked if he found it easy to do. Christopher thought it was more to do with Julian’s picaresque view of the world. Julian thought it was odd as he described himself as “quite a miserable bugger”!
Both poets found that publishing validated their work and Julian confessed that often he describes himself as a teacher rather than a poet as many people consider the arts as indulgent.
As young writers they were heavily influenced by other poets. Christopher: Thomas, Sitwell, Stephens and Hopkins. Julian: TS Eliot – The Wasteland, Lowell – Life Studies and Hoffman’s Acrimony.
Dr Gary Farnell lead everyone’s appreciation of a magical evening.
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March Competition Winners 2013
by Hermione Laake
Adjudicator: Writer, Editor, and lecturer Calum Kerr.
Our adjudicator was writer and lecturer Calum Kerr. Calum’s recent Flash Fiction project, “365” was featured on BBC Radio 4, and can be listened to via the link on his website via the “news”link (Read by Dame Diana Rigg, Kenneth Cranham, Rory Kinear, and Emilia Fox). The background effects really bring the pieces to life.
1st place – Gill Hollands, for her piece Captive – Calum said he was suitably terrified by Gill’s prose. Gill is becoming a regular winner. Can you knock her off the top spot?
2nd place – A Kind of Loving by Catherine Mortimore, our very own secretary Celia Livesey, (Celia is becoming quite a pro’ at giving our competitors a run for their money).
3rd place – newcomer, Tania Travis, with Opening Paragraph.
Highly Commended:
David Eadsforth in 1stplace. (David is also on our committee, as Events Manager.)
Hazel Donnelly in 2ndplace, with Time Lock.
Calum Kerr gave written feedback to all our winners, and highly commended.
Calum spoke about Flash Fiction Day, and his 365 Flash Fiction venture. He invites you to tidy up your entries and enter them for the competition—more details on the website.
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Jane Wenham-Jones speaks to Hampshire Writers’ Society
Report by Carole Hastings
Barbara Large opened the evening by inviting Local writing group, Pencils and What-not, to promote their new self-published book, Journeys and What-not. It’s a miscellany of sixty pieces of fiction, travel tales, poems and assorted writing. £1 per book will go to the charity First Story that supports creative writing in schools where at least 50% of the children are deprived. The book is available from P & G Wells in Winchester, The Winchester Discovery Centre and from their website.
Then we heard from special guest Jenny Knowles who runs a small publishing company in the New Forest, called Little Knoll Press.
Her mother wrote stories of her life in China and India and sent them to Jenny at boarding school rather than ordinary letters and these inspired Jenny to get into publishing. She has published some of her family’s stories and as well as a few others. She will soon be publishing a book of postcards accompanied by stories produced by a local artist. She thinks that people considering self-publishing use an external editor to get their work to a publishable standard. She recommended that people interested in travel writing join the Itinerant Writers Club via their website: http://www.lizcleere.com. It’s run by a woman called Liz Cleere from a boat near Cochin in India and provides a good support network.
The main act was Jane Wenham-Jones and was pure entertainment. She recounted saying to one audience that it was easier to rob a bank that make money from writing. The audience were guests at HMP Send! This set the tone for the evening.She sees herself as a jobbing writer – novelist, short story writer, columnist, features writer, agony aunt, speaker. She’s feisty and tenacious and deals with her rejections by sending out another script the same day – often reworking a piece depending on the comments she may have had back. Her record for sending out the same piece was11 times across a period of two years. Her advice was to do something positive when you get a rejection – it’s normal to get plenty and few people really get their first novel published.
She believes in writing what you know and her first novel Raising the Roofwas based on her experiences in the buy to let market where one of her tenants actually stole the boiler and another filled the place with stolen goods and replica guns. She tends to keep research to a minimum – mostly Google and asking people to tell what she needs to know. She’s a firm believer in not trying to sell your book until you’ve written it – the first three chapters are not enough. Keep your focus in what you want to write as you can easily pick up so much contradictory advice – bigger plot/bigger characterisation etc.
Jane never wastes her life experiences – they all provide her with material for books and features -domestics even find their way into her column… Woman’s Weekly Fiction Specials are a great outlet for short stories.In the name of research Jane has been botoxed, [better performed by the dermatologist than the dentist apparently], been painted naked [her laptop strategically placed] and had a go at stand-up comedy. The audience found her funnier in real life than when she was trying to tell jokes.
Her second book Perfect Alibis was based on research from a friend on how to have an affair which led her on to work on The Sun and an appearance on Kilroy. Her most recent novel,Prime Time, based on her experiences in day time TV was nominated for The Romantic Comedy of the Year Award.
She currently has a 15,000 word book on Kindle called 100 ways to Fight the Flab and this will be out in paperback as a 60,000 word book by Christmas. She is running a “How to Lose Weight” competition for a week’s writing course in France.
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James McConnachie: Writing to Order and When to Strain Against the Leash
Report written by Gill Hollands.
The evening began with three announcements. Barbara Large invited Nita Saini to talk about her pocket book which she has self-published after eight dark years of depression. She had discovered that current books on the subject were thick tomes offering no help. She felt that people who were depressed needed help to get themselves out of their situation and off drugs. While she was researching, her notes lived in her back pocket and determined the size for her new user-friendly book. She feels that her tips on de-stressing, happiness, relaxation and reducing anxiety will be relevant to every reader. The book has been endorsed by Stephen Fry, The Barefoot Doctor, Lorraine Kelly and MIND, who have recommended it to GPs. Nita said she wants to light up people’s lives. We are sure this will be a success and hope to hear more in the future. Check out the website on www.movingonupthebook.com.
Alice Young’s new book, was recently published on Amazon. They provide an e-book, ISBN and allow you to set your price. It can then be turned into hardback if required. Alice belongs to a group of supportive undergraduate writers who gather frequently to help each other with various projects. This motivates them all to keep going. Congratulations to Alice.
Joan McGavin, Faculty of Arts, announced a summer poetry course in Normandy on 24-28 June.
Barbara Large gave the dates for the 33rd Winchester Writer’s Conference Festival and Bookfair, 21-23 June 2013 when Lord Julian Fellowes, author and script writer and renowned for the television series Downton Abbey, will give the Plenary Address. In-depth Writing Workshops are planned for Monday and Tuesday, 24 and 25 June, following the conference. Details will be available online soon.
James McConnachie, professional reviewer, traveller, part time historian, 2008 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, writer for The Author, the quarterly journal of The Society of Authors and currently their temporary editor, gave an outstanding talk punctuated by many questions from the audience. He said that he felt honoured and delighted, yet daunted to be speaking to peers and fellow writers in his home town.
Writing to Order and When To Strain Against the Leash
He began by discussing his latest book, The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories. He has been a major contributor to Rough Guides since they began and believes deeply in their value to travellers. He often has to return to various countries to update the details in new editions. He stressed the importance of providing information which give access for the disabled. He felt that the books were very good value considering the time and energy he had committed to them. The books are aimed at an intelligent readership.
He admitted that most of the conspiracy theories in his latest book attracted even the most sceptical writer. As a writer he strived to keep focussed on the topic. Most of the theories continue to be battlefields long after the event. His friend, Robin, who is a ‘rabid conspiracist’ helped him come up with the initial idea. He felt it was important to introduce humour and scepticism into dry facts, especially with tiptoe-ing into legal minefield. The risk of libel and defamation lost him many nights’ sleep; the potential for suing a constant nightmare. He explained in some length that the UK libel laws are an antiquated and complex maze which is under review currently. Even with proof of the facts, a court case could not be ruled out and reporting any facts from other sources is no defence. As a result, there were many decisions to be made when choosing which subjects could safely be covered in the book. He still feels some topics are on shaky ground. The agreed disclaimer at the beginning of the book ‘almost turns the whole thing into fiction’; that everything should be viewed with ‘complete disbelief’. In fact, he had wanted Terry Jones to write the introduction but he declined when he realised the potential risks.
How long did it take to write the book? The first edition took 1½ years of solid work. The 2nd edition was more of an update and therefore only took months. The books cover 97 different subjects: the research was extensive.
Do you shred everything? Every note and piece of paper used in his research is kept in case it is needed for defence. One possible claim involving the DEA and CIA came at the end of the first print run. Changes were to have been made before the next printing. Thankfully the threat came to nothing and the first run did not have to be withdrawn.
Do the libel laws limit what and where you can publish? They do. He hates the restrictions.
Could the problem not be shipped out to avoid UK law? The laws are about to change ‘libel tourism’. The law is currently ‘rotten’. A proper effort needs to be made to change it.
Does this apply only to the written word? The law to prevent injustice is effective but writers should be able to speak the truth without being sued.
What about the Official Secrets Act? He has not needed to sign this document. It does not apply to authors. It does apply to government workers in MI6: for example, in the case of Kelly’s death. The case is still open. James felt that he might come under pressure, but his book may sell 10-20,000 copies whereas newspapers sell millions.
What about publishing on a foreign server? Could you still be sued under UK law? James was not certain.
James said that he prefered non-fiction to fiction. He found the boundaries of being a guide book writer comforting, even liberating. He is humbly proud of being useful; being able to make a reader turn down a certain street; to change their experience of a place.
He enjoys helping people, even being an ‘agony uncle’ for the Metro, the free London daily newspaper. When he responds to problems, he hopes that it will help other people with similar problems.
James also reviews books for The Sunday Times. He is given the unusual books, those that don’t fit into a particular category or popular science, which he prefers. He admires the editor, also believing that book reviews should be simple, useful, fulfilling their duty to the reader. He read an excerpt that showed how he carefully balances his prose, reflecting and shaping matching words, a satisfying experience. He said writing is like boxing, use small punches and big swipes. He felt creativity has to be squeezed out in different ways. Even a book review gives the opportunity to write creatively. Non-fiction is becoming more interesting now; more creativity generates more energy.
James referred to his book, The Rough Guide to Sex. He wanted to address all types of relationships, young, old, straight, gay; not assume the age-old stereotypes, which had limited other volumes.
He struggled at first with the process, even thinking of basing it on a Rough Guide with a map. Eventually he began with attraction; love, desire, hormones, culture, beauty, sexuality, science and legality. These aspects reflect in many areas. He covered contraception, health and religion. He went on to bodies, including minds. Of course there is a chapter called ‘How to do it’. He addressed sex though life, through disability,(although he admitted that there were many aspects of this topic that require more thought), The book even discusses early changes in a young child’s brain toward love and affection. He mentioned that he also wrote about the dark side of sex and violence and its effects. Abuse is widespread and occurs in every culture. He feels very strongly against pornography.
He also wrote about gay sex: no-one has covered this subject. To some it would seem shocking: in some societies, it would be illegal. Views vary with different cultures.
Would this question even arise in 50 years? The norm varies widely in many cultures but society is constantly changing.
James discussed TheBook of Love: the Story of the Kamasutra.
His research into this topic began when James was given a special edition of The Kamasutra as a gift. He realised it was rather more like a book of conduct, a guide to Indian sexual relationships. He became obsessed by the attitudes to sex in the east and west and fascinated by the story of the original book which had to be translated by a friend.
Finally James talked about The Society of Authors, a trade union for members who are very helpful to all writers. He works with no agent or accountant. Instead The Society of Authors have guided him. He has written various articles for their issues of The Author and he has been offered the post of temporary editor.To be on the other side of the fence was a new experience; accepting articles rather than pitching them. He welcomed letters to the editor.
James does not used social media although he is on Twitter. While he feels it can be entertaining and the internet has its place, he feels that we should turn off the screen and read a book. His favourite authors are Rebecca Smith, a lecturer at the University of Southampton, Mick Jackson, Jonathan Buckley and Robert McFarlane. He admires his metaphors and ingenuity and the creative use of language.
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February Competition Winners 2013
‘Write 300 words on a familiar UK location by an ‘overseas tourist”
The HWS Travel Writing Competition was adjudicated by Carole Hastings who last year won British Guild of Travel Writers’ New Travel Writer of the Year 2012 Award.
Carole Hastings writes:
The winning elements that I looked for were the same ones as the British Guild of Travel Writers use for the New Travel Writer of the Year Competition :
- Effective hook
- Unusual angle
- Local colour and or imagery
- Good structure
All the entries were good pieces of writing. As James McConnachie spoke of “when to strain against the leash” this served as a creative guiding light in helping me choose the winners. Leashes were strained to great effect…
First place: Gill Hollands – a Stowaway’s view on arriving in Southampton
Second place: Sue Spiers – a poem on Ishiguro at the Spinnaker, Portsmouth
Third place: Rosie Travers – powerful imagery of Hengistbury Head [This was Rosie’s first HWS competition entry]
Highly commended
Gopi Chandroth – Driving in Oxford – humorous piece
Paul Airey – Quadrophenia – highly original piece on a visit to Brighton
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January Competition Winners 2013
By Hermione Laake
Hermione began by presenting 3rd Prize to Anthony Ridgway for his entry for December’s competition.
Hermione pointed out that Anthony’s piece (a letter to Santa in the style of Dickens) was about the importance of seeing past the disability to the person within
Flash fiction Competition:
Our adjudicator was Paul Bavister. Paul has worked at Macmillan and has published 3 books of poetry. Paul teaches creative writing at Birkbeck College, London. Paul has also been a speaker at the Winchester Writers’ Conference.
Paul was unable to attend. However, he provided our winners and highly commended with helpful guidance and comments.
Book prizes were awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places1st Place – The Final Chapter by Anne Eckersley
2nd Place – The Burglar by Georgie Jensen (Karin Groves)
3rd Place – Wifebeater by Gill Hollands
Highly commended/joint 4th
Balloons by Liz Symonds
Undone by Sally Wood
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Graham Hurley speaks to Hampshire Writers’ Society
Brian Evans-Jones, Hampshire Poet Laureate, is our guest blogger this month.
IT’S A STEAL: SOME THOUGHTS ON ‘FINDING YOURSELF’ AS A WRITER
I spent an enjoyable and thought-provoking evening last night at the Hampshire Writers’ Society. I was invited as the warm-up act, giving a brief plug for the Writing Hampshireproject, which is going strong: over 100 poems now, and more coming in all the time. Next I hope we can get 200 poems, including more by kids, and more for poor old Basingstoke, which is badly under-represented at the moment! But the main pleasure of the evening was listening to the main speaker, crime writer Graham Hurley.Graham gives a mean lecture: energetic, funny, revealing. If you’re interested in becoming a full-time fiction writer, and you get the chance to listen to listen to him, you should. His talk told me a great deal about fiction publishing, and what it might take to succeed. But beyond that, his story also made me think about how we can all find our ways as writers: figuring out what kind of writer we want to be, and what we can be good at.
Graham’s story started with a rejection, as so many do. In 1999, with a dozen or so standalone thrillers published, his publisher refused to take any more. Instead, they ‘asked’ him to try something new: a three-book Rebus-style crime series, set in his home city of Portsmouth.
A decent opportunity on the face of it. But Graham hated, and still hates, crime fiction: he hadn’t read any then, and he doesn’t read any now. He was being asked to change his genre completely; rather like Faber offering me a contract on the condition than instead of poetry I send them a cookbook. Being 100% dependent on his income from publishing, he had to give it a go. And as you’ll have guessed by now, he succeeded; the series became 12 books long, sales have gone ever upwards, and there are popular adaptations on French TV (and possibly soon in the UK).
So here’s my moral 1, and any writer who’s ever written a piece with constraints should recognise it: Be thankful for problems and limitations in your career, because your best results may come from them.
How Graham responded to his new limitations is also revealing. He said he had two options. I think he had three. The first, which it’s clearly not in his personality to do, was to grumble and be bitter about this new twist in his life.
Which leads me to moral 2:If you want to fail as a writer, be as bitter and resentful as you can, and focus as much as possible on the ‘if onlys’ of your career. I can’t think of a better way to ensure you’ll never get anywhere.
To go back to the two options that Graham saw, they were: 1) To read every book of modern British crime fiction he could find, and then try to imitate them; or, 2) To start from scratch, and find his own way to write the genre. The first option comes straight from the advice that I have many times seen, and many times given: you’ve got to read what you want to write. But Graham hates crime fiction; so he chose not to. He has, in fact, become a complete exception to that ‘rule’: a proof that you don’t have to read what you want to write.
(However, I want to make clear there are caveats: he was already an experienced and proficient writer of thrillers, so he knew the craft. And while he doesn’t read crime fiction, he has read a lot of good work, and still loves reading. You still can’t succeed as a writer without reading anything at all.)
Instead, he took option 2; and here I think is the most interesting moral from his talk. He drew intelligently and profoundly on the kind of person he is, and the unique skills and experiences he’d acquired. He’d worked in TV as a journalist and documentary maker for 20 years; he was also, and therefore, in touch with every strand of life in Portsmouth. His TV experience had involved investigating in depth, and recording with fidelity, the lives of a wide range of people, so he did that again: he spent months shadowing Portsmouth police, getting to know police work and police officers with clarity and precision. Then when he wrote, he combined what he’d learned with what he knew about the city; and the combination worked. I’m making a selective interpretation there; there was a lot more to it than that, but Graham explains it better than I could (in his Kindle book ‘Backstory‘).
Which leads to moral 3: To be a good writer, don’t try to do what others have done. Draw on what makes up you – your skills, interests, experiences – and chances are it will work.
Not only will it work for readers: it will work for you as a writer. You’ll believe in it, and probably enjoy it.
And here’s another benefit: it will make you stand out from other writers. Graham’s work stands out from other crime fiction in two ways: by being factually accurate in its portrayal of contemporary UK police work (so much so that Hampshire Constabulary started to invite Graham on special police operations, so he could use them in his work); and by dealing with wider concerns – the life of a whole city – than is usual than the genre.
So here’s moral 4: being yourself can give your writing that ‘USP’ that publishers are so keen on.
And that’ll do for now. He also said some things about the role of luck in a writer’s life, but I think that’s another post for another day.
Happy New Year everyone. -
December Competition Winners 2012
‘Write a letter to Father Christmas in the style of Charles Dickens’
Bevis Hillier, John Betjeman’s biographer and ex-editor of Connoisseur adjudicated the December competition. He was impressed with writing in all entries.First: Joan Robinson-Harris – Captain Hawden for Jo Toughey
Second: Anne Eckersley – Wackford Squeers
Third: Anthony Ridgway – Tiny TimHighly Commended: Paul Firman – Ebenezer Scrooge
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Celebration of Charles Dickens Evening
Several Shades of Dickens – A Celebration of the Bi-Centenary of Charles Dickens’ Birth
Report by Carole HastingsSome characters spotted at the event.Miss Havisham, Little Dorrit, Quilp, Mrs and Mrs Micawber, Tiny Tim and Mrs Nickleby were amongst others at this final event of 2012…
Mr Micawber
Miss Havisham
Mrs Micawber
Quilip
Mrs Nickleby
Tiny Tim & Little Dorrit
Mr Micawber
Dom Kippin, the Literature Development Officer for Portsmouth opened the evening’s talks telling us about the events we’ve sadly missed in this bi-centenary year of Dickens birth and things to look forward for next year. Dom is behind a number of initiatives including, Writers Hub, Portsmouth 2013 – Home of Great Writing and a Bookfest every autumn for established and debut writers. http://www.portsmouthbookfest.co.uk
Rosalinda Hardiman, Curator of the Charles Dickens’ Birthplace Museum and Collections Manager of Portsmouth Museums revealed that the collection covers over a million items ranging from a flea to a pumping station. They aim to have a number of exhibitions so that items from archive can be shown to the public at different times. You can see the largest collection of Arthur Conan Doyle artefacts anywhere in the world at the Portsmouth City Museum.
Rosalinda talked about how well Dickens balanced his books with happiness and sadness and good and evil, with many themes as relevant today as they were when he wrote them.His parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens moved to Portsmouth in 1809 as his father John was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office during the during the Napoleonic War. At this time, prison hulks moored outside Portsmouth Harbour housed French prisoners of war, it took over seven hours by coach to London and the price of renting property in Portsmouth was double its peace time rates. Frances Dickens was born in 1810 and Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7 1812. The family moved to Kent when Charles was two and Chatham and London became the major influences in his writing. That said, he returned to Portsmouth to research Nicholas Nickleby in 1838 and paid a number of visits to carry out readings. His last one being in 1866 which was a sell out. Dickens could not find his birthplace and it did not come to light until 1903 when solicitors discovered the rent book of the property and it was sold to the Corporation for twice the market rate. It opened as a museum in 1904.
Steve Tasane, Writer in Residence for Dickens 2012 and Performance Poet thrilled the audience with his 140 line ballad of The Old Curiosity Shop. It was spellbinding and brilliantly performed without a single note. We also enjoyed What the Dickens! and Bill Sikes’ Bull’s Eye. Steve described Dickens as the original pop performer with his works precursors to soaps and internet literature as he wrote in short instalments for mass consumption.
The Old Curiosity Shop – Steve Tasane- YouTubeHe followed this up a passionate delivery of his excellent poem, Save the Libraries
Steve Tasane – Save The Libraries – YouTube
Steve has been sponsored by the Arts Council to write a novel called Blood Donors which will be published by Walker Books in their Undercover Range for teens/young adults in October 2013.