Author Vanessa Gebbie is our main speaker and says that most writers she knows will admit to plenty of doubt but not many will admit to being confident. But are self doubt and self confidence mutually exclusive? This intriguing talk aims to show us how to understand and harness both doubt and confidence to make us stronger writers.
Vanessa will also include a writing game so please bring along pen and paper or notebook if you would like to join us with this exercise.
Vanessa is the author of a growing number of diverse books including one novel, five collections of short form fictions, two poetry collections and two guide books for writers. She has won awards for both fiction and poetry. She is a freelance creative writing tutor, editor, facilitator and mentor, working with Curtis Brown Creative and the Arvon Foundation among others. Her writing has been used in iGCSE papers, is on the curriculum in the US, has been commissioned by BBC Radio, for anthologies, and is translated into several language. Her work has been supported by the Arts Council, by residencies at Gladstone’s library, Anam Cara Writers’ and Artists’ retreat, Petersfield Museum and Hawthornden Castle.
Our guest speaker is local author and PhD student Martin White.
Misrepresentation and Stereotypes. The “Evil Albino Trope:” The Depiction of Albinism in Modern and Contemporary Fiction.
As writers, we have a duty to portray characters of race, gender or disability accurately. Stereotypes and misrepresentation can be harmful and have real-world consequences for marginalised minorities. Martin is currently researching albinism, a condition that is often portrayed negatively in fiction. He will be discussing the origins and the continued inaccurate portrayal of a demonised condition.
Martin White is a Hampshire-born author and PhD student at the University of Winchester. He holds a BA and an MA in Creative Writing and has had many short stories published, along with his debut novel, Faze: The City of Addicts, in 2022. February 2026 sees the release of his latest work, The Past, Present, Future and the Weird, a collection of short stories and the sequel to his first novel, Faze: The Journey to the Core, scheduled for release later that year.
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