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View the winners of our 20th Anniversary Award and Writer of the Year competitions, get sound advice on creating convincing dialogue in Top Tips, find out where to locate local history information in Useful Websites and learn how to profit from walking with Simon Whaley.
Hello fellow writers,
So the dreaded first month of the year is over. I hope you have all settled back into your work routines – feels like we’ve never been away, eh!
The winners of our 20th Anniversary Award and Writer of The Year competitions are now available to view on our website. Congratulations to Tim and Michelle and all the other winners!
Thank you for your suggestions for the name of the new student focussed magazine, there have been some very interesting ones. We will announce the chosen name shortly.
This month is, of course, the month of love…..ahhhh. Little is known of the St Valentine commemorated on 14th February in the UK. In fact, much of what is written in the St Valentine story is of doubtful origin, but I hope that didn’t put you off spoiling your other half. Interestingly, the Greeting Card Association reckons that approximately £25 million worth of cards are sent each year making it the second most popular card sending day after Christmas. I wonder if greeting card rhymes are something you’ve ever thought of as a side line to your other freelance writing? The GCA offers some useful advice on their website.
Plus you could enrol on our poetry writing (see eblow for special offer) course for help with writing of a rhyming nature.
This month expert advice comes from Simon Whaley on the topic of ‘The Great Outdoors’, which shows you how to make money with walking articles. And top tips covers writing effective dialogue
In last May’s issue of E-zee Writer I featured a book by one of our students, ‘The Trojan Project’. I have been informed by Eileen, the author, that her book has now been nominated for the Desmond Elliot Prize. Well done and good luck from all of us at The Writers Bureau!
If that is not enough to spur you on, have a look at our student stories this month. Both Helen and Victoria have had publishing successes that should convince even the most persistent doubters that anything is possible with a little hard work and belief. Useful websites cover local history sources, travel writing specialists and, something we get asked about a lot, how to get your script writing noticed.
Local writing events this month include the first public festival dedicated to travel writing at The Royal Geographical Society, Hyde Park over the weekend of 28th Feb to 1st March. In their words ‘Travellers’ Tales Festival is a unique weekend festival offering an exhilarating mix of lectures by world-famous names, exhibitions of mouthwatering travel photography, and talks on fascinating regions of the world. There are travel films to view, talks by the season’s hottest travel writers and photographers, and book signings with top authors’. There are also how-to events, demonstrations and much more. Tickets are selling fast and are good value, starting at £109.00 for Saturday, considering some of the guest speakers attending the festival, including photographer Art Wolfe and ex BBC foreign correspondent John Simpson. Further details available here.
If you are in Italy in March you could attend the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in, yes you’ve guessed it, Bologna. It’s held between the 23rd and 26th, so you should have plenty of time to make your travel arrangements. Further details here.
Or you could attend the first of eight scheduled talks by Ginger Strand at 92ndStreet Y in New York on 8th March, between 2.00pm and 5.00pm, covering the emerging genre of ‘Place-based’ literature. The seminar named Place and Prose Workshop; Writing Nature, Writing Culture recognizes that ‘"Place-based" literature is increasingly recognized as a vibrant and evolving genre, one that intersects with memoir, environmental nonfiction, nature writing and cultural criticism. In this non-fiction seminar/workshop, we will examine how place works - just as character or action does - to bring writing to life’. The eight seminars are priced at $350.00, further details can be found here.
If you do attend any of the events I highlight above, or you have attended any that I have detailed in previous editions, please let me know how it went: whether the event was worth attending, how many people turned up etc.
Have a great month!
Shelley
