Send us your news
and the best item
each month wins a
year’s subscription’
We want short news items for
these pages, either researched directly
by you or sourced from press releases or
publications and rewritten for us. In return
you’ll get a byline and the best item each month wins a
free subscription. This month’s winner is Tricia Lowther.
Items should be under 200 words – the snappier the better.
You can attach a good quality photo and please make sure stories
about events are submitted in time. Importantly, you must be able
to prove your story is true and where you found it. Writers’ Forum
may edit any items submitted and if a story is covered by more
than one writer we’ll choose the best version.
Please send items to [email protected] You can cover
any topic that will be useful, interesting or amusing to
writers. The subject should be big enough to appeal to a national/
global readership although local news might still inspire or
entertain writers in other regions. Get writing and good luck!16 May hosted by the Lampeter
campus of Trinity Saint David
University and Lampeter Writers’
Workshop. There will be a
meet-the-author book fair, book
readings, and writing workshops.
Lampeter, the oldest university
in Wales, will celebrate its
bi-centenary in 2022. Lampeter
Writers’ Workshop is the
longest-running weekly writers’
workshop in Wales, founded in
1984 by local poets.
Sue MoulesJudges announced for
Audible Story Award’
Diana Evans, Carys Davies,
Romesh Gunesekera, Andrew
Holgate and David Nicholls have
been announced as judges of the
The Sunday Times Audible Short
Story Award 2020.
The award is a prestigious
international prize open to any
short story writer or novelist
who is published in the UK. It is
the biggest prize for a single short
story in the English language and
awards the winner £30,000.
Previous winners and
shortlistees have included some
of the world’s fi nest writers,
amongst them Emma Donoghue,
Elizabeth Strout and Hilary
Mantel. The sponsor Audible
will produce an anthology of theshortlisted stories. For details
visit http://www.shortstoryaward.co.uk
Tricia LowtherMorpurgo leads VE day
events at Chiddingstone’
This year’s Chiddingstone
Castle Literary Festival in
Kent overlaps with the 75th
anniversary of VE Day on Friday
8 May and so a day of themed
events is planned. War Horse
author Michael Morpurgo will
tell adults and children about his
many books set during WWI and
WWII and the reasons why hefeels strongly about writing these
stories for today’s children.
The war theme continues with
children’s authors Anna Fargher
and Lucy Strange talking about
their novels The Umbrella Mouse
and Our Castle by the Sea, which
recreate life during WW
through the eyes of animals and
children. There will be 1940s
songs from the VE Daymes, Lindy
Hop dancing, and the Last Post
will sound at 3pm.
The festival, which runs from
Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th, also
features the usual author talks
and workshops. Tickets cost £
for adults and £7 for children; see
chiddingstonecastle.org.ukDa Vinci Code author
announces picture book’
Bestselling author Dan
Brown has turned his talents
to writing for children. His fi rst
picture book, Wild Symphony,
will be released in September,
accompanied by an album of
classical music performed by the
Zagreb Festival Orchestra.
The story involves a character
called Maestro Mouse, who visits
a series of animal acquaintances.
Each animal has their own piece
of music on the album, which is
intended to be listened to while
the book is read.
Tricia LowtherHugh Scott is a Whitbread-winning author. He writes and illustrates for T
he Park Free Press
ODD SPOT BY HUGH SCOTTDerek found that the world of his imagination
occasionally overlapped with reality.We want short news items for
these pages, either researched directly
by you or sourced from press releases or
publications and rewritten for us. In returnSkillChoosing the right viewpoint
Am i too late?the Mentor reassures Power toolsAdvanced shortcuts for authors using Microsoft word
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tv producer Cas Lester shares her expertiseWriting world affected by Flack #BeKind move’
After the death of TV presenter Caroline Flack, the #BeKind
hashtag has led to initiatives including hundreds of giveaways of Matt
Haig’s memoir about depression, Reasons to Stay Alive, and a change
of reading material in hair salons. Flack had been under intense
tabloid scrutiny as she was being prosecuted for an assault against
her boyfriend. She took her own life, according to her lawyer.
Twitter user @emmaisaway offered to buy two free copies of
Haig’s book via The Big Green Bookshop, who run a ‘buy a stranger
a book’ scheme. Proprietor Simon Key said he would send a copy
to anyone who felt they needed it, and supporters joined in to help
cover costs. Blackwell’s in Oxford have also given copies away, helped by donations from readers.
Meanwhile, hair salons across the country have stopped stocking celebrity gossip magazines and
replaced them with more positive reading material. Amelia Herbert at Watkins Wright in North
Yorkshire joined the movement and posted online: ‘Today we stand by many other hair salons that
have made the decision to stop providing gossip magazines... We will only supply positive magazines
providing personal growth, decor, food, fashion, hair inspiration, health and wellbeing.’ Tricia Lowther