July Newsletter

Hi all,

I hope you’re well and enjoying the summer despite the rain. I’m going to be taking a break over August, so I thought now would be a good time to update you on my upcoming workshops and writing news.

Time to Write at Koru

I’m back at Koru Peaceful Pizza (Salters Road, Gosforth) on Sunday 28 July between 11am-1pm for another Time to Write creative writing workshop so please get in touch if you’d like to book a place. Tickets are £20 and I’ll be running this as a regular workshop on the last Sunday of the month from now on – upcoming sessions are on 29 September, 27 October and 24 November and it’s fine to book as a one off or join us every month.

Image from Koru Facebook Page

Jesmond Library Writing Workshops

I’ve been missing Jesmond Library since I finished my writing residency, so it’s great to have been invited back to run some more writing workshops there this Autumn. These are partly funded by the Arts Council which has enabled the library to offer them on a Pay What You Can basis. This means you don't have to pay to attend, but if you can make a donation it would be appreciated. The recommended donation is £5 per workshop or £25 for all six and, once you've booked your place with me, you can pay at the library desk in advance or on the day. 

The workshops will run on Saturday mornings between 10am-12am on the following dates:

14 September: Write What You Know How to use your knowledge and life experiences to inform and inspire creative writing.

21 September: Picture This How creating and looking at visual art can help you to get writing and improve your skills.

28 September: Rewriting History How to use your family history to inspire fiction and poetry.

5 October: My Life in Five An introduction to writing your life story.

12 October: Writing for Wellbeing How to use writing as a tool for mindfulness and wellbeing.

19 October: Beating the Block and Keeping Going Tools and tips to beat writer’s block and keep going with your writing.

Pre-booking is essential for these workshops as places are limited. To do this, please email me with the dates of the workshops you'd like to attend.

Biscuit Factory Writing Workshops

I’ll be at the Biscuit Factory Gallery in Newcastle in September for a workshop about submitting your writing for publication. It’ll cover practical aspects such as writing an author bio and how to layout your manuscript as well as helping to build your motivation and confidence.

Sunday 1 September (11am-2pm) Send it Out – £30

Image from www.thebiscuitfactory.com

Gather Online Writing Group

If you’re not near Newcastle, a reminder that I have a monthly online writing group which meets on Zoom on the first Thursday of the month between 6.30pm-8.30pm. Sessions cost £15 each (book via Eventbrite) or £10 if you book directly by emailing me. It’s fine to come along to occasional sessions or if you haven’t been before – it’s a really friendly and supportive group of writers. The next session is on 5 September.

In other news, I’ve just sold my fourteenth story to The People’s Friend which means I’m now on their top rate of pay! My story was a seasonal one - set in the week between Christmas and New Year. If you’d like to write Christmas stories for The People’s Friend, you can find out what their fiction editor, Lucy Crichton, is looking for at The People’s Friend Blog. I also recently came across this blog post from Nicola Martin on how she got her short stories published in The People’s Friend which you might find useful if you’d like to write for them.

As ever, please get in touch if you have any questions about my workshops or would like to make a booking.

All the best,

Amanda