September Newsletter

Dear all,

A bumper ‘back to school’ newsletter this month to update you on my upcoming workshops and courses as well as the usual list of publication opportunities. I hope you find it useful.

Poetry Games Workshop at Newcastle City Library

I’m happy to be back at Newcastle City Library for another FREE workshop for National Poetry Day. This year’s theme is play so I’ll be sharing some playful exercises to get you writing and help you develop your poetry skills.

Saturday 4 October 10.30am-12.30pm

Book through Newcastle Libraries Eventbrite

Hexham Young Writers

If you know any young writers who live near Hexham please let them know about the writing groups at Queen’s Hall Arts Centre. This term, the groups have been organised by school years. I’m leading the Tuesday afternoon group for years 6, 7 and 8 (ages 11-13) and Sarah Davy will be leading the older group that meets on Wednesday afternoons.

• Hexham Young Writers Group (School Years 6, 7 and 8): Alternate Tuesdays 4pm-5.30pm between 23 September-2 December. Cost: £36. Find out more (including full list of session dates) and book through the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre website.

• Hexham Young Writers Group (School Years 9, 10 and 11): Alternate Wednesdays 4pm-5.30pm between 24 September-3 December. Cost: £36. Book through the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre website.

Time to Write at Koru

Here are the dates for my next creative writing workshops at Koru Pizza (Salters Road, Gosforth):

28 September

26 October

23 November

It’s £20 per session and it’s fine to attend regularly or as a one off. These workshops look at a different writing theme or skill each time with exercises that will get you writing during the session. You’ll also leave with some ideas and information to keep you going afterwards. Email me to find out more and book your place.

Biscuit Factory Writing Workshops

My final two writing workshops for this year at the Biscuit Factory Gallery are:

Sunday 21 September (11am-2pm) Introduction to Life and Memoir Writing.

Sunday 16 November (11am-2pm) Winter Writing (note that this workshop is a re-run of one I delivered in the same venue last November).

These are masterclass style sessions with a longer running time to allow for plenty of writing and discussion on the day. You’ll also receive lots of additional exercises and resources to take away. Tickets are £30 and you can book through the Biscuit Factory website using the links above. Do also feel free to get in touch if you’d like to find out more about the content for either workshop or have any other questions.

I’m also planning a short four-week course at the Biscuit Factory in January-February which is likely to be a writing kickstart for new writers or anyone wanting a bit of inspiration and motivation to get writing again after Christmas. If this is something you’d be interested in and have any questions or ideas about what you’d find most useful for me to cover then I’d love to hear from you.

Gather Online Writing Group

If you’re not near Newcastle, a reminder that I have a monthly online writing group which meets on the first Thursday of the month between 6.30pm-8.30pm. These are the dates for the rest of this year:

2 October

6 November

4 December

Sessions cost £14 each and it’s fine to attend regularly or as a one off. Email me to find out more and book your place.

Publication Opportunities

The Jerwood Fellowships at New Writing North are open to early career published writers, currently living in the North of England. Each writer will receive a bursary of £10,000 and a bespoke package of support, including mentoring, over the course of a year, beginning in 2026. Deadline: 12pm on 15 October.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is for short stories of between 2,000-5,000 words on any theme. Free entry. Deadline: 11pm on 1 November.

Westwood Literary Journal publishes micro fictions, flash fictions and short stories and has various submission categories including a current call for writing on the theme of thresholds to be submitted by 30 September. For submissions on this theme they charge a £5 fee with four free submissions available in each period and published writers sharing 50% of the submission fees received.

The Crowvus Ghost Story Competition is open for stories of up to 4,000 words. Deadline: 30 September. Entry fees: £3 for one story or £5 for two.

Writing Magazine Travel Tales Competition is for short fiction that involves travel. Entry fees: £7.50 (or £6 for subscribers). Deadline: 15 October.

The Happiful Poetry Prize is looking for poems that explore the topic of mental health and wellbeing in unique, engaging, and empowering ways. Free entry. Deadline: 12pm on 14 November.

The Waltham Forest Poetry Competition is open for poems on the theme of weather (or whether). Entry fee: £3 (free for under 18s). Deadline: 20 October.

Finally, a couple of last minute opportunities on a potentially similar theme. The Jesmond Library Creative Writing competition closes on 16 September for writing or poetry (up to 1,500 words) on the theme of roots. Entries cost £3. Rooted Magazine is looking for garden themed writing by the closing date of 15 September (or when they hit 25 submissions). A full list of categories and word counts is available on the website.

I’ll finish off this month’s newsletter with a book recommendation. I bought Write it All Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink to help me prepare for my upcoming memoir session at the Biscuit Factory. As expected, it’s full of tips and exercises for anyone wanting to write about their own life, but it’s also a brilliant resource for all writers with lots of practical and encouraging advice.

Happy writing!

Amanda