13 April – Manny Gaskin

Mar 10, 2026

At our 13 April meeting, Manny Gaskin will talk to us about his writing journey. Manny is an award winning Architect as well as a Community Artist and Poet from Wallington, and currently the dynamic new Chair of Sutton Writers. Among other creative works he has published a number of books of his poetry and drawings, most recently Cloud Sofa: A poem for our inner dreamer which is a playfully speculative set of reflections on the destiny of sofas abandoned in the street.

This meeting will be our first in a new venue which we hope will be more appealing than the URC – St. Mildred’s Centre.

Annual General Meeting

Mar 10, 2026

At our AGM on 9 March we reviewed the year and agreed a number of proposals. We:

  • recorded a vote of thanks to Mike Jackson for his long service as Chair and co-chair and sent our best wishes for his ongoing recovery,
  • recorded another vote of thanks to Ethel Corduff for her years of essential work as Treasurer and a mainstay of the organisation,
  • approved the accounts and reports,
  • elected a new committee:
    • Chair: Nikki Aduba
    • Secretary: Stella Howells
    • Treasurer: Nimmi Channa
    • Committee members: Jo Bodley, Ethel Corduff, Jeremy Dixon, David Gleave and Peter Hankins,
  • agreed to change our regular evening meeting venue to St Mildred’s, and look at the possibility of Saturday morning meetings,
  • reviewed our programme for the coming year.

Dr Moss presented us with a signed copy of his latest book and spoke about his writing, paying generous tribute to both the late Michael Round and Mike Jackson.

2603 AGM AgendaDownload
2603 AGM Review of the YearDownload
2503 agm minutesDownload

Bookshop

Feb 17, 2026

I have added a ‘Bookshop‘ page to the site – it is really just a set of links to a slightly random selection of books that members have published. If members would like to add others of their own, please let me know.

– Peter

The British West Indies Regiment

Feb 12, 2026

Croydon Writer David Gleave has an interesting book out. It tells the story of black soldiers from the Caribbean who served their King and country in World War One. Nineteen died at the training camp in Seaford, Sussex, and are commemorated at a cemetery in the town. Others served with distinction in Egypt, Palestine, East Africa, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and in a few cases, in Flanders.

The story of their service has never been told and, until now, has been a forgotten chapter in history. David’s book aims to rectify that, and offers a fascinating insight into a neglected aspect of the war.

It’s Love at Croydon Writers

Feb 10, 2026

Lots of non-members have expressed an interest in our Writer of the Month competition – so for February we are opening it to all comers. Only members who enter will get to vote on the winner, though! There is no prize, but entries will be published here.

The theme for the February contest is “Love”. Unrequited love, forbidden love, love against all odds, love over the airwaves… let your imagination decide. There are no limits other than a word count of 750 words for prose, 7 or 8 verses for a poem. Non-fiction, memoir, or part of a screenplay etc are all welcome too. 

The deadline for entries will be Friday 21st February: send them to Stella at: