On 9 February Dr M A Moss (Mostafa) will talk to us about his latest book, recently published. This is the fifth in his Drops of Reality series, a collection of tales from a doctor’s surgery.
Time permitting, there will also be a chance to read short pieces and get feedback, facilitated by Stella.
This meeting will be in our usual place, but we are thinking of trying out other venues – any suggestions or preferences would be welcome.
‘Structure in Non-Fiction’ is a free online workshop conducted by Damian Le Bas (author of ‘The Stopping Places and The Drowned Places), on 17 March. No charge, but you must book tickets.
Ethel will be speaking about Irish nurses in Britain at Ashburton library at 11.00 am on 9 February. It’s free, but you need to book.
I have reorganised my lists of writing competitions and added ones with deadlines in February. I hope collecting all the details on one page is helpful.
January is tough, and it can be difficult to get back in motion, so here are some timely ideas provided by the Novelry. Five suggestions for overcoming writer’s block and five for finding new inspiration.
Faridah is the young writer, born and brought up in Croydon but proud of her Nigerian heritage, whose first novel Ace of Spades shot to best-selling success and a place on the New York Times Top Ten.
The Tom Grass Prize is for stories with a sense of place and adventure. The top prize is £1,000 plus a conversation with a literary agent.
Our Treasurer Ethel Corduff was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on 29 December.
This was an item about Irish nurses in the NHS: Professor Louise Ryan (on the left of the picture) has recently published a book on the subject, and of course Ethel’s own book Ireland’s Loss, Britain’s Gain on the same subject is still available.
The programme is available to listen to on the BBC website
We are restarting our ‘Writer of the Month’ competition!
The theme this month is “Light and Dark”, fitting for this time of year and the times we are living in. Entries can be prose or poetry but should be short – flash fiction or a single stanza of verse. Entries should be a Word document attached to an email, or in the body of an email. Please send them to Stella at:
You will then be sent all the entries to read and asked to return your vote for the top three. The closing date will be Friday January 23rd and voting will close shortly afterwards. The winner will be announced and published on the website. There is no prize except recognition and we hope, a bit of motivation and inspiration!
Our 12 January meeting was a session on short stories. Our planned facilitator was unfortunately unwell, but we looked at the advice given by successful writers and discussed our favourites.
Merry Christmas to all members, writers, and readers! May you receive the gift of inspiration and the energy to turn it into well-crafted words.
Croydon Writers 