Category: Announcements

It’s Beatrix Potter’s Birthday!

Jul 28, 2025

In a cozy burrow beneath an old oak tree, Peter Rabbit sat at a miniature wooden table, nibbling the end of a carrot thoughtfully. Around him were stacks of parchment, and ink pots made from hollowed-out acorns.

Outside, birds chirped and the wind rustled the garden leaves, but inside, Peter was lost in a world of his own creation — a tale of adventure, turnip heists, and cunning escapes from farmer foes. He called it “The Tale of the Bramblewood Bandits.”

Now and then, his cousin Benjamin Bunny would peek in, offering suggestions (“Add a hedgehog with a prickly temper!”), while Jemima Puddle-Duck stopped by to provide editorial advice (“You must revise the bit about tails — it’s all fluff!”). Peter was determined. He was going to enter the Michael Round Prize!

Meet the Author

Jul 9, 2025

The Claret and Ale in Addiscombe is hosting book signing and meet the author sessions this week. Take advantage of a friendly local, with the bonuses of  Camra-approved ales and air – conditioning to find out about Addiscombe Murderers. Intrigued? Read on.

Local man and history buff Cane Hills will be on hand to sign copies of his book, “Addiscombe Murderers,1749-2021 “

Drop in, cool down, and meet the author.

The book records cases of uxoricide, ( killing one’s wife ), a shooting during the time of the Brixton riots, the killing of two men at the Good Companions pub on Hamsey Green and numerous grisly and tragic deaths. The author has a wealth of knowledge and has  undertaken hours of research, resulting in the publication of a fascinating account of dark deeds just on our doorstep.

Poets Anonymous

Jun 27, 2025

Members might be interested to hear about the regular local monthly sessions of Poets Anonymous. They meet in person on the First Friday of the month at Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, Croydon CR0 1BD, from 8pm. The cost for attending is a very reasonable £2.

If you can’t get there in person, they also meet on Zoom on the Third Friday of the month at 8pm. Log-in details are sent out the day before.

To sign up for an online session or for further details please contact peter@poetsanon.org.uk

Michael Round Prize

Jun 1, 2025

The Michael Round Prize is now closed. The winner will be announced at our November meeting.

The competition…

  • was free to enter,
  • accepted stories up to 1,200 words on the theme ‘Far and Wide’,
  • offered prizes of £100 and £50
  • was open until 30 September 2025.

The full rules are here.

9 June – Open Meeting

May 31, 2025

Our meeting on 9 June was an open meeting, for sharing, reading work, and discussion. We read our work, which covered a variety of topics from the humble pressure cooker, a handbag, this “island of strangers”, childhood memories and death. 

Read your Novel

May 8, 2025

I mean, read your draft novel, out loud, in public. This year, Novel London has revived the idea of providing a kind of regular ‘open mic’ session at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith where anyone can read the opening of their novel. Details of how to sign up are here – they talk breezily about being able to just walk in and read, but surely there’s a waiting list?

Spring Festival

Apr 15, 2025

Our friends in Sutton are holding a writers’ Spring Festival event at the Ecology Centre in Carshalton. Tickets are free – just scan the code on the poster above. There will be a chance to write and to look around the centre.