Monthly Archives: May 2022

Time to rev up for the I AM Writing Festival

Posted on by
Reply

Red ladybird on a red rosebud. Photo by Judy DarleyFormerly known as the Writers’ Weekend, (and before that Winchester Writers’ Festival), the I AM Writing Festival is a hybrid literary event with 65+ talks and workshops, some online and some in-person at the University of Winchester.

Aimed at budding writers keen to improve writing and editing skills, find inspiration, pitch to an agent or better understand the world of publishing, there are nine package prices available ranging from £37 for a single workshop to £597 for an Access All Areas pass.

The 11 live virtual talks take place 4th-8th June, with access to recordings available until midnight on 8th July 2022.

The in-person chapter of the festival is at the University of Winchester from 10th-12th June.

Speakers, workshop leaders and industry experts you can expect to encounter include:.

Keynote speakers: Philip Ardagh, Joanna Cannon, Lucy Diamond, Juliet Mushens and Adele Parks;

Workshop leaders: Rhoda Baxter, Helen Dennis, Karen Hamilton, Debbie Howells, Lauren James, David Litchfield, L.V Matthews, Nicola May, Jenny McLachlan, James Nicol, Neema Shah, Amy Sparkes, Bookouture, HarperCollins, Tracy Corderoy, Adrienne Dines, Simon Hall, Scott Pack and many, more.

Don’t miss the famous Agent121s!

The festival’s new organisers Elane and Sarah exclaim (presumably in unison):”Of course, we couldn’t have a festival without bringing #Agent121 to the fore – so we have a multitude of in-person literary agents/editors for you to seek feedback from and 20 to choose from online!”

Find full details here.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – ruse

Posted on by

Freddies Flowers_Photo by Judy Darley

How cute is this extra-long bicycle laden with boxes claiming to contain flowers?

But what if they didn’t really hold flowers? What if that was all a devious ruse? What could they contain instead, and why the subterfuge?

Can you write this into a comic or suspense-filled tale?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please send it to me in an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com for possible publication on SkyLightRain.com.

Wells Festival of Literature competitions

Posted on by

City of Wells cr Judy Darley

In their 30th anniversary year, Wells Festival of Literature takes place from 14th-22nd October 2022, but before that they hold their annual writing competitions, with entries accepted until 30th June 2022.

The categories are short stories, poetry and children’s books, as well as poetry by anyone aged 16-22 inclusive.

The first prize in their Open Poetry Competition will this year be £1,000. Second and third prizes are £500 and £250 respectively.

The Short Story and Book for Children categories have the following prizes:

  • First prize = £750
  • Second prize = £300
  • Third prize = £200

There are Local Prizes of £100 each for the Short Story, Open Poetry and Book for Children competitions.

The Young Poet category the following prizes:

  • First prize = £150
  • Second prize = £75
  • Third prize = £50

All three prize winners will also receive a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society.

Short Story Competition
Entries may be on any subject and should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length.
The Short Story judge is award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction and documentary maker Lucy Jago.

The fee for each entry is £6.

Open Poetry Competition
Poet, journalist and Telegraph commissioning editor Tristram Fane Saunders is the 2022 Open Poetry Judge. Entries may be on any subject but must not exceed 35 lines in length.

The fee for each entry is £6.

A Book for Children Competition
The judge for this category is YA author Lucy Cuthew.
Entries to the Book for Children Competition should be aimed at readers between the ages of 9 and up including YA. You must submit the first two chapters or first twenty pages, (whichever is the shortest), together with the synopsis of up to two pages. Shortlisted authors may be asked to send in their complete manuscript.
The fee for each entry is £6.
Young Poets Competition
You may submit only one entry and must be aged 16 to 22 inclusive, at the closing submission date on 30th June 2021. Entries may be on any subject but must not exceed 35 lines in length. The judge is Bristol City Poet Caleb Parkin.
The fee to enter is £3.

The closing date for all entries is 30th June 2022. Prizes for all four competitions will be presented on Monday 17th October 2022 during the Festival.

Find the full rules and details of how to enter.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com

SaveSave

SaveSave

‘Family Psychology’ on the radio

Posted on by

BBC Upload

My flash fiction ‘Family Psychology’ is being aired on Chris Arnold’s BBC Upload radio show this evening (7-10pm). It’s a micro tale from my Reflex Press collection The Stairs Are a Snowcapped Mountain, and inspired the title.

The story itself draws on memories of playing a game my sister and I dived into on rainy days, when we turned our home into the whole world. The UK’s pandemic lockdowns brought that to mind vividly!

There’s a lot of talent on the show tonight, but mine is the only scrap of fiction.

Update: If you missed it, listen in here – my micro is at approx 1.38min: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0

It’s available for 21 days.

Upload your own stories here: bbc.co.uk/send/u16896881

Writing prompt – hero

Posted on by

Rajah Rammohun Roy _Bristol Cathedral_Photo by Judy Darley

Not all the people we once thought philanthropists stand up under scrutiny. One that may is Raja Ram Mohan Roy, (also written as Rajah Rammohun  Roy, Rammohan Roy, or Ram Mohun Roy) who was born on 22nd May 1772 and is credited as being a reformer, philosopher and scholar. The statue shown here with Bristol Cathedral in the background was created by the sculptor Niranian Pradhan.

My favourite biographical fact about Rammohun Roy is that he successfully campaigned against sati, the now thankfully mostly past-tense Hindu practice of burning widows on their deceased husbands’ funeral pyres.

Can you build a story around a hero, fictional or historical, who instigates a change for the better that makes them worthy of a statue?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please send it to me in an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com for possible publication on SkyLightRain.com.

Novella review – The Exhibition by Cara Viola

Posted on by

The Exhibition - Cover by Cara ViolaSet in the earliest days of the 1900s, this exquisitely immersive novella by Cara Viola invites you to stride into the archives of Glasgow’s glorious Kelvingrove museum when it has been built but is yet to be filled with treasures.

Our guide is 19-year-old Madeleine, a young woodworker with a talent for recreating priceless artefacts, who arrives rain-drenched on pages soaked in Carla Viola’s lyrical writing.

We soon learn three things about Madeleine: she is from Great Yarmouth, the only thing she will miss is ‘her’ marsh, and she keeps secrets, a fact told sideways as she meets Mrs Deepdene, the wife of Madeleine’s employer (and a formidable character in her own right). Madeleine “tried to see the other woman’s face, to gauge whether she, too, would be someone who kept secrets.”

The Kelvingrove museum feels equally ripe for secrets, breathed into life by the author’s vivid writing: “From the shadows of the Gothic tradition, the structure rose into the sky, where, at a tremendous height, solid walls divided into many-armed turrets (…) The door had not been locked since the last workman left, yet nobody wanted to venture inside. Kelvingrove was a building lying in wait.”

Continue reading →

Enter Frome Festival Short Story Competition

Posted on by
Reply

Frome rooftopsFrome Festival Short Story Competition welcomes submissions until 31st May 2021.

This small Somerset town of layered roofs is set roughly between Bath and Taunton has become a hive for writers, with the  annual festival featuring writing residencies throughout the small, characterful shops, and street performances seemingly on every corner.

The competition costs £8 to enter. You can purchase a detailed critique of your work for an additional payment of £47 per story.

Stories may be on any theme, but must be between 1,000 and 2,200 words in length, not including the title.

First prize is £400, second prize £200 and third prize £100.

There are also local 1st and runner-up prizes for writers living within a 25-mile radius of Frome Library, in a bid to support and encourage local writers.

This year’s judge is the Frome-based novelist Keith Stuart. Keith is the author of the best-selling ‘A Boy Made of Blocks’, ‘Days of Wonder’ and ‘The Frequency of Us’. He is also a journalist writing about video games and digital culture.

There is a ‘Young Writer’ award of £50 for the best story by an entrant aged 16 to 21 living in the BA11 postcode. Entry to the Young Writer award is free, not through the competition website but by email to fromewriterscollective@gmail.com.

Long and shortlists will be posted at www.fromeshortstorycompetition.co.uk in late June, with winners to be announced in July and then posted on the website.

The Frome Festival runs from 1st-10th July and is well worth visiting for its own charms, especially the incredible busking that takes place throughout the narrow streets.

For full details of the competitions, visit the competition website.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – flora

Posted on by

Bluebells by Judy Darley

Bluebells are currently painting British woodlands glorious shades of purple and giving us an excuse to pause and admire their beauty.

Like the pastime of hanami (literally ‘flower viewing’) focused on Japan’s cherry blossoms to the passion for ‘leaf peeping’ at Colorado’s aspen trees turning gold, our floral world has some tricks up its billowing sleeves to make us take notice and perhaps even give thought to protecting these natural wonders.

Can you write an uplifting tale about a wild plant with the power to halt us in our busy lives and perhaps even change our behaviour for the better? Don’t forget to use the sense of smell as well for some evocative passages.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please send it to me in an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com for possible publication on SkyLightRain.com.

Hay Festival Thursday 26th May-Sunday 5th June

Posted on by
Reply
Hay Festival cr Finn Beales

Hay Festival cr Finn Beales

The wonderful Hay Festival is taking place live in-person from Thursday 26th May to Sunday 5th June in Hay-on-Wye.

With a packed programme of more than 500 events designed and selected to inspire, intrigue and entertain, this is the 35th spring event and first fully in-person for two years.

From debut novelists (including DJ Annie Mac) to established festival favourites, plus poets, photographers, conservationists, musicians, historians, artists, chefs and more, there will be discussions, debates, lectures, performances and workshops to fire up your imagination.  Look out for Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour delivering open air performances of Julius Caesar at Hay Castle, and a one-hour book collaging workshop with one-hour collaging workshop with Hay Festival Illustrator in Residence Tom Etherington and Bethan Thomas, founder of Collage Crew workshops.

Other highlights include Jacqueline Wilson exploring Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree series and introducing the new Faraway Tree adventure she has written.

As well as paid events there are a number of freebies. Can’t or don’t want to attend in person? The Online Festival Pass gives you access to 76 events to watch from home, specially selected from the 11 days of Hay Festival, from the best new fiction to remarkable stories from the past, from policy makers to poets.

Find the full programme and register for the events that pique your curiosity here.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at judydarley (at) iCloud (dot) com.

SaveSave

SaveSave

Writing prompt – defiance

Posted on by

Brown-lipped snail_Judy DarleyThis gravity-defying snail struck me as so beautiful that I had to investigate and discover that it is a brown-lipped snail commonly seen in Britain’s gardens and green spaces.

Imagine if we had time to notice every natural miracle and celebrate its wonder. What difference could that make to the way we live our lives? Imagine if we had as much attention to give the plants and creatures around as we do celebrities and shopping?

As a small step in this direction, can you write a poem, essay or short work of fiction celebrating the wild lives we share our surroundings with?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please send it to me in an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com for possible publication on SkyLightRain.com.