Category Archives: Writing Workshops

by

Professional Development Planning for Poets

Philippa Johnston is offering One-to-One Professional Development Planning Sessions for Poets in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library on Saturday 11 May 2013 (individual sessions at 10.00 – 11.30am, 12.00 – 1.30pm and 2.15 – 3.45pm) at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DT

Professional development planning is all about exploring where you want to get to professionally in a structured way – an opportunity to unravel the different strands of what you currently do, define and prioritize your goals, consider options and then develop a clear and realistic plan of action to achieve them. It’s not about telling you what to do – the guide is there to help you find your own solutions rather than provide you with answers but s/he will signpost you to the different types of resources available.

You can also book a follow-up 90 minute session which provides an opportunity to go further into the specifics.

Philippa Johnston is a Cultural Leadership PCT Accredited Coach and an Associate Member of the Association for Coaching UK. She was until recently Professional Development Director with The Writer’s Compass, NAWE and continues to co-deliver its professional development planning and coaching service Compass Points on a freelance basis.

Cost: £35 (special discounted rate – usually £50) or £65 if you’d like to book a follow-up session as well (usually £90)

For further information, please contact philippajohnston@btinternet.com (Philippa Johnston), or call 01337 842513 / 07939 312829. The deadline is Saturday 11 May 2013 at 00:00 or check out the Creative Scotland page where I first saw this opportunity.

 

by

Competitions and A Workshop

Here are four great opportunities, which are a mixture of competitions and a workshop. They will be listed in date order from nearest to further away. Let us know if you get involved in any of them.

From Blank Page to Short Story

On the 28th of April children’s novelist and creative writing tutor Janis Mackay will be running a day workshop looking at – firstly, how do we have ideas, where do we find them, how do we breathe life into them and then, how to we develop these ideas into a short story. The workshop is open to experienced and beginner writers alike. We will create a warm and conducive environment and hopefully people will have a short story to take away with them, and a few more ideas to be going on with. The workshop costs £55 which includes a light lunch, plus teas and coffees.

For further information, please contact janis@janismackay.com (Janis Mackay). The deadline is Sunday 28 April 2013 at 10:00.

Short Story Competition: Poland & Bruno Schulz

Litro is launching an exciting opportunity for all writers. In preparation for their Polish issue in June, and in association with the Polish Cultural Institute London, they are running a short story competition inspired by Polish writer Bruno Schulz and his book The Street of Crocodiles. The winner’s work will be published in the June issue of Litro Magazine and showcased at a London Underground Station.

The theme is “Poland,” with particular reference Schulz’s short story collection, The Street of Crocodiles. For inspiration, check out the Brothers Quay’s eerie 1980’s stop-motion animation of the same name or Jonathan Safron Foer’s adaptation, Tree of Codes.

Rules

  • The competition is open to all.
  • Each entrant is limited to just one story, no more than 300 words long.
  • Closing date April 20th 2013
  • Winners will be announced May 30th 2013
  • All entries should be sent to: info@litro.co.uk

The 2013 Manchester Fiction Prize

The 2013 Manchester Fiction Prize will award a cash prize of £10,000 to the writer of the best short story submitted. All entrants are asked to submit a story of up to 2,500 words in length. The story can be on any subject, and in any style, but must be fiction and new work, not previously published or currently under consideration elsewhere. You enter the 2013 Manchester Fiction Prize online and costs £17 per entry. For more information including the terms and conditions check out the Manchester Fiction Prize Website.

Closing date is the 30th of August 2013.

The 2013 Manchester Poetry Prize

There is also a 2013 Manchester Poem Prize. Again it has a cash prize of £10,000 to the writer of the best portfolio of poetry submitted. All entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of three-to-five poems (total maximum combined length: 120 lines). The poems can be on any subject, and in any style, but must be new work, not previously published or currently under consideration elsewhere.You enter the 2013 Manchester Fiction Prize online and costs £17 per entry. For more information including the terms and conditions check out the The Manchester Poetry Prize Website.

Closing date is the 30th of August 2013.

by

A Couple of Things for Burns Night

Robert BurnsAs some of you may have noticed Burns Night is almost upon us. To celebrate this night of Scottish Writing there are two events going on.

Creative Writing Workshop

First of all Adult Basic Education is running a free creative writing workshop on the theme of My Favourite Place for anyone who wants to improve their basic writing skills. The details are:

Tuesday 22nd January
6.30-8.30pm
Bathgate Partnership Centre

The event is free, but do book in advance. Contact Scott at Scott.Duguid@westlothian.gov.uk, or on 07500890092.

Burns at Waterstones

On Thursday Waterstones Livingston is holding an evening of literature and song from local musicians and writers. Ironstone New Writing, Waterstones and West Lothian Community Arts Team are working in partnership so that on Thursday 24th January  you can come along and hear writers and musicians perform their work and pay their respects to Robert Burns.

There will be exciting new writing from Pippa Goldschmidt, whose forthcoming novel was short listed for the Dundee International Book Prize. The prolific, renowned and entertaining poet Alistair Findlay will be performing, as will the wonderful Tryst singing ensemble.

The cafe will be open throughout the evening, starting at 6pm and finishing by 8pm. Attendance is free and you can drop in whenever suits.

by

Workshops & West Lothian Writes

A quick update on a few upcoming events which you might be interested in:

  • First of all there is a West Lothian Write on the Friday 31st August at the Howden Park Centre. Sadly there are no more reading slots available but there are still tickets if you want to come along and listen (which I would highly recommend). Also Courtesy of Waterstone’s and Community Arts we have 16 FREE books to give away at this event.  (A fabulous collection of extracts from the shortlist for the Dundee International Book  Prize 2012.)  First come first serve! What more could you want.
  • On the November the 17th, performer and voice coach Polly Phillips will be presenting a Workshop on Performance and Presentation Skills for Writers. This day of discussion and practical activities will cover areas such as choosing what to read, engaging your audience, using your voice, pace and rhythm and more. Please bring a variety of pieces of writing that you would like to work with. The day will cost £10 per person. This event will be popular so please book early.
  • Finally, celebrate Scotland’s first ever book week with an extra special West Lothian Write! on the 30th of November. Alongside Library Services, Community Arts and Waterstone’s, enjoy an evening of poetry, reading and story telling by West Lothian writers.  If you intend reading your work, entry is free.  Please prepare a piece (six minutes or less) and inform the Box Office when you book that you would like to perform.  This is a very popular event and reading places are limited.  Please book in advance to be guaranteed a performance slot.  This West Lothian Write will take place on the 30th of November at the Howden Park Centre.

All events are taking place at the Howden Park Centre. To book your place please call the Howden Park Centre Box Office on 01506 777666.

by

My Favourite Place Workshops

Back in March BBC Radio Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust launch the My Favourite Place competition. They asked you to write a story, poem, song lyrics, a short play or sketch, a letter or diary entry about your favourite place. To help you achieve this they are running FREE writing workshops around the country to inspire you to tell your story. Workshops will be taking place on the following dates in the following locations:

  • Saturday 21 July: Dundee Central Library, Dundee, 1pm – with Ryan Van Winkle
  • Saturday 28 July: Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh, 11am – with Ryan Van Winkle
  • Thursday 2 August, Burns Monument Centre, Kilmarnock, 2pm – with Ryan Van Winkle
  • Friday 3 August, Aberdeen Central Library, Aberdeen, 1.30pm – with Alan Bissett
  • Saturday 4 August: Heritage Hub, Hawick, 2pm – with Janice Galloway

To book your place, phone 0131 524 0170 or e-mail myfavouriteplace@scottishbooktrust.com with your contact details and the details of which workshop you would like to attend.

For more information check out our My Favourite Place post from March.

by

Bloody Scotland’s Glengoyne Whisky Short Story Competition

Bloody Scotland’s Glengoyne Whisky Short Story Competition, a part of Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s Crime Fiction Festival, is running a competition to celebrate its first year. All you have to do is write up to 3000 words on the theme Worth The Wait. It costs £10 to enter and closes on the 29th of June. All entries must be in English, original and unpublished. You also have to be the copyright holder and aged 18 years or older.

The prize of the Bloody Scotland’s Glengoyne Whisky Short Story Competition is amazing as the winner gets:

  • A bespoke hand-engraved Glencairn Crystal Decanter filled with an exceptionally rare 35 Years Old Glengoyne Highland Single Malt, worth over £2,000.
  • Publication as the lead story in a short story ebook collection entitled Worth The Wait to be published by Blasted Heath.
  • Your choice of any week-long residential writing course run by the Arvon Foundation during 2013.
  • Weekend pass for the Bloody Scotland festival in September 2012.

Runners-up will be published in the Worth The Wait ebook. Please check the competition’s Terms and Conditions before you enter.

The Bloody Scotland festival will be on between the 14th and the 16th of September in Stirling. Check out the What’s On Page of the Bloody Scotland website to see the full programme. For any would-be crime writers, there is a Crime Writing Masterclasses. Taking place at the University of Stirling between 10am and 5pm, it will be a day of lively masterclasses and workshops designed to help aspiring crime-writers develop their talent, technique, and professional savvy. Check out the Bloody Scotland Website for more info.

by

Script Writing Workshop with Ian Macpherson

The Reading Room and Cuillin FM on the Isle of Skye are proud to announce that they have got the wonderful Ian Macpherson to run a script writing workshop for them. It will be held on the Skeabost Hotel on the Isle of Skye on the 23rd of April 2012 between 2pm and 5pm.

Ian has written for TV, radio and the stage. He won the first Time Out London Award for Comedy and is currently touring The Everlasting Book Launch, based on his comic novel The Autobiography of Ireland’s greatest Living Genius.

Afterwards there is a planned evening of entertainment for World Book Night. Ian and his partner Magi Gibson will also be giving a short talk later on in the evening about self publishing their novel The Autobiography of Ireland’s greatest Living Genius.

by

Inked Plus

West Lothian Adult Basic Education are offering two workshops on graphic novels/comic books.

David Bishop, a writer of multi genres and mediums is holding two workshops at Carmondean Connected on:

  • Thursday 16th February, 6:30 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday 18th February, 10:00 – 11:00 am

Metaphrog, who are Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers have been working in comics for over ten years are holding two workshops at Almondbank Library on:

  • Thursday 1st March, 6.30 – 7.30pm
  • Saturday 3rd March, 10:00 – 11:00am

The sessions promise to be very interactive with participants bringing along their own story ideas to develop and illustrate.

by

Jane McKie’s West Lothian Writers Workshop 24/01/2012

At the last WLW meeting Jane McKie presented us with a couple of short exercises. There was meant to be three but we ran out of time for the third one. We will do that exercise at the beginning of the next meeting.

The first exercise requires you to note down your five favourite words and then give reasons why. The point of this exercise is to make you think about the words you like and reason why. Does your choices appear often in your writing?

The second task was to look at different metaphors, especially ones that are quite unique. To explain her point Jane read from the four following poems:
  1. Fork by Charles Simic
  2. Machines by Michael Donaghy
  3. Toad by Norman MacCaig
  4. Prenatal Polar Bear by Jen Hadfield (No link could be found for this poem. If you know of one please email wlwriters@gmail.com)
The task was to think of a person who you know reasonably well and might like or have a complicated relationship with. Now describe them by comparing them to the following:
  1. Time of day
  2. Type of Food
  3. Piece of Furniture
  4. A Colour
by

Writing Workshop with poet and writer Elspeth Murray

Running as part of the Livingston 50th Celebrations is the a workshop titled Livingston and You. It is being run by poet and writer Elspeth Murray who will use a range of enjoyable discussion and writing activities to help you produce writing that helps mark Livingston’s 50th year.  Share your Livingston memories, stories, highlights, your hopes for the future.  Your writing can be inspired by artefacts provided by the Council’s Archives department. There will be an opportunity to share your work at other Livingston 50th events.

The workshop will take place on Saturday 24th March 2012 between 10.30am-4.00pm at the Howden Park Centre in Livingston. It is free but advance booking essential so please call Howden Park Centre box office on 01506 77766 to book your place.