Fictions of Every Kind - Wharf Chambers Leeds 30th April 2019

Fictions of Every Kind is a non-profit writers' social, which aims to support and encourage anybody engaged in the lonely act of writing. Our April event is themed FIERCE.

Our invited speakers in April are:

CHERIE TAYLOR BATTISTE was born in London in 1976. After graduating from SOAS University of London, she worked as a TV researcher before moving on to acting, winning the Norman Beaton Fellowship, joining the BBC Radio Drama Company and gaining various parts on stage and screen. Alongside this, she facilitated workshops in prisons and schools, going on to project manage the embedding of creative learning in schools with CapeUK.

Finding herself a lone parent of two, as austerity hit, she returned to poetry, her first means of expression during her challenging childhood. She saw poetry as freedom, a rare opportunity to have an uncensored cultural voice, and a way of sharing her unique set of experiences. Her first collection, Lioness, will be published by Valley Press in spring 2019.

AMANDA HUGGINS is the author of the short story collection, Separated From the Sea, and the flash fiction collection, Brightly Coloured Horses. She was a runner-up in the 2018 Costa Short Story Award, and has been shortlisted and placed in numerous other competitions, including the Colm Toibin International Short Story Award and the Bath, Bridport and Fish flash fiction prizes. She is also a published poet and award-winning travel writer, and is currently shortlisted for this year’s Bradt Guides New Travel Writer of the Year Award, the results of which will be announced on February 28th at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards event in London.

Amanda grew up on the North Yorkshire coast, moved to London in the 1990s and now lives in West Yorkshire. She works full-time in engineering and is currently struggling with her debut novella.

As ever, there will be our House Band and a writers' open mic, at which flash fiction, short fiction, true stories, and exceprts of larger works are invited. Please keep your contributions at 5 minutes or under. Don't make us ring our bell at you! Please note: much as we love music and singing, our open mic is not the place for them. Our open mic is for words and stories only, and please, if you do read at our open mic, make the opportunity to listen to our contributors too.

Entry is £4. However, we also offer free entry for carers, and we won't turn anybody away who wants to come but can't afford £4. Please email us if you want to ask anything: northernshortstoryfestival at gmail.com.

Please note: Wharf Chambers is a members' club, and you must be a member, or guest of a member, to attend an event here. Joining costs £1 and takes a minimum of 48 hours to take effect. To join, see www.wharfchambers.org/membership

TUE, 30 APR AT 19:30

Fictions of Every Kind: Fierce

Wharf Chambers · Leeds

Free Author Memberships for low-income writers!

Free Author Membership for low-income writers

I was the first author signed to Retreat West Books back in early 2018, and I'm now really pleased to be able to sponsor two free Bronze Author Memberships for writers on low incomes.

Benefits enjoyed by bronze members include:

• Weekly emails with a mix of writing prompts, exercises, readings, podcasts, videos and tips for writing short stories, flashes and novels
• 1 entry to the quarterly themed flash comps (£400 in prizes available)
• Ebook editions of all Retreat West Books titles as they are published
• 5% discount on our online creative writing courses

You can find more about Author Membership here, including the other membership levels available and the general membership T&Cs.

To apply for a free membership, simply email me a short note. No need to say why you are applying - all applications will be accepted in good faith. The writers that receive the two memberships will be chosen at random after the application process closes at 23:59 GMT on Sunday, 17th February 2019.

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My short story collection Separated From The Sea was published through Retreat West Books last June and I was recently awarded third place in the Costa Short Story Award for my story Red.  You can read and listen to my Costa Short Story here!

Dry January

Well I did Dry January - almost! The champagne at the Costa Books Awards was a temptation too far, and I confess that I made up for the other thirty days of abstention with several glasses, and then several more.


It was a fabulous evening at Quaglino's, and I was delighted to be awarded third prize in the Costa Short Story Award. It was wonderful to meet my fellow shortlistees as well as many other talented writers. 

L to R - The CSSA winner Caroline Ward Vine, CSSA judge, Kit de Waal, CSSA runner-up Sophie Wellstood, and myself

What with the all the publicity material in the room, and the huge picture of me up on the stage screen, I think I've had my fifteen minutes of fame now!

There was a respectful hush when the Costa Book of the Year was announced - a unanimous decision by the judges. The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es was a worthy winner, and the emotion in the room was palpable.

 

'The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es, professor of English at Oxford University, tells the story of Lien de Jong, who as a young Jewish girl was sheltered by the author’s grandparents in Nazi-occupied the Netherlands during the Second World War. Lien later became estranged from the van Es family, and the author set out to find out why.'

So that's January over already, and I have to admit it was much more interesting than the average drab January - even without alcohol (mostly!). February's not shaping up too shabby either, as my publisher, Retreat West Books, has nominated one of my short stories, 'Barefoot Girls & Corner Boys' for Sonder Press's Best Short Fictions. 

And today I was thrilled to see my short story collection, Separated From the Sea, displayed on the counter of The Book Corner in Halifax, a beautiful bookshop in the restored Piece Hall building.