Threads

Last night was the launch of Threads - The Bath Spa University MA in Creative Writing Anthology and a chance for graduates to pitch to agents. The 5th floor of Waterstones, Piccadilly was buzzing with students waiting for the agents to arrive.  It was good to hold a copy of the book - the volunteers on the anthology launch team, led by Jane Hammond, have really done us proud.  The cover, designed by Madeleine Pilkington, is stunning with its embossed silver threads and I managed to tell her how much I loved it.

I was a bundle of nerves, despite a new frock and telling myself that agents are humans too. But, as I spoke to my third agent of the evening I was in my stride and actually enjoying myself. My business cards were a hit and having the photo of the Salvesen Sisters on the reverse helped as a talking point. By the end of the evening I had managed to speak to seven agents, four of whom expressed an interest in my novel, The Salvesen Sisters. Despite the competition everyone was kind - one person going so far as to chase after an agent saying, you must speak to Anita. 

With Amanda - getting ready to face those agents

It was so nice to catch up with friends and tutors and I left Waterstones buoyed up by a sense of achievement and of course relief!

The Steyning Short Story Prize 2018

Following on from my last blog post about making the long list I'm happy to report that my short story, Tides, was one of the five highly commended stories in The Steyning Short Story competition.

Steyning Short Story Prize 2018

I am delighted that one of my short stories has been long listed in the Steyning Short Story Prize At this stage I can't say which one as judging for the shortlist continues......!

The Words With Jam Short Story Competition

My short story, The Legacy has been shortlisted in The Words With Jam Short Story Competition.  The story is set in Thailand and is about family relationships.  It's one I wrote sometime ago, but I recently re-worked it using some of what I learnt on my Creative Writing MA course.  It just goes to show that one should never give up!

I did it!

Last week was my graduation ceremony.  A few of us got together for lunch to mark the occasion before heading off to Bath Assembly Rooms for our graduation ceremony.  It was a wonderful day and I got quite emotional when I went up on stage to shake the Vice-Chancellor's hand.  I passed on having an official photograph taken - this one will do!

It’s been a year since I last updated this blog.   A year ago I was about to embark on my journey as an MA Creative Writing student at Bath Spa University in the glorious surroundings of Corsham Court.  And now it has all come to an end.  

So what did I learn?  I learnt that putting word after word on the page is hard and that every element of your story has to be there for a reason, either to further character or move the plot on.    Being on the course gave me the space and excuse I needed to take my writing  seriously and to develop a writing habit.  I was lucky to be surrounded by talented, supportive writers of all ages and backgrounds and with whom I have made some enduring  friendships.  

I'll miss seeing these, but not their plaintive cries! 

A Critiquing Day

On Monday the Parisot Writing Group met for a day of critiquing.  I submitted a short story based on the novel I'm writing, but written from the point of view of one of my other characters, which was an interesting exercise to do.  As usual the session was lively and I found the feedback helpful. It is our last meeting for a while as I’m heading off to commence an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa.  I will miss everyone.