New Writing North news

I am subscribed to the New Writing North newsletter and I thought I would share with my followers some of the information contained within it this time as there are some good competitions, jobs and workshops:

The Big Issue in the North announces The New Writing Award The Big Issue in the North has launched a New Writing Award to recognise excellence in contemporary short fiction writing. The competition, which carries a first prize of £1,000, is being held to raise funds for The Big Issue in the North Trust, the charity arm of the magazine, and is open to anyone who would like to get creative in no more than 3,000 words. Deadline for submissions: 1 August. Download an entry form from www.bigissueinthenorth.com.

Eat Our Words: submissions wanted Organisers are looking for tea, chocolate cake and cheese-inspired poetry, micro sagas and flash fiction to be published, performed and eaten as part of the Speakeasy & Salon at NewcastleGateshead EAT! Festival 2013. Email your poems (maximum 10 lines), haikus, micro sagas (max 10 words) and flash fiction (max 100 words) to eatourwordsnewcastle@gmail.co.uk by 12 noon on 31 July. If your work is selected, you will need to be available to read at the event on 25 August at 3pm. Maximum two submissions per person. And if your piece involves tea, please let them know which kind so they can buy in the right tea bags!

Deadline nears for Liverpool writing competitions Just a reminder that deadlines for the the first Liverpool International Open Short Story, Poetry and Playwriting Competition 2013 is now looming. Organiser The University of Liverpool Creative Writing Society for Lifelong Learning will be donating £1 to the Alzheimer’s Society for every short story, poem and play entered into these three competitions. For rules and an application form, email Tommy McBride at thomas.mcbride2@sky.com.

Jobs

Writer in residence wanted for Wakefield Lit Fest Wakefield Lit Fest is looking for a writer in residence for the forthcoming festival (20-29 September) and beyond. For more information, see http://beam.uk.net/news/seeking_wakefield_lit_fest_2013_writer_in_residence/.

Workshops and courses

Inscribe the sky: a writing walk with Linda France Hadrian’s Wall: Saturday 27 July, 10.30am-1pm For this event, participants are invited to join writer and renga master Linda France to enjoy and respond to a section of the wall. The format of this event includes walking, observation, reflection and writing. Participants will be encouraged to stop at specific locations along the route, where Linda will facilitate a renga, a Japanese form of shared writing to create a series of short haiku-like verses linked into one long poem, composed collaboratively by the group. This event is aimed at adults. For more information and to book, see www.eventbrite.co.uk/org/4070931431.

Want to write for television? Whitley Bay Library: 27 July-14 September, 10am-12pm This eight-week workshop is for all levels and will help you develop your ideas and stories and cover all aspects of writing for TV. Course leader Anthony Gannie is currently working with BAFTA-winning writer Jimmy McGovern while also working on his own original drama for BBC1. His credits include The Street, stage credits and various work on long running dramas including EastEnders. Fee: £157. To book, call 07837 065 758 or email anthony_gannie@msn.com.

Collecting the Colours of Autumn: writers’ retreat Monteleone, Lazio, Italy: 13-20 October Autumn is the time of year when the colours come out to play, especially in Italy, and the changes in the seasons can also be a repository of memories, feelings, thoughts and fears. In this series of workshops with tutor Sheree Mack, participants will take a writers’ tour of the area and write their own narratives and poems exploring the colours of the season through a variety of exercises. Fee: €599 for five days’ tuition and eight nights’ accommodation, food, transfers, and local excursions including a day tour of Rome. For more information, see www.sagradellewords.wordpress.com or email sagradellewords@gmail.com.