Retreat West newsletter

The latest Retreat West newsletter features a themed flash fiction competition, details of the 1st chapter competition deadline approaching and a chance to win a writing retreat:

A free competition to win a writing retreat and the 1st Chapter deadline!   Hello , hope you had a great Easter break and that the words have been flowing for you lately. Sadly, since the last time I emailed, due to a change in her personal circumstances Jane has had to resign from Retreat West so it's just me again now, along with some help from my writing friends. Author BL Steadman, aka Bernie, will be helping me out at this year's retreats and Louise Walters will be helping with the reading for the competitions. Jane will be sorely missed but it's going to be great working with Bernie and Louise too. I've been busy setting up a new competition in collaboration with Writers & Artists and you could win a free place at the Plotting Retreat, which is taking place from 17-21 November in West Bay in Dorset. Workshops over the weekend will be taught by Richard Skinner, novelist and head of the Faber Academy's fiction programme, and me. The competition is free to enter and the word limit is 1,000. Get all the info here.  If you don't want to leave it to chance though then there are still 2 rooms available to book for this retreat - info here. The final countdown has now begun to the deadline to enter the 2017 First Chapter Competition, which is on 30th April. You could get literary agent, Laura Williams, at Peter, Fraser and Dunlop giving you detailed feedback on your submission if you win. Discover more about Laura's aims for her list. If you've never been to the Festival of Writing in York before then I can highly recommend it. It takes place every September and I'm delighted to be be teaching two workshops there this year, which have been developed from some of the content in the online 8 Month Novel Course: Doing the Plotter & Pantser Combo and Creating Complex Characters. The online course is currently open for 1-1 bookings but details of the next group course will be online soon for an October start date for 10 writers to work together. A date for your diaries too - the launch party and prizegiving event for the 2016 RW Short Story Prize and RW Flash Fiction Prize is going to be 7th September - venue still to be confirmed. All are welcome and invites will be sent when the venue is sorted. Happy writing, Amanda x PS. Get in touch if you have new book coming out or project coming up that you'd like to feature in a guest blog. Themed Flash Competition £100 Top Prize The next deadline for the Quarterly Themed Flash Competition is 25th June and the theme is GREEN. The winner and two runners-up both get cash prizes and published on the website. What will you write about?     Enter Now     Crime Writing Retreat - Only 2 rooms left Don't miss your chance to join us the Crime Writing Retreat in June, where best-selling author Angela Clarke will be showing us how to plot, pace and leave clues throughout a crime-thriller that keep your readers guessing. The King room and a single are the only ones still available.     Book Now     Winning flash fictions Spend some time reading the brilliant stories that have won the previous themed flash competitions. Winning writers include the very talented Jude Higgins, Tracy Fells and Rose McGinty.     Read Now     Copyright © 2017 Retreat West, All rights reserved.             Our mailing address is: Retreat West Apt 3735 Chynoweth House Trevissome Park Truro, Devon TR4 8UN United Kingdom