Here are the latest Retreat West newsletters for my followers to peruse:
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Thanks for being part of our reading and writing
community. Here's our latest monthly round-up of Retreat West News
that comes out in the first week of each month.
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The winners
for the October Micro Fiction competition have
been announced. See the results here. Congrats to
our winners. The November
prompt has gone live today and comes from Retreat
West Books author, Joanna Campbell, who has a story in all of our
anthologies of winners from the annual prizes to date, and a new
one coming in our latest charity anthology, No Good Deed,
which publishes tomorrow. See her prompt here and send us
your stories by Sunday night (10th Nov).
The
longlist for the WATER themed quarterly flash comp has
been published and 28
stories made it through to the next round. We'll be
announcing the shortlist later on this month. The next theme is
EARTH and the deadline for entries is December 29th. New judges and
themes for 2020 will be live soon!
We've also published the longlist
for the annual Novel Prize in which the winner gets
a publishing deal with Retreat West Books. See the 22 titles here. Amanda is
now re-reading them all to choose her shortlist from. The
shortlisted writers will then send their full MS for the winners to
be chosen from.
The annual RW Flash Fiction Prize and RW Short Story Prize closed
last weekend and we had the most entries we've ever received.
Thanks so much to everyone who sent us stories. We received 281
short stories and 190 flash fictions! Amanda and Mary-Jane are now
reading away and the longlists
will be announced next month. We've already signed
up two great judges for next year and will launch the new prizes
when the winners of the 2019 comp are announced.
The 2020 First Chapter Competition
closes in January and we've got a new interview with literary agent,
Carrie Plitt, on the blog. She's talking about her favourite
writers and what impresses her when she reads submissions. Read the blog here. The winners
get their submission package reviewed and all shortlisted authors
get short feedback on their first chapter from Carrie.
Amanda's been invited to judge a new short story competition that
has been launched by Hastings Writers Room. Get all the info here.
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Courses
and Workshops News
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Applications are open for the next
start date of the Ultimate Novel Writing Course that
Amanda teaches with Jericho Writers. The course will help you write
or revise a novel, get your author platform set up, make a plan for
getting it published and help you pitch it to agents and
publishers. You also get a ticket to the Festival of Writing
included. The next course starts in March 2020.
If you just want to focus on the craft of writing, then Write a Novel starts in January
and is open for bookings only to our email subscribers. There are just 6 spaces available
in total and there's only
one left. Get all the info here.
We ran our first Flash Weekender online course
in October and lots of great stories were created. Feedback
has been all five or four stars. New dates for 2020 just announced
and open for bookings!
We're running another day of live
workshops at The Hive, London Bridge in March 2020.
Amanda's teaching a character and theme building workshop and
Isabel Costello is focusing on writing in first person. Bookings
are currently only open to our email subscribers. Get all the info here.
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The final residential retreat that
we're running directly, The Plot, People and Place Retreat, is in
January 2020 and there are only
2 rooms left now. So if you want to get the new
writing year off to a great start, spend the week with Amanda
in Devon and she'll help you gain a deeper understanding of your
characters and how setting is an important part of your plot and
story development. Get all the info here.
In November 2020, Amanda is the mentor in residence at Casa Ana in
Spain for two weeks. You can work on novels, short stories or
memoirs and get 1-1 guidance and feedback from Amanda throughout
the retreat. All info here.
Last month, Amanda taught a tutored retreat at Albergo Leso in
Valdiporro, Italy and has been invited back to host two more
mentored retreats in May and October 2020. Info on these will be
available soon.
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On 27th November the brand new
novel from Sophie Joans-Hill, Unprotected,
is publishing.
We have an exclusive offer for our email subscribers - pre-order now
and you'll get a signed paperback with a set of 4 character
postcards illustrated by Sophie.
"Unprotected is a raw,
viscerally-beautiful gut-punch of a novel about love and loss and
heartbreak and hope, and the pain we inflict on each other - and
ourselves. Sophie Jonas-Hill is a powerful new voice." - Tamar
Cohen, author of Stop
At Nothing
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Unprotected by Sophie Jonas
Hill
She's fighting to save everyone else but will she have anything
left to save herself?
Witty, sharp and sarcastic tattoo artist Lydia’s life is imploding.
Her long-term relationship has broken down after several
miscarriages and she’s hiding from her hurt and loss in rage. After
a big night out she wakes beside a much younger man who brings complications
she could really do without.
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As her grief about her lost babies
and failed relationships spirals out of control, she obsesses about
rescuing a wayward teenage girl she watches from her window and
gets more involved than she should with her charming but unstable
young lover.
A raw and punchy story of love, family and accepting yourself for
who you really are.
"Unprotected is an absorbing,
thought-provoking story of betrayal and bravery. Jonas-Hill probes
the darkest corners of modern society with boldness and
sensitivity. I loved it!" – Ruby Speechley, author of Someone Else’s Baby
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The Flash Weekender
£75
Spend the weekend online for 3 days of intensive flashing fun.
Spaces limited to 20 writers. Online content, forum and tutor
feedback on work created all included.
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Author Membership
From £2
a month
Get weekly emails with writing advice and prompt; discounts and
advance booking on our courses and live workshops; plus entries
to our competitions included.
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Fantastic Flashing
From £85
A 2-week online course where you'll get to read, create and learn
more about writing flash fiction stories that have a real impact.
Work alone or join the group course in November.
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Plot, People & Place
Retreat, Jan 2020
Only 2 rooms left at this novel writing retreat, which is the
last one Retreat West will be organising! Get to grips with your
plot, characters and setting plus 1-1 feedback.
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Flash Fiction Membership
From £5
a month
Entering lots of our flash comps? Sign up as a member and get
entries included plus weekly emails and the Fantastic Flashing
course to develop your craft.
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Blog revisit: Using psychic distance
Debi Alper gives an insight in what psychic distance is, how to
use it effectively, and why it brings your writing to life and
helps you write characters that your readers remember.
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The
deadline for the November Micro Fiction comp
is upon us! You have until 23.59 tonight (UK time) to send your 100
word story to win the cash prize and a free entry into the annual
Flash Fiction Prize...
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The 10
shortlisted stories in the October Micro Fiction comp are
now online. Winners are decided by public vote so go read and choose your favourite.
You have until 23.59 on Monday 28th October to make your choice.
The winners will be announced on the 29th and the cash prize
available this time is £208.
Happy reading!
PS. The deadline for sending your stories for the annual Flash Fiction Prize and Short Story Prize is Sunday 27th
October! Don't miss out on your chance to win a great cash prize
and get published in the paperback and ebook anthology!
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