Tag: lit fest

South Warwickshire Lit Fest 2023

~ JacciGoodingAuthor

Well what a giggle that was! Not that I was there in the end – face down on my pillow for 86 hours and a thick red ‘You’re Not Going Anywhere Sunshine’ line on my Covid test. Yep indeedy folks, a year of planning and writing stonkingly funny Tweets and I missed it! Thank the God of Writers (is there such a thing?) (I bet there is) friend and author Jenny Heap stepped in and did a marvellous job opening, compering and closing the day, whilst the other team members and friends Lynn Macwhinnie and Gwyneth Box held the rest of the day together, along with a lovely gathering of volunteers. But there’s a lesson in there chums – always have a plan B and C!

Great big thanks must absolutely go to all our authors, poets, and workshop leaders: Dr Claire Millington, Emily Hunt, Gabrielle Mullarkey, Celia Rees, Erin Green, Louise Boland (Fairlight Books), Fran Hill, Gwyneth Box, Melissa Addey, Creative Writing Events.

Here’s a quick snippet from our feedback forms and I have to say dear reader, all the feedback we were given was stupendous. Thank you everyone who came – we couldn’t do it without you.

I know; if I had one, I’d blow it.

So next year I hear you saying? Well, another writing competition is on the horizon for January, so keep tuned!

South Warwickshire Literary Festival 2023

~ JacciGoodingAuthor ~ 3 Comments

As some of you may know last year was our first year at having a go at Doing A Lit Fest and we got so excited about it that this month sees us doing it again, this time in Harbury, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. We expanded our reach a bit by launching a writing competition in April and by the time you read this our winners will know they’ve won. It’s been a privilege reading work from so many authors; fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry and thankfully I didn’t have to judge any of the entries. Our three authors who did do the judging had a difficult job as we received so much great stuff. Where to start! Anyhow, it’s always great to win, right? but for those who haven’t on this occasion, the best advice is to just keep plugging away. I say this from experience! ‘Ah so what’ I mutter, as yet another rejection email slips into my inbox. ‘Clearly the world isn’t ready for my amazing writing just yet and where the hell is that bottle opener…?’

But here we are heading toward Saturday 23rd – here’s the postcode if you fancy coming along – CV33 9JE – all our workshops are now full but we have an amazing running order. Just look at this lot! Author Erin Green – she of the 12 romance and romcom novels – will be giving a talk on life as an agented and published author, sharing her insight and experience and telling it like it is to be a writer in the current climate. We delighted to have Louise Bolan, founder of the superb Fairlight Books giving the headline talk on everything you’ll ever need to know about how to get your work in front of a small publisher. Local author Celia Rees, author of award-winning Witch Child is joining us, historian Dr Claire Millington is opening the show with a talk about her children’s book set in Pompeii at a time when things got a bit hot and dusty, and no SWLF would be complete without our current Young Poet Laureate. Honestly, kids these days! Poetic, Talented, The Future!

Our workshops are full so sorry if you’ve missed out there – we won’t tell you about the fantastic stuff you are missing out on as that would be meany meany of us but do still nab a ticket and come along to enjoy our lunchtime Open Mic – oh that’ll be a hoot! Got a poem to perform, a flash to voice, or a short story to shout about? Now’s your chance! Oh and if all this delicious writery stuff isn’t enough, we’ll also have a raffle with some great prizes on offer. Books anyone?

To be sure to get a ticket please hop over to the SWLF website. There may be a possibility to buy on the door but numbers are limited and you know what they say…when we’re full, we’re full. Or something like that… See You There!

We Did It!

~ JacciGoodingAuthor ~ 2 Comments
Here we are!

We did it – our first south Warwickshire literary festival and what a brilliant turn out it was! The sun shone – which was just as well as we had to move our many authors outside to sell their books due to ticket sales.

Creating Characters with Terri and Jenefer

Our workshops were packed. Everyone seemed to have a great time and our workshop leaders delivered some fantastic content. All of them are to be commended – Hugo Kerr, Jenefer Heap and Terri Daneshyar, Cate West and last but not least Mslexia judge Audrey Niven. They were superb. From what our attendees told us it was an excellent day.

Well, are they?!

And our speakers in the main hall – well! The Young Poets certainly made an impact! We were blown away by their eloquence, observation and just damned talent! Award-winning young poet Emily Hunt drew much attention with her clever poems on nature, and Dan Wale, the Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate had us clapping almost out of our seats, and YPL runner-up Jolyon Summerfield also delighted us with his work.

HWA long-lister Author Bea Hitchman
‘The Fish’ author Jo Stubbs and poet Gwyneth Box

All our authors were wonderful and we owe a huge debt to them for agreeing to take part for nothing. A special thank you has to go to poet, author and translator Gwyneth Box who stepped in at the very last minute – Cinderella timing if ever there was any – when one of our speakers was unable to come – and delivered a great hour-long talk off the hoof. Superb stuff.

Oh, and cake? Did we mention that? Well, our lit fest attendees did. In droves! Apparently it was pretty good!

         So – plans for next year? You bet!

Already drawing up the schedule…

Hey You! Check this out!

~ JacciGoodingAuthor ~ 3 Comments

In just over a couple of months time the South Warwickshire Literary Festival will be taking place in the small English village of Fenny Compton.

Why am I telling you this? Well…. wallowing in a dearth of writing inspiration back in January I thought that this was the year I was gonna MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Was gonna GET OUT THERE and DO IT DO IT DO IT. And so, with the support and help of some wonderful friends and writers the SWLF was born. Apart from the main nuts to be cracked, like finding an actual venue and tempting authors and speakers to take part for zilchio, it has been so far an exhilarating experience. February and March were spent building the website, making list after list after list of Must Dos, Hurry Ups and Urgents and building a following on social media. Spring arrived along with more help and support and now here we are hurtling through the summer with just a little list of things left to organise. Except we all know a week before the event that list will suddenly, inexplicably and somewhat scarily grow overnight to about a hundred and ten things to do. Blimey O’Reilly.

The event, in case you’re wondering, is on Saturday 24th of September, in Fenny Compton Warwickshire. It’s free to attend and we have some fab workshops on offer. Notice how I slipped in ‘we’ there? (double-checked the spelling of that sentence). Myself and two other authors, Jenefer Heap and Lynn Macwhinnie are braving their chances with me and this dream team is wonderful to work with.

As well as running workshops on Grammar – what’s that all about? and Creating Characters, we have some great authors speaking about and reading from their work, an author Q&A session and we’ve also only gone and nabbed some incredible poets, including the Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate. How’s that for pzazz!

It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be good. It’s the South Warwickshire Literary Festival. Doors open 10am.