Bristol – city of imagination and innovation
There’s something special about Bristol. The hilly city has been home to some of the UK’s biggest thinkers. Creative writing groups gather in bars, cafes and libraries, and unconventional theatre groups like Show of Strength offer budding playwrights opportunities. And every September the Bristol Poetry Festival returns, with events taking place all over the city.
Alayne Fiore of Rozlyn Press calls for submissions from female fiction writers
Alayne Fiore is the founder of Rozlyn Press, an independent small press based in Massachusetts, USA. She is currently accepting submissions by female fiction authors, particularly in the contemporary, literary fiction and magical realism genres. Here she explains what drew her to found the publishing house. Here she explains her urge to publish work that makes pulses quicken.
Film Review: Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist
The Illusionist, Sylvain Chomet’s follow-up to Belleville Rendezvous, is adapted from an old script by Jacques Tati, who sadly passed away in 1982. The script, given to Chomet by Tati’s daughter, Sophie, therefore has a familiar backdrop - a magician in the early ’60s is struggling to compete with the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.
Book review: Crab Lines Off The Pier edited by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling
There have been a million songs written about it, we spend all year looking forward to it and when it’s gone we mourn its loss. This neat little volume contains a carefully selected batch of memories and musings on this subject, selected from hundreds of poetry and prose submissions received from around the world.
Job of the week: Bella Magazine seeks an unflappable celebrity writer
Do you love the glitz and glamour of Hollywood? Can you meet your greatest celeb heroes without turning to mush? And can you transform those meetings into scintillating copy that will have others riveted with intrigue? Bella is looking for a talented and experienced celebrity writer to join its small, friendly and madly busy celebrity desk.
The week ahead at EssentialWriters.com
At EssentialWriters.com, we always find it something of a challenge to let summer go. After so many days of sunshine and warmth (okay, not so many in the past couple of weeks!), we don’t feel ready to welcome in a chillier, soggier season. That said, at least it will give us an excuse to cosy up indoors and write. This week, we’re celebrating celebrity, soaking up the remains of summer, considering heading to Canada, getting to know a new publisher and exploring the city of Bristol.
Author Tony Bayliss describes how a single poem launched his writing career
After working as a teacher, a school inspector and in property, Tony Bayliss was able to realise his life-long dream to work as a writer. His latest novel, Past Continuous, a sci-fi love story inspired by his son’s suicide, will be published by Sparkling Books on October 1st 2010. Here he tells us how he found the strength to tackle such a sensitive subject.
Film review: Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, based on the 2003 novel by Chris Greenhalgh, is a film of two styles - half period drama and half avant-garde character study. The film opens in 1913 with an epic, thunderous performance of Rite of Spring, composed by Stravinsky. Chanel (Anna Mouglalis), midway through her affair with Capel, sits in the audience.
How to pitch your non-fiction book and get published
There is no doubt that getting non-fiction published is a LOT easier than fiction. Most fiction publishers only want established authors or new authors who come with very strong recommendations from agents. But publishers of non-fiction are actively looking for new authors and, provided you’re an expert in your field, or have something highly original to say, then you’re in with a good chance.
Write to win an Amazon Kindle with Spectra Magazine’s flash fiction contest
Spectra Magazine launches on the 1st of September with a flash fiction competition. Enter the challenge by September 24th, and you could bag yourself a brand new Kindle! All you need to do is visit the Spectra Magazine forums and start a new thread in the Flash Fiction section, completing a science fiction, horror or fantasy story in 60 words or less.
