If my writing news (and, shamefully, writing) is a bit thin on the ground in the dog days of August, it’s great to have some truly wonderful news to report from two members of my writing group who have already appeared here this year.
Hot on the heels of her Cornish novel Time Out of Mind, Shirley Wright is about to launch her first poetry collection with Indigo Press. Shirley’s poetry has already won some huge prizes and with writing that’s lyrical, complex, but also extremely accessible, I’m expecting The Last Green Field to be a huge success. The launch is on Saturday September 7th in the Bristol Folk House. If you would like to be there, please contact shirley via Twitter (@SSWright)
or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/shirley.wright.338658?fref=ts
And the very next week I’ll be off to another launch party (Thursday Sept 12th in Foyles, Cabot Circus) , this time for Nina Miton’s The Moors, a really gripping mystery set in the Somerset Levels with an unforgettable heroine in the shape of shamanic counselor Sabby Dare. I heard an earlier version of this book in the writing group and am really looking forward to reading the final version, not to mention the sequel which is now in the pipeline. Contact Nina on Facebook if you’d like to join us on the 12th. https://www.facebook.com/#!/nina.milton.3?fref=ts
And what about me? Well I’ve been catching up with the new What the Dickens website (print no longer, but looking very exciting) where I’ll be posting some new reviews soon.
But my main occupation this month has been knocking a website into shape for a Most Exciting Project (it’s official!) in which all the members of our writing group (Nina, Shirley and myself included) have produced what I think is a really stunning piece of work – which will be launched at the Bristol Festival of Literature in October.
Watch this space!