Newsletter: March 2025
Image courtesy of Anna Bell Creative: poster providing details of a creative writing workshop series held in March at Penarth Pier.
Good morning fellow writer,
How is the writing going?
Since I left social media last month, I have been working on a newsletter which should come along as soon as I’ve ironed out a few technical hiccups. In the meantime, since I promised to keep you informed of future workshops and events, here is what is coming in March.
Workshops
* The popular Penarth Library workshop (One Saturday a month, 10-12pm) for the 8th of March is now fully booked.
In January, we revived these monthly workshops which had been a great success in 2023. We have met twice so far, and feedback has been positive. Last weekend, I tortured participants with mind-bending exercises to explore why we use punctuation in writing, and challenged everyone to write a 150-word story without using any. Give it a try!
The workshops should continue after Easter. I will confirm future dates as soon as possible. As before, booking will be through the library (029 2070 8438 or via email: penarthlibrary@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk ), and you are advised to book early as the workshops have been consistently over subscribed.
If you missed a chance to sign up, I have some good news. I will be running three more workshops in March, as part of a new series:
* Creative Writing @ The Pier will be running for three weeks in March on the 5th, 12th and 19th (Wednesday) from 2pm to 4pm.
The classes are aimed at anyone interested in writing fiction, and will be held in the Southard Classroom, on the ground floor of Penarth Pier, The Esplanade, CF64 3AU
Booking is £60. If you’re interested, simply reply to this email with your name, address and phone number.
Events
The 8th of March marks International Women’s Day. I will be taking part in a series of panels with other female writers and facilitators to discuss how to become a facilitator (4th of March) and the role of strong female characters (6th of March).
=> How to become a creative writing facilitator in the community (digital event) - 4th of March
Join writers and creative facilitators Dr Sophie Buchaillard, Taylor Edmonds and Sian Hughes as they share their experiences, best practice in planning, delivering and evaluating a project, possible funding streams and the challenges and opportunities they’ve come across. Whether you’re interested in running mindful sessions to support a community’s health and well-being, help individuals nurture a closer connection to nature, or inspire young audiences to engage with literature, the speakers will be on-hand to answer your questions at the end of a lively panel discussion. You’ll leave the event with a clearer idea of what the role of a creative facilitator entails and what your next steps will be. You can register here
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=> Honno Welsh Women's Press in conversation - 6th of March (Waterstone’s Cardiff)
A discussion between authors Sophie Buchaillard, Catrin Kean and Meredith Miller, celebrating women in literature. The event is chaired by Honno Welsh Women's Press, the longest running independent feminist press in the UK.
Thursday 6th March 2025
19:00 - 20:30 at Waterstones, Cardiff
Strong female characters: What does it mean in today's literature and why is the representation of women still a hill to climb in books today? In a social climate that seems to be clawing back on women's rights, what responsibility does literature have for future freedoms?
In their latest novels, authors Sophie Buchaillard, Catrin Kean and Meredith Miller have delved into womanhood and feminism in a changing world and come together to discuss the importance of women in literature both on and behind the page. In conversation with Honno, the longest running independent feminist press in the UK, the evening will be a lively, inspirational and sometimes rebellious talk celebrating and exploring the strong female characters and everything beyond.
This event will inspire writers of all sexes to question the boundaries of women in literature and will challenge readers to look beyond tropes and stereotypes to demand more from their books.
Reading like a writer: monthly recommendations
Two novels about the past, which echo with contemporary resonance.
* Coyote by Robin de Rosario, published by Lucent Dreaming, just came out.
A book that reinvents the Western genre and delves into the storytelling tradition of the First Nation people to illustrate the mass deportations that enabled the birth of the United States from the perspective of the perpetrators and the victims. Rosario shows great compassion as he introduces us to the different protagonists in this moving and harrowing story. From the writer’s point of view, this is an interesting example of how to weave a narrative from multiple viewpoints.
* A room above a shop by Anthony Shapland, published by Granta (out 13th of March)
I was lucky to be a Hay Writer at Work with Anthony when this novel was in the making, and you are not going to want to miss it.
The story: When two quiet men form a tentative connection neither knows where it might lead. M has inherited his family's ironmongery business and B is younger by eleven years and can see no future in the place where he has grown up, but when M offers him a job and lodgings, he accepts. As the two men work side by side in the shop, they also begin a life together in their one shared room above - the kind of life they never imagined possible and that risks everything if their public performance were to slip.
Unfolding in South Wales against the backdrop of Section 28, the age of consent debate and the HIV and AIDS crisis, this is a tender and resonant love story, and a powerful debut.
Griffin Books is hosting the launch at Turner House in Penarth on the 19th of March. Maybe see you there?