Busy time ahead

 

Reminder to self -- breathe!

I started working out some timings for readings that are coming up over the next month or two and realised just how busy this Autumn is going to be – and I am greatly looking forward to it all.

Although, there may not be much time for much actual writing …

The first main event is PENfro Book Festival, from September 7^th to 10^th.  I’ll be presenting the Saturday afternoon session in the main hall:  ‘Lyrical Legends, skin-dancing with Susan Richardson’, which includes a reading from this fabulous poet, results of this year’s PENfro Poetry Competition, which Susan is judging, plus an open mic session.

I was on the organising committee for this lovely festival for four years, and chair for two, but now I’m looking forward to attending the event as a punter –much less stressful!  On my agenda are sessions with Iolo Williams, Ann Clwyd MP, Lynne Truss, David Saunders and my Rockhopper colleague Maggie Harris. There’s loads more on, and all info is on the website, see link below.

Just after that another Rockhopper colleague, Mel Perry, will be launching her debut poetry collection Rum Dark Nights and I’ll be there to support that great event on September 12th in Llansteffan.

I’ll be reading alongside Dave Urwin at a benefit event for refugees in Haverfordwest mid month, and again at Narberth Book Fair on September 23^rd, where we’ll be sharing a table with Helen May Williams, who has recently launched her own debut poetry collection, The Princess of Vix. 

Narberth Book Fair, which features more than 40 authors, will be a great day out full of readings and workshops. There’s a link for that below too.

The Cellar Bards spoken word event in Cardigan, which I co-organise, will be back after the summer break on September 29^th.  I am so looking forward to this as the fabulous poet Sophie McKeand will be our special guest.

In among that lot there will be a few writing groups to go to, and a rehearsal session for the Rockhoppers, the four-woman poetry performance group I belong to.  And I have signed up for another online course with the Poetry School. That starts in September too – at least I can be sure that will generate some new writing among all the other activities.

That’s all in September, and October already looks busy too. Pleased to have an Autumn holiday arranged!

https://penfrobookfestival.org.uk/

http://www.narberthbookfair.co.uk/

Poet Laureate and National Poet of Wales at PENfro

Carol Ann Duffy

Some very exciting news that I announced this week -- Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and the National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke will both feature in a double-bill at this year’s PENfro Book Festival.

The literature event, now in its third year, is held at Rhosygilwen, Cilgerran, in north Pembrokeshire.

We also have top scriptwriter Lucy Gannon (Coronation Street, Eastenders, Soldier Soldier, Frankie) who will discuss her work in one of the ‘meet the writers’ sessions.

The evening with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke, which will include readings from their work, headlines the programme on the Saturday, September 14, in the fabulous Oak Hall, Neuadd y Dderwen.

All of us on the PENfro committee are delighted about this news.

 

The PENfro festival is set to launch on the evening of Thursday, September 12, with a lively musical and literary evening; and runs until the Sunday afternoon, September 15.

There will be plenty going on throughout the event for people of all ages who love books.

Popular local live literature group The Cellar Bards and Friends take the stage in the Oak Hall on the Friday evening with performances and readings of a wide range of poetry and prose from guests --  and there will be an open mic session.

The winners of the first PENfro Poetry Competition will be announced at this event and the shortlisted candidates will be invited to read their work.

There is a day of workshops for writers and would-be writers on the Saturday, covering everything from poetry to fiction, to screenwriting, journalism and e-publishing.

The popular Book Fair is on the Sunday and there will be opportunities to meet several local authors at book launches as well as to attend interviews and talks by many writers.

There will be events for children on Saturday and Sunday and the winners of the

children’s short story competition will be announced during the weekend.

More news will follow over the next few weeks as the programme details are confirmed.

For updates see the website: http://penfrobookfestival.org.uk

or follow us on Facebook -- PENfro Book Festival.

  *This project has received funding from PLANED through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013,  which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development.

More acceptances than rejections

Well, I haven’t been posting much poetry lately, but I have been busily employed in the world of literature, and poetry in particular.

Having completed April in a heap after writing a poem a day throughout the month, here I am at the end of another month. And I have completed just one poem in the last 31 days!

However, I have been busy editing and collating all the work I did through April, together with other material already completed over the last 11 months. Submissions of single poems, small selections and even a mini-collection have been sent off far and wide; and there are more yet to send.

I have been spurred on to press that ‘send’ button as much as possible because of one or two acceptances that have come through. There will be more news on those as they are published, but for now I am pleased to say that the number of acceptances are exceeding the number of rejections – so far! It’s a small start towards wider publication, but a definite start, and a very encouraging one.

I am involved in organising a couple of local projects that are taking up a lot of my free time right now. One is working on the committee of the PENfro Book Festival, which I joined earlier in the year.

Beautiful Rhosygilwen Mansion

This is held in mid-September in the fabulous location of Rhosygilwen in Pembrokeshire (links below) We have an evening of the spoken word -- poetry and prose -- with the Cellar Bards and Friends, a day of workshops for writers (I’ll be doing one on freelance journalism and ‘Selling Your Story’); a book fair and talks and meetings with writers in all kinds of genres. And there are some very special guests headlining on the Saturday night – I am currently working on the press release to make that big announcement.

The popular Book Fair, in the Oak Hall at Rhosygilwen

There is also an Open Poetry Competition – for anyone aged 16 or over, which is being judged by award winning poet Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch. Her wonderful collection ‘Banjo’ is shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year. I am running the admin for that competition, so I hope to be very busy around the closing date of July 19. It’s the first time PENfro has run a poetry competition. If it goes well we will do more in future years, so do enter – and please get your entries in soon!!!

There is also a short story writing competition for children, which closes on June 14. Link is below.

Oh, and I am one of the PENfro Poets – the workshop group based at Rhosygilwen that grew out of last year’s PENfro Festival. We will publish a small collection of our work later this summer. And, of course, some of us will be reading our poetry at the Cellar Bards and Friends evening at PENfro 2013.

So, busy times – and much more info to post up later.

More info/links:

http://penfrobookfestival.info/

http://rhosygilwen.co.uk/

Entry forms and info on the PENfro Open Poetry Competition, to download from the website: http://penfrobookfestival.info/?p=493

Children’s Short Story Competition:

http://penfrobookfestival.info/?p=502

PENfro page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/PeNfroBookFestival

The Cellar Bards Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/333544513348067/