Doris Lessing on the art of reading well — Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
“There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, … Continue reading
Margaret Atwood on the problems of knowing what’s going to happen next… Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You’ve been backstage. … Continue reading
A new type of publisher is doing something new for women writers
Unbound is a revolutionary new way to get books published. Founded by three authors, John Mitchinson, Justin Pollard and Dan Kieran, all their titles are crowdfunded. Authors pitch their book … Continue reading
Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad Book?
Originally posted on artycappuccino:
Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad Book? A picture book by Lauren Child There are lots of things which author and illustrator Lauren Child does (not…
Five Tips for writing flash fiction plus one inspirational exercise that will deliver a plot to your keyboard
I originally wrote this post for the Hysterectomy Association when I was writer in residence of their annual writing competition earlier this year. Flash Fiction goes by many names: micro … Continue reading
Terry Pratchett on old women and misleading covers — quotes for writers (and people who like quotes)
I do note with interest that old women in my books become young women on the covers… this is discrimination against the chronologically gifted. Terry Pratchett photo credit: donielle via … Continue reading
Happy Halloween – an Irish festival
Halloween dates back at least two thousand years to the Celtic festival of Samhain marking the start of winter, a cold, dark and dangerous time. It began at sunset on … Continue reading
You’ve got 24 hours to tweet a scary story
To enter this international writing competition run by the literary magazine The Penny Dreadful all you have to do is tweet a one line horror story with the hashtag #PDHorror. … Continue reading
What if Someone Secretly Made a Film of Your Life…? The question that launched a self-published novel the Daily Mirror called ‘one of this year’s must-reads’
Cinema Lumière ‘A magical, thought-provoking and uplifting tale … one of this year’s must-reads’ –Daily Mirror ‘A stunning debut. Made me laugh out loud, cry … and ache with recognition’ … Continue reading
A short story is a fiendish device: Sci Fi writer Michael Swanwick — Quotes for Writers (and People who like Quotes)
A short story…can be held in the mind all in one piece. It’s less like a building than a fiendish device. Every bit of it must be cunningly made and … Continue reading
The Laureate for Irish Fiction just gets better and better…
Originally posted on Irish Writing Blog:
Anne Enright, one of 34 authors on the longlist for the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction (Image: The Guardian) A longlist of 34 authors…
Yes, Agents Google Writers
Originally posted on Carly Watters, Literary Agent:
This is the social media elephant in the room. You don’t query in a vacuum. If you write a query letter and an…
An inspirational workshop for apprentice performance poets
If you’ve always wanted to write and perform your own poetry there’s a chance to attend a masterclass next Saturday afternoon October 25th 2014 with Dean Atta . Rhyme and … Continue reading
…The supreme expression of story is the novel…Richard Flanagan, winner of 2014 Booker. Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
I do not share the pessimism of the age about the novel. They are one of our greatest spiritual, aesthetic and intellectual inventions. As a species it is story that … Continue reading
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 