Writers Wendy Robertson, Avril Joy and Gillian Wales set up the
organization as Room To Write in 2010. Reflecting their professional interest
as readers, writers and creative writing tutors it was conceived as an
organisation dedicated to encouraging aspiring and professional writers to
escape domestic and other commitments for periods of intense writing or reading
development. Meetings are held
in a variety of venues including the luxurious, aesthetically pleasing
environment of Whitworth Hall - a painting of the 18th Century building, by Fiana Naughton, above - with its deer
park
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| Gillian |
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| Wendy |
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| Avril |
All of these skills and services are part of the mix in the RoomToWrite project.
Wendy says: ‘Most of all I love to write – to generate stories that have something to say about me, about the intriguing elements and surprising factors of the world as I find it. Because I have been writing for more than twenty years, with a different novel every year, the world and the way I view it has changed and evolved. Each novel is unique unto itself.’
Also in the mix is Gillian Wales who recently retired as manager of
She originated the extremely successful literary programme, ‘Book It!’, which included book launches, writing and publishing workshops. She also ran the national ‘Novel Approach/Practise to Deceive’ writing competition for 10 years. Patrons included David Almond, Pat Barker, Terry Deary and Anne Fine. The first winner,Jonathan Tulloch, went on to develop his prize-winning short story, Season Ticket, into a full-length novel which was subsequently filmed as‘Purely Belter’.
Gillian has researched, co-written and published five well received books on mining art. The latest is The Quintessential Cornish Gillian served a season ad a director of Mslexia, the highly-praised literary magazine for women who write.
She has now developed a blog reflecting on the gardening year under the supervision if her cat Pablo. Go to:Pablo's Garden
Wendy
Robertson - a professional writer who has
published more than 20 novels, as well as regular articles and short stories.
Her tutoring skills come from a long experience in formal and informal
education, tutoring people of all ages and abilities. More recently these have
been focused on specialized workshops in locations as diverse as libraries, colleges,
community centres and even a womens’ prison, where she directed a Litfest
Inside as part of the Durham Literature festival.
For ten years she was director, with Gillian Wales, of the Practise To
Deceive national short story competition which later generated great success
for some of the winners. She still works as a mentor for individual writers to
help them reach the point of publication. She is delighted with three new
writers from Rom To Write who recently reached that goal. She evaluates
individual writers’ work by post and judges their potential. In addition she
has anthologised, edited, and published collections of other people’s writing
including The Self Revealed , a
collection of writing from prison.
To find out more about Wendy, her world
view, her books, and her two blogs visit her website www.wendyrobertson.com
Avril Joy is a published novelist and former Head of Learning and Skills at HMP Low Newton a women’s prison. She has over twenty years experience in working with groups in the varying roles of teacher, facilitator and trainer. She has recently put this experience to good use running local writing workshops including a six session group for novel writers. In August 2008 she gave up her position in the Prison Service to concentrate solely on her career as a writer. Avril was born and brought up on the Somerset Levels, the setting for her first novel, The Sweet Track, published in 2007 by Flambard Press. She writes novels, short stories and poetry and has recently completed a new venture into crime fiction,Blood Tide, a novel set in the heart of Newcastle.
Avril has been shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award for Millie and Bird,
Avril says:‘I am very
excited about RoomToWrite. When I finally ‘got out’ of prison writing became my
main occupation. However, running writing workshops has also become an
important and growing part of my new life. I am passionate about workshopping
and always feel at home in group of writers: simply the best people. This is
where I believe I can share some of the things I’ve learned, and am still
learning, on my own rocky road to publication. I believe in the power of
inspiring workshops, as it was in such a weekend workshop, run by Wendy
Robertson and the late Julia Darling that I began my novel The Sweet Track, published by Flambard Press in 2007. If I can do
it, so can you! I have recently published on Kindle a series of stories about young
women in prison, have completed a crime novel set in Newcastle
Room To Write has facilitated the
publication of 5 new books under the Room To Write Imprint. Refer here to Our Books tab.
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