News from Room 204
News from Room 204:
Naneh Hovhannisyan has teamed up with Book Chat to create ‘Do You Remember, Liz?’, which has since been recorded at The Armenian Institute, featuring the writer alongside producer and reader Olivia Melkonian.
Fran Hill’s forthcoming novel ‘Cuckoo in the Nest’ is out with Legend Press on 26 April 2023. The novel is about sibling rivalry in a foster care situation in the 1970s. You can book your ticket for it’s launch at Warwick Books on 25 April here.
Maeve Clark has been longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2022 and shortlisted for the RSL’s 2022 Sky Arts RSL Writers Award for Playwriting.
Community storyteller Cat Weatherill and visual artist Anne Brierley have secured Lottery funding from Arts Council England for The Blue Budgie Project, which they describe as ‘a celebration of cheerful chatter.’ Project partners include Age Concern Birmingham, three Warwickshire primary schools, two libraries and a residential dementia care home in Bromsgrove. The project is scheduled to take place in May 2023.
Writing Support and Resources
The Arvon Foundation have announced a whole new season of creative writing workshops and writing weeks for writers of every level. In addition, they are once again running in-person residentials and retreats. Find out more.
Scriptease: Scriptwriting for stage & screen, Jan 2022-Dec 2022. This year long online course with Sara Clifford and Lisa Fulthorpe will enable you to develop your skills. For more info & register email Sara: inroadsproductions@mac.com
As part of their tenth anniversary celebrations, Speaking Volumes published an anthology, Not Quite Right for Us, which featured forty authors from the UK and around the world, from Poet Laureates to upcoming voices. Many of those authors have shared their advice on writing in short films, which are available as a free resource on the Speaking Volumes website.
Tutors Carol Harding and Piotr Szkopiak are running a tutored script development retreat to prepare screenwriters to navigate the process from blank page to completed film. Find out more.
The Mono Box are running a playwriting Deep Dive course with Lisa Carroll. Book a place to learn more about voice, structure, theatricality and dramaturgy. Find out more.
Competitions and opportunities
Join themonobox and Lisa Carroll for An Introduction to Playwriting! This 4-part ONLINE course will explore the fundamentals of writing for stage. You’ll cover voice, story & structure, character, dialogue through exercises & discussion. Booking details here.
The Literary Consultancy’s Being a Writer platform will be hosting director Alby James as he takes you through Lessons from Film, an interactive workshop that uses techniques and tools from film and TV to help you further your work-in-progress. Understand character and motivation, explore structure, learn to pitch ideas with confidence and sketch out a powerful story through the lens of the camera. This workshop is free for members of Being a Writer. If you are not yet a member, you can start your free 30-day trial here.
Submissions for the BBC’s Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University are NOW OPEN! If you’re in the UK & aged between 14-18, submit stories of up to 1000 words for the chance to win. Submissions close at 9am (GMT) on Monday 20th March 2023. Find out more and enter now.
The annual Rubery Prize, ran by the Rubery Book Awards, is accepting entries for 2023! The Rubery Prize is a well-established name in the publishing world and looks to seek the best books by indie writers, self-published authors and works published by independent presses. The closing date for entries is 31 March 2023 and winners are set to be announced by the end of July 2023. You can find out more information here.