Small Press – Big Celebration – Iron Press and 40 Years of Good Books

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

They came in their droves, not deterred by the journey, the rain and the floods – they came to the small seaside fishing village of Cullercoats on the North East coast to celebrate 40 years of Iron Press – in poetry, prose and music. And even the man himself, founder of the original Iron magazine and the Press, Peter Mortimer, was stunned by the response; ‘We can say we were there…’ he told a packed audience on Saturday evening after a breathtaking set by Bridie Jackson and the Arbour, followed by Iron’s most famous son David Almond - (Iron published two collections by David before he became a national figure) who read with a power and lyricism that I’ve just never encountered before; a reading that was as much music as prose.

Stormy Sea at Cullercoats – John Falconer Slater

David made clear his debt to Iron – he has dedicated his collection of stories – Nesting – (if you’re serious about writing buy this book for the introduction alone ! ) published by Iron for the festival – to Pete and Kitty. Where would writers be without the small presses he asked? Where indeed? My first novel would probably not have been published without Flambard Press who after Arts Council cuts are sadly no more. But I’m glad to say Iron Press is alive and well, due in no small measure to the indefatigable spirit of Peter and to the lovely and hard working Kitty Fitzgerald who on Saturday afternoon enchanted the room with her reading from her soon to be published collection Miranda’s Shadow.

The Salt House provided an excellent watering hole for festival goers- coffee and cake, panninis, fries, wine, comfy sofas, as well as music and poetry, while on the beach the band played Beyonce and Dody Clutch made a symbolic flat iron birthday cake in the sand around which band and followers duly processed. The atmosphere was all celebration and carnival – it felt like a festival should, not like the Lit fests we have come to know and shun. No flaunting of celebrity, just a wonderful gathering – I’ve barely scratched the surface here there were lots of other events: readings, pool tournaments, a two and a half mile run, haiku workshops, and to top it all Melvyn Bragg on Sunday evening – like I’ve said, just folk out to enjoy themselves, and didn’t we have fun!

Congratualtions to all at Iron Press for pulling off the literary coup of the festival year – long may you publish!

SORRY – I failed to take any photos but my companions did – for some great words and pictures see Life Twice Tasted!

Writing and Music – Tribes

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

This morning on the radio I heard someone say, ‘music is memory,’ and it got me thinking straight away about writing – and the connections between music and writing. I thought about how much they have in common: rhythm, flow, cadence, practice, changes of pace and mood, surprise, truth, emotion, escape, consolation, experiment, and perhaps biggest of all – audience. There is no music and no writing without audience.

Joseph O’Connor says ‘I think of it (writing) in musical terms. The writer is providing the sheet music. It’s the reader who is singing the song. To know who you’d like to make sing is an important factor. It also helps to stop writing being egotistical. Writing must always be about the reader, in the end, not the writer. If I have one single commandment, that’s it.’

Given the connections it’s no surprise that writers often choose to write to music or choose to create a new playlist for each new project: music that reflects the mood of the novel, its characters, its time and places…To date I’ve rarely used music as a source of inspiration but I’ve decided to give it a try for my new novel.

I’ve started out with All You Love is All You Are, Bridie Jackson and the Arbour (melancholy/haunting I know, but this mood is important as the background to my story ) http://www.bridiejackson.com

La Vie en Rose as sung by Floanne ( falling in love and France – both are very important parts of the journey) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYvFJ5we_k

But for me the big question I found myself asking is what would my 17-18 year old protagonist – Issy be listening to? And after some research and listening I think I’ve found my answer – Tribes – I’ve just discovered them and I love them! (They remind me of Dylan) I think she would love them too - listen to Coming of Age, HERE http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=81668218&ac=now

Now what else to put on my playlist? I don’t know yet but I’m having fun exploring …and I’d be very interested to know about your playlists…

Finally, I’m definitely in tune with DAVID ALMOND on writing and music: I think of writing as being very similar to music. And a lot of the things that I write down, I’ll write down because they sound good. I hope they have a meaning and they help to carry the story forwards. But, I’m also interested in the sound and the voices.’

Looking For Inspiration? – A Workshop and a Newsletter

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

Flowers on my writing desk.

What better time than Spring to audit your writing; to look at where you are, where you want to be and what it is you really want to write? All writers whatever their experience need time for this kind of exploration and reflection.

And what better time than Spring to begin writing; to dare yourself to pick up the pen for the very first time. If you’ve never written but have always wanted to or equally if you are a more experienced writer who needs inspiration and a spring clean and you live here in the North East, then why not join Wendy and I for the first in a series of four, free, Back to Basics workshops at Bishop Auckland Town Hall this Wednesday at 2pm ?

As always we have lots of hot writing planned and, unusually for workshops, we’ve decided that we will not be reading out. Reading out can be very off putting, scary even for the beginner and we don’t want that. We want everyone, whatever their experience of writing to enjoy the session and to go away inspired.

If you fancy coming along there are more details here on Wendy’s blog – if you can’t make it you should take a look anyway and see what you’re missing!

I’m looking forward to Wednesday very much. Natalie Goldberg, one of my writing heroes, says that what inspires her writing is teaching. I have to agree. I’ve never been involved in running a workshop that hasn’t given me new enthusiasm and inspiration for my own work.Hope to see you there.

If you’re looking for competition/submission information and writing thoughts and inspirations but you don’t live in the North and can’t come along to workshops then why not sign up (on the right) for my weekly newsletter (arrives in your mail box on Mondays). Its entirely free, safe from spam and there is no obligation as you can easily unsubscribe.

Don’t Miss These- The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

I’m very happy to say my first eye operation is behind me and I’m beginning to get back to normal, which of course means back to writing!

The last two weeks have not been the easiest but as always there have been good things. I can’t praise the NHS staff enough for their skill, or for the respect and kindness they showed me. Likewise my family and friends, who’ve just been brilliant!!!

I’ve done a lot of sleeping, a lot of listening to the radio and not much else, not even thinking. However in the last few days I’ve been able to get back to the screen and start reading again. The reading has been a real treat especially as a book I’d bought online but completely forgotten about arrived this week in the post. And what a book!

I cannot recommend The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake* highly enough. It is one of those rare books that ultimately had me reaching for my pen to write a paragraph or two based on the author’s style - a kind of pastiche I suppose, but more an exploration – I had to know how he did what he did, what that would sound like from my pen, why his writing was so powerful.

I read one story through, turned straight back to the beginning and read it again. His stories lived with me. His words fascinated me – the everyday language of West Virginia, words I simply hadn’t met before; no similes or metaphors (well very rarely) nothing in the least fancy. His people: troubled, dark, trapped, striving to live better lives; the powerful sense of place that runs through all of the stories, a landscape of decay and abandonment. Not since reading Raymond Carver for the first time have I been so moved by the short story, or so convinced that honesty is always paramount in the very best writing.

If you’re interested in writing great short stories you cannot afford to miss these.

*Sadly, D’J Pancake killed himself in 1979 at the age of 26, not long after his first stories were published in The Atlantic Monthly.

“…he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I’ve ever read.” Kurt Vonnegut

‘…one is tempted to compare his debut to Hemmingway’s.’ Joyce Carol Oates

“An exceptional voice” – Margaret Atwood

Back in the B.A.T.H.

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

Tomorrow evening I’ll be reading, once again, from the Iron Press anthology Root, this time alongside writer John Price.

For me reading at B.A.T.H. – Bishop Auckland Town Hall - is like coming home. It’s where my serious writing began one inspirational weekend, in a workshop led by Wendy Roberston and the late Julia Darling. It’s where my first book, The Sweet Track was launched and, long before any of this, it was the place I gravitated to in Bishop Auckland when I first came to live in the North. It was stylish; full of art, music, writing and books – it was not just a library. It was an arts centre conceived and manged by leading light Gillian Wales, who I’m delighted to say is now a great friend.

If you come along I really hope you enjoy the evening and I’d like to thank you in advance as I won’t be posting here for a while. On Thursday I’m having an operation on my right eye – not too serious I hope – I expect to be writing again soon but maybe not on the screen. It’s sooner than expected, but the sooner the better – then on to the left!

Root – from Corbridge to Bishop Auckland

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

I had a great time on Wednesday evening in Corbridge (see previous post). For one thing it’s just so good to meet readers and for another the enthusiastic response they gave to the extract from my story Tough Love took me quite by surprise and was very gratifying. Mostly they wanted to know what happened to Dennis! Had he been buried in a hole along with the birds? What about his wife? Did I have a husband? And if you get to read the story you’ll see why they asked after my spouse!

The venue was perfect -Tea & Tipple cafe – and I was full of admiration for Helen of Forum Books who organised this packed event. I’ll definitely be back to browse the Forum bookshelves.

Meeting other writers like Beda who was also reading from the Root antholgy, was a huge part of the enjoyment- also via Twitter – writers : Mari Hannah, Hazel Osmond, Chris Marples - it was great to meet, have your support and share stories and a glass of wine – such a bonus. Also great to see Ian from my prison days

Of course Peter Mortimer and Kitty Fitzgerald from Iron Press - were behind the whole event – without them the book would not exist – they are just amazing at what they do – if you don’t believe me take a look at the programme for their forthcoming festival in May.

If you didn’t make it to Corbridge but you can make it to Bishop Auckland Town Hall this Wednesday 10th – 7pm – we’ll be doing it again. This time John Price and myself will be reading HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE !

Root – New Stories from North East Writers – IRON Press

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

Looking forward very much to meeting everyone at, Forum Books,Tea and Tipple cafe tomorrow evening in Corbridge, when I’ll be reading along with Beda Higgins, from the new Iron Press anthology Root.

Wednesday 3rd April, 7.00 pm Forum Books at Tea & Tipple cafe, Market Place, Corbridge: Writers, Avril Joy and Beda Higgins
Wine & nibbles | Free Entry | Books available to buy

New from Iron Press, Root is a collection of short stories which re-affirm the North-East’s status as a vibrant area for new writing. The subjects of the 15 stories on show here range from the domestic – family relationships, gardening, bullying, adoption and loss – to the plain bizarre: a circus bearded lady, a woman who morphs into Elvis, and an insight into what God wears to work.

Read an interview in The Journal with the editor Kitty Fitzgerald HERE

Freedom, Invention and Bodies.

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

I was recently asked by The Journal’s Culture Magazine to take on their April, Readers’ Lives page and write about my five or six life-changing reads. It took a lot of thinking about – there were just so many wonderful books I could have included. In the end I tried to pick the ones that I thought had made a real impact on me. I ran out of the alloted word count for my last choice – Bring Up The Bodies – not exactly life changing – but a book that reminds us of just how good fiction can be and what it is as writers that we should aspire to

If you’d like to read about my choices HERE is the LINK to the Culture mag online. Readers’ Lives is on PAGE 11

I wonder, what would your six be? I’d love to hear all six or even just one….

Good Things for Monday

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

The Poetry Project brightens my Mondays – and let’s face it the days could certainly do with brightening given the snow and icy winds that have wound themselves around us. So, what is it?

The garden Saturday

‘A poem for a Monday morning…What better way to start the week, wherever you are in the world? Every week, from January 1st 2013, we will be uploading a poem and accompanying video artwork, in celebration of Ireland’s literary and visual creativity.Week by week, over six months, you’ll be able to follow the work of leading, and emerging artists and writers, and discover Ireland through different eyes.Be moved, inspired, enthralled.The Poetry Project is absolutely free, and is presented as part of the Culture Programme of the EU Presidency’

You can sign up to recieve this on the website. This week’s poem is ~ Derek Mahon’s beautiful, Everything Is Going to Be Alright ~ which begins:

How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?

Also brightening my Monday is the way my new 3,ooo word story is shaping up, (finished but not edited ) working title (I think there’s a better title in there somewhere) – Behind the Curtain, Behind the Wall and I’m especially happy because at one point over the weekend I thought the computer had swallowed it! It begins:

Sometimes it was the place he blamed. If they’d never come to live in Paradise his son Aaron might not have died and he might not have taken against Fergus, Aaron’s twin. He tried never to show it but it was there in his heart, like a weight that couldn’t be dislodged; a son he no longer knew or wanted. A world poisoned, the air suffocated with the dust from a lifetime of bricks …

In New Writing North’s newsletter this morning ~ Iron Press’ Root anthology launch: Forum Books at the Tea & Tipple Cafe, Market Place, Corbridge: Wednesday 3 April, 7pm

Forum Books and Iron Press present a launch event for the Root anthology with readings by Costa Short Story Award winner Avril Joy and Northumberland poet Beda Higgins. Free entry, no booking required. For full details about Root and further readings across the region, see www.ironpress.co.uk

I’m looking forward to reading in Corbridge very much and also reading closer to home in Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Wed April 10th.

Finally – a friend pointed me in the direction of this review - I was bowled over!

Happy Monday!