Dalston Writing Group Takes A Break Until September 2023

The group will be taking a short break until the autumn, when we will be back in action with new facilitator Morgan.

If you are new to the group and would like to join, or to receive updates on upcoming sessions, get in touch using this blog's message function and we'll add you to the mailing list. 

Next Meeting: Thurs 1 June & New Workshop with Sara Nisha Adams

 After a short break, Dalston Writing Group will be back in action on Thurs 1 June. Join us at Dalston CLR James Library, 6.00 to 7.30pm. 

And on Thurs 8 June, join author Sara Nisha Adams for a special workshop at Stoke Newington Library, themed around 'Home'. Find out more and register here.

Sara is a writer and editor. She lives in London and was born in Hertfordshire to Indian and English parents. Her debut novel The Reading List was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards for Fiction 2021. Her second novel The Twilight Garden is released on 8th June.

This event is supported by Stoke Newington Bookshop, who will be selling copies of The Twilight Garden (2023) and The Reading List (2021) that Sara Nisha Adams will be happy to sign at the end of the evening.

No Meeting on Thurs 4 May, But We'll Be Back in June

Dalston Writing Group will not be taking place on Thurs 4 May, but we promise to be back in action with new plans in June. Details and dates to follow.

In the meantime, the Bridport Prize for flash fiction, short stories and novel extracts is open until 31 May.

Anthology magazine are running a handful of prizes, open until August

The Moth Short Story Prize is open until 30 June.

Be Part of Indie Novella's New Local Anthology

On Saturday 22nd April Indie Novella and local heritage organisation Newington Green Meeting House, are thrilled to launch the Hackney Writers and Communities Anthology showcasing the work and stories local writers and authors and the communities they represent.

Indie Novella are inviting local community members to join them from 1pm to 3pm at Newington Green Meeting House where they will be hosting some drinks and nibbles followed by a panel discussion with local authors to tell everyone more about the project, how Indie Novella is bringing more local writers into publishing, and how you and your community can be involved.

View the Eventbrite page.

Newington Green Meeting House events page. 

Indie Novella will accept any form of writing, be it excerpts from novels, short stories, poetry, essays, opinions etc, and your thoughts on what it is like to be part of a community. Those interested in submitting their writing can do so here.

Indie Novella are delighted to launch a special and specific Hackney / Haringey / surrounding areas Call for Submissions, with a chance to get an extract of your work published in an anthology showcasing the work of local writers, and win £100 in book vouchers from Ink@84 Bookshop. Indie Novella are publishing an anthology specifically to showcase the work of local writers in Hackney, Haringey and the neighbouring areas and would love to hear from you and showcase your work. Please find the details below: https://www.indienovella.co.uk/local-voices


One of the key reason Indie Novella was set up was to give a voice to writers whose stories previously went unheard. As such Indie Novella is looking to create a 'living novel' full of stories from the communities closest to us. Funded by the Arts Council, and through the contributions of local writers, be it experienced authors or first time writers, we are creating an anthology which will showcase the writing of the residents of Hackney, Haringey and the surrounding areas and will demonstrate the changing face of our communities and what they means to us, right now.

You can submit anything between 30 and 5,000 words - an extract of a novel, a short story, poetry, essays, opinion pieces - and it can cover any theme just as long as it is your own work. Your extract also does not need to be in English and we welcome submissions in any language.

With each submission Indie Novella also want to hear about you and your story. It can be a couple of hundred words or quite a bit longer, and can be anything you want - what being a resident of Hackney, Haringey, Highbury etc means to you; how you came to live here; how you feel it has changed in your time; or just about you and anything you want to say. We want our anthology to provide an authentic representation of the wide and varied voices of our communities and showcase the creativity that stems from them.

The idea is to create a 'time capsule' especially post-pandemic of what it means to be a resident in London and what our communities are really like.

One entry will win £100 of book vouchers from Ink@84 Bookshop in Highbury and a host of others will be published in our 'living novel'.

You can submit your contributions over email to info@indienovella.co.uk or through the link below. Please feel free to ask any questions.

https://www.indienovella.co.uk/local-voices

No Meeting on Thurs 6 April (but you can still come and use our space...)

Unfortunately your friendly local writing group facilitator (that would be Jon) will not be available to run the next scheduled meeting on Thurs 6 April.


However, if anyone would like to come and make use of our usual meeting space in the Education Room at Dalston CLR James Library between 6.00 and 7.30pm that day, we'll make it available so that people can meet, write and share their work as usual.

2023 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize

The 2023 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize is open for submissions. The competition is funded by Brick Lane Bookshop, sponsored by Mushens Entertainment, partnering with Spread the Word.

The competition is for original short fiction between 1000 and 5000 words.

First Prize is £1000, Second Prize is £250, Third Prize is £100.

The three prize winners will each receive a development meeting with a member of the Spread the Word team, a year’s membership to their London Writers Network, plus four free places for workshops and courses on their regular programme

1st, 2nd & 3rd prize winners will also receive individual feedback on submission materials from Mushens Entertainment

Twelve longlisted stories will be published in Brick Lane Bookshop New Short Stories 2023

The competition deadline is 5pm, April 3rd 2023. The entry fee is £10.

Full info here.

Entry form here.

More on Brick Lane Bookshop here.

 

2 March 2023: World Book Day Special! Stories About Stories And Their Tellers

For World Book Day on Thurs 2 March our theme was readers, writers, texts and manuscripts, fictional characters who come to life, bookshops, libraries and anything else associated with the written word.

Check out our prompts below:

1/ Your character is an author who has given up on their current project and doesn’t know if they’ll ever complete it. One night, two dodgy characters of the author’s own creation turn up at the door wanting a word...

2/ Your character discovers an old diary (their own or someone else's) and begins to read…

3/ Take a real author (dead or alive) and make them the subject of a story. Bonus points for anything that includes time-travel or culture clash. (What would Jane Austen be like on Insta…?

4/ Someone your character went to school with has, unexpectedly, become a famous and lauded novelist. There’s a Netflix adaptation in the works. Your character reads the book and is convinced that the main character is based on them…

5/ Your character finds what looks like the completed manuscript for a novel in a bag on a bus. (For a brilliant treatment of a similar premise, see Morven Callar by Alan Warner or Lila, Lila by Martin Suter)

6/ Your character is an aspiring author. But instead of concentrating on the book they dream of writing, they have become obsessed with getting their author’s biog or cover blurb perfect…

7/ In the library you pick up a random novel and start leafing through it. Folded into the pages is an anonymously written letter that begins ‘Dear Reader, Congratulations, you have found me…’

8/ Write a piece that is somehow about a single word. It can be a real word, or you can make up your own, complete with definition and examples of usage.

9/ Your character has been given the job of ghost-writing the memoir of someone famous or notorious in their field with a reputation for not suffering fools.. Write a scene where the two of them meet for the first time…

10/ A not-very-successful novelist is picking up a bottle of wine at the self-service kiosk in Tesco when someone taps them on the shoulder and says, “Hey! I can’t believe it. Are you really…?”

New Indie Novella Writing Workshops & Ben Aaronovitch Visit to Hackney Central Library

A quick update on some writerly events coming up at Hackney Libraries in Feb and March 2023.

On Sat 25 Feb and Sat 11 March independent publishers Indie Novella will be running another edition of their full-day Creating Compelling Characters workshops. These sessions are free to attend and open to all, but places are limited.

Register for 25 Feb at Homerton Library here.

Register for 11 March at Stoke Newington Library here.

And on Mon 27 Feb at Hackney Central Library, 6.30pm, we're delighted to have novelist Ben Aaronovitch back to discuss his new book in the Rivers of London series, Amongst Our Weapons.

Register for Ben Aaronovitch here.

'New Starts' Prompts for Feb 2023

We had a spectacular turn-out of new and familiar faces for our first meeting of the year. Thanks to all who came.

Below are details on a playwriting course run by Phil Setren, who shared a brilliant piece of work in progress.





And below are the prompts we used for this session. (Or, in fact, mostly didn't use, because everyone who came already had brilliant ideas of their own.) Nevertheless, we scatter them to the internet, like seeds in the park, in the hope that they may yet bear fruit for others.

/Your character has just let themselves into a new room/flat/house for the first time. They are alone, with a single suitcase….

/Describe a chance first meeting between two characters which will lead to something profound for one of them. Don’t worry if you don’t know what happens next. Concentrate on developing the two characters…

/Your character is about to give away or destroy something of great personal significance. What and why?

/Your character HAS JUST ABOUT HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! Write about the moment something snaps and they walk away from a toxic situation...

/Your character meets an old friend. It’s the first time they have seen each other in several years. It soon becomes apparent that the friend has had some kind of transformative experience and is now a very different person from the one the other remembers.

/Imagine a movie trailer in which your character is walking casually away from a burning building holding the object of your choice. (An umbrella? A teddy bear? A tennis racket?) What’s the story? Bonus points if you can actually find a role for the object. Further bonus points for the most over-the-top Hollywood blockbuster movie title.

/A group of characters (two or more) witness something which they all know will change their relationship - and maybe their lives - forever…

/Your character is a teenager who finds themselves living as part of a new family unit with a radically different set of social or cultural expectations from those they are used to…

/Your character decides to adopt a totally new and possibly outrageous style of dress. Why are they doing this now? How do people respond?

/Describe the moments leading up to an incident that will change the course of your character’s life. Fill your piece with clues and foreshadowing, but stop before you get to the incident itself, and leave the reader guessing…

Dalston Writing Group Meets Thurs 2 Feb 2023 & Every First Thursday Thereafter

The mighty Dalston Writing Group will be back in action on Thurs 2 Feb 2023 at Dalston CLR James Library, 6.00 to 7.30pm.

For various reasons our meeting dates have been slightly peripatetic of late, so to make life easier, from now on the group will always meet on the first Thursday of each month. 

As promised, our theme for this one will be 'new beginnings.' Interpret that in any way you like. It may just be a new piece of work you've been thinking about. As usual, there will be a selection of mysteriously random carefully-honed prompts so that no one has to stare for too long into the abyss that is an empty page.

In the meantime, here are some opportunities from our friends at Spread The Word.

The Bristol Short Story Prize is currently open until 6 April. The word count is 4,000, which means that as of 27 January, you only need to write 47.619 words every day to hit the target. 

And if you're an author of commercial women's fiction, here's an early heads-up about  an opportunity in July to pitch your novel idea to publishers Simon & Schuster. 

Next Meeting - New Date: Thurs 2 Feb 2023

A bit of a last minute update: our first meeting of 2023 was scheduled to be Thurs 12 Jan. This will now be changed to Thurs 2 Feb, 6.00 to 7.30pm at Dalston CLR James Library.

Our theme will be new beginnings. 

As is traditional, there will be plenty of prompts to get us going. Stay tuned for more details, and the usual monthly email update.

The Secrets of Trees - Short Story Competition

Trees are brilliant story-starters. Think of all those roots, branches, leaves and shadows. Think of the Ents in Lord of The Rings. Think of The Overstory by Richard Powers. More on magnificent tree stories here.

The Urban Tree Festival competition runs from 4 December to 13 March. The theme is Secrets of The Trees. It is open to everyone 16+, and although it has an entry fee, it may be waived for those unable to afford it.

Find out more and enter here.

There is also a free online workshop on creative writing on the 4 December. Details here.

 

Next Meeting: Thurs 8 December 2022

For our final session of the year, we'll be breaking out the mince pies for a Christmas-themed writing session on Thurs 8 December at Dalston CLR James Library, 6.00 to 7.30pm.

The Watson, Little x Indie Novella Prize

Our friends at Indie Novella have launched a brand new writing prize. Check out the details below, visit their website form more courses, advice and of, course, excellent new fiction releases.

 

Read Wes Viola in Bear Street Gazette

We're a bit late with this post, but friend of DWG Wes Viola got in touch to let us know that he's had a brilliant Halloween-themed piece published in the Bear Creek Gazette, which tantalisingly describes itself as 'home to art, creative writing and strangeness.' Read Yuck, Yuck, Yuck by Wes Viola here.

A Slightly Random Selection of Prompts Deployed at our November Meeting

We were delighted to welcome a few new faces to the group at our November meeting. Here, for those who couldn't make it, or for anyone who finds themselves delivered to our humble blog via a Google search involving the terms 'Dalston', 'creative' and 'writing', is what we got up to:

• November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo - https://nanowrimo.org/ ). Write the most attention-grabbing opening paragraph for a novel in the genre of your choice. Don’t worry if you have no idea who the characters are or where the story is going. Just launch on in there, as if you do!

• Kickstart a story with a passage that asks (and possibly answers) these three questions: i) whose house is Ethan leaving? ii) Why was he there? iii) Where is he going now?

• Think of the last piece of fiction you wrote that you were pleased with. Now interview the main character. Write this as either a straight Q&A, or as if it’s an in-depth profile in this weekend’s Sunday Times magazine.

• Write a piece of fiction that hinges on an argument.

• Write a piece that includes any or all of the following: a reunion, guilt, a funeral.

• Write a piece of fiction that includes any or all of the objects below. Feel free to take elements from each.

A) A dog, a bicycle, a briefcase.

B) An older brother, an unfair contest, and the skeleton of a bird.

C) A dress, a hair salon, and an amazing rumour that turns out to be true.

(See more ideas for stories that contain 3 objects here: )

• Award-winning sci-fi writer Damon Knight filled his book Creating Short Fiction with helpful exercises. One of these he designed as a way to create a setting or mood:

“Imagine a character who is sitting or standing, alone, in the room you are now in. See the room through his eyes; write a page or so of pure description of the room, without mentioning the character or referring to him in any way, but bearing in mind as you write that he has just had a phone call notifying him of a promotion and a raise.

Assume that the person lives here, if the room you are in is part of a house or apartment; if it isn’t, assume that the job has something to do with this room.
How does his emotional state colour his perceptions? Remember that you are not allowed to refer to the character, even by using a pronoun (“I looked at the furniture,” for instance). Tell only what he sees.”

Charred: Poetry by Andreena Leeanne at The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on Weds 2 Nov

Join Andreena Leeanne at The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on Weds 2 Nov, 6.30 to 7.30pm, and hear excerpts from her poetry collection Charred.

Charred was published by Team Angelica in October 2020 and shortlisted for a Polari First Book Prize in 2021.

Andreena writes and performs poetry to come to terms with and speak out about her personal experiences with homelessness, mental health, childhood sexual abuse and the many other challenges she has faced in her life. 

Register on Evenbrite here.

Be the Uplifter - Poetry with Sharmay Mitchell at Stoke Newington Library on 1 Nov 2022

Join Sharmay Mitchell in The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on 1 Nov, 6.30 to 7.30, for an evening of poetry, including some exclusive snippets from her up-coming collection Be the Uplifter, a refreshingly positive book, striking back against a world simmering with anxiety.

Register on eventbrite.

 

Register for Two Free Creative Writing Workshops at Dalston CLR James Library, Run by Indie Novella

We're delighted to have two full-day creative writing workshops running at Dalston CLR James Library in October and November, by new London-based publisher Indie Novella, in association with literary agency Watson, Little.

Sessions run from 11am to 4pm, and there are 30 places at each. These workshops are free to attend and open all. Registration is via Evenbrite. 

Click the links below to register and find out more.

Register for Sat 29 October 2022.

Register for Sat 19 November.

Please note: Indie Novella are running two editions of the same session, to ensure as many as people as possible can attend. The event on 19 October is the same as the session on 29 November.

 

Next Meeting of Dalston Writing Group: Thurs 3 Nov

In a slight deviation from our regular schedule, the next meeting of Dalston Writing Group will be 6.00 to 7.30pm on Thurs 3 Nov at Dalston CLR James Library. Stay tuned for full details on what we'll be up to.