Launch for ‘adversaries/comrades’

It’s over a week ago that the launch for my debut poetry pamphlet was held at Books Beyond Words in Dorchester. The bookshop is a splendid venue for such a occasion and I was pleased to welcome readers, poets, family and friends to the launch.

The evening started with mingling, drinks and canapés.

Next there was a Q & A where Sophie my publisher at Wordsmith_HQ posed a range of questions and following this I shared some of my poems from adversaries/comrades.

Magdalena Atkinson, my former colleague from Dorset County Council, played some exquisite songs to accompany the theme of siblings which informed my poetry pamphlet.

This is the official photo to mark the end of the formal proceedings with Sophie and me in the foreground.

The evening finished with more mingling.

Writing is a strange occupation but it does follow a pattern. First you spend hours working away, improving your writing process and practice. Some of us are fortunate to have our work valued by a publisher who agrees to launch the product. Others have self-belief and publish as indies to enable their work to reach an audience. Whatever route is taken, it’s important to celebrate the publication with an event so that the written product is given a public presentation.

adversaries/comrades has received some wonderful reviews from poets I admire:

Gail Aldwin’s pamphlet, adversaries/comrades, shows us a family world of dodgy deals, discord and sibling rivalry; and love. No family member is exempt; conflict is a fact of family life. Extraordinary, though, is the lack of cynicism showing through the emotion. This is honest, and above all witty, alive with imagery and very moving.

Amanda Oosthuizen, poetry publisher at Words for the Wild

 

This engaging collection of poems draws the reader into moments many of us recognise from family life. They reveal a clarity of vision and memory when put under the poet’s microscope…There is a sense of delight in the choosing of each word of this assured collection.

Alison Lock, poet and writer

 

Gail’s poetry is sharp, astute, playful, wry, yet never sentimental. Every word has earned its place, and the imagery is as clear as a bell. This is a poet who takes her craft seriously, yet isn’t afraid to play with words as well as work with them. An accomplished debut pamphlet.”

Amanda Huggins, Author of Separated From the Sea 

 

It is polished and surprising, exploring the tenderness of complex family relationships but with a narrative voice that is not afraid to touch upon a sub-text of bruises, scars and painful childhood moments. The tenderness of the writing is showcased in the opening poem, ‘Birthday’. I really enjoyed the variety of technique in this collection, as it moves from prose poems to shorter lyric pieces and concrete poetry.

Anne Caldwell, Freelance Writer & Poet, and Associate Lecturer at Open University

 

Thank you to everyone who came to the launch and for all the good wishes I received from those who couldn’t make it. If you would like to purchase a copy of adversaries/comrades the pamphlet is stocked at Books Beyond Words in Dorchester, or it can be purchased through Wordsmith_HQ.

 

At the London Book Fair 2019

The London Book Fair is an annual event that this year took place from 12–14 March. I was lucky to be offered a ticket to attend by Victorina Press the publisher of my novel The String Games. The fair was held at Olympia and the sheer scale of the building, crammed with stalls from publishers around the world, gives a sense of the enormity of the publishing business.

One small section on the ground floor was occupied by the IPG (Independent Publishers Guild) where Victorina Press had a stall. It was great to meet other authors published by Victorina Press and celebrate bibliodiversity. This is a term coined by independent publishers in Chile and adopted by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers. Bibliodiversity provides an opportunity for independent publishers to promote a different outlook and voice from the standardised content offered by major publishers. Victorina Press is an excellent example of bibliodiversity with a broad range of publications including adult novels and children’s fiction, practitioners’ guides, poetry and short fiction. You can read more about bibliodiversity on a blog post written by Danielle Maisano here.

Although the London Book Fair is primarily for industry, there are growing opportunities for writers to enjoy input. I attended several sessions at Author HQ including advice on how to market and promote your work. (You may see some of this learning put into practice as the launch of my novel approaches.) I also had the opportunity to meet friends, put faces to names I knew from social media and approach publishers I had met online. I loved the whole experience and was pleased to see uncorrected proofs of The String Games displayed on the Victorina stall.

I also grabbed a few freebies at the fair and brought home three further proof copies of The String Games. 

These are now winging their way to book bloggers who will post reviews as part of my blog tour in May.

There are lots of exciting events happening prior to the launch of The String Games including the release of my debut poetry pamphlet adversaries/comrades. If you fancy coming to the launch of adversaries/comrades please find the details below:

So, that’s a round up of my very busy week. How are things going for you?

Heads up: new publication

I am delighted to share the news that my debut poetry pamphlet will be published in March 2019. Last summer I entered a competition inviting submissions of poetry on the theme of siblings and I was thrilled to be judged joint winner with Rachel Lewis. My pamphlet is titled adversaries/comrades and includes a range of forms from prose poetry to pattern poetry all based on the relationships between siblings.

Wordsmith_HQ have done a wonderful job in creating the pamphlet and designing the cover.

The cover image is taken from a photo of children playing in Maumbury Rings, the Neolithic henge situated to the south of Dorchester. Every August bank holiday there is a wonderful day of music held at Maumbury Rings where picnickers enjoy a range of bands. This has become my favourite day of the year in the county town, so I am very pleased with the cover design.

Rachel’s poetry pamphlet is titled Three Degrees of Separation and explores issues about love, family, and survival in the face of mental ill-health. You can read more about the pamphlet and details of the pamphlet launch here. 

The launch of my poetry pamphlet will take place on Wednesday 27 March 2019, 7–9pm at Books Beyond Words in Dorchester. Please register your interested in attending here. I’m very pleased Magdalena Atkinson will be offering musical accompaniment at the event. It should be a lovely evening…do come along.

 

 

 

BridLit Fringe

I’m really chuffed to be sharing a few of my stories at the Bridlit Fringe alongside this talented group of local writers. If you’re in Bridport on the morning of Friday 16 November 2018, do drop into the Literary & Scientific Institute for a chance to hear a fantastic range of poetry and prose. Tickets are a bargain at only £5 and are available here.

I hope to see some of you in the audience!

Flaghead Chine Poetry Commission

During my writing residency at Short & Sweet in Wimborne (you can read about it here), I was contacted by landscape designer Barbara Uphoff to write a poem for  a plaque. Barbara developed the new seaside garden at Flaghead Chine in Poole and wanted to incorporate poetry into the design.

The garden is approached through the wooded and shady chine and it acts as a connection between the land and the sea. Constructed with Purbeck Stone planters, boulders and seating, the garden is positioned beside the sandy beach and gives views to Harry’s Rock across the water.

Old Harry’s Rock from Pixabay

The garden is intended as a meeting point for family and friends where children can enjoy quiet play thanks to the three seashell structures. The sculptors Phil Bews and Diane Gorvins created small scale models of a whelk, an ammonite and a sea urgin which the stonemasons, Albion Stone, were able to use in making the large shells.

My poem appears on a brushed metal plaque attached to one of the boulders. Barbara and I agreed the the poem should be a haiku to celebrate the natural environment. You can read it here:

It was an honour to write the poem and I am delight to see it positioned in the seaside garden as public art.

Publication news

Two pieces of great news arrived this week. First I have a piece of short fiction published by the Cabinet of Heed. This is a wonderfully eclectic journal which is beautifully illustrated. Click on the photograph below for a link to my piece.

The submission process for the Cabinet of Heed is unusual – it remains open until there are sufficient of well-crafted pieces to fill a new journal. It’s certainly worth  submitting here for writers of short fiction and poetry.

The other news is that I am the joint winner of a poetry competition run by The Student Wordsmith. This means I will work with founder, Sophie-Louise Hyde, to compile a poetry pamphlet for publication.

Exciting times ahead!

Writing residency in Shire Hall Café at Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, Dorchester

I was delighted the Shire Hall Café agreed to join the creative café project started by my publisher Gill James. The café is situated on the mezzanine level of the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum and with the museum’s history of crime, punishment and justice, the café provides a stimulating environment for writers.

Joining me for the creative café were writers from Dorchester, Swanage and an American from Nevada. (She was a delegate at the Thomas Hardy Conference who took time out to visit me.) Two participants were interested in developing children’s fiction while others were busy with short stories aimed at the adult market. It was a pleasure and a privilege to offer feedback on their work in progress and to discuss new projects. Some of my writing prompts also proved useful in developing new writing.

Sat on one of the long tables at the back of the café, we were able to enjoy the breeze through the open sash windows and the views across the tables. I am a frequent visitor to the café as I queued on the opening day to make sure I won the ‘free coffee for a year’ given to the first person through the door. The building is at the end of my road, so if I need a change of scene during one of my writing days at home, I pop along to claim my free drink and spend time writing in the café.

Thank you to the Shire Hall Café and the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum for hosting this event. If you would like information about joining a creative café session in the future, do contact me here.

Good news: it’s all happening at the minute

Firstly, my interview ‘a conversation…’ is on the Greenacre Writers’ site now. Why not pop over and have a read?

Secondly, I have a poem in the fabulous print publication Words for the Wild. You can read more about the project here.

And lastly, I’m off to the Thomas Hardy Society‘s fiftieth conference this evening to hear Paul Henry read from his acclaimed poetry collections The Brittle Sea and Boy Running. It will be good to touch base with Paul again (we were both lecturers at the University in South Wales in 2015).

Writing Residency in the café at the Bridport Arts Centre

Thank you to everyone who visited me during the creative writing residency at BAC on Wednesday 20 June 2018. It is an absolute privilege to have other writers share their work with me. There was a range of genres presented: women’s fiction, YA, autobiography, non fiction, flash fiction and poetry. I am delighted that the writers  found my feedback useful and I hope they will stay in touch. Many kindly bought copies of Paisley Shirt. I suggested they made the purchase through The Bookshop as it’s always good to support an independent book sellers. At the end of the session, I popped into The Bookshop to see Antonia Squire (owner of the shop since 2015) to find that Paisley Shirt was the best-selling title of the day!

Paisley Shirt is available with free delivery from The Book Depository and is stocked in Gullivers Wimborne, The Bookshop Bridport, Serendip Lyme Regis, The Swanage Bookshop and branches of Watersones.

Waterloo Festival Launch

I was delighted to spend an evening last week at St John’s church in Waterloo where a splendid range of stories and poetry were shared. The Southwark Stanza provided a wonderful performance of poetry (for details of the group contact Helen Adie Hellieadie@yahoo.co.uk.) With other writers, I took to the podium to read my story “For Want of Connie” which is included in the Waterloo Festival ebook anthology titled To be…to Become.

It was a pleasure to meet other Bridge House Publishing authors at the event and my publisher, Gill James, was also there. I got chatting with another Dorset writer, too. My Mum, who lives in south London, accompanied me and it was great to have her support.

The Waterloo Festival continues until 24 June with an impressive programme around the 2018 theme of transforming minds. You can find out more here.

If you are willing to offer a review on Amazon of To Be…to Become, please let get in touch though the contact me page and I will be happy to forward a pdf or mobi copy.