Poet Sally Second in Burnham

Poet Sally Second In Burnham (2011-06-02 17:31:12)

Sally East came second in the Think! Burnham poetry competition. Comic poet Ian McMillan presented her with her prize, a CD of his poetry, at an evening of poetry and cartoons at Burnham Park Hall. Ian McMillan was hilarious. His poems were illustrated by cartoonist, Tony Husband. A jaw-achingly entertaining evening!

Three Wins in Six Months in Writers New Competitions

Three Wins in Six Months in Writers News Competitions. (2011-05-11 16:52:17)

Lin Hurdwell, Tony Matthews and Wally Smith have all won prizes in Writers News subscriber competitions during the past six months.

Tony's story appeared in the February issue, Wally's in the March issue and Lin's is in the current issue (June). We are checking to find out if this is a record!

As well as Lin's story the June issue also contains a four page article about the screenwriter of the film The King's Speech by SW member Michael Pearcy and a press release about the result of our Autumn 2010 travel competition. Not forgetting that for many months member Tony Rossiter has had a regular column in Writer News on the theme how to write like....

Aren't we a bright bunch!

2011 Short Story Competition Results

Short Story Competition 2011 - Result Announced. (2011-04-20 23:14:34)

On Monday 18th April the result of the 2011 short Story competition on the theme of identity was announced.

1. William Campbell with Past Form

2. Michael Pearcy with Walking On Quicksand

3. Kay Woods with Note To Self

Main picture shows from the left Kay Woods, William Campbell, Melanie Gow (judge) and Michael Pearcy.

Terry introduced our judge for the short story competition - Melanie Gow the editor of online Beat Magazine. The theme was Identity and she said she had very much enjoyed judging. She gave us two handouts with quotes from Kurt Vonnecot and Joseph O'Connor. Her comments were many and varied .She had read a story every day and gave herself time to think about each one in depth. She emphasised that point of view is important but limits perspective. Detail is all- important for interest.

Author Julie Cohen Talks to the Group

Author Julie Cohen Talks To The Group (2011-04-11 19:08:16)

On Monday 4th April Author Julie Cohen gave a talk billed as How To Write A Synopsis of Your Novel.

Julie is an ex-secondary school English teacher who writes humorous, sexy women's fiction and romance. After suffering the usual rejections, her fourth novel was a 2004 short contemporary Golden Heart finalist. Harlequin subsequently bought it and she said she screamed with joy, and has never

looked back. She gained a wonderful Agent, and battled with her synopses, which she says she really HATES writing. Her hate was certainly our gain as she gave us two very good and comprehensive 'How To' handouts. We were encouraged to apply her maxims to the novels we are or would like, to write and although she emphasises that a synopsis may be difficult to do it is very well worth it as it SELLS the book.

A one-page synopsis is all they want and it also can be used as a blue print for the author. There was a lot of sense in what she said and left us wanting more. A truly enjoyable and entertaining evening.

Several people bought her books.

Reading of Winning Plays

Reading of Winning Plays (2011-01-20 00:07:43)

On 17th January we enjoyed readings of five plays from our 15 minute playwriting competition from summer 2010. Judge Edel Brosnan attended and the acting was bolstered by four actors from Total Theatre. For the full results see item Summer Competition, 2010 - results announced below.

Make Up by Terry Adlam.

A New Beginning by Paul Stimpson and Sweet Peas by Tony Matthews.

Saw The Last Of The Day by Jenni Heward Craig and The Arborist and The Biologist by William Campbell.

Great Welcome to our New Venue

Great welcome to our new venue (2011-01-11 11:42:16)

Monday 10 Jan was our first night at the new venue upstairs at the Palmer Arms. The meeting room is perfect for us and the bar after proved very acceptable.

The first evening was a member led discussion about our plans and objectives for the coming year. Let's hope we all live up to the goals we set ourselves. No pressure!

2010 Article Competition Results

Article competition - Autumn session - Winners announced (2010-11-29 21:00:00)

The winners of the autumn session article writing competition were announced at our meeting 29 November 2010. The task was to write a 1000 word piece about a travel destination which the author had not been to. A major element of this competition was obviously research. The judge was Denise Diorazio an experienced overseas travel agent based in Singapore.

The result was:

1. Wendy Naylor with Land of the Thunder Dragon

2. Jenni Heward-Craig with Big Fried Italin

3. Dave Smith with Looking Down From Heaven.

The picture shows Wendy Naylor, front with trophy, Jenni Heward-Craig and Dave Smith.

William Campbell runner-up in Guardian Travel Competition

William Campbell runner-up in Guardian Travel Competition (2010-11-20 00:00:00)

An article extracted from his Journal, about a near-fatal incident on his Saga holiday in Spain, has gained William Campbell runner-up place in the Guardian Travel Writing Competition.

The published piece can be read on the Guardian web page and scrolling down to Spanish boulder dash.

The originating text is available on William's web page as Stone Sober in Salobreña.

2010 Summer Competition Results

Summer Competition, 2010 - results announced (2010-11-08 20:00:00)

The result of the 2010 summer competition was announced on 8th November. The task was to write a 15 minutes play with a maximum of four characters.

1. Terry Adlam with Make Up

2. Tony Matthews with Sweet Peas

3. Paul Stimpson with A New Beginning.

PHOTO - rear: William Campbell, Terry Adlam, Edel Brosnan, Jenni Heward-Craig.
Front: Tony Matthews and Paul Stimpson.

Jenni Heward-Craig was highly commended for her play Saw the Last of the Day. Also Highly commended was The Arborist and The Biologist by William Campbell.

The judge sent her comments, which were very complimentary. The five winning plays are on our Website for those who wish to read them. They were presented as a rehearsed reading at our meeting on 17th January when the judge Edel Brosnan was present to discuss the competition.

Annual Awards 2009/2010

Annual Awards 2009/2010 (2010-07-12 20:00:00)

At our recent AGM we honoured three members with awards for their writing achievements and contribution to the well-being of the group over the last twelve months.

• Writer of the Year award to Lee Taylor.

• Taylor Award (for services to the group) to Wendy Naylor.

• Newcomer of the Year Award to Sally Clarke.

From left to right: Sally Clarke, Lee Taylor and Wendy Naylor.

Sally Clarke, a recent addition to the group, gained Newcomer of the Year for the improvement in her writing skills. Sally has recently set up a haiku website, and is looking forward to encouraging others to write poetry.

Wendy Naylor, grandmother and long-time member of the Slough Writers, received the Taylor Award for services to the group. Ever willing to step in and help, she has worked hard to ensure that everything has run smoothly during the 2009/2010 season.

The final annual award – the Writer of the Year – went to Lee Taylor. It was a popular decision, as Lee has managed, in the few years in which he has been a member of Slough Writers, to be included in the anthology for the Bristol Prize, and win a number of our internal competitions as well as local competitions. Now retired, he is hard at work on his first novel.

2010 Poetry Competition Results

Poetry Competition, Summer 2010 - results announced (2010-07-11 21:30:00)

The recent World Cup in South Africa was the inspiration behind the latest poetry competition. Slough Writers used the theme ‘South Africa’ to explore the country, its history and its future through poetry. The results were:

1. Roy Cecil with From Rift to Rainbow.

2. William Campbell with Beads Tanka - linked tankas in Zulu and English within a beads necklace.

3. Jenni Heward-Craig with DeVilliers Street.

Photo of the winners - William Campbell (left), Eileen Maduray, Roy Cecil (centre), Donald Mathray and Jenni Heward Craig (right) - (pic by Michael Pearcy.)

The judges were three South African born teachers who live and work in Slough, Salo Mathray, Donald Mathray and Eileen Maduray.

Eileen Maduray said: “although the judging was difficult, the poems themselves gave us a chance to revisit South Africa through the writers’ eyes and words.”

There were thirteen entries. The winner was a poem charting the history of South Africa ‘From Rift to Rainbow’ by Roy Cecil, a long-time member of Slough Writers. Second place went to ‘The Beads Tanka’ by William Campbell – based on expressions used in the Zulu language. Third place was taken by Jenni Heward-Craig with ‘De Villier’s Street’, a poem about what it’s like to yearn to return to South Africa.

2010 Short Story Competition Results

Short Story Competition, Spring 2010 - results (2010-04-12 21:00:00)

The results have been announced for the 2010 Slough Writers short story competition. The theme, to create a pastiche of a favourite writer, was well-contested; according to the judge, retired English teacher Elizabeth Hurst, it was a highly entertaining but intellectual competition to judge.

The winning story, "The Son Also Rises" by Lee Taylor, beat out strong competition from entries in the style of Ray Bradbury, Harper Lee, and Franz Kafka, among others.

The complete results were as follows:

1. Lee Taylor with The Son Also Rises - a story about one man's shopping day in the style of Ernest Hemingway.

2. Terry Adlam with The Fete of Little Whippinshall - a hard-boiled Mickey Spillane pastiche about a retired policeman in Kent.

3. Jenni Heward-Craig with Ease and Education - transferring Jane Austen to a modern-day council estate.

Well done to all the winners.

From left to right, Jenni Heward-Craig (3rd), Lee Taylor (1st), Elizabeth Hurst (judge), Terry Adlam (2nd).

2009 Summer Competition Results

Summer Competition, 2009 - results announced (2009-11-09 17:22:34)

Over the summer, nine stalwart members attempted to change history with the 2009 Summer Competition. Judged by members, each entrant had to write 5000 words of Alternative History. The resulting stories ranged from Elizabethan (or is that Spanish?) England to the real end of Amelia Earhart.

After much reading and critiquing, the final results for the stories were:

1. Mike Pearcy with The Great British Soviet, a dystopian view of Britain under Soviet rule.

2. Tony Matthews with I Want To Go On Living, giving Anne Frank the happy ending we all wanted for her.

3. Lee Taylor with The Origins and Early History of 'Grace', a psychedelic take on how the French Revolution might have been prevented.

Lee Taylor also managed to see through the anonymous entries to win the prize for "Guess the Author".

Many congratulations to the winners and all those who took part.

From left to right, Tony Matthews (2nd), Mike Pearcy (1st), Lee Taylor (3rd).

2009 Short Story Competition Results

Short Story Competition, 2009 - results (2009-04-06 21:00:01)

This year’s SW short story competition celebrated the 400th anniversary of the birth of the author of Paradise Lost. Participants were invited to interpret the John Milton quote: “Subtle he needs must be who could seduce angels.” The submitted stories varied from the serious to the risqué.

Entries were judged by members of Write Your Story Writing Group, who meet regularly at the Britwell Community Centre. Chair of the judges was experienced journalist Alison Haymonds.

“It was a democratic process which we took very seriously,” said Mrs Haymonds. “For some it was a new experience judging other people’s work.”

The winner of the competition was the humorous Her Mother’s Holiday by Jenni Heward-Craig, a relative newcomer to Slough Writers.

“I would like to say the story was totally fictional,” said Jenni. “But we all know a mother just like this one.”

The results for the competition were:

1. Jenni Heward-Craig with Her Mother’s Holiday

2. Dave Smith with Getting Rid of the Devil a football themed tale.

3. Lee Taylor with Parting Shot a murder mystery.

The winners are pictured below: (from left) Lee Taylor, Dave Smith, Jenni Heward-Craig.

Radio Play Competition Results

Radio Play Competition Results (2008-11-25 23:56:46)

Slough Writers are pleased to announce the results of the summer competition to write a 15 minute radio play.

The competition was judged by Mike Walker, a leading radio dramatist and published author, and Duncan Mclarty, assistant editor for BBC Radio Berkshire.

Both judges praised the high standard of the entries and expressed how much they enjoyed reading them. The awards ultimately went to the following entries:

1. Terry Adlam with The Train Now Standing

2. Lee Taylor with Slog

3. Michael Pearcy with On The Tringham Trail

Congratulations to all those who entered.

Michael Pearcy (3rd place), Mike Walker (judge), Terry Adlam (1st place), Duncan Mclarty (judge) and Lee Taylor (2nd place).

Slough Writers welcome band leader Ronnie Smith

Slough Writers welcome band leader Ronnie Smith (2008-10-12 13:36:03)

Being arrested for driving the wrong way round Trafalgar Square and having to admit your name is Smith and that your profession is an underwater pianist is not likely to placate an arresting office. This was one of the colourful highlights that band leader Ronnie Smith revealed about his life to twenty-five members of Slough Writers at their meeting on Monday night in The Greyhound in Eton Wick.

Ronnie Smith with Slough Writers:

(Photo by Mike Pearcy of Words&Pictures.)

"It got worse," explained Mr smith, "when I had to tell the same story to the judge the next morning. But it was true. My best trick at private parties was to sink a piano in the pool and then release special weights so that I would float to the surface playing the host’s favourite song."

Among the self-mockery Ronnie Smith revealed an impressive career as a musician starting in the Army school of music where he studied classical music and the piano. He later studied jazz under the great Dill Jones and went on to become a successful band leader at the age of 23 and later musical director of The Rank Organisation.

But his career was never conventional: "I don’t know how it happened but I was a film stunt man for a time with the young Mike Reed. I worked with Gerri Halliwell at the start of her career, Rick Wakeman has become a great friend of mine through music and with my own big band I have performed with many stars including Bob Monkhouse, Lesley Crowther, Jon Pertwee, Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele and Jimmy Young. Plus Terry Wogan’s and Dave Lee Travers's shows on BBC Radio One."

Ronnie Smith revealed a spiritual side to his life when he talked about his passion for swimming with dolphins and the time he made a film in which he played the piano under water to Willie the Whale at Windsor Safari Park. "They are beautiful creatures," he said.

Ronnie Smith started life as a teenage gang leader in Ladbrook Grove when it was one of the toughest areas in London and went on to write his own symphony which was recorded by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004.

"My father was a classical violinist so my symphony was written for him," Mr Smith said. "I started it in 1988 and it was not performed until 2004 but that was one of the proudest moments of my life. It’s called Four Seasons of Woman and having been married three times I’ve leaned to appreciate all the aspects of womanhood." Ronnie Smith cannot speak for long without making a joke.

Chairman of the Slough Writers Terry Adlam thanked Mr Smith for a facinating evening and explained where these events fit into the group's activities: "We like to have a wide range of speakers because as writers we need to try and understand what makes people tick. We’ve had ex-policemen, firemen and a talk about the air ambulance recently. If Ronnie doesn’t inspire us to write it’s hard to think who could."

Slough Writers goes international

Slough Writers goes international (2008-08-21 00:00:00)

The group was represented at recent book festivals on the French Riviera and in Scotland. In June, Ted Jones was one of three Brits among the 300 authors who presented their books in “Meet the Author” sessions during the three-day Nice Festival du Livre. He is pictured with (left) Carol Howland, travel author, and (right) Elizabeth Morgan, novelist and travel writer.

A few weeks later, Ted was in Scotland, where he talked about his book, The French Riviera: A Literary Guide, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where, together with novelist and biographer Nicholas Murray, he was interviewed by Radio Four’s Lesley Campbell. The authors' presentations were followed by signings in the Festival Bookshop.

AGM, Awards and Poetry Competition Results

The Slough Writers 2008 Annual General Meeting has closed with another round of awards, competition results and review of the year.

The chairman noted it has generally been a good year for the group and a great way to build on the 40th anniversary.

Trophies were presented to the following members:

• Writer of the Year award to Kathleen Adkins.

• Taylor Award (for services to the group) to James Corrin.

• Newcomer of the Year Award to Lee Taylor.

It was agreed that the hard work of all members continued to make Slough Writers a brilliant and dynamic group.

The results of the poetry competition were also announced by Sue Evans and Jules Bowes of Reading Town Women's Guild. The competition theme was to write a poem in the style of the Cautionary Tales of Hilaire Belloc. Sue and Jules agreed that the judging was fun and challenging thanks to the high standard of entries, but the final results were as follows:

• Joint 1st place: Lee Taylor with The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Lieutenant James Owbuthnot Mogg and Tony Matthews with How Terence had To Eat His Words.

• 3rd place: Kathleen Adkins with Herbert.

Lee and Kathleen, 1st and 3rd in the competition.

Lee Taylor shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize

Slough Writers member Lee Taylor had an outstanding acheivement when his short story, Unfinished Business, was shortlisted in the Bristol Short Story Prize. The shortlist comprised the top 20 stories out of over 1200 submissions from around the world.

Lee said he was surprised but gratified by this result as this was the first short story he has ever written.

Slough Writers Anthology Available Electronically

We are pleased to announce that The Slough Writers Anthology, produced in 2007 to celebrate the group's 40th year, has now been released in electronic form.

The anthology is the perfect way to sample the breadth and depth of activity at Slough Writers.