Binned’s Big Bash
My time on the Arvon/Jerwood mentoring scheme came to a celebratory end this week with the launch of an anthology of our work, quirkily entitled Binned. The Free Word Centre was the setting for an evening of champagne, reading and, sniffle, goodbyes. I’ve spent a year working on my new novel with Maria McCann as my […]
Hurst And Last
I’ve just got back from The Hurst in Shropshire, the venue for the final retreat week of the Arvon/Jerwood mentoring scheme. The initiative will draw to a close in June when us nine mentees launch an anthology of work produced while on the yearlong scheme. And there’ll be an if:book digital anthology too, filled with audio/visual versions of our writing. […]
Arvon/Jerwood’s Got Talent
I am thrilled to be one of nine writers selected for a coveted place on the 2011 Jerwood/Arvon mentoring scheme. I’ll be working on my second novel over the next twelve months with the invaluable counsel of Maria McCann, author of As Meat Loves Salt and The Wilding. We have all, mentors and mentees, just returned from […]
Hothouse Flowers
I spent the bank holiday with shaggy-haired Highland cows and fidgety tadpoles. My home was a converted freight container on the edge of a loch. The view was mountains and the eddies of the water. I was staying at Cove Park, Scotland getting a short taster of The Fielding Programme by taking part in their Hothouse Weekend. Mentor-in-residence Polly Clark and author Toby […]