Since the start of November, I’ve posted photos on social media of a cheeky purple panda who’s out and about. This is to help promote my forthcoming children’s picture book Pandemonium. In case you don’t follow me on Twitter @gailaldwin, here’s what’s been happening this week.
In a determined effort to make the most of our freedom before lockdown, David and I visited the Russell-Cotes Gallery in Bournemouth on Saturday. Formerly the home of Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes, the building was completed in 1901 and is stuffed with paintings, sculptures and mementos from overseas travels enjoyed by the couple.
Unlike the photo above, it was pouring with rain when we visited, as evidenced by this photo of the leaking conservatory.
Fortunately, the rest of the house is dry! Until 18 April 2021, there is a special exhibition titled Hidden Highlights Life in Lockdown which comprises eighty of the galleries ‘lesser works’ taken out of storage to replace planned exhibitions which had to be rescheduled due to Coronavirus. The gallery invites visitors to reinterpreted the paintings on display through a lockdown lens. Some of the works include hilarious captions which had me laughing out loud. What do you think of these examples?
The exhibition has inspired me to run a social media campaign to promote Pandemonium along the same lines. Here’s the first example:
Stay safe and well.
This week I was delighted to join the online National Creative Writing Industry Conference.
About the conference
Keynote speaker Irenosen Okojie says: I’m thrilled to be opening the 6th National Creative Writing Industry Conference. This vital, inspiring conference energizes aspiring writers. I’m looking forward to sharing experiences on finding my authorial voice, navigating the industry and methods to stay curious about the world which connects us to the writing process in rewarding ways.
About Irenosen Okojie
Irenosen was born in Nigeria and moved to England aged eight. During her education she attended state schools and boarding schools before studies at London Metropolitan University in Communication and Visual Culture. She is a freelance Arts Project Manager and Coordinator and writer of fiction. Her debut novel, Butterfly Fish, published by Jacaranda Books won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Edinburgh First Book Award. Her short story collection, Speak Gigantular was shortlisted for the Edgehill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Saboteur Awards and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. It was selected by film director Carol Morley as an Observer Summer Read.
About the keynote speech
I love a good keynote and this was certainly the best I’ve attended online. Irenosen talked a lot of sense and I so wanted to share her words of wisdom that I tweeted her observations and advice. Here are the top ten things that I took from the speech:
How many of these do you sign up to?
There are events scheduled for the rest of this week, so if you’re interested click here to see the sessions still available that might be of interest. Thanks to Comma Press and The Manchester Writing School for hosting the conference.
Libraries Week is an annual event which takes place during the second week of October. This year it runs from 5–10 October 2020 and aims to celebrate all that UK libraries have to offer. And it’s not just public libraries that participate but school libraries, workplace libraries and university libraries.
In Dorset, our libraries have become community hubs where so much more is on offer than the loan of books, audiobooks and DVDs. Babies and young children enjoy songs and rhymes, school children join fun learning activities, residents can find out more about managing health and there’s access to wifi and games. Help is available at the library to find out about employment opportunities, and support to start a new hobby or set up a business. With so much going on, libraries are well worth celebrating.
Read the rest of this entry »I’ve been a member of the online writing community Writers Abroad for the last year. It’s a privilege to join such a talented group of writers who currently live as expatriates or have had the experience of living overseas. I first learnt about the group from writer Susan Carey when we both had stories published during the first National Flash Fiction Day celebrations in 2012. I started following Susan’s blog and in 2013 she posted an open call for submissions to Foreign Encounters a Writers Abroad anthology inspired by chance or planned meetings. I wrote a story about living in Papua New Guinea and was pleased to have this published alongside other short stories, non-fiction and poetry.
Read the rest of this entry »
Following from my earlier post, here are details of the Salisbury Fringe which will be streaming live Sunday 4th October on this link. I’m looking forward to seeing my two monologues performed by professional actors from 8:15pm.
Programme:
Six duologues, pre-recorded on Zoom and broadcast on the night
Five theatrical gems, film and live streamed on the night
Eight monologues filmed by the actors, presented in two groups of four. You’ll have the chance to vote for your favourite!
A live, free event! What’s not to like? I hope you’ll join me in the audience.
Find out more about Salisbury Fringe here.
I received a direct message on Twitter this week from Rob Casey, a stand up poet, writer and performer who lives in Bridport. He teaches creative writing at Exeter College and is the Bard of Exeter City Football Club. While he was watching the first match of the season for Manchester City (against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Man City won 3-1), he noticed something about the kit that was relevant to me.
What do you notice? Love a bit of paisley, I do. Indeed I think the tear drop pattern is so great I named my first published book Paisley Shirt. It is a collection of short fiction and the title story is about a Polish man returning to visit a neighbour in the UK who helped to look after him as a child. With twenty-six other stories in this smart, square book there’s a lot of fiction to enjoy. Novelist and short story writer, Maria Donovan kindly endorsed the collection and says the stories are ‘sensitive, surprising, unnerving, tender and crucial.’ It’s easy to get a kindle copy or a paperback by popping over to Amazon. And, if you’re interested, you can read more about the history of the paisley pattern here.
I was delighted to find out this week that two monologues I submitted to Salisbury Fringe have been selected for a monologue mash. This is an evening where professional actors perform the monologues on Zoom. A total of eight monologues are split into two groups and the audience votes for their favourite in each set of four. There will follow a run off between the two successful pieces, a second vote will take place and the winner announced.
Read the rest of this entry »I love the stage in the writing process when all that hard work comes to fruition. There are steps along the way that cause angst or excitement but there’s nothing to replace that sense of ‘it really is going to happen’ when I see the final cover design for my publication. Here it is, ta-dah:
Welcome to the world of Pan de mo nium my children’s picture book. You can read more about the inspiration for the story here. I absolutely love this image as it captures the characteristics of giant pandas:
They’re fun: see that cheeky expression!
They’re shy: those eyes!
They’re a symbol of vulnerability: imagine it!
They’re peaceful: well, not so peaceful in the case of Pan de mo nium. That’s the point of the story!
The final draft has gone to the printers and I’ll receive proofs within the next week. A last read through and then these copies will be sent into the world headed for readers and book bloggers who have kindly agreed to offer early reviews.
Be sure to get a copy for young children in time for Christmas by placing a pre-order now at the Victorina Press website.
Established in 2017, Victorina Press believes in bibliodiversity. This is where small independent presses create a healthy publishing eco system by ensuring new and undiscovered authors reach an audience. I feel lucky to be published with Victorina Press alongside Rhiannon Lewis author of My Beautiful Imperial a Water Scott recommended historical novel, Chris Fielden author of Alternative Afterlives, fellow Dorset writer Vicki Goldie author of the cosy crime Charters Mysteries series and more recently Amanda Huggins, with her coming-of-age novella All Our Squandered Beauty.
I first met Amanda at a Christmas party celebrating our first flash fiction collections published in 2018 by Chapeltown Books. You can read more about Amanda’s Brightly Coloured Horses here. Amanda went on to have two further collections published by Retreat West Books and a poetry pamphlet which won a Saboteur Awards prize in 2020.
Now Amanda is an author with Victorina Press, I had the pleasure to receive an early copy of her novella for review:
All Our Squandered Beauty is a coming-of-age novella set in the 1970s where the protagonist, Kara, a fisherman’s daughter struggles to come to terms with the loss of her father. She rejects the prospect of early marriage that her best friend settles for and focuses instead on future studies in London. During the summer, she spends time on a Greek island where she learns more about herself and her relationships with others. Kara can’t see that she’s emotionally fragile but gradually she learns some mistakes can be rectified while others she has to live with. The sea provides a backdrop to the narrative, sometimes powerful ‘to see the water change from grey to ink and the sky deepen to fire’ and at other times benign, ‘millpond calm, a deep deep blue.’ This is a wonderful read filled with tenderness, charm and hope.
You can purchase All Our Squandered Beauty now from the Victorina Press shop and it will be available from early 2021 through Waterstones, Foyles and Amazon.
