The Woman Writer – Summer 2018

Issue 90

SUMMER 2018

• • • •

Pitching Your Novel Society News AGM Report Marketing Advice

Who’s who Printed by TandC Printers, Bromley, Kent BR1 3PU Issue 90

Summer 2018

The Woman Writer is published by The Society of Women Writers & Journalists Editor: Carol Cannavan 10 Dury Falls Close, Hornchurch Essex RM11 3AX Tel: 01708 459376 Mob: 07947 133509 carol@aspire-editorial.co.uk Chairman: Barbara Field-Holmes BIGG-in Words Ltd Room 2, Aileen McHugo Building Westmore Green, Tatsfield Westerham, Kent TN16 2AG Tel: 01959 575031 (Wk) Tel: 01959 575936 (Home) Mob: 07814 738894 swwj@bigginwords.co.uk Vice Chairman/Press/ PR/Newsletter: Doreen Friend Tel: 020 8505 2476 doreen.friend@swwj.co.uk Hon Treasurer: Benita Cullingford Tel: 01727 857388 b.cullingford@btinternet.com Manager, Writer’s Debut benitaswwj@btinternet.com Hon Secretary: Janice Grande Tel: 01268 451547 Mob: 07951 671498 grandewords@yahoo.com Membership Secretary/Events: Valerie Dunmore Tel: 01737 557936 swwjval@aol.com Speakers: Pamela Payne Tel: 01730 892413 pamela@thebeach.com

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Patrons: Lady Howard, Sir Tim Rice, The Earl of Stockton, Simon Brett OBE

Minutes Secretary: Doreen Friend

Hon Life President:

Book Reviews: Pamela Birley Tel: 020 7351 6377 bra33@btinternet.com

President:

Competitions/ Manuscript Appraisal: Vivien Brown Tel: 01895 254453 vivienhampshire@btinternet.com Marketing Coordinator: Rebecca Harding Mob: 07966 459080 rebecca@saltwhistle.com Website: Gywneth Box Mob: 07986 613437 hello@gwynethbox.com Archivist: Sylvia Kent Tel: 01277 651062 skent32@tiscali.co.uk Chawton Liaison: Pamela Birley Tel: 020 7351 6377 bra33@btinternet.com

The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe DSG

The Rt Hon Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham OBE DL

Vice Presidents: Doris Corti,Valerie Dunmore, Joyce Elsden, Jocelyn Glegg, Sylvia Kent, Jennie Lisney, Jean Morris, Mary Rensten, Jean Marian Stevens

Welfare/Benevolent Fund If any member requires help, please contact Jennie Lisney on 01444 412087 or write to: 4 Larch Way, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3TY. Email: jennielisney@gmail.com Donations to benefit our members in times of illness or hardship should be made out to SWWJ Benevolent Fund.

Twitter & Facebook: Vivien Brown Tel: 01895 254453 vivienhampshire@btinternet.com Consultants: Martin Cort (Drama) Tel: 020 7582 5839 mcort1@talktalk.net Patrick Forsyth (Marketing) patrick@touchstone28.com Patricia Alderman (Proofreader) SWWJ website: www.swwj.co.uk

SWWJ members have the right to express their opinions in The Woman Writer. These opinions are not necessarily those of the Council or Editor. Neither the Editor nor the Society accepts responsibility for errors in articles. The Editor reserves the right to amend articles submitted.

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

From the Editor

Contents 4

From the Chair

By Barbara Field-Holmes.

5-6

Letters Members’ views and comments.

6-9

Society news Discover what’s happening in the SWWJ.

10 - 11 Obituary The sad passing of Pauline Graham.

12 - 13 Members’ news A round-up of news and successes.

14 - 15 Overseas members Getting to know some of our international friends.

16 - 17 Poets’ corner Dorothy Pope gives some insight into the ‘list poem’.

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Drama Workshop report from Martin Cort.

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Around the regions News from Moonraker Country.

20 - 21 Fiction focus A visit to the London Book Fair.

22 - 23 AGM and Summer Gathering Report by Vivien Brown.

24 - 25 From the archive Jocelyn Glegg,Vice President.

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When I was not upon this page Power, with Doreen Friend.

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Autumn Lunch Application form.

28 - 29 Agent event Report by Carol Cannavan.

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying the summer so far. Of course, it can be a distraction from writing, especially if you are trying to meet a deadline!

If you haven’t renewed your subscription yet, we would really appreciate it if you could do so as soon as possible. The renewal form was in the last issue of The Woman Writer (p46). If you have paid by Standing Order, we still need you to sign the renewal form – necessary for data protection purposes. If you can’t find your renewal form please get in touch with Valerie Dunmore – swwjval@aol.com – she will be happy to email a copy to you.

Otherwise, I’m sorry to say this will be your last issue of The Woman Writer (“Oh no!” I hear you gasp).

Take care and keep on writing!

carol@aspire-editorial.co.uk 32 -33

SWWJ Competition Entries are invited for the SWWJ Anniversary Competition.

33 - 34 Markets & Competitions

By Carol Cannavan.

35 - 38 Book reviews 39

Dates for your diary 2018 Front cover picture

Issue 90

SUMMER 2018

30 - 31 Marketing Get real!

Inset: Photo taken in Tetbury by Carol Cannavan.

• Pitching Your Novel • Society News • AGM Report • Marketing Advice

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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From the Chair Chair types...

by Barbara Field-Holmes, Chairman It’s hard to believe that another year has passed since I began my third year in office and that at this year’s AGM I stood for election for a fourth term. I feel very proud and privileged to be taking the Society through to and beyond its 125th Anniversary.

Some of what I said in last year’s Chairman’s report still applies today. For example, I said that looking back ‘it sometimes felt as if Council and the SWWJ were travelling through a long dark tunnel’, with just the ‘odd chinks of light, glimmers of hope for better things to come’. I then said that 2016/17 had been different, that ‘there was a definite glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel’. This year I am delighted to say that the glimmer is getting brighter all the time and that we have been making small but steady steps towards a brighter future. This progress would not have been possible without the continued support and hard work of a few dedicated and loyal Council members and Vice Presidents. So, I would like to say a huge thank you to them.

During the past year we have had the great pleasure of welcoming our new President, Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham. We have also had the pleasure of Floella’s company, along with her husband Keith, at both our Autumn Lunch in 2017 and our Summer Gathering in June.

Once again, the past year has been a positive time. Our events have improved and over the year made a small profit, which was invested back into the Society to help pay towards further events and competition prizes. Last year we promised to look at introducing further events that would attract new and younger members. I am delighted to say that with the help of our new Marketing Coordinator, Rebecca 4

Harding, we organised our first evening event in London. Held in a private room at the Savoy Tup, the event was buzzing with energy, full of writers, some members and some non-members, eager to hear from publishing agent Penny Holroyde. A full report can be seen on page 28. We hope this will be the first of many new events not just in London, but in other locations around the country.

Our membership has been stable but we need to grow. We have a steady flow of new members signing up, but we have also lost members, mainly through elderly members passing away or feeling they are no longer able to participate. Our new Writer’s Debut membership scheme introduced last autumn is attracting attention and a few new members, and we gained new members from our evening at the Savoy Tup. However, we need to work harder to help build membership back up to a healthier level.

We have lots of ideas but not enough pairs of hands to execute them, so we continue to search for more volunteers on Council, and off Council, prepared to give a few hours of their time. If you are interested in helping, please get in touch.

My report this year was far too long to include all of it in this issue, so I will be talking about some of the issues raised in the next issue of The Woman Writer, including plans for our 125th Anniversary. All I will say, however, is that we will be holding a special Anniversary lunch on 1st May 2019, so keep that day free. There will be more details to follow.

Have a good summer!

Barbara

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Letters Write to us Come on members, let’s hear from you.

This is your opportunity to have your say. Send your views to the Editor (see page 2 for contact details).

A few thoughts on SWWJ events...

There has been some talk of late suggesting the costs of SWWJ events are a little too high and when coupled with the price of travel become too expensive for a number of members.

At a cost of £45 for a lunch/afternoon’s entertainment the ticket price includes food, hire of venue and other sundry items such as flowers on the tables, a printed programme and often the fee for the speaker/entertainer. A pay bar is available for anyone wanting soft drinks, wine and spirits.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about transport costs; however, senior rail tickets, special offers and off-peak reductions go some way to help.

When compared to other events (and in particular those in Central London venues) the SWWJ cost is competitive.

Yes, there are places where you can buy lunch and drink a glass of wine for around £20–25, but these are often large restaurant chains where diners sometimes have to line up and help themselves. How many other professional organisations can provide pleasant, comfortable – often historic – surroundings with interesting people, good food and a unique ambience? Spending time with friends who are writers, discussing writing and catching up on the latest gossip, is an added bonus.

If an SWWJ event is one of many on your social calendar, how about arranging your The Woman Writer Summer 2018

own savings account by putting £4 or £5 away per week? This might not seem like a lot, but if the event you plan to attend is 10 weeks away the money in your account will soon mount up and could provide enough to fund your ticket with a little left over for travel costs and perhaps a pound or two towards the next event.

Doreen Friend

Well done!

I must congratulate Beryl Fleming on her winning short story World in a Carrier Bag, published in the Spring issue of The Woman Writer.

Like Janet Gover, I also read it twice, and then a third time.

SWWJ short story writers take note – read Beryl's entry and savour every descriptive word. See how she set the scene at the opening of her story. Study the pace of the walk through the man’s memories of his old home town. Think about how she created enough suspense until she reached her beautiful last sentence. This is the recipe needed to win competitions.

When I joined SWWJ many years ago, my ambition was to have my name engraved on one of the Society’s trophies. I managed it twice, both on the John Walter Salver. What an honour that was, and proved to me that I was a credible writer.

Jean Morris

Communication matters I would have written sooner, but I have Parkinson’s and that condition can make life difficult. I’m responding to Roberta Grieve’s letter in the New Year issue of The Woman Writer.

I could not understand why Roberta’s writers had not been in touch about a 5

Letters

Society news

meeting when such an excellent speaker would have been there too. But perhaps my outlook is old-fashioned.

I had a similar situation here at home in the 1980s – I ran a little writers’ group of up to 12 members, ‘to share and further our writing interests’.

People enjoyed coming between 7pm and 9pm, but were somewhat casual. Eventually I told them to let me know beforehand if they could not come.

I told them I would wait five minutes before kicking off, but it was far simpler if I knew in advance who couldn’t make it.

I don’t think anyone meant to be inconsiderate, but they did take my message to heart and our meetings ran to time.

Sarah Stephenson, Blackheath Membership number: 760 Sarah is a published writer. Her main work is Dougal’s Diary, which is proving very popular.

Cynthia Castellan

SWWJ welcomes new members FULL MEMBERSHIP Claire Dyer, Reading Membership number: 758 Claire is a novelist and poet. Her poetry is widely published and her poem Trust and the Horse won the 2015 Charles Causley Poetry Competition. Her novels, The Moment and The Perfect Affair, and short story Falling for Gatsby are published by Quercus. Claire is a regular guest on BBC Radio Berkshire’s Radio Reads.

Gail Aldwin, Dorchester Membership number: 759 Gail specialises in short stories, with many published. She has also had successes with flash fiction. Some of her poetry has been published and she is also writing screenplays.

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Kairen Kellard, Bognor Regis (upgraded) Membership number: 698 Kairen is a writer of popular guide books written and designed for a variety of local government tourists offices, mainly covering the Hampshire and Wiltshire area.

Apart from general guides for visitors, there are specialist ones for walkers, cyclists and golfers.

HONORARY MEMBERSHIP Michelle Harriman, Market Harborough Membership number: 757 Michelle is an expert in design and gives the Society unlimited assistance with documentation.

REJOINED Carol Baker, Brentwood Membership number:118

Digital copy?

We are now offering members the opportunity to be emailed a link to a ‘page-turning’ digital copy of The Woman Writer. This will enable you to view the publication from your computer, iPad, tablet or smartphone. Could be handy if you need to check a date or venue for an event... If you prefer, you could have a PDF version emailed to you. For members in the UK, you will still receive a hard copy in the post.

Please contact Carol Cannavan if you would like to be included on the mailing list.

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Society news How diverse is the SWWJ? The Society of Women Writers and Journalists is an organisation whose members produce such a variety of writing it could be renamed the Society of Diversity and Cornucopia.

The title ‘women writers and journalists’ could give the impression that there are two types of writers in the Society but – I hope this surprises you – there are over 50 different kinds of writing done by members.

The following list is just a sample of the many types of fiction and non-fiction members write. The list is in no particular order.

Travel, poetry, novels, local history, book reviews, health, children, blogging, editing, mentoring, historical novels, food, websites, publishing, biography, photography, comedy, psychology, self-publishing, radio, charity, script writing, education, crossword, grief, language, human rights – I could go on.

This list is by no means complete; there are editors, indexers, critics, celebrity features, problem page, writing courses, women’s issues.

Excuse me, I didn’t mean to write another list, but I tend to become excited when I think of the sheer diversity that makes up the SWWJ. The SWWJ will be celebrating 125 years next year, and an anniversary is an ideal time for all Society women – and a sprinkling of men – to congratulate themselves on how far the SWWJ has come and embrace the challenges of the future.

Note: A special online supplement honouring the Society’s brilliant writers and journalists is in the pipeline. Watch this space for further details.

Doreen Friend The Woman Writer Summer 2018

Obituary Lord Quirk – 1920-2017 We are sorry to report the sad passing of SWWJ Patron Lord Quirk. He died just before Christmas on 20th December 2017. Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk of Bloomsbury, was Professor of English Language and History; trustee Wolfson Foundation; and much more.

Lord Quirk, a grammarian, became our Patron in 1995, as a result of his association with Dr Joyce Morris. He contributed to the Literary Seminar that Joyce (and Christabel Burniston) organised during the 1994 Centenary.

As a professor at University College London for more than 20 years, he revolutionised and shaped the study of English linguistics, becoming one of the most important figures of the 20th century in the subject.

Lord and Lady Quirk and SWWJ member Sylvia Kent (right).

Change of address Will members please ensure you notify the Membership Secretary of your change of address, telephone number or email address so that we can keep our records up to date.

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Society news Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire Group Report by Julie Ratcliffe April showers refreshed the New Forest as members made their way to The Filly Inn, Brockenhurst for the Spring meeting of the Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire Group. It was a shame that only twelve people were available to attend as it was a very good meeting.

Prior to a delicious lunch, members discussed the difficulty in getting published.

This may be a topic that has spanned decades, but the feeling now, particularly with the larger publisher, is that without a ‘name’, it’s becoming extremely difficult, even for those with backlists of popular books. It was decided to investigate forming a

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cooperative or agency to promote books and nurture new writers.

Our speaker was Steve Roberts, a prolific article writer based in Christchurch, Dorset.

Steve, who has had over 500 articles published in the past six years, told the group how he started, the kinds of articles he writes and how he pitches these to editors.

He said that you need to be reliable and deliver what has been promised to develop trust. His main targets were county magazines and several specialist magazines on topics he is interested in. The talk was followed by a question and answer session which could have gone on for a long time such was the interest.

The next meeting will be held on 27th September in Dorchester. Anyone interested in attending should contact Julie Ratcliffe: julie@julieratcliffe.co.uk

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Society news Southern Regional Meeting Report by Roberta Grieve Our speaker at the Spring regional meeting in Chichester was John Owen Smith, who talked about his early days in self-publishing before we had all the technological help that is available today.

Hampshire writer and historian John, who likes to be called Jo, fell into publishing almost by accident when he was asked to help produce a booklet on his local church.

It grew from there and before long he found himself being referred to as a local historian, producing booklets and later longer books on the area around his home village of Headley.

He published half a dozen books on local history, responding to the changing technology and learning all the time. He learned about the different formats and sizes and how to insert pictures into text. Now a full-time publisher, he has re-issued the classic Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson and more recently its sequel, Heatherly. The latter did not do so well when first published in 1939 but Jo has now re-published it using the original typescript.

The array of books Jo showed us illustrated how it is possible to grow from small beginnings. It was a most enlightening and enjoyable talk, which gave us all food for thought. If any of you are thinking of venturing into self-publishing, Jo has a host of hints and tips on his website – www.johnowensmith.co.uk The morning session was taken up with catching up on members’ current writing work and a general discussion on future meetings. All agreed that our new venue, St Richard’s Church Parish Room, was an improvement on the former meeting place, being close to buses and trains, with limited on-site parking and a ground-floor room The Woman Writer Summer 2018

with easy access. As it is also considerably less expensive, it has been agreed that we can now revert to all-day sessions.

There was time before breaking for lunch to do some writing and we used a box of ‘story cubes’ to generate ideas. These cubes are similar to dice and have small pictures on each face. The idea is to throw the dice and pick three pictures to turn into a story. It was great fun and we all came up with some interesting story beginnings.

The next meeting will be on 24th October at the Parish Room, St Richard’s Church, Cawley Road, Chichester. Cost is £10 (£12 for non-members). Our afternoon speaker will be Martin Hayes, West Sussex Local Studies Librarian. His talk will be The Great War in West Sussex: the Home Front: How Women Helped Win the War. Please contact Roberta Grieve for more details on 01243 554647 or email robgrieve@msn.com

Cambridge Meeting Jocelyn Glegg is hosting a SWWJ meeting at her home on 26th September – meet at 12.00pm for 12.30pm start. She can accommodate around ten people and is happy to provide a buffet lunch, which will be served at 1.30pm (at no charge).

Jocelyn will also provide a speaker.

This is a one-off event as Jocelyn hopes someone will volunteer to organise the next meeting.

This will be a great opportunity to make new like-minded friends and hopefully establish a new group.

It’s essential to book your place. For further information please email Jocelyn at mmglegg@gmail.com

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Obituary

Pauline Graham – 1926-2018

by Mary Rensten

D

r Pauline Graham, the Society's Treasurer from 1985 to 1999, died in Switzerland on March 23rd, just days before her 92nd birthday. Born in Cairo to Sephardic Jewish parents, she came to England in 1947 with her two young daughters, Angela and Marcelle, and made a home for them all here. She spoke very little English but fluent in French and Spanish, she found herself work as a translator in a shipping office. During the evenings she studied to become a chartered secretary, and once that goal was achieved an accountancy course led to her becoming a certified accountant. Now qualified to advise on financial matters, Pauline began writing a column on the subject for Woman's Own and

later an investment column for the more sophisticated readers of Woman's Journal.

Next came a BSc in Economics, for which she studied during the evenings whilst being a fashion accessories buyer for John Lewis, a job which entailed travelling the world. Her 1994 book on her heroine, the business management guru Mary Parker Follett, which she saw as her greatest writing achievement, is still read and consulted widely.

How fortunate the Society was to have her as our Treasurer for fourteen years. Her reading of the financial report at the AGM, to which she brought her sharp wit and her charm, was always anticipated with pleasure.

Pauline was a truly amazing woman.

In memoriam Pauline is such a great loss to all her friends in the Society, to which she contributed so much.

Among her many qualities, Pauline was always a lady who knew her own mind. When she reached her nineties and her health began to fail she did not wish to suffer the indignities of a lingering end. She joined Dignitas, a not-for-profit members’ society that provides painless medically-assisted means of dying. As the law does not currently permit that in this country, this meant that Pauline had to travel to Switzerland for her wishes to be fulfilled.

She knew of my poem Natural Span, written many years earlier, on the theme of not protracting life by artificial means. In her last letter to me, written just before leaving, she asked my permission for the poem to be published in The Woman Writer as a memoriam to her, and of course I said that I would be most honoured.

Fay Marshall

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Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Obituary Natural Span

Fond memories

by Fay Marshall

When I joined the SWWJ, way back in 1976, Pauline was extremely kind to me – not in any specific way but always supportive, friendly and encouraging, especially when I joined the Council for the first time. She was a gentlewoman in all senses of the word.

Nevertheless, my most vivid memory of Pauline was of the fun we had together when we were involved in a fashion show during one of our livelier Weekend Schools in the London student residence Nutford House. I had been persuaded (forced) to be one of the models and Pauline took me in hand, showed me how to walk and how best to wear the outfit; she then draped me in her beautiful jewellery – each outfit immediately looked better. Pauline always wore the most creative, bold and unusual pieces, often real but also successfully mixed with fake – in abundance! On anyone else it might have been over-the-top but on Pauline it looked simply fabulous. On reflection, this might well be why I prefer bold jewellery; my height and size would dictate otherwise but the bigger the better is my motto – I’m convinced this is thanks to Pauline’s influence.

That same weekend a group of us played ‘hookie’ and went to the cinema to see the risqué film ‘10’ with Bo Derek. We felt like naughty schoolchildren! That is the Pauline Graham I remember – kind, gentle, elegant but great fun. My regret now is that I saw so little of her in recent years. I send my deepest condolences to her family; her passing will be mourned by many SWWJ members.

Bright Autumn flares and fades, Gold dims to brown; Along the sombre glades Light leaves drift down.

The trees stand proud and bare, All verdure gone, Strong in the wintry air As dark days come.

Small dying creatures creep Far out of sight; Mute till the final sleep, The gentle night.

Why is it we alone Spin out the breath?

Torment the aching bone Past natural death?

Pain-racked, dependent, shamed, Longing for rest – Is this the progress claimed, The truly best?

We have our natural span, Our ordered season.

Only usurping man Prolongs past reason.

Pamela Payne

Further tributes...

Pamela Birley: Kind, understanding, enthusiastic, generous, and always ready for enjoyment were the attributes of the Pauline I knew and will remember.

Sylvia Kent: Pauline: always so glamorous and funny! Loved her.

Mary Rensten: Pauline was my very dear friend for over thirty years. I look back on so many joyful occasions – numerous visits to the theatre, followed by a meal and an animated discussion of the play we had just seen, holidays in France and tea parties – always with the best champagne! – in her beautiful, art-filled, north London home. And hearing her say "Ooh-la-la".

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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Members’ news

Success!

book, and she had negotiated a good contract with the publisher.

A change of direction Poetry Caroline Auckland has had her poem The Art of Sewing accepted by Paper Swans Press for publication in The Pocket Poetry Book of Suffrage.

Dorothy Pope was longlisted in the National Poetry Competition. The longlist consisted of 129 poems. The total entry was over 13,000.

Dorothy also had her poem These I Have Loved published in the Spring issue of Poems in the Waiting Room (see page 16).

Note: Poems in the Waiting Room (PitWR) is run as a charity. £25 brings four packs of 20 poem cards four times a year to a doctor or dentist’s waiting room. A subscriber is usually a grateful patient, a poet or a writers’ group, or the doctor him or herself – anybody. The cards are very popular. Poems submitted should be appropriate to the state of mind of a person in a waiting room, ie comforting or upbeat. www.poemsinthewaitingroom.org

Mari Wallace says that although she sees herself as a non-fiction or creative nonfiction writer, she occasionally 'has a go' at writing fiction. She wrote a short story – loosely based on her attempts at an 'advanced age' to study Spanish – and sent it off to The People's Friend. To her delight, they've accepted it for publication. Now she’s struggling to relocate her fictionwriting 'mojo'!

Double whammy!

Vivien Brown’s second novel for Harper Impulse is to be published as an ebook on 26th July and in paperback on 4th October.

Five Unforgivable Things is the emotional story of a family thrown off-course by too many secrets, lies and mistakes, and the devastating feelings of loss, disappointment and

Keep it in the family...

Benita Cullingford’s children’s historical novel Edwin and the Climbing Boys has now been published. It became ‘a family affair’: cover design by daughter Sharon, text illustrations by granddaughter Leona, and audio version narrated by Sharon and seven other members of Benita’s family. Publisher, Austin Macauley £8.99.

Benita wants to say that she is delighted with her 12

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Members’ news helplessness women feel when they either struggle to get pregnant, miscarry, or find it hard to cope with the tougher aspects of motherhood.

Vivien also saw the publication of her first My Weekly pocket novel, Hearts and Flowers, in May – a sweet romance based around a garden centre, with each chapter linked to the characteristics of a specific flower or plant. This was the last fiction to be written under her former name of Vivien Hampshire.

A traveller’s tale Hilary Townsend’s book From Stalbridge to Siberia was published in February. A second volume of her travels – including expeditions to Pitcairn Island, Easter Island, St Helena, Nepal and Antarctica – is now in the planning stage.

COPY DATE FOR AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE The deadline for the next issue of The Woman Writer is Monday 3rd September.

Please ensure that all copy and images are sent to the Editor, Carol Cannavan, on carol@aspire-editorial.co.uk using Microsoft Word or pasting the text into an email. Please do not embed images into the document/email; always send images separately.

Always use the prefix **WW in the subject line (for example, **WWsuccesses). Copy can also be sent by post to the Editor, 10 Dury Falls Close, Hornchurch, Essex RM11 3AX, United Kingdom, but should be typed rather than handwritten.

Images should be high resolution (300 dpi) and a good size. Photographs are acceptable but not photocopies of book covers. If you are submitting a photo that doesn’t belong to you, please make sure you have permission for it to be published.

Deadlines cannot be changed.

Book launch Josephine (Phine) Chia launched her 10th book in April, in Singapore. You can read a review of her book, Goodbye My Kampong!, on page 36.

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

Menu for Autumn Lunch Hunter’s Style Braised Steak Served with Seasonal Vegetables and Potatoes or Spinach, Cheese and Egg Filo Pie Served with Tomato Sauce, New Potatoes and Salad * * * Followed by Fresh Fruit Salad and Ice Cream * * * Tea and Coffee Application form on page 27 13

Overseas members An international hello!

A very special group of people are waiting to introduce themselves to you; some may already be known to you, while the others are already firm friends.

I am talking about that elite band of associates who make up the Overseas International Group. They are based in all four corners of the globe from Canada to Germany, from Australia to India and beyond.

I will highlight three members and produce in-depth pieces for a further two members in each issue.

Doreen Friend Patricia Dunkley lives at Shelly Beach on the central coast of NSW Australia.

Born in Sussex 85 years ago, Patricia is a self-styled artist/writer; her book The Complete Guide to Painting and Decorating Porcelain was published in 2009. She has written six unpublished romance novels.

Website: www.patriciasartworld.com *

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Jenna Hines is based in central France and is currently working as a freelance accountant in the UK, via the internet. She writes historical novels, children’s books, short stories and poetry.

Jenna has lived in France for 14 years with her husband and two rescued donkeys, and plans to finish her novel this summer.

Website: www.writzendbook.com *

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Hilwiah Roche is a senior freelance journalist from India. With over three 14

decades of experience, Hilwiah, who was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, now lives in India and has written numerous articles ranging from politics, human rights and women’s issues to social justice and much more. Hilwiah remarks that she grew up in a world of books.

Website: www.theglobalist.com/ contributors/hilwiah-roche *

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Eva Ghoshal has had a very interesting and varied life spent part in Aschersleben, Germany, part in London, Essex, and on retirement in Lincolnshire, Ruskington.

Born in Aschersleben, the oldest town in Sachsen-Anhalt, Eva lived in an old terraced two-storey house overlooking the old town wall, which was built in the fourteenth century. She left Germany in 1960, a year before the Berlin Wall was built.

“I escaped due to political reasons. I have written, still do write about my East German experiences. In fact, I have just completed a novella on the said theme, written in German.”

Tragedy struck in 1979. Eva and the family were on holiday in Versailles when her husband died; she was just 39 years old.

“Later, I met Vernon, a painter, severely disabled, who has since died in 2008 here in Aschersleben, Germany.”

In the 46 years that Eva spent living in the UK she studied philosophy and applied linguistics. “I was a language teacher, working at Barking College of Technology, and in adult education I was a ‘flying’ teacher, going out to the various Ford plants (the car company).

“To begin with, I wrote in English Silent Shadows, 2002/3, which received the David St John Thomas Literature Prize.”

Two SWWJ ladies, Zoe King and Mary Rensten, helped Eva with After Eden, 2014, Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Overseas members her most recent English work.

“Zoe King did the editing, and Mary Rensten made some very valuable suggestions.”

Eva writes under her maiden name: Knabenbauer. This warmhearted, caring woman is extremely proud of her family.

“My son, Pinaki, lives in Brighton, my daughter, Monika, lives in Brentwood and I have three grandchildren. The youngest ‘child’, Elizabeth, is almost 21 and studies mathematics and German at Leipzig University. Her brother, George, is halfway through his medical studies. Cara, Pinaki’s daughter, has completed her studies in filmmaking. My son-in-law, James, is a teacher. My daughter-in-law, Paula, is a GP. My late husband came from Calcutta.”

No wonder Eva is proud of her family, they sound amazing.

A dedicated dog lover, Eva has a 14-year-old dog, half dachshund, half Yorkshire terrier, called Venus. “I have always had a dog. I usually adopt an older dog from the animal shelter.” *

*

*

Shraddha Sankulkar is a very busy woman – just reading about all the writing she does and the many genres she writes in has left me breathless (and envious).

“I was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. I am single and live with my mom.

Culturally, I hail from a middle-class Maharashtrian background. My mother tongue is Marathi, but since my schooling was from an English medium school, I speak The Woman Writer Summer 2018

and think in English more than my mother tongue.

“A creative writer since my teenage years, I write fiction, non-fiction articles, lyrics, poems, documentary film scripts, copywriting work, script consultant, blogs, etc. I have a good command of English, Hindi (national language) and Marathi (state language where I live).

“I am a practising psychologist and certified lecturer in psychology. I am FounderDirector of Mind Matterz (a psychological guidance unit) and its training centre – the School of Emotional Intelligence. Both the consultancy and the training centre are located in Mumbai, India. Here is my LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/ mindmatterz/ “As well as being an associate script and commentary writer for Films Division, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India, I write for a UK-based travel and leisure online magazine about my experiences in and around Mumbai city. Plus I write a blog based on positive psychology: mindlessons.wordpress.com/ “In July 2012 I attended a Writer's Retreat organised by www.writersholiday.net/ in Wales. It was a meaningful and fruitful experience mingling with some of the best writers at the University of South Wales, Caerleon Campus (no longer open). This led to Mari Nicholson, the travel writer recommending me to the SWWJ and I became an Overseas member.

“Travelling, photography and reading storybooks to children are my hobbies.

My life, my views and lifestyle have been showcased in around 85 articles; I aim to write at least 100 articles and publish my book in the UK.” Note: Can’t wait to hear that her book has been published. DF.

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Poets’ corner

Don’t despise the list poem

by Dorothy Pope

I

t has a glorious precedent and is the way to get young children writing poems as a natural follow-on from their love of hearing and then reading nursery rhymes.

The Great Lover by Rupert Brooke is wonderful, not erotic as its name might suggest but a list of things he loved: all simple, none costing money, all but a few either domestic or of nature and all appealing to one of the five senses. “...the strong crust of friendly bread; the cool kindliness of sheets; rainbows; sweet water’s dimpling laugh;...”

I write this not only to our SWWJ poets but to any one of you who has a young child to love and foster so that you can lead him or her on into writing poems.

As a reception class teacher, I had my pupils writing list poems. At first they were not much more poetic than shopping lists though on a subject of, for example, ‘Things I Love’ but they were a start. Gradually, and with older pupils, I introduced end rhyme, internal rhyme, half rhyme, alliteration (a great favourite), assonance, and a combination of the two, onomatopoeia (another favourite), personification, inserting an interesting fact and some new and interesting ‘hard words’ until a child was writing a poem to be proud of. Two were placed in public junior poem competitions.

I offer you my list poem, which features all these ingredients and which will appear on the Spring issue of the Poems in the Waiting Room card (see page 12).

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These I Have Loved A blue tit on the kitchen window sill, green shoots that tell me that the daffodil dismisses winter, that the filigreed trees will leaf up, that spring is guaranteed, warm sunshine on the skin, soft lifted hair in gentle breeze, all these are free as air: a turquoise sea in soothing synchrony or in its pewter mood of savagery, the evening robin as it shouts its bounds and other, comforting domestic sounds – and smells – returning family’s key in lock, its click, their greeting I have watched the clock for, Sunday roast aroma, appetite to match, son’s likeness to his father such that I catch my breath, trust in men of integrity and life itself, miraculous and free. © Author Dorothy Pope

Don t forget, the editorial deadline for the Autumn issue of The Woman Writer is Monday 3rd September 2018.

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Poets’ corner Love Transcends the Ages Love transcends the ages through layers of past time Love’s strengths and passion not diminished by its line Love binds us all together on so many different levels We’ll meet once again to learn the lessons that we need Our lover was our mother and our daughter was our father Love transcends all anger and helps us through our Karma Love transcends all forces and makes us who we are today The power of love is limitless despite the time away When we come together there’s never any doubt that Those love has brought together will never ever part There are so many spheres of love that can unite our souls Love transcends all feeling but it can often take its toll Love transcends the partings although we suffer pain The strength is in remembering we’ll all meet up again Hence we seek our soul mate in every life begun We want the love and passion remembered from the past But not in every lifetime are we allowed our day Love transcends our Karma and helps us on our way Love transcends our yearnings and the hardships we endure By giving us friends and family to help us all the more We cannot remember but we’ve known them all before So when you meet a lover from the dim and distant past Your life will change forever, whether for the good or bad Love transcends our lessons to stop us feeling sad Love transcends all misery and always gives us hope We love to love our animals and they can help us to cope Love comes from many sources that should be recognised Pulls us in a focused direction as we seek its soothing balm The feeling it can give us helps override our pain Love transcends all our hurt and makes us whole again © Author Kairen Kellard

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

Poetry competitions Writers’ Forum run a monthly competition with a prize of £100. Entry fee £4, or pay £6 and get a short critique from the poetry editor Sue Butler.

Pay online and then email your poem. Full details from: www.writers-forum. com/poetrycomp.html International Poetry Competition 2018 The competition is open to both new and established poets aged 18 and over from across the globe and has two categories: • Open category (open to all poets aged 18 years and over).

• English as an Additional Language (EAL) category (open to all poets aged 18 and over who write in English as an additional language).

The winners of each category will receive £1,000 and both runnersup £200. £5 per entry – deadline: 6th August 2018.

See website for full details: www.brookes.ac.uk/poetrycentre/international-poetrycompetition/

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Drama Ghosts, circus, good neighbours, absent lovers and robots

by Martin Cort Report on the Drama Workshop at the Leicester Square Reference Library, London, on 9th June 2018 We had been asked to read more sections from our writers’ novels than plays on this occasion. Jane Willis’s monologue Gilbert’s Pill, read by Peter Stenson, left us with a wry smile wondering if we should check out our neighbours more carefully in future. Cathy’s Story, which in fact was ‘chapter 20’ of Trudy Lewis’s new novel, is where the absent lover made his appearance, or should I say didn’t.

He certainly left an impact on the audience.

We were looking forward to Ann Mary Stanton’s new play Gloria Alleluia, and weren’t disappointed. The introduction of a robot into pensioner Geraldine Matthews’ uneventful life, played by Dorothea Phillips, shocks her family. She goes to bingo, uses a fly-board to shop and plans a cruise. Their suspicions about her involvement in criminal activities grow as they find out about her ‘Bit Coin’ account.

Next, Kenneth Michaels read another excerpt from Martin Cort’s I Should Have Been an Ice Soldier. It concerned some of the part-time work most actors find it necessary to undertake during their ‘resting periods’.

His first contract involved employing Donald Sutherland, a fellow student at LAMDA, as Robin Hood’s Little John for a record sales promotion. Then his involvement with 1,000 Girl Guides at Wembley for the Golden Jubilee. This section of his unpublished book recalled his time with the Moscow State Circus and managed to draw the Ooohs! and Aaahs! of circus, also a load of laughs.

To close the workshop, Edmund Dehn performed the strange and at times eerie monologue Letting Go by Harold Schaverien.

The narrator tells of his search for a new home and how he uncovers the ghostly secret, of a trapped spirit longing to be set free. His story drew the listeners closer, leaving the meeting with a new sense of hope.

NEXT DRAMA WORKSHOP The next Drama Workshop will be held at 11am on Saturday 9th October 2018 at:

Leicester Square Reference Library, St Martin’s Street, London WC2H 7HP Do remember that scripts must be sent to Martin Cort at least 10 days prior to the Workshop. Send your scripts to Martin at:

Flat F Kingston Mansions, 147 Clapham Road, London SW9 0HP mcort1@talktalk.net 18

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Around the regions News from Moonraker Country

by Dee La Vardera Every word counts. We know that we don’t get a book, article or poem written unless we put in the hard graft and counting words is a vital part of the writing process.

Obsessively, for many. To see the word count rise at the bottom of the page is a wonderful feeling, even if you have to cut half of it later when you realise it’s a load of drivel.

I’m looking back 110 years to 1908 to Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), for whom every word not only counted but brought in phenomenal returns. I had a wonderful Bennett readathon recently while recovering from flu. What a delight to sit and read for hours, immersed in his world of clerks and drapers, shopkeepers and streetwalkers, valets and lawyers, tobacconists and landladies, and be moved by his characters’ struggles to find happiness, love and contentment, while facing their own mortality in circumstances such as illness, accident, murder and warfare.

In 1908 Bennett wrote Buried Alive, threequarters of The Old Wives’Tale, [total word

Follow the SWWJ on FACEBOOK Members are invited to ‘socialise’ on the Society FACEBOOK page. Check out swwj.facebook and ask everyone to ‘like’ the page. Send your items to: vivienhampshire@btinternet.com The Woman Writer Summer 2018

count of novel, 200,000], three other books, half a dozen short stories and over sixty newspaper articles. Arnold Bennett’s total word count for that year was 423,500 words. “I have never worked so hard as this year and I have not earned less for several years but I have done fewer sillier things than usual.”

At the end of 1912, Bennett recorded his earnings as £17,600 – equivalent to £1,890,878 today. In addition to the usual output, he had five of his plays performed in the West End, which boosted his royalties, no doubt. He bought a car, a yacht and a house that year.

In addition, he edited magazines, wrote film scripts and was Director of Propaganda for the Ministry of Information in 1918. And he kept a journal all his working life – amounting to over a million words.

What’s your word count?

Dee's website: www.dewfall-hawk.com

Follow the SWWJ on TWITTER Find out about the latest news and events by following (and retweeting) @SWWJ. Help to spread the word about our Society!

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Fiction focus

Fair enough!

A visit to the London Book Fair

by Vivien Brown

T

he London Book Fair (LBF) is a huge annual event, held every Spring, spread over three full days and occupying every floor of the massive exhibition hall at Olympia. It’s where just about every publisher, including many from overseas, comes to publicise their books, meet fellow industry professionals and strike deals. So, the place is swarming with editors, agents, booksellers, rights and marketing people, and yes… authors too!

There was a time when a lowly author would feel very out of place in an environment like this, seeing the big publishers’ stands you can’t always gain access to, watching what look like very important meetings going on, and surrounded by books it’s not possible to pick up and buy. But things have changed in recent years and I was pleasantly surprised during my visit to find just how much is accessible, and of interest, to authors nowadays.

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The cleverly named ‘Writer’s Block’ couldn’t help but draw me in, and there I found The Society of Authors handing out membership information and advice. The PEN Literary Salon, Author HQ, Poets’ Corner and The Children’s Hub were all hosting talks, seminars, panel discussions, and even awards, throughout the day, and these events were always packed, with most seats occupied long before the start time. Topics included book distribution for authors, an introduction to Kindle publishing, how to find an agent, points to look out for in contracts, and lots more. Well-known authors, including Joanna Trollope, Lauren Child and David Baldacci, were giving interviews and talks too.

Wandering around, I came across an interesting video presentation about The Mister Men, and how they have moved on from simple children’s book characters to becoming a massive marketing brand. I stopped to admire the Usborne stand (without doubt the most beautiful in the whole show), spotted an area dedicated to 100 years of women’s suffrage, enjoyed Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Fiction focus browsing in a gallery of wonderful book illustrations, all framed and hanging on the walls, and picked up a few free gifts – mostly magazines and proof copies of new novels – along the way. My own publishers, Harper Collins, had the biggest stand of all and were displaying images of many of their books on a moving screen. I watched for a while, but sadly mine did not appear!

The LBF is a great place to meet up with author friends, share a quick coffee and chat with your editor, or just soak up the bookish atmosphere, but don’t expect to bump into an agent and sell her your manuscript, get chatting about a movie version of your novel or talk a publisher into translating it into Russian. All the meetings are pre-arranged, and many take place out of sight on the upper floor, with security men standing guard at the stairways to keep you out.

Tickets aren’t cheap, at around £45, which lets you visit on all three days, and you have to pay that price even if you only want to go once. Is it worth it if you are just going as a casual visitor with no meetings to attend?

I’m not sure, but I was lucky. I contacted the press office in advance, told them I review children’s books for nursery magazines (which is true) and was also researching the show on behalf of the SWWJ. I showed them my SWWJ press card and hey presto… I got an official press pass, letting me in for free!

Still time to enter!

SWWJ John Walter Salver Competition This year’s competition is for an unpublished ARTICLE Theme: ‘Something you don’t know about me’ Tell us something interesting, intriguing or unusual about you!

A job, a hobby, an experience, who you have met, where you have been…

Surprise us with a side to your life we may never have imagined!

Maximum 1500 words First prize: £100 – Second: £50 – Third: £25 Entry fee: £5; or £12 for three entries Judge: Elaine Everest Closing date: 31st August 2018 Send your entries to: Vivien Brown, 16 Abingdon Close, Uxbridge UB10 0BU Please check the RULES carefully before you submit your entry Note: The trophy and cash prizes will be presented on Wednesday 20th March 2019 in London

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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Report on AGM/Summer Gathering

A Sizzling Summer Gathering!

by Vivien Brown Reporting from the AGM and Summer Gathering at The National Liberal Club

T

he end of June, a baking hot day in London, and it was that time of year again… the Annual General Meeting.

Sounds terribly stuffy and businesslike, doesn’t it? But, just as it is for any other organisation accountable to its membership, it’s a must.

However, unlike many, we like to do it in style!

An impressive venue, time for socialising and perhaps a glass of wine beforehand, and a lovely afternoon tea to follow.

Of course, we had to run through the usual routines – re-electing the Council members, looking over the accounts and making small tweaks to the Society’s constitution, but what really came across this time was a true sense of optimism and positivity. Things are looking up! We all now have letters after our name – and that can only look good on our own business cards as well as enhancing the status of the SWWJ. Our finances and savings are in good shape, and a small increase in membership fees this year will help us to maintain a working bank balance and to fund some of our future publicity, promotion and plans.

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Chairman Barbara Field-Holmes reported on the success of all our events over the past year, including our first venture into an evening get-together, where we were able to meet and learn from literary agent Penny Holroyde in an informal, friendly setting. Be assured that Council is planning more such events, designed to fit in with working hours and to attract new members and younger writers.

We know that not everybody can make it to the capital, so the Society is also keen to build on its network of regional groups, with the next new one planned for the Cambridge area. If you live somewhere where the Society is not currently running a group, why not think about starting one yourself?

Council will be pleased to help you.

Barbara went on to thank her fellow Council members for the hard work they have put in over the last year and to say a sad farewell to those who have left us. The Writer’s Debut scheme is growing slowly, but we still need an injection of new members. Many people, even among the writing community, have

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Report on AGM/Summer Gathering never heard of us. So we all need to work a little harder to promote ourselves and build membership back up to a healthier level. Perhaps our 125th Anniversary year will give us that opportunity as Council are planning some exciting events throughout 2019.

Lastly, Barbara touched on the subject of the Society’s name.

Every so often we are asked the question: Why, when we live in age of equality, do we still have the word ‘women’ in our title? Does it stop us from growing, and stop men from joining?

Or do we need to retain it as an integral part of our history? It’s an emotive issue and one that Council and members will continue to debate.

This time last year we were still seeking a new President. Now, we not only have the inspirational Floella Benjamin in the role, but she and her husband joined us for tea. As ever, she was charming, supportive and full of ideas! Look out for a special ‘open to all’ writing competition in the coming months, one based on a theme very close to Floella’s heart.

Our speaker after tea was long-term member Anita Marie Sackett (pictured with Floella Benjamin). Anita spent many years as a teacher and has been instrumental in introducing poetry to lots of young children, using a combination of rhyme, toys, sound effects and a real feeling of fun, much of which she was able to demonstrate by reading to us, her adult audience!

Anita spoke candidly about her own life: enjoying poetry as a child and learning many poems off by heart, being inspired by a wonderful teacher, travelling and living abroad with her then husband, and a dark The Woman Writer Summer 2018

period where she was hospitalised with depression.

In many ways words ‘saved’ her, as she wrote down her feelings, joined a creative writing class, and then began to explore themes of nature, animals and life in the Caribbean through poetry, passing on her love of words, rhyme and shape poems to her pupils, with the excellent advice: Never rub anything out. Cross out words so they are still there, ‘trapped’, and then you can always come back to them.

But Anita is not just a poet. She regularly visits schools and gives presentations aboard cruise ships, her talks covering a wide range of fascinating topics from travel to the history of pantomime to Christmas in the Caribbean. She also has a strong interest in 1940s and 50s life. What did we wear? What did we eat? What music did we listen to? What was on TV? What toys did children play with? Anita closed her talk by reading a poem called A Slice of the Fifties, detailing everything imaginable about that era, with the audience being asked to join in and supply the end rhyming word for each verse – great fun and very nostalgic! She has recently published a book about the 1940s and 50s called That’s How it Used To Be, and was happy to sign copies and chat to members and guests after her talk. All in all, a lovely afternoon spent in excellent company.

SWWJ Flickr account There’s only space to include a few of the photos taken at the AGM and Summer Gathering, but now you can see them all on our Flickr page. To access the photos just visit www.flickr.com/photos/139153628@N07/ 23

From the archive Jocelyn Glegg, Vice President!

by Sylvia Kent I love radio in all its forms: local, regional, national and BBC World Service. So, it was with interest that I spoke recently to our Vice President Jocelyn Glegg, whose experience in broadcasting and writing for radio is incomparable.

Jocelyn joined our Society 45 years ago and was invited to join the Council in 1976. Very soon, she became Vice Chair, Chair and then Editor of our journal, then known as The Woman Journalist.

Serving four and a half years as a Warrant Officer, Class 1 in the Royal Army Education Corps in India, Sri Lanka, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong, Jocelyn lectured on economics and current affairs. She enjoyed her work: “I taught many soldiers to read and write and I loved that. Then I

Jocelyn Glegg 24

Some of the children Jocelyn taught in Sarawak.

began Forces Broadcasting and wrote for the Singapore Free Press.”

On her return from Hong Kong, Jocelyn met Malcolm, her future husband, on board the ship at Singapore. Following his demob, Malcolm joined the Colonial Audit Service and soon after their marriage was posted to Somalia, where Jocelyn joined him. It was when he was transferred to Sarawak in Borneo that Jocelyn’s broadcasting career began.

“I joined Radio Sarawak to write and present the children’s programmes, where I was known as ‘Aunty Lyn’ for four years,” she remembered. “But everyone was expected to turn their hand to anything at the station. I was a general announcer and from time to time took the classical music programme." Then travelling began in earnest, with the Gleggs moving to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and finally to Fiji in the South Pacific.

“I continued my broadcasting work with the BBC Overseas unit, the Fiji Broadcasting Commission. During the broadcaster’s six-hour shift, we were expected to handle everything: announcer, newsreader, writing and editing our own special programmes. It was the most wonderful training. When we moved to Fiji in 1961, I became responsible for providing English, Indian and Fijian Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

From the archive Women’s daily programmes, though I only broadcast in English. I read the news, presented both prose and drama and interviewed many people from abroad, including Noel Coward, Dennis Wheatley, Raymond Burr and famous nun Monica Baldwin.

“During my years overseas, I discovered that women throughout the world are exactly the same. They want a fair deal, a chance to show their worth. My programmes showed concern with their lives and, I hope, helped them to learn how to improve their lot.”

While overseas, Jocelyn and Malcolm spent two to three months’ leave in England every two years, and during this time Jocelyn would pop up to the BBC in London, visiting Woman’s Hour and the Drama Centre for items for her programmes on her return abroad.

Jocelyn's other lifelong interest has been the theatre. She’s acted and produced plays all over the world. In Singapore, Lord Another group of children from Sarawak.

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

Barbara Haynes (left) and Jocelyn Glegg.

Mountbatten gave her a silver swizzle stick after a performance of Rebecca. She laughed, “I was only 19 and didn’t know what a swizzle stick was!”

On her return to the UK, Jocelyn continued to write, sending scripts overseas, lecturing to numerous organisations, writing articles and stories for local newspapers and magazines, as well as organising seminars for the Writers’ Summer School at Swanwick.

Alongside this work, for 11 years she edited our magazine, handing the title over to Barbara Haynes in Spring 1995.

In a trip round the world following Malcolm‘s retirement, the couple have re-visited all the countries where they once lived and it was lovely to renew old friendships. With two daughters, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, Jocelyn’s family life is full and happy, and now she is content to continue hosting Cambridge Writers’ Novel Group, which she has done for forty years, and enjoys working on her silk painting.

"I thoroughly enjoyed all my time in the SWWJ and I am sorry that now, at 94, my arthritis prevents me attending meetings.

But I am delighted to offer a warm welcome to any members visiting Cambridge. May our Society go from strength to strength in the next 100 years."

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When I was not upon this page...

The seat of power

by Doreen Friend I spent at least one evening a week at local authority committee meetings. A staff reporter on an east London weekly newspaper covering the work of the local council was mandatory. Agendas delivered to the newsdesk weekly were closely scanned in the hope of discovering either a front page story or something controversial that could run for weeks.

The various meetings, covering health, education, planning, finance and so on, were doled out between the reporters and each had his/her speciality. I tended to plump for planning meetings, as discovering who wanted what built where, and how big, was interesting. Plus there was always the chance that if an application proved unpopular, members of the public would do whatever they could to ensure the planning application was refused and tempers became heated.

Attending council committee meetings followed a strict protocol for us press people. Reporters were never allowed to speak during a committee meeting, but were entitled to interview players from all sides before and after the meetings.

The council, consisting of councillors from Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, each sat in their favourite seats and heaven help anyone who sat in the wrong seat (think Goldilocks and who’s been sitting in my chair).

The council chamber is a large and imposing room with tables arranged in a horseshoe shape. It is used for full council meetings, when numerous items of council business are discussed and debated, sometimes into the wee small hours. The leader of the council and councillors for all political parties are expected to attend.

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Janice, a reporter new to the newspaper, had never been into the council chamber, so in preparation for her attending the meeting that evening I showed her around the chamber.

As we walked around we paused to glance at the seats occupied by various party members. “The Tories sit there, the Labour to their left and the Lib Dems at the far end of the horseshoe. We have to find places to sit in where we can see, hear and take careful notes of everything said and who said it.”

As responsible adults, we dismissed urges to sit in the leader’s chair and bob up and down testing the other chairs and lean back in the seats of power with our feet on the upright stands while pretending to rule the world – at least our small part of it.

Luckily we resisted the urges, for as we wandered around and around the chamber we were met by an important-looking gent who asked what we were up to. When I explained our purpose he turned to Janice and said: “Yes, I thought you were the press, I could tell by the way you walked.”

Of course he could, he was the leader of the council.

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Autumn Lunch application form

Autumn Lunch Thursday 20th September 2018 at The National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HE Arrive 12.00 noon for 12.30pm Guest Speakers: Andrew Lewer MBE and Jane Corry (Application form can be photocopied) Name ……………………………………………….

No. @£45 ...…..….

Vegetarian @£40 .…..……

Membership No. ……………

Cheque amount ………………

Name of guest(s) ………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Any dietary requests. (Please ensure you list all dietary requests. These cannot be provided without notice.) ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Receipts are available on the day. Tickets are not being issued. If you would like an acknowledgement please add your email address below.

Email ......................................................................................................................................................

BOOKINGS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 13th SEPTEMBER. There can be no refunds after this date. Please send completed form with any dietary requests, together with a cheque made payable to SWWJ, to: Benita Cullingford, 5 Cunningham Avenue, St Albans, Herts AL1 1JJ.

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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SWWJ event

Pitching your novel to an agent Report on SWWJ evening event in London

by Carol Cannavan

A

round 35 people enjoyed a brilliant evening with literary agent Penny Holroyde on 24th May. The private room at the Savoy Tup was absolutely buzzing with energy. And Penny didn’t disappoint!

She kicked off the evening by telling everyone there were no silly questions – ask whatever you like. Her friendly, relaxed approach certainly encouraged a lot of participation and there were some thought-provoking questions posed throughout the ninetyminute session.

Penny had some good tips to offer anyone looking for an agent. At the top of the list was: make sure the agent deals with your genre, and pay attention to their submission guidelines – she added that in her experience six out of ten submissions do not conform.

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Look at the agent’s website and get a ‘feel’ for the style of books written by their authors.

Penny emphasised that your writing has to be amazing to get noticed. Agents are busy people and if you don’t grab their attention in the first couple of paragraphs, it’s unlikely they will read on. Avoid ‘over writing’ with too many adjectives.

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

SWWJ event Quote of the night: Penny was asked, “What type of submissions do you like best?”

“Bestsellers!” she replied.

Rebecca Harding (event organiser and Council member) with Peter Durrant and Penny Holroyde.

On the subject of writing a synopsis, Penny suggested one A4 page would be sufficient.

A good covering letter was essential; you must get to the point quickly. She asked us to imagine being in an elevator, giving our pitch to an agent before we reached our floor…

Be professional in your approach. After your pitch, put in a little bit of background information about yourself.

Penny says that to be a good writer you need to be a good reader. She suggested the following books would be useful: The Forest for the Trees: An editor’s advice to writers by Betsy Lerner; Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (smash-hit debut novel); Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (debut Sunday Times bestseller and Costa First Novel Book Award winner 2017). She also recommended reading Kate Atkinson’s books.

Her final tip was taken from Stephen King: when you have finished your manuscript, put it away for six weeks – this will allow you to read it through with ‘fresh eyes’.

Before the event finished, SWWJ Archivist Sylvia Kent (left) introduced Peter Durrant, from the London Press Club. Peter said how The Woman Writer Summer 2018

much he had enjoyed spending time with such an enthusiastic audience. Barbara FieldHolmes, Chair, thanked Penny for giving such an informative and entertaining talk. It was obvious that the audience agreed by their response.

The SWWJ will be planning more evening events in the future, hopefully in different parts of the country. So, watch this space – you really don’t want to miss out!

Penny Holroyde (right) chats with some of the attendees after her talk.

Penny’s background Penny Holroyde worked in publishing for over twenty years for publishers Walker Books in the UK and Candlewick Press in the US, and then as an agent with Caroline Sheldon. In 2015 she teamed up with Claire Cartey to launch a new agency for authors and illustrators of both adult and children’s books.

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Marketing

Get real!

Patrick Forsyth suggests realism as you cast your bread on the waters

I

s this you? Some (many?) writers have an odd and illogical attitude to their work, or rather to the process of obtaining commissions. Consider your morning post.

Today mine arrived as I started to write this (around 2pm! But I digress). It contained, amongst other things, the menu from an Indian takeaway, a letter from a local furniture store announcing their annual sale, information claiming to be the best deal in credit cards imaginable and details of a local accountancy practice suggesting that their undertaking my accounts and tax work would save me large, but unspecified amounts of tax – a fairly typical crop of such approaches.

Now, make no mistake, I do occasionally respond to direct approaches; sometimes people or organisations who write or telephone – and email too, of course – make a good case, one corresponding with something I happen to be interested in or need, and I get in touch. Then sometimes business may be done to the satisfaction of both parties. So, while some such approaches are a nuisance, I would not want to receive none at all.

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In this particular case none seemed either relevant or irresistibly put. And so, and just dwell on this, I do not intend to reply to any of them. In so doing, or not doing so if you prefer, I shall have not a jot of regret, embarrassment or contrition. I do not particularly feel for them, it is their problem if their targeting or approach is inaccurate; anyway, I am sure that they are philosophic about it and receive a sufficient rate of response to pay their way.

Fact: essentially this is no different to the writer sending an unsolicited idea (query letter) or manuscript to an editor.

Sometimes your approaches will fall on stony ground, prove inappropriate, albeit only at the moment they arrive, and be ignored or rejected. It is the way the world is. Importantly, this happening is most often not a comment on the quality of what you sent. That may have been perfectly good and at another time, or with another publisher, might be accepted. So, the response should not be becoming upset or feeling slighted.

Rather, you have to deal with it, persevere and send out some more ideas. It is the last that is most important.

Every writer needs to put some bread on the waters. Well-targeted and well-executed approaches to both existing and new contacts can produce a response or a direct commission and, if well managed over time, can lead to a long-term relationship. This might prompt a number of articles over a few months, or longer, or several books over some years.

There are all sorts of imponderables here.

You have to make time for things: both finding new contacts and preparing and Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Marketing sending appropriate approaches. You have to have suitable ideas and make appropriate suggestions and you may have to be persistent: if the first contact produces nothing, then you may sensibly re-contact again, maybe several times. Generally speaking, the more bread you put on the waters, the more responses you will get, providing the quality of what you send out is maintained. But writers can be archprocrastinators. You look at what might be an opportunity, highlighted by a news item in The Woman Writer perhaps, then rationalise the opportunity away. It is not quite right; I need a better idea; or simply, I’ll do it later are the kind of thoughts that buzz around.

Delay too long and the moment passes – I guess it’s too late now.

Most of us have a kind of threshold: some things are clearly opportunities and we rush to make contact; others leave us uncertain.

As we think about them we seem to produce more reasons not to follow them up than to do so. So, simply a resolve to be more bullish can easily beef up the number of approaches you make – and of acceptances achieved. Doing more will probably increase the number of rejections or simply of non-replies as well, but hey, we need to think of that as par for the course.

Being more positive, going for it a little more often, may be all you need to boost success.

Patrick writes across several genres; his second novel, Loose Ends, is available now (published by Stanhope Books).

Book your place!

Don’t forget to book your place at the Autumn Lunch at The National Liberal Club. You will find the application form on page 27.

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

Speakers for the SWWJ Autumn Lunch

You are in for a treat at our Autumn Lunch on 20th September! Not only do we have MP Andrew Lewer who will be speaking to us before lunch but also Jane Corry, Sunday Times best-selling author (published by Penguin), journalist and a one-time writer-in-residence of a men’s high-security prison! Her website is www.janecorryauthor.com Andrew Lewer MBE, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing, and Member of Parliament for Northampton South, will be speaking to members and guests about the current issues and challenges facing the publishing industry.

Jane will be giving us the inside story on her new book, The Dead Ex, a psychological thriller. It was published on the same day as our AGM this year – which could explain why she, as a long-time member of the SWWJ, could not attend.

The blurb on all her books are absolutely brilliant: ‘He cheated. He Lied. He Died’; ‘Three little girls. One good. One bad.

One dead; ‘First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes murder’ – to quote just three. I can’t wait to read them all!

So, do make sure you join us for this special event. Everyone who came to our recent AGM tea agreed that there was an exciting buzz in the room – I’m sure we can top that at our Autumn Lunch.

Don’t miss out – book early!

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SWWJ Competition

SWWJ Anniversary Competition A special members-only competition to celebrate the SWWJ’s forthcoming 125th Anniversary Theme: ‘The Anniversary’ Write us a story, poem, article, memoir, monologue or play.

Interpret the theme in any way you like. The choice is yours!

Maximum 1500 words (poetry 40 lines) First prize: £100 – Second: £50 – Third: £25 Entry fee: £5; or £12 for three entries Judge: Literary agent Rebecca Ritchie – Closing date: 30th November 2018 Send your entries to: Vivien Brown, 16 Abingdon Close, Uxbridge UB10 0BU Please check the RULES carefully before you submit your entry Note: Prizes will be presented during our anniversary year at the Spring Prize-Giving Tea on Wednesday 20th March 2019 in London SWWJ COMPETITION RULES Please read these rules carefully. Failure to comply could lead to your entry being invalidated.

1. SWWJ competitions are open to Full and Associate Members only. Unless specifically stated, Friends of the Society, Writer’s Debut members and non-members are not eligible to enter.

2. Please ensure that any maximum word or line length set for the competition is strictly adhered to.

Shortlisted entrants may be asked to supply an electronic copy of their entry so word count can be verified before prizes are awarded.

3. Your membership number (NOT your name) and the title of your work should appear on every page of your entry. Please number the pages.

4. Please type or print on one side of plain white A4 paper only. No handwritten entries please.

5. Please use double spacing for all prose entries. Poems may be spaced as the poet requires.

6. Every entry must have a detachable cover sheet showing the title, your name, membership number, address, and email address and/or phone number so we can contact you.

7. Entries must be accompanied by the appropriate fee. Cheques to be made payable to SWWJ. A maximum of three entries per person to each competition is allowed. Sending cash is discouraged.

8. Entries received after the closing date may be disregarded with no return of fee.

9. If you would like to receive a copy of the judge’s report, please also enclose a self-addressed envelope of suitable size and bearing the correct postage.

10. Entries MUST NOT be previously published or have been read or performed in any public domain up to the closing date. They should not be currently entered into any other competition.

11. Please do not send your entry by recorded/special delivery or registered post. Enclose a stamped self-addressed postcard if you wish us to acknowledge its safe receipt.

12. Keep a copy of your work as the Society cannot be held responsible for the loss of your entry, in the post or otherwise. Manuscripts will not be returned after judging.

13. Cash prizes for winners and runners-up vary per competition and will be as advertised.

14. In the event of a large number of entries, or if the judge requests it, the Society reserves the right to appoint a shortlisting panel.

15. Please keep the prize-giving date free in your diary and book a ticket to attend if at all possible.

If you are a winner, we would like to congratulate you and present your prize to you in person!

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Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Markets & Competitions

Meet our competition judge!

Rebecca Ritchie has been an agent at AM Heath since 2017, having previously worked for six years at Curtis Brown, where she started as an agent’s assistant after graduating from the University of Edinburgh.

She represents a wide range of commercial fiction: from contemporary women’s fiction to reading group fiction, historical fiction, psychological suspense and thriller.

Her authors include Red magazine’s literary editor Sarra Manning, Alex Lake, author of Sunday Times Top 10 paperback bestseller After Anna, and journaliststurned-novelists Sophia Money-Coutts and Kate Riordan.

In 2015 she co-founded #PitchCB, Curtis Brown’s monthly Twitter pitching event, inviting aspiring authors to pitch their novels to agents. The first event attracted more than 2,000 tweets and trended on Twitter, was covered by the Guardian, and Rebecca was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours and on RTE (Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster).

In 2016, Rebecca was shortlisted for the inaugural London Book Fair Trailblazers Award, and in 2017 was runner-up for Agent of the Year at the Romantic Novelists’ Association Industry Awards.

Writing opportunities

by Carol Cannavan Here’s a round-up of markets and writing competitions to keep you busy! Although every effort is made to gather correct information, it is down to you to contact individual publications/agencies and ask for their current writing guidelines and find out if any costs are involved. Good luck!

UK markets Claret Press is a small indie press. It publishes in a wide range of genres, fiction and non-fiction, from very commercial to less so. They say they don't ask for any money from the authors they publish and meet all costs of editing, designing, publishing and marketing books. Please visit their website for more information.

Website: www.claretpress.com/about Muswell Press accept submissions for both fiction and non-fiction; however, because they like to read everything thoroughly, it may take up to four months for them to respond. They prefer to see entire manuscripts. Submissions should be sent by email in a Microsoft Word file with a note of word count, synopsis and a biography of the author. To see their collection, please visit their website.

Website: www.muswell-press.co.uk/books Fairlight Books say their mission is to promote contemporary literary fiction and quality writing. They aim to bring together a community with a shared passion – a love of beautiful books and great writing.

Website: www.fairlightbooks.co.uk

The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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Markets & Competitions Overseas markets Art Papers is an Atlanta-based non-profit organisation. It publishes traditional formats such as long-form features, short essays, interviews and reviews. They prefer proposals for completed articles. In a few sentences, tell them what and who you want to discuss and why you are well positioned to write the article proposed. Please visit their website for guidelines.

Email: editor@artpapers.org Website: www.artpapers.org/work/write/

Competitions 2018 Exeter Flash Competition This year, they have increased the word count for the flash competition. Entries are now invited for a story of not more than 750 words on any theme.

Visit website for rules and entry details.

Prizes: £200, £100, £50 Closing date: 31st August 2018 Entry fee: £6 Email: creativewritingmatters@ virginmedia.com Website: www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk 2018 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award The competition is for stories of up to 10,000 words (no minimum) on any theme.

Visit website for rules and entry details.

Prizes: £500 plus trophy, £150, £100 Closing date: 31st August 2018 Entry fee: £12 Email: creativewritingmatters@ virginmedia.com

The Billy Roche Short Play Playwrights are invited to submit plays of up to 15 minutes in length and four finalists will have their pieces performed by Enniscorthy Drama Group at this year’s festival, with a prize of €300 going to the overall winner.

Visit website for rules and entry details.

Closing date: 1st September 2018 Entry fee: €10 Email: drama@wexfordliteraryfestival.com Website: www.wexfordliteraryfestival.com Colm Tóibín Short Story Award Wexford Literary Festival welcomes entries to its annual international Colm Tóibín Short Story Award.

Visit website for rules and entry details.

Prizes: €1,000, €500, €300 Closing date: 1st September 2018 Entry fee: €10 Email: shortstories@ wexfordliteraryfestival.com Website: www.wexfordliteraryfestival.com New Voices Have you recently embarked on writing a novel? Like some support in the early stages? Adventures in Fiction is offering a start-up package to the most promising synopsis and first page.

Visit website for rules and entry details.

Prizes: Package worth £550 Closing date: 14th September 2018 Entry fee: £10 Email: marion@adventuresinfiction.co.uk Website: www.adventuresinfiction.co.uk

Website: www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk

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Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Book reviews Wartime at Woolworths

by Elaine Everest Published by: Pan ISBN: 978-1-5098-4367-1 Reviewed by Vivien Brown It has only been a few months since I reviewed Elaine’s last novel, Christmas at Woolworths, but here she is again with another wonderful book in the series that takes us instantly back to 1940s Kent and the girls who work in the Woolworths store in Erith. For anyone who has read the earlier books, Sarah, Freda and Maisie will be very familiar characters by now, and the ups and downs of their daily lives and that of their friends and family can’t help but enthral. Of course, the book can be read as a standalone novel but it’s so much nicer to start at the beginning (with The Woolworths Girls) and watch the girls’ friendship develop from the moment they first meet in 1938.

The story has now reached 1943, with perilous journeys being undertaken, bombs falling, husbands and brothers away fighting, some shady criminal business going on and sadly, as is to be expected in a wartime setting, a smattering of death and destruction too. But, as always, there is that sense of warmth and closeness the characters so clearly feel for each other, that binds them together and gives them strength whatever life throws at them, so there are lots of uplifting moments too, with romance, reunions, a wedding and new babies to look forward to along the way.

Elaine’s research shines through. The disasters that happen in the book, at the entrance to a station and at a neighbouring Woolworths store, really did happen, and we are taken there, right into the heart of the panic and heartbreak. What happened in maternity homes for young unmarried The Woman Writer Summer 2018

mothers; altering clothes to make wedding and bridesmaid dresses; young children being taken in when their own families were lost or killed; women signing up for war work in the fire service or on the railways… it’s all here. And through it all, the Woolworths store stands at the heart of the action, selling everything from vegetables to blankets to pots and pans, its staff managing to keep the doors open and the customers happy, come what may.

For anyone who has lived through the war, has ever worked in a Woolworths store, or just enjoys a good old-fashioned feel-good and very nostalgic saga, this is the book for you!

Extraordinary

by Dawn Knox Published by: Bridge House Publishing ISBN: 978-1-907335-52-5 Reviewed by Roberta Grieve I had already read and enjoyed Dawn’s stories of The Great War:100 stories of 100 words honouring those who lived and died 100 years ago, so I knew I was in for a treat when I was asked to review Extraordinary.

As stated on the front cover, this is ‘a collection of stories that will take you out of this world’ – and it does. An assorted collection of characters take us to the furthest reaches of the universe and back again.

Some of the stories are light, some very dark indeed, but all show a vivid imagination and the ability to construct a story which, while you are reading it, is totally believable.

It is a long time since I read any science fiction, a staple of my reading in my youth, and I really enjoyed the chance to go back to 35

Book reviews the genre and see what I had been missing all these years.

Some of the themes in Dawn’s stories reminded me of John Wyndham, especially Leave it to Lester and To Sleep – Perchance to Live was real scifi in the tradition of Isaac Asimov. But Dawn has put her own stamp on these stories – they are in no way derivative.

The variety of themes and plots kept me turning the pages, and despite the rather scary final story I was quite disappointed to reach the end.

Goodbye My Kampong! Potong Pasir 1966-1975

by Josephine Chia Published by: Ethos Books ISBN: 978-981-11-5038-8 Reviewed by Laura Burkin This was a fascinating read.

I didn’t know a lot about a kampong – which is a traditional Malaysian enclosure or village – but I certainly do now and much more besides.

Josephine’s earlier book, Kampong Spirit – Gotang Royong: Life in Potong Pasir, told of the author’s childhood in a kampong in her native Singapore, from 1955 to 1965.

In this sequel, she takes up the story of life there from 1966 to 1975, where progress into the modern world would see the end of the kampong as she knew it.

Life in the Potong Pasir kampong in the 1960s and 1970s was indeed harsh – in fact the villagers had to be made of stern stuff to survive – but while they were fully aware of the riches that much of the wider western world had, they didn’t feel sorry for themselves.

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Josephine recalls how as a child, she joined her fellow siblings and other children in sourcing much-wanted food – as poverty dictated, there was often not enough to go around. At times they had to rely on roadkill.

A treat was when the children managed to uproot sugar canes. Singing as they walked along, they dragged them back to their homes, where their mothers would skin the canes and cut them into chunks, with the barefooted youngsters delightedly chewing on them until they were reduced to pulp.

Josephine says that the villagers of the kampong at that time could never imagine Singapore becoming the Singapore of today, yet reading the stories that weaved seamlessly into every year, you can see that much of the progress Singapore made to become what it is now is down to its people. While they never stopped dreaming of a better life, they were also respectful of the lot that had been given to them.

In fact, while the eventual transition of progress into a more modern world was welcomed – this included villagers finally enjoying the comforts of flushing toilets, electricity and running water, basic commodities to me and you today – there was also pain and emotion, because quite simply, life would never be the same again.

Josephine lovingly recreates the marvellous sense of community that brings the stories of real people to life in a fantastic way and I would heartily recommend her book.

Book reviewers wanted!

Could you write a short book review for The Woman Writer? If the answer is yes, please get in touch with Pamela Birley at bra33@btinternet.com or call 020 7351 6377 or write to: Pamela Birley, Flat D, 49 Christchurch Street, London SW3 4AS. Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Book reviews Kingfisher & Other Things

by Doris Corti Available from Doris Corti – doris.stump@btinternet.com Price: £7 Reviewed by Valerie Tigwell Doris explores a variety of themes in this collection of poetry and there is a love of the natural world and of life in general, with clear and vivid imagery. There is also an underlying warmth and a depth of thought and finely constructed lines in her anecdotes of personal experiences and memories.

Doris has considerable achievements under her belt in the writing field and this collection is a fine addition to her many and varied publications.

Odd Man Out

by Denise Beddows Published by: Misbourne Press ISBN: 978-1-78697-973-5 Reviewed by Celia Pyke It was in 1948 that tragedy struck Rawtenstall (a mill town in Lancashire) when Nancy Chadwick was murdered, having been beaten to death in an apparently frenzied attack. Nancy was an elderly woman, described as odd or abnormal even by her own family, so little was known about her private life.

Five days later Margaret Allen was arrested, as evidence and rumour suggested she was the killer. Margaret was also odd, preferring to dress in men’s clothing while calling herself ‘Bill’. In the 1940s transgenderism and lesbianism were topics that were swept under the carpet, so Margaret Allen was accepted by the community as a bus The Woman Writer Summer 2018

conductress who was happiest wearing male attire. Despite evidence being revealed that she hardly knew the victim, it seems that once the connection was made that they were both ‘odd’, the die was cast. ‘Bill’ had no motive for killing Nancy, but on being asked about her movements on the night in question she was confused, and confessed that although she couldn’t remember, she might have attacked Nancy in a rage. This was her downfall. Her close friend Annie, with whom she had a loving relationship, campaigned relentlessly on her behalf but despite her efforts, Bill was hanged.

The book, told in documentary style, contains a plethora of recollections, witness statements which never came to light, extracts from newspapers, etc, which beg the question, ‘Was justice correctly served?’

Readers will be intrigued by the depth of analysis woven into this book.

Stalbridge to Siberia

by Hilary Townsend Published by: Silk Hay Books ISBN-10: 0950504807 ISBN-13: 978-0950504803 Reviewed by Reverend Joanna Ray This was a deeply interesting and very relaxing book for me to read, with some eye-catching photography. I found a kindred spirit in Hilary Townsend, having myself travelled across the world for several years in my youth. Stalbridge to Siberia is packed full of anecdotes of the author’s long expanses of travel. It is hard to pinpoint a particular place in the book that has inspired me, as so many are delineated in the chapters. In Part 7, though, there are a series of pages that contain, for me, moments of Siberian wonderment and excitement, revolving around Lake Baikal 37

Book reviews (page 202) and the less than comfortable train journey taken by the author on the Trans-Siberian Train. Ms Townsend writes with affection, and some delight, about her time on the train, and the people and spectacular scenery that she absorbed.

Part 1 gives an interesting insight into how the author was drawn into travelling as a young woman and how this fascination extended into her dream come true, a lifetime’s fulfilment of her travel bug. The author tells us that it was her mother and her grammar school history master who instilled her with her profound love of travel.

After experiencing a long period of ill health, Ms Townsend takes every opportunity to pursue her dream of visiting new places across the globe. Her relentless pursuit of the road less travelled was for her to be independent, and to harness the creative energy that comes from experiencing new places and then revisiting them; only to find that one has come full circle, matured, changed and seen the same place again with new eyes, novel insights into both our interior and exterior selves. If you are a lover of travel, do read this book.

to forego her independence for marriage.

From the viewpoint of the times, therefore, she is well on her way to spinsterhood.

A more immediate problem is that her autocratic aunt is about to visit, and will require the kind of social entertainment that Phoebe’s reclusive widower father tries his hardest to avoid. She will have to rely on help from her circle of acquaintances, but the family home, Glendale, is deep in the Somerset countryside, where distance is measured by the length of a horse or carriage ride.

The number of suitable neighbours is further diminished by a long-standing feud with one of the nearest families.

The unexpected arrival of a congenial stranger and their joint quest to lay to rest the uneasy spirit of a family ghost leads to a happy resolution of her difficulties, after a variety of setbacks and disappointments.

The feuding familes are reconciled, the ghost is exonerated from his supposed misdeeds and true love is found.

This likeable romance feels like a tale bathed in sunshine, and the resourceful Phoebe is a heroine in the best traditions of the genre.

The Ghost of Glendale

by Natalie Kleinman nataliekleinman.blogspot.co.uk ISBN: 978-1986810708 Reviewed by Fay Marshall In these anxious times it is pleasant to be able to turn to the settled and orderly world of Regency romance. The feisty heroine Phoebe is not without some problems of her own, however. She has reached the age of twenty-four, and no-one eligible has appealed to her enough for her 38

Summer 2018 The Woman Writer

Diary dates DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2018

31st August:

Closing date for John Walter Salver Competition

3rd September:

Copy date for Autumn 2018 issue of The Woman Writer

10th September:

SWWJ Council Meeting at NLC

20th September:

SWWJ Autumn Luncheon at NLC

26th September:

Cambridge Meeting

27th September:

Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire Group Meeting

9th October:

Drama Workshop, London

24th October:

Southern Regional Meeting, Chichester

26th November:

SWWJ Council Meeting at NLC

30th November:

Closing date for 125th Anniversary Competition

30th November:

Copy date for New Year 2019 issue of The Woman Writer

5th December:

SWWJ Christmas Tea at NLC

The Woman Writer is published four times a year: New Year (January), Spring (April), Summer (July) and Autumn (October). Copy dates are listed above. Send your copy to carol@aspire-editorial.co.uk The SWWJ Newsletter is published bi-monthly. Copy that misses the WW copy dates will be passed to Doreen Friend for the Newsletter on doreen.friend@swwj.co.uk To receive the Newsletter, please make sure we have your current email address.

Regional meetings take place at the advertised venues. Council meetings are held at The National Liberal Club,1 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London SW1A 2HE. The Woman Writer Summer 2018

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28 | Diary & Services

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