News from the sector

At Scottish Book Trust we get lots of people telling us about different opportunities for writers in Scotland. Here's the current crop:

RESIDENTIAL WRITING WORKSHOPS WITH MARK THOMSON

Glenclova, Angus
September 10th/11th and 17th/18th 2010

 
Author of “Bard fae thi buildin Site” Mark Thomson is now
offering residential writing workshops set in the beautiful scenery of Glen Clova.   

·         Arrive Friday night in time for tea

·         2½ hour writing session Saturday am

·         2½ hour writing session Saturday pm

·         Saturday evenings performance

·         Sunday morning debrief and next steps

·         Leave after lunch

Accommodation is in The Bunkhouse at Glenclova Hotel, shared accommodation, price includes all meals and bed for the night — you just need to bring soap and a towel!

All the facilities of the Glen Clova Hotel are also available to all guests staying at the steading bunkhouse, including the bars and restaurant

£150 per person

Contact Mark Thomson:  

PUSHING OUT THE BOAT: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Submissions of writing and artwork are invited for Issue 10 of Pushing Out the Boat, North-East Scotland's acclaimed magazine of prose, poetry and visual arts. Subject to funding, Issue 10 will be published in Summer 2011, with an online version to follow in 2012.

Find out more: http://www.pushingouttheboat.co.uk/

THE TERRY PRATCHETT PRIZE 
deadline: 31 December 2010

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers have launched a new award for aspiring debut novelists, The Terry Pratchett ‘Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now Prize’. Transworld will offer the winning author a publishing contract with a £20,000 advance. The award will be judged by Sir Terry Pratchett, Tony Robinson, Michael Rowley from Waterstone’s and two senior members of the editorial team at Transworld Publishers. For further details about the award see www.terrypratchett.co.uk/news%5Ctermsandconditions.html

NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 29

The twenty-ninth volume of New Writing Scotland will be published in summer 2011. Submissions are invited from writers resident in Scotland or Scots by birth, upbringing or inclination. All forms of writing are welcome: autobiography and memoirs; creative responses to events and experiences; drama; graphic artwork (monochrome only); poetry; political and cultural commentary and satire; short fiction; travel writing or any other creative prose may be submitted, but not full-length plays or novels, though self-contained extracts are acceptable. The work must be neither previously published nor accepted for publication and may be in any of the languages of Scotland.

Find out more: http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/scotlit/asls/NWSsubs.html

NEW SCREENWRITING SHORT COURSES IN EDINBURGH

Screen Academy Scotland are offering an exciting range of short courses in screenwriting.

Summer courses include: Writers' Factory Intro to Screenwriting – Express! and a new online feature film screenwriting course with other new Writers Factory screenwriting courses starting in the autumn.

All Screen Academy short courses are registered with ILA Scotland, meaning you could get up to £200 towards your fees. For the full range of Screen Academy short courses, please visit:

W: http://www.screenacademyscotland.ac.uk/training

*NEW* CHICKEN HOUSE 10th ANNIVERSARY COMPETITION FOR
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF CREATIVE WRITING

See the Submissions page for more details of this exciting new venture which we are offering exclusively to students on postgraduate courses in writing children’s literature.

http://www.doublecluck.com/submissions

CREATIVE WRITING WEEK ON HOLY ISLE

Sept 10 - 12         Course Leader: Kate Tough

Always wanted to write, but not sure how to start? Write already but sometimes feel ‘stuck? In the beautiful setting of Holy Isle, writing activities will help you free the flow of words in a supportive, friendly atmosphere. Sessions may cover aspects of fiction and poetry, enabling you to start new pieces, take them home and keep writing.

In the words of one participant, "Both the course and the island provided fertile ground for new ideas. An encouraging and enjoyable experience."

Cost: £146 single room, £121 twin each, £106 dorm
(optional extra of a one-to-one tutorial – 1 hour, £25)

 Holy Isle, by Arran     01770 601100    reception@holyisland.org

About Kate:  

MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow.
Tutored / lectured in creative writing since 2007.
Writer-in-residence at Wigtown Book Festival, 2009.
Awarded a Scottish Arts Council bursary to complete her novel.

REWRITE – AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WORKING WITH SCRIPT EDITORS AND PRODUCERS

Getting someone interested in your work is only the start of the process. This information packed one day course is your chance to learn from successful Writers, Script Editors and Producers about what happens next.

The course is hosted by Adrian Mead and Clare Kerr of Mead Kerr and we are very pleased to welcome Philip Shelley as the lead speaker and tutor.

Philip Shelley is one of the UK’s most experienced Script Consultants and Editors and has worked as a Script Editor and Producer in TV drama and film for 15 years. He has script edited numerous projects including A Good Murder, Waking The Dead, Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC and many more.

COURSE DETAILS
VENUE: St Columba's-by-the-castle
14 Johnston Terrace
Edinburgh EH1 2PW

FEE: £85.00 (includes lunch and refreshments)
DATE: Saturday Oct 2nd 2010
BOOKINGS AT: http://rewrite.eventbrite.com

OPPORTUNITIES AT COVE PARK

COVE PARK, Scotland's international artist residency centre, hosts two residency programmes for writers this autumn. POETRY HOTHOUSE is an intensive weekend residency for poets tutored by Ron Butlin and Polly Clark, October 15-17. Writing sessions and one-to-one time with the tutors. Individual accommodation and a maximum of eight residents, just £350 for the weekend.

The FIELDING PROGRAMME runs for two weeks from October 18. Mentored by Polly Clark, this is a specialist residency programme for writers with a project which needs the immersion and support we offer to make progress. Join a small group of fellow writers (max of six) in the spectacular surroundings of Cove Park. £395 per week.

For more details on both of these residencies go to www.fieldingprogramme.com.

PETER WOLFF TRUST SUPPORTS THE WHITING AWARD FOR NEW WRITERS 2010

This prestigious award gives £6,000 to the writer of a new play that demonstrates an original and distinctive development in dramatic writing. Previous winners include Bryony Lavery, David Edgar, David Greig, Tanika Gupta, James Phillips, Terry Johnson, Joe Penhall, and Tom Stoppard; the award proving instrumental in the development of their writing careers. To be eligible to enter for the award the play must be:

An original piece of writing. Plays created through a devising process must have a named writer to be eligible. Adaptations and verbatim theatre will not be considered.

• Produced by a company within the subsidised sector. (Subsidy being defined as funding of £1,000 or more from the arts council, a local government body, a trust or a foundation.)
• Produced under a professional contract to ITC, TWU, WGGB or TMA guidelines.
• Performed for the first time in the UK between 1 August 2009 and 31 July 2010.

For more information please contact gareth.twp@gmail.com.

RECOMMENDED RETREAT: VILLA HELLEBOSCH

Villa Hellebosch is situated at Vollezele (Galmaarden), 25km south-west of Brussels, in a region of the Flemish Brabant, close to the linguistic border. Janice Galloway, a great writer and friend of Scottish Book Trust, says "I was offered a residency there last year and it's one of the most well-equipped places I've stayed in to write, with food laid on and very kind hosts who keep out of a writer's way. The place can be booked by those writers who can afford it and it seems a useful place for such writers to know about."

Find out more at the Villa Hellebosch website

VERY SHORT STORY COMPETITION - 247 TALES
247 Tales is an online writing competition from Bloomsbury that challenges young writers to create stories using only 247 words or less. Launched in 2009, the competition was a great success with over 100 entries each month.

In 2010, the competition is back. Each month a different Bloomsbury author will pen a 247tale on a certain theme. It is then over to the UK's budding writers aged between 8 and 16 to create their own miniature masterpiece.

Go to 247tales.com for all the info

SALTIRE SOCIETY LITERARY AWARDS 2010 -CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Nominations must be for books published between 1st September 2009 and 31st August 2010.
 
Please submit copies of the nominated book with a completed entry form by 3rd September 2010: Sarah Mason, The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TF

More information on the Saltire Society website

HIGHLAND LITERARY SALON 
Created in the tradition of the literary salons of Paris and New York, and based on the successes of similar gatherings in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the HLS brings together those with an interest in literature to discuss writing, ideas, projects, publishing, and all things literary.
The Salon will be on the third Tuesday of each month at Maverick's, 5 Young Street, Inverness, IV3 5BL.

Salons may feature writers, agents, and other literary professionals as guest speakers. See more at www.highlandlitsalon.com. For more information, contact info@highlandlitsalon.com.

WEEGIE WEDNESDAY
Weegie Wednesday began in January 2007, inspired by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature’s salon night (last Tuesday of every month at the Wash Bar, upstairs). Writers, booksellers, publishers, librarians, or anyone who wishes to network and talk books is welcome. Please pass the word. The meetings take place once a month at the following venue:
Upstairs at The Universal Bar
Sauchiehall Lane (directly behind Waterstones in Sauchiehall Street), Glasgow

Forthcoming meetings will take place from 7.30pm on:

July 14th

www.weegiewednesday.webs.com

PERSPECTIVES - NEW CREATIVE SCOTLAND WEBSITE
Designed to engage the artistic and creative communities, this discussion forum is your chance to share your views on the emerging role of Creative Scotland, the new national development body for the arts, culture and creative industries. Creative Scotland will invest directly in Scotland’s talent. It promises to be as imaginative as the sectors it will serve.

Perspectives aims to break new ground in practitioner engagement. It will also generate and share information and intelligence to develop the sector, as well as informing and directing future engagement.

Keep up-to-date on forum developments by logging on to www.perspectives.creativescotland.org.uk

For more opportunities for writers and literature professionals in the UK visit http://www.literaturetraining.com/