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12 Dec 2022: Richard’s ‘Peking to Paris’ Run
Zoom meeting attendees will remember the preview
Richard gave us earlier this year, of his coverage of the
2019 Peking to Paris rally. Aficionados of motor sports
can now read the full four-page report in the current
edition of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Driver
Magazine.
If you can’t find it in the shops, it is available on-line.
22 Jan 2023: Great News for Helen
Helen has recently learned that her short story entitled Clancy, is to be
published in the short fiction magazine Scribble. It tells the story of
Clancy, who as a small child was forced to flee with her family from
Afghanistan. It is a story of great fortitude and sadness, told with
compassion and intrigue.
Helen can’t be at our next meeting so the story will be read for us by Les.
Google says…
SCRIBBLE the short story
magazine, was launched at the
beginning of 1999 and has
developed into one of the UK's most popular general fiction
magazines. Scribble is in A5 booklet format, or as an eBook,
and is published quarterly; Scribble contains a wide range of
high quality fiction from new and established writers.
If you are looking for an outlet for
your short stories, check out Scribble
using the following link.
https://www.scribblelit.com/about
Gerry Robinson
Sadly,
Gerry,
one
of
our
long
term
members
passed
away
after
a
short
ill
-
ness on the 28th February, 2023.
Gerry
enjoyed
many
years
with
the
Circle
and
his
writing,
and
comment
on
the
work
of
others,
was
always
appreciated.
In
particular,
his
long
life
time
of
varied
experiences
provided
a
wealth
of
fascinating
insights
and
anec
-
dotes
which
added
much
to
his
work
and
our
group
discussions.
His
views
on non-rhyming poetry were always a point of interesting debate!
Gerry was a lovely man and our meetings will be the poorer without him.
What Happened
To Our Perfect World
So Do I
How Calm It Now Is
1st Sally Johnson
2nd David Baldock
3rd Les Williams
14 Mar 2023: Chris Mundy Memorial
Poetry Competition Results
You can read all the entries on the 2023 page in the Library
21 Mar 2023: Thank You, Iain
For a number of years, we have been fortunate to have secured the services
of Iain Pattison, to judge the Barbara Olive Smith Memorial Trophy
competition. This year, we regret that this will not be possible, due to his
writing career having taken off to the extent that it leaves him little time for
other activities.
We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Iain for all the work
he has done on our behalf. We will miss his helpful critiques, however we
might regret losing his sharp, but fair criticisms where our stories have failed
to impress.
The part of Iain’s career that has blossomed and needs his close attention is his
Gothic Horror novels which he writes under the pen-name of Jay Raven.
If you are familiar with the Hammer Horror films, you will have some idea of the
kind of stories that ‘Jay’ writes. He has a vampire hunter series Blood Riders
and a 17th century sorcery series To Snare A Witch.
The Blood Riders books are really starting to take off and he’s trying to get two
or three new instalments published this year.
We will announce new
arrangements for the
Barbara Olive Smith
Memorial Trophy in due
course.
1 Jun 2023: Barbara Olive Smith Memorial Trophy
There was a good response again this year and fourteen entries
have been received. They are now with Lynne Hackles who will
judge our efforts. We expect the results and critiques to be back
with Sally by 25 June.
Readings will take place at the meetings on 27 June (hall) and 4
July (Zoom).
All the entries will be available to read in the Library, for those not
able to join the meetings.
2 Jul 2023: Mark Wins
Congratulations to Mark Holman-Lisney on taking first place in the recent on-line competition
run by Writer Advice. His short story, Butterfly Moments, beat 62 other entries!
A wistful, melancholic piece, Mark says it is a shortened version of a story he read at one of
our meetings earlier this year. We hope our comments helped you, Mark.
You can read Mark’s winning piece and those in second and third places on the
web site - select the Contests Winners option
This looks like a useful site. It will be added to our Links page.
4 Jul 2023: Barbara Olive Smith Memorial Trophy Result - Another Win For Mark!
2nd: Call Me Lucien
by Les Williams
My Legacy from Passchendaele
by Dick Sawdon Smith
was Highly Commended
You can catch up on all the stories and read Lynne’s comments on each of them, on the Library page for 2023.
Contact Walter if you have forgotten the Library password.
Mark Holman-Lisney has won his second competition within a
couple of weeks. His piece ‘Prisoner of Thought’ took first place in
the competition named to commemorate our late founder.
Lynne Hackles, who judged the event, provided critiques for all the
entries. She also commented on the high standard of the entries
which made the judging process very enjoyable for her.
Mark’s ‘mind boggling’ piece was hotly followed by:
3rd: Cosmonauts
by Nick Swyft