Like most writers, I’m always seeking time to write, but I’m delighted to participate in events, workshops, festivals and talks, too.
Here are a few highlights from spring/summer 2025.
Back in February, film and TV director Tim Fywell and I ran an all-day workshop at The Arc, Winchester, titled ‘Writing Fiction: The Director’s Cut’. We devised the day around a series of exercises designed to help fiction writers apply some directorial techniques to their prose. This wasn’t about writing a script. Rather, we explored aspects such as viewpoint, angle, lighting, set design and soundtrack to see how fictional scenes might be enhanced. I’m happy to say the workshop sold out and the day was, by all accounts, enlightening and stimulating. We’d be more than happy to offer a similar workshop again. Do use the contact form if you are interested.
I also gave talks about writing BIRDEYE to members of the Winchester branch of the Children’s Society, and to the Riverside Book Circle in south-east London. Huge thanks for the invitations.
In March I ran a workshop on character for members of the Hampshire Writers’ Society. Another sold-out event, and a very enjoyable morning discussing natives, strangers and returners with a lovely bunch of writers. Thank you, HWS.
April kicked off with an animated evening discussing BIRDEYE in the company of the Nightjar Book Group at Auriol Wines in Hartley Wintney.
This was followed by the fabulous Winchester Books Festival (25-27th April) at which I was ‘in conversation’ with editor, author and ghost writer Tom Bromley on the subject of putting together a submission package for agents and editors. Tom is a wonderful guest and carried off the whole event with great style and good humour. Do look out for next year’s Winchester Books Festival events, by the way – 17-19th April 2026.
14-221st June was Independent Bookshops Week. To mark this, I and several other Winchester-based writers (Claire Fuller, James McConnachie, Alice Hunt and Kirsty Applebaum) were invited to become booksellers for the afternoon at Winchester’s beautiful independent bookshop P&G Wells. The four of us each selected a list of personal favourites to recommend to customers. At the end of my shift, I didn’t want to leave.
Finally, at the end of June I gave a couple of workshops to twelve brilliant writers at the Bournemouth Writing Sanctuary, an offshoot of Bournemouth Writing Festival, organised and hosted with great care and skill by Dominic Wong and Emma Scattergood. Keep an eye out for future Bournemouth Writing Festival events here.