I hate trains. Or rather I hate trains on Sundays that turn out not to be trains but buses or trains that get halfway to their destination, then sit still in the middle of nowhere for two hours before returning you to the start of your journey to wait for a bus instead. This was my Sunday. It took me three and a half hours longer than it should have to get to Balloon in Cardiff where I had been booked in to read a short story, alongside Richard Milward and Matthew David Scott. A literary lunch event.
Richard Milward (photo by Matt Jarrett)
When I eventually made it to the Balloon event at Cardiff Arts Institute lunch was sold out, Matt had read and Richard was into his first set of the day. I was in a foul mood but Rich, wearing a mask of the cover of Apples still managed to make me laugh with his tall tales of awkward teenage sex. He gave me prop envy too. After I read a new story about butterflies and mental hospitals from my forthcoming collection, Rich bounded onto the stage with a brightly painted cardboard model of a high-rise building propped on his shoulders. He then read a balloon-related section from his second novel, the drug-fuelled Ten Story Love Song. It involved laughing gas…And audience laughter.
The young hipster crowd then filtered out from the upstairs canteen and mooched about the Carboutique Sale downstairs while Ben Bryant, Editor of the South Wales listings monthly Buzz Magazine counted down his top 100 songs of all time. Some punters played with the canteen bar’s Lego wall. Others drank and gossiped. A fun day all in all, but it took me another nightmare five hour train/ replacement bus journey to get home again. Damn trains!
Blond(e)s with Brains
My previous weekend was luckier, travel-wise, as I headed west to the Academi New Narratives Conference at Gellifawr in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. An early start took me on one of my favourite train journeys (Swansea to Carmarthen) where I was picked up by the lovely Bronwen (Academi) and a very sleepy Joe Dunthorne (author of Submarine). We chatted about films, poetry and football as the roads grew narrower and quieter. At our picturesque destination we collected cottage keys, unloaded bags and dosed up on caffeine to prepare for the day ahead.
First up was travel writer and surfer Tom Anderson, who I had read with at Swn Festival in 2009. He talked confidently and insightfully about the blurring of fact and fiction in travel writing and explained the process of researching and writing Chasing Dean. Tom discusses the evolution of myths and journey storytelling and the truth behind Moby Dick. He ponders our ability to forget other people’s reality as long as our own is going alright. He quotes Salman Rushdie: ‘Sometimes legends make reality and become more useful than the facts.’
Next up was Swansea boy Joe Dunthorne who amused us with anecdotes of adapting his Welsh Book of the Year longlisted novel Submarine for the big screen. He tells us about Warp films and turning down the production company run by Lily Allen’s mum – she talked about her daughter too much. He was joined on stage by the actor playing teenage narrator Oliver, Craig Roberts from Cardiff who had been cast because of his funny face and deadpan delivery. Joe talked about filming scenes at his rival school, a cameo appearance as a drama teacher, and working with Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh) and Ben Stiller. He also spoke of the trauma of seeing his characters with real faces and bodies when he barely describes physical features in the book. The film is due for screening in early 2011.
Both talks were interesting and yet what were all the writers discussing over lasagne and salad? Keats? Shakespeare? Publishing conflicts? No, it was HBO series The Wire. Tom Anderson and his lovely girlfriend Briege are only on series Two. Niall Griffiths is a big fan, and nearly gives away future plots as he praises it again and again. Editor of New Welsh Review, Kathryn Gray declares the show’s creator David Simon as ‘better than Shakespeare’ and American Poet Carrie Etter, insists to the young couple that ‘the best is yet to come.’
The weather is kind to us and so, after lunch, we pile onto two minibuses to The Parrog – a beautiful coastal backdrop for readings from the Mabinogi, and the new Seren series reinterpreting the stories in contemporary settings. Afterwards we took a stroll, and the delightful director of BBC Radio Drama, Kate McAll led me on a chatty walk along the coastline.
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- Tom Anderson (photo by Peter Finch)
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- Trip to The Parrog (photo by Peter Finch)
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- Kate McAll (right) and Susie Wild (photo by Peter Finch)
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- Three Blondes: l-r Deborah Kay Davies, Holly Howitt and Kathryn Gray (photo by Stanislaw Szypowski)
Back to base we consumed more tea and coffee before Ifor ap Dafydd from the National Library of Wales explained the difficulties in the future of literary archives in a digital world. Plenty of food for thought on how we store our work and how much work is lost through computer crashes, poor file naming and upgraded software. Time to engage with our inner geeks and get tech savvy, me thinks.
Finally the day’s events were rounded up with lively, engaging poetry readings by Peter Finch, Joe Dunthorne, Kathryn Gray and Carrie Etter. Joe’s Valentine poem for Five Dials, ‘Future Dating,’ is fantastic, as are Carrie’s bold poems from The Tethers (Seren) including ‘Divorce’: ‘He remembers which sister/ I like least and asks/ how she is doing.’ Entertained, we break for dinner and a shambolic yet hilarious literary pub quiz (Thanks go to the poet and quiz master Ifor Thomas and his pink cowboy hat). Oh and my team won a prize for being the best dressed, naturally.
Sunday began with my favourite event of the weekend, How Short is Short? run by three blondes with brains. Kathryn Gray debated the current trend of shorter and more immediate fiction with Deborah Kay Davies and Holly Howitt. Deborah won Welsh Book of The Year 2009 for her wonderful collection of short stories Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful, while Holly has released a collection of microfiction (stories told in under 600 words) called Dinnertime and is now editing anthology of microfiction for Cinnamon Press. They talked about where you draw the line between prose poetry, the short story and micro or nano fiction – particularly relevant as we think about new platforms of delivery for our writing, and new modes of author-reader relationship thanks to social networking sites and twit-lit. Holly, who also writes longer fiction says she is not a poet, but that microfiction offers her a way to write poetically. Essentially this shift to the short had been aided by sudden fiction exercises and getting stories down to their essence so that the audience reads so much between the lines that they write lines. The micro mode of writing asks the reader to do some work, the words asking more questions than they answer. Life in the literary fast lane, a placethat seemed so far removed from the slowness of Gellifawr with the bliss of no mobile or internet signal that it offered. A chance to pause and reflect.
Finally the charms and qualms of Aberystwyth as a literary setting were investigated by the authors Niall Griffiths and Malcolm Pryce, sharing anecdotes and musing on why the place is a funny setting and why so many people arrive at end-of-the-line towns and never leave, trying to leave their problems behind they find the problems remain, there is nowhere else to run, so they just learn to talk about them in a different accent. Then tick tick tock — time is up and, inspired and invigorated, I write reams on another peaceful, sunny train journey home. Hurrah for better train luck. Hurrah for words.
Tonight I am off to the launch of Stevie Davies’ new novel Into The Suez, which I have also just started reading. I’ll blog about this and some other literati happenings soon. Watch This Space!
Oh the celebrations. Another good cause that culminates in a day packed full of events and goings-on to raise awareness. Congratulations should go to Kathryn Bigelow, first of all, who has become the first woman to win a best director Oscar for her film The Hurt Locker. Shocking that it has taken until now, but none-the-less wonderful that it has happened. Listen to her acceptance speech here.
I won’t go on too much about it, but I hope that everyone has had a chance to read something recently that convinces them that feminism is still current and vital and necessary, as I continue to come across a surprising number of people who think that it isn’t. According to the Guardian’s International Women’s Day Poster (free in last Saturday’s edition), women still get paid, on average, 12.2% less than men. There are many other statistics that shock and anger, of course, but it seems that people are not as aware of this one as one might think. It’s a lot, isn’t it, for a society that purports to be heading towards equality. And, just as a side point, I noticed that the poster left out the fact that New Zealand was the first place to give women the vote in 1898 – a full thirty years before it happened the UK.
So. In the spirit of celebration, I thought I’d share some links, events and women-themed features that have crossed my desk in the lead-up to today.
See Me, Hear Me, Read Me. A special book for International Women’s Day with poems about ladies and Haiku from the likes of Judi Dench, Bonnie Greer, Yoko Ono, Julie Walters and Carol Ann Duffy. A collection of poems that provides a celebration of the resilience, humour and hope of women everywhere, but that also highlights the struggles they face on a daily basis.
Question Time. On 11 March, the BBC will host the first ever Question Time with a women-only audience. Timed to coincide with International Women’s Week, it is taking place in Dewsbury, and you can apply for a place in the audience here.
The Female Poem. A 20-minute poetry podcast, hosted by the Poetry Trust and launched today, of a debate chaired by Jo Shapcott with Maureen Duffy, Annie Freud and Pascale Petit. The writers discuss, among other things, whether such a thing as a female poem exists – and whether, in fact, John Donne, John Keats and Thomas Wyatt wrote some of the very best ‘female’ poems.
Taking action. Join in with, or bear witness to, a demonstration today for a good cause: Million Women Rise coincides with International Women’s Day each year and is a demonstration about ending male violence against women. Check the website for details and information on taking part. Women on the Bridge is run by Women for Women and is taking part on bridges across the country to honour the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world. See if there’s an event near you, and get yourself down onto a bridge to show solidarity – or just sign the pledge – by following the link to the website.
International Women’s Day event with Bernardine Evaristo and Diana Evans. Taking place in London this evening, these two acclaimed novelists will talk about the themes of travel and migration in their writing. It will be chaired by Mslexia’s editor, Daneet Steffens.
I’m sure there are also a plethora of smaller local events – poetry, music, debate, film – going on nearer to you, wherever you may be. Click here for a fairly comprehensive nationwide list. Also, feel free to post comments here if you have a relevant event this week you’d like to spread the word about.
And, most of all, have a happy International Women’s Day!
Sophie xx
It only seems like last week that I was deploring the approach of February, but, and at the risk of sounding repetitive…March? Really? Already?
I think the answer is yes. Here we are in fact, already on to the 4th, which is also happily World Book Day. I hope you are all making an effort and buying a book, or borrowing one from your local library. We are lucky in Newcastle to have the recently completely rebuilt and reopened library – a library which also, marvellously, has a blog, and regularly posts podcasts of recent events – but libraries all across the country, of all shapes and sizes, are wonderful, and need as much support as they can get. Go on! Visit one!
I recommend: The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas for a quirky, well-written novel; Her Book by Jo Shapcott for some funny, touching, intriguing poetry; or Toast by Nigel Slater for an insight into this wonderful chef’s childhood food experiences.
While I’m here talking about buying books, I’d also like to mention 100 Stories for Haiti, a fantastic project created by Greg McQueen and published by Bridge House Publishing, that is now available to buy at £11.99 only six weeks after inception. A testament to the wonders of writers, the generosity of people – not least Greg McQueen himself – and Twitter, this fast turnaround of a publication is a quality book that stands alone as a must-have, with stories by first-timers as well as best-selling author Nick Harkaway, Tania Hershman, author of The White Road and Other Stories, and prize-winning author, Vanessa Gebbie. But not only that, it’s a great way to help Haiti. All royalties from the book will be donated to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.
Sophie xx
It is wet and cold. Rain is coming from every angle. It’s noon, but still a darkness hangs in the sky. It won’t get light properly today.
Reading this paragraph back, it sounds like I’m describing deepest winter in Norway, but no, it’s Brighton. And it’s February and it’s just one of those grey British days when, as a writer, it is only sensible to don layered clothing, load a bag with notepaper and pens and head to your favourite writer’s café. To that end, I decided to investigate what Brighton has to offer a writer seeking shelter – and a bit of scribbling time.
First stop on the trail is Cocoa, a modest-sized, nine-table space on busy Queens Road, the street leading from the train station to the sea. With its inviting window of pastries, cakes and croissants under a striped canopy, this authentic patisserie is a true taste of Paris: patrons and staff are French, and wait with Continental excellence. After being served your order (brightly coloured meringue mountains, glazed croissants and the cream brioche tart are all to die for), you will be left alone to write, write, write and gaze.
It’s not so much the view from the window that will encourage words to pour from your Biro – unless you take particular pleasure in heavy traffic and grey 1960s architecture – but the magical Cocoa world that happens inside its brown and cream walls. Fresh flowers stand neatly on every table, enormous wall mirrors are immaculately polished and menu blackboards are written in unmistakeably French looping handwriting. With little effort, I am able to mentally transport myself to the romanticised Paris, Left Bank of all our imaginations….
Cocoa ticks all the boxes for the anonymous, quiet and old-fashioned writer who chooses notebook over laptop. It is possible to sit here for a good long time, undisturbed, soaking up the quiet operatic music that plays subtly in the background and watching steam cloud gently from the coffee machine, without an ounce of guilt. There is a respectful air of established lingering; it is okay to sit and take one’s time. Starbucks, with sticky tables cluttered with chunky mugs, this is not.
A five-minute walk from Queens Road takes me into the North Laines. On Gardner Street, in the heart of trendy Brighton is Komedia – comedy, spoken word and live music venue. The café at street level is my destination. There is a quicker-paced atmosphere here and a different soundtrack etiquette (louder), which sets the scene for a different writing experience. A glass front and a generous strip outside – for smokers in winter and fashionable people the rest of the year – makes Komedia the ultimate people-watching venue.
I sit inside, up high on a stool in the window, and realise quite quickly that this is the place to sit if you are working on any kind of bodily description in your writing. It’s the Piccadilly Circus of writers’ vantage points with every hairstyle, outfit and body type eventually walking past.
The café itself is warm, friendly and relaxed. The walls are plastered with posters from previous events, which make for good reading if you get bored with your own scribbles. And there is that essential writers’ cafe element: anonymity without frigidity. The perfect place to head to if you are after a heavy dose of character inspiration and want to feel in the thick of happening Brighton.
Tucked down Brunswick Street East in Hove is The Sanctuary Café, the vegetarian writer’s best friend. Catering for every meal of the day and all the coffees and ginger beers in between, Sanctuary is perfect for writers who keep longer hours. They serve a mean breakfast until 12pm, then switch on a more restauranty/bar feel after 6pm.
Downstairs is the Cella Bar which hosts regular live music events including Rapunzel Gets Down, a monthly women-only night of comedy, live poetry, music and disco-dancing.
In the café, at my table, someone has obligingly left The Guardian, which is a welcome distraction from getting down to writing. Out of the window, grand Regency architecture fills the view and there’s a quieter feel here compared with the bustling Laines. Sanctuary is also just a couple of streets down from the excellent independent City Books bookshop which runs regular author events at The Old Market.
It’s not just Sanctuary’s great location and hearty food that win it a place on this list, but it’s excellent furniture: solid, broad and without any irritating wobbles. The tables are perfect for spreading out notebooks, novels and the newspaper and writing to your heart’s content. You almost feel as if you are at home, sat at your own kitchen table.
But of course, if all we needed to write was our own quiet kitchen then the long established culture of café writing would not be the wonderfully curious institution that it is. While pondering this piece, I came up with a long list of essentials – what makes a great writer’s café? My top three:
1. comfort
2. being left alone
3. a good view
What are yours?
Images: Monty Ochocki
Today I came across (via The Guardian Books Blog) a blog post written by Splinister decrying the shocking omission of women writers from a special edition of SFX magazine dedicated to the horror genre. Not only has this occurred despite a recent internet furore over the British Fantasy Society’s publication of a collection of interviews with horror writers that completely omitted women, it has also occurred in Women in Horror Recognition Month. (Read Splinister’s blog post HERE). Such irony is hard to bear.
I would like to say that I am shocked that omissions such as these still occur, that the recognition of women authors is on a level with those of men – indeed, that having to think about such things and tot up gender comparisons in lists of ‘Top Authors’ or ‘The Best <insert genre> Books of the Last Decade’ was unnecessary – but I am not shocked, and recognition is consistently not on a level.
Recent occurrences have included such big names as the BBC, who, in their recent Poetry Season, had an extremely poor representation of female authors both in their television programmes and on their website. Just as one example among many, in a list of 30 poets from which ‘The Nation’ was supposed to choose their ‘Favourite Poet,’ only five of them were women. FIVE. It shocked me then that such blatant sexism was still kicking about, but, I thought, surely this was an exception. It is not. And though poetry may have been historically weighted towards recognition of the male writer, and seems more stuck in the historical (and historically male-dominated) ‘canon’ than most genres (out of the list of 30 poets mentioned above, only six were still alive), the same cannot be said for horror writing.
And it is not just fleeting ’seasons’ and magazines that are making these grave errors in judgement. As is highlighted in the introduction to Eva Salzman and Amy Wack’s excellent anthology Women’s Work: Modern Women Poets Writing in English, this omission happens in a shocking number of editorial choices for books and anthologies, too. Publications that have more of a permanence and a claim at representing or defining genres, decades and/or eras of writing.
What do you think? Have you noticed any glaringly shocking omissions of women – or, indeed, of men – that seems to go against the actual trend of who is influential in such collections/lists/anthologies recently? What do you think can be done about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts, or be pointed towards more examples.
I would love even more, of course, to be inundated with a plethora of recommendations that go against this worrying trend.
Sophie xx
Not to let Susie have all of the fun down in Wales, I have been attending some events myself this past week in bonny Newcastle (upon Tyne) – albeit not of the party kind.
First up, a trip to a great event organised by New Writing North to bring a taste of StAnza, St Andrews’ long-running poetry festival, to the North East. And what a taste indeed. Artistic Director Eleanor Livingstone talked us through a huge list of events planned for this year’s festival (17-21 March) – from workshops to one-on-one poetry theatre, from straight readings to open mic nights and exhibitions – and made it seem more than worthwhile to get a train up the road. It’s always interesting to hear about events from the point of view of the organisers, but it was especially nice to hear Eleanor explaining the passion and reasoning that has gone into this year’s – and all the previous years’ – StAnza. It seems to me a festival that captures the essence of where it’s based, but isn’t afraid to push against the boundaries of what poetry means to people. And we all need as much boundary-pushing as we can stomach, don’t we?
And then a reading from Kei Miller, author of There is an Anger That Moves (Carcanet) and upcoming poet-in-residence for StAnza. A brilliant reading and a captivating voice, his poems are energetic and measured, vibrant and imaginative and left-field but common-sense. I hadn’t heard of him before, but will be watching out for him from now on. You should too.
Next up, a change of pace and venue to the Jaybird event You Are Here, with Jo Shapcott, Daljit Nagra and Colette Bryce. Talking of boundary-pushing, this event was definitely on that spectrum: three poets reading their work in a theatrical setting, with props and lighting-effects and stage directions. It created an interesting combination of disciplines that made the non-stop hour of poetry slip by in an almost dream-like state, and the themes and moods of the poems settle on the consciousness as a collective rather than individually.
It’s not the sort of event that could be repeated too often – the poems really do have to work together and have a strong theme or narrative that keeps them all relevant to one another – but as a one-off it certainly seemed to set the audience thinking. It’s strange listening to poems you already know very well being read without their titles – and fitted in to a longer sequence; and strange to have three poets on the stage at once, reacting (or not reacting) to each others’ work as it is read, very much in the traditional poetry reading style. Strange, but largely good. I’d recommend going to see it if it hasn’t passed by you yet on its tour of the country, wherever you may be.
Sophie xx
Another pretty dress, another glorious party. On Wednesday it was the turn of the Welsh Women’s Press (Honno) to delight me with a bit of a do, launching their new anthology of short stories Cut on the Bias in Cardiff’s Oxfam Boutique.
It was Ladies’ Night alright: A gaggle of the glamorous and their proud others gather in the fashion store together. Glasses clink. Spirits are high. Mannequin heads with marvellous millinery gaze down at us from high pedestals. A party of designer frocks demands trying on at a later date. The star of the show, lady in red, is spread out in paperback glory near the scarlet clothes and vin rouge. In the Oxfam boutique the clothes are arranged according to colour, and the audience seems to gravitate like-to-like. The anthology editor, Stephanie Tillotson, wearing a long, tailored, mint jacket lingers near the green. Yasmin Ali, a contributor, her dark hair skimming the shoulders of a black dress with slash zip detailing, stands by with her back to black. After some time to mill, chat, browse the rails and tuck into the refreshments, the speeches begin.
Editor Stephanie Tillotson’s experience in theatre, radio and TV shows. She oozes no-nonsense confidence and style as she tells her favourite ‘knock-knock’ joke from childhood, ending with the punchline ‘Knickerless girls shouldn’t climb trees.’ ‘Why is it funny?,’ Tillotson asks. ‘Because it is naughty. I think this is why so many people entered stories into this anthology: because our relationship with clothes can be a naughty one, because clothes give shape to something that we know is there but most people don’t get to see.’
The anthology doesn’t just touch on the sensual aspects of clothes, but also on their element of disguise and empowerment. The Secretary of State fears attending an important meeting without her lucky jacket as armour in Yasmin Ali’s ‘The Lucky Jacket.’ Kerry Steed’s contribution is a tale of a first encounter when she is without her usual mask: ‘I am wearing no make-up. My hair needs washing, my clothes too. I am exhausted.’ This is not the case for the writer on the evening though, her strawberry blonde curls shine around an expressive face. She bounces with joy. It is her first short story and her first published work. The brilliantly bold Alys Conran, fellow contributor of mine for the Nu: fiction & stuff anthology last year, takes the idea of not wearing anything a bit further, setting her story – ‘Mr Price’s Summer Holiday’ – on a nudist beach. The story itself opens with: ‘Whoopeeeeee! Naked!’
Will The Birthday Suit catch on? Former fashion editor of the Western Mail’s WM magazine, Rin Simpson knows about clothes. I spy her listening to Kerry intently, sat on the floor, her back leaning on a clothes rail, her deep red curls long and loose. Afterwards I chat to her about getting published, and working on her first novel – she is trying to master writing in the third not first person. Even after years in journalism, she hates the idea of rejection. She is excited about being a part of Cut on the Bias. Her lovely story ‘In Her Shoes,’ the title deliberately stolen, tells of a woman trying to decide what to wear to meet her birthmother. Rin reveals that she is wearing the same brown boots she describes in the story:‘I realised that much of the clothing I describe in the story is actually from my wardrobe!’ All the more reason to keep indulging in our love of clothes then, just look at the inspiration they bring…
I think I need some new shoes. They rhyme with muse, after all, and that’s close enough for me.
The mad hustle that is the Mslexia Short Story Competition is at a temporary lull as judge Tracy Chevalier goes off to make her final selections (Good luck to all of you who’ve submitted your stories!).
In the office, it’s time to catch up on other work – and to start gearing up for the Spring issue’s deadline. Part of today’s roster: reading through your Curious Incidents submissions, the autobiographical writing slot of Mslexia magazine. As always, I’m continually impressed by the endless variety of what you’ve accomplished with your lives. From sailing tall ships to being ordained as early Church of England priests; from working as wildlife rehabilitators and stand-up comediennes, to starting schools in Japan, to working as musicians and composers and television producers. All this – and writers all.
Reading these slices of your life stories is nothing short of inspiring, and a wonderful way to spend part of a sunny Friday in the office.
Mmmmm...
Birthdays – a joy. Especially when they occur whilst you’re in the Mslexia office! Sarah is celebrating hers this week, and as a reward Wendy has cooked these rather extravagant, and absolutely delicious, chocolate cherry cupcakes (a Nigella Lawson creation), with little Cadbury’s mini egg hats! It doesn’t get much better in the world of chocolate. Sarah agrees. Needless to say, today’s most important office-wide task is filling (and covering) our faces with the slimming (ahem) cupcakes.
I do have a quick recommendation for you, too, should you want something more substantial to devour than a photograph of delicious cakes you have no way of tasting yourself. Here it is. An inspirational, funny short history comic about Susan B. Anthony by Toronto-based graphic artist Kate Beaton, which she describes thus: “If I made a comic for kids it might read like this.” Enjoy!
Sophie xx
Rhys Davies Winner Siân Preece (centre) with judges Niall Griffiths and Stevie Davies (Copyright: Academi / John Briggs)
One more entry from me this week: On Tuesday night I put on my new boots and nipped over to Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre for the announcement of the winners of the Academi Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. I’ll let slip now – First Prize went to a woman.
In the upstairs balcony bar the pre-notified winner and 10 runners up milled about with friends and loved ones, grazing on wine and canapés. Author, artist, musician and runner up Jeb Loy Nicholls chatted to a behatted Richard Gwyn in one corner, while in another nook childhood friends Joâo Morais (another runner up) and rising Cardiff art star John Abel observed the room.
I grabbed a glass and caught up with one of the judges for the evening, Niall Griffiths. He’d just been to see The Road: ‘Harrowing but brilliant.’ At a sighting of John Williams – festival organiser, crime writer, Serpent’s Tail editor and general literary good guy – our thoughts turned to the next Laugharne Weekend, our annual slice of literary heaven. Our usual drinking den-slash-green room The Three Mariners will be closed for refurbishment: where will we socialise between the reading sessions?
Award ceremonies would not be right without speeches and so Academi Boss and avant-garde poet Peter Finch gave one, saying lots of good things about the short story form and pondering why it sells even less than poetry today and noting tricks used by science fiction publishers who disguise short story collections as a novel to boost sales. Then Welsh Book of The Year winner Deborah Kay Davies and judges Stevie Davies and Niall Griffiths led a discussion on the short story form.
Finally, to the winners: Cardiff’s own Siân Preece won First Prize of £1,000, and ten equal runners-up in the competition each receive £100: Angela Graham from Cardiff; Robert Hunt from Caerphilly; Clementine Hollister from Newcastle Upon Tyne; Craig Hawes from Briton Ferry; Mike Jenkins from Merthyr Tydfil; Sam Kemp from Blackwood; Dave Lewis from Pontypridd; Joâo Morais from Cardiff; Jeb Loy Nichols from Welshpool and Sarah Wishart from London.
Three of the prize-winning stories, – ‘Getting Up’ by Siân Preece, ‘Dammed’ by Sarah Wishart and ‘Zeina’ by Craig Hawes – will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March. The stories will be read by Torchwood star Gareth David Lloyd, Welsh actress Caryl Morgan (Pobol y Cwn) and Gavin and Stacey actor Steffan Rhodri.
I asked Kate McAll, Senior Producer for BBC Radio Drama, what had marked Sian’s story out as a winner: ‘It was a beautifully composed piece and perfect for radio, despite potentially confusing time-shifts. Her main character was clearly a ‘bad boy’ but he was so sympathetically drawn that you couldn’t help rooting for him.’
After all the winners had been whisked off for photos, I grabbed a very smiley Siân for a chat. Originally from Neath, Siân had been out of Wales for about 18 years before returning to Cardiff to do an MA in creative writing. ‘I don’t tend to enter competitions,’ she told me, ‘but I had a story that I’d written and really developed on the MA course, so I had a punt.’ A First Prize punt indeed.
