Greenacre Writers Literary Festival 2013

This time last year I was busy planning and designing for the first ever literary festival in the London Borough of Barnet - or at least we were the first, last year. This year we have a couple of rivals, Middlesex University, where I once appeared having completed my MA in Writing, when it was held in Trent Park, Enfield. This year Middlsex Uni have changed the name to the North London Lit Fest and now it's in Hendon and takes place 26th and 27th March, 2-7pm each day. The line up is interesting and there are some great workshops such as the Speed Pitch - speed dating for writers. To find out more see: Middlesex Lit Fest Don't forget to come back so you can read all about the Greenacre Writers Festival!

Another local group, Barnet Borough Arts also held a small event that started life as a literary festival but grew into a folk and poetry concert at the Old Bull Arts Centre in Barnet earlier this year. One of our coordinators, Allen Ashley, held a creative writing workshop for them.

'This year Finchley, next year Hay-on-Wye', that's what we said at the end of last year's festival.  We didn't mean we wanted to perform at Hay-on-Wye (although as writers that would be nice) but to have a bigger festival. It's growing! This year the festival is running over two days, 17th and 18th May. And we have two venues: the liberated and saved Friern Barnet Community Library - The People's Library and Trinity Church Centre, North Finchley, where we'll be part of another growing arts festival, Trinity in May. Trinity Church are one of seven churches that provide shelter for the homeless during the winter months - and last year a couple of Greenacre Writers who were also 'Givers' for World Book Night held events there and gave away books to the people seeking shelter. This year I'll be back at Trinity in April, giving away copies of Jeanette Winterson's, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? And then I'll be back there, 18th May, for the main Greenacre Writers Literary Festival.

This year we have a small committee which means we can share the workload and it also means that more of our Greenacre Writer members are getting involved, getting committed to our literary view of the world. As Margaret Mead said, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.' Well we may not have changed the world, yet, but we are changing the London Borough of Barnet. The world has shifted and great things have been happening in our borough over the last couple of years. The people, the community, have woken up, have risen up, and they are bringing literature to North London, liberating libraries and making good stuff happen.

                                                     

World Book Night 2013

When 20,000 people were getting all excited about receiving emails to become a 'giver' for World Book Night, I was bitterly disappointed. I hadn't received an email with the good news. After a sleepless night and disappointment again in the morning, I decided to have a look at Twitter. I found the previous nights tweets from Julia Kingsford, Chief Executive of World Book Night, who tweeted how stressful it had been organising 20,000 emails but she added, it didn't matter because now 20,000 people were happy.

Any chance you could make that 20,001?I tweeted, not for one moment expecting a reply, after all it was a Sunday. Imagine my surprise when not only did I get a tweet but was told, 'You are a giver'. I'd entered the wrong email and so my email had bounced back. I apologised for adding to the stress but Julia, was very kind and told me no worries. So, I was, officially, a World Book Night Giver, 23rd April, but because my email was lost in the great big Internet in the sky, I didn't know what book I would be giving away to local homeless and kids in care. But, I hoped it would my first choice,  Jeanette Winterson's: Why be happy when you could be normal?

There is a stigma attached to being homeless or being a kid in care and this book is filled with sparkling anecdotes about Winterson's own experiences of being adopted (Josie O Pearse, has written that adoptees are still 'in care' albeit living with parents and possibly siblings that are not their blood relatives) and homeless. Just reading about somebody else's experiences can really help, so that you don't feel quite so alone. Somebody, out there, somewhere, had shit happen and I won't use the word survived as that is inadequate, but Winterson saved the golden seeds, planted them, and now those flowers can be seen by thousands of others as they gently weave their scent of happiness throughout the world.

Friern Barnet Liberated Library

Friern Barnet Community Library press release, 31/01/2013 23:45

The trustees of FBCL have now received an amended licence from LBB to allow them to be in the library legally. They will have 2 weeks, with promise of renewal of licence if necessary, to negotiate a lease and other matters. LBB has shown a willingness to amend the licence to their satisfaction.

There was a meeting tonight [Thursday 31 January] at 7 pm where it was agreed that Occupy will hand over the keys to the building Tuesday 5th February 12 midday - EVERYONE WELCOME

The local residents thanked Occupy for a fantastic occupation.

Occupy encouraged Friern Barnet Community Library to continue to fight for a paid librarian and said this victory was not just about a local library but about the national campaign to save libraries everywhere.

A NEW YEAR: Write 1 Sub 1

Last year I was so busy with Greenacre Writers that apart from 5 competition entries (all long/short listed) at the beginning of 2012, I did not submit any other stories. I'm always encouraging other writers to get themselves out there, create a digital prescence, so I think it is about time I followed my own advice. And following on from my non-resolution of writing every day, I've accepted a writing challenge from the Write1 Sub 1 website:

• Write and submit a short story or poem every month, starting January and ending  December.
• Goal: 12 new submissions in 12 months.
• The length of the story can be as short as Twitter fiction (140 characters) or as long as a novelette (15,000 words). Any style, any genre: whatever you write.
• I'll share my triumphs and disasters on this blog -- we're all in this together.
• Up to the challenge?
  
  1. Follow Write1Sub1 (I have)
  2. Place the Write1Sub1 badge on your blog or website. (Am trying)
  3. Spread the word! (Will do!)
  
  Website: www.write1sub1.com
  Contact: admin@write1sub1.com

No large knickers for me!

I was thinking of reflecting on 2012 before deciding that I would make no resolutions this year. Resolutions it seems are set up to fail. No large knickers for me!

As briefly as possible, 2012 has been a difficult year. Health has been an issue. My marbles are looser than ever and all I see ahead is a baggier future. Oh, how those old people used to annoy me when I was young. ‘You don’t know how lucky you are to have the speed of youth and all your marbles, wait until you get to my age and then see how you feel.’ Didn’t they go on and on and on and of course they were right. I remember an old aunty who said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you wear as long as you are warm, I’d wear a tea cosy on my head if it kept the cold out.’ I remember thinking, I will never be like that. And now? I wear the occasional tea cosy.

Some good writerley things about 2012:

I judged a short story competition for the Chris Evans Breakfast Show 500 WORDS competition. Having entered competitions myself, I know how important it can be to be objective when reading stories. I also discovered this when judging the Greenacre Writers competition entries, there were stories that I personally did not enjoy but the language and composition far outweighed my limited interests.

As co-host and tutor for the Greenacre Writers, this year I both ran and co-ran writing groups and workshops. I attended the NAWG festival where the Greenacre Writers Anthology had been shortlised for the anthology competition. We came third in the National Association of Writers Groups (NAWG), Denise Robertson Group Anthology competition. Quite an achievement as it was our first anthology. I met some interesting people including Linda Lewis, Pam Fish and Edyth Ward (who was 85 years young). Edyth was full of fun and said, 'Whenever you're feeling a bit down in the dumps, look for a white feather, and you know that everything will be okay.'

And of course not forgetting our Literary Festival, the first to be held in the borough of Barnet. The Greenacre Writers Mini Literary Festival was held in May and attended by some lovely writerly types: Alex Wheatle, Emily Benet, Andrew Bradford, Lane Ashfeldt and Paolo Hewitt. As well as our own Greenacre writers and co-host Lindsay Bamfield.

Don’t ask me how, inbetween all the various activities, including being involved with the Occupied Friern Barnet Library, I found time to enter some competitions. Of the five I entered, I was either long or shortlisted.

And so to 2013. My non-resolutions:

This is what I will do:

Be kind.

Read a book a week.

Write every day.
Enter competitions.
Support Kiva.
Support Water Aid.
Support Save the Children.
Try and count to ten before I scream.

That's all folks. Wishing you all what you would wish yourselves plus peace on earth.