Wirral Writers Online

Stephen King is running a short story competition in conjunction with The Guardian newspaper. Some may be interested in entering this so follow the links below... The master of horror fiction joins us in a search for the most original and gripping short stories. But how will you interpret Stephen King’s intriguing invitation? James Smythe: Ten things I learned about writing from Stephen King http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/oct/30/stephen-king-short-fiction-competition-send-us-your-stories  

I have some news. I've been sitting on this for a couple of weeks, waiting until the contracts have been signed, and that has been a very hard thing to do. I broke cover on this at the WirralWriters meeting on Friday, but for those who were missing, here it is: A few months ago I had a story in Analog called The Last Days of Dogger City . That was just about as big a thrill as I could imagine, but now the story has now been optioned, to be made into a film script, by Carylanna Taylor and Jacob Okada at First Encounter Productions. I am giddy with excitement. I'm one of those people who sit in the cinema reading the credits right up until the last ones have rolled by and waiting for the lights to go up. This week I've been doing it and comparing font sizes between the screen writers and the other contributors... and dreaming of the day.

Here's an image taken from the studio cam at  Vintage Radio  this morning. I had the pleasure of  being interviewed by Will Redfearn for the Community Hour. A very enjoyable morning. The show ran from 10 until 11, then afterwards we continued our chat for nearly an hour because we had so many shared interests: books, caravanning vs motor caravanning, big band music... I love what Vintage Radio are doing. They are all volunteers, and are providing a connection, not just for Wirral residents, but for ex-pat Wirral people all over the world. I was delighted to be asked to do this. How often does a person get the chance to talk about themselves for a whole hour, and choose the music to play in between interview segments. It was a great opportunity to give a plug to  Travelling in a Box , too, and, of course, to  Wirral Writers .  We are always on the lookout to welcome new members, so with luck the interview will widen our reach a little. If you are a writer...

Here's news of a new UK Science Fiction market.  The Singularity  is currently accepting submissions for stories up to 7k words, and, although they're not a paying market yet, they seem to have quite a professional outlook. It's certainly worth taking a look, even if just for the cover art on their first issue, which I think is just fabulous.

I wasn't sure if anyone - ahem, Liz - would be interested in this... http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities/alfred-bradley-bursary-award-15-16 It's called Writers Room, on BBC website. Looking for new radio plays/writing talent. Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2015/16  

Jonathan Green, Author: GAME OVER - Table of Contents

Just if anyone's interested. Interviewed by author Simon Bestwick for his blog. http://simon-bestwick.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/the-lowdown-with-alexandra-peel.html The Lowdown with... Alexandra Peel              Today's Lowdown continues to shine a spotlight on the contributors to GAME OVER . Today's victim is... Alexandra Peel. Alexandra is a visual artist turned author. She has a degree in Fine Art, Sculpture and has been a freelance community artist, painter, graphics tutor and book seller; she currently works as a Learning Support Practitioner in a F.E./H.E. college. The author of The Unsinkable Molly Brown , a pirate adventure for children, she has also created a series of Penny Dreadful style stories under the heading, The Life and Crimes of Lockhart & Doppler , about a pair of miscreant treasure hunters based on hers and her daughter’s Steampunk alter egos. She is a member of Wirral Writers and can be fou...