#ScribeFest Young Writers Crime Short Story Competition – Enter Now!

***Attention Young Crime Writers***

Write a prize winning crime short story and include the following words:

1. MYSTERIOUS

2. CLUE

3. PRINT

Age 12-15 - 500 words

Age 7-11 300 words

Closing date 6^th March 2017

There are more clues on how to enter the Scribe Short Story Competitions over on our website.

#ScribeFest celebrates all aspects of writing, illustrating and art. 23rd-25th March 2017

Follow Scribe Festival on Twitter, use the hashtag #ScribeFest to see live updates, and like our page on Facebook to see exclusive news and giveaways before and during the event.

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

"Jane Austen, Money & Marriage" at No. 28, Middlewich, Cheshire #ScribeFest

SCRIBE Launch Party at Drinks and Bites in Middlewich, Cheshire #ScribeFest

Workshops and Talks at SCRIBE (Middlewich Literary Festival) 2015 #ScribeFest

We are just one week away from the start of our fabulous SCRIBE festival in Middlewich, Cheshire. You may have heard about Middlewich recently, as the town hosted the Loyal Company of Town Criers Championship competition. Well, just as the dust settles from the party of the criers, we are about to kick it up again as we celebrate SCRIBE.

Are you a writer? Do you enjoy books and reading? Well then, this is the festival for you. We have a wonderful selection of guest authors for you to meet and talk with, all appearing on Saturday, October 17th. You can find them on our Writers in the Real World panel over in the Boatyard Artspace, and at Book Bites in Middlewich Civic Hall. Our authors write a bit of everything, from romance to horror, true stories about ship wrecks, to local myth and magic. You are sure to have an enchanting time!

And that’s not all. For the children, we have the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party hosted by professional storyteller John Kirk. Fancy dress is optional but highly recommended… Following the tea party, you and your children can join in with an illustration workshop. Our resident artist Ian Hill-Smith teams up with children’s writer Philip Latham for a blind drawing exercise that will be very entertaining and offer lots of interactive fun.

Then there are the wonderful workshops on offer. All day Saturday you can try your hand at writing poetry, writing for radio and writing non-fiction. All workshops are available on a booking basis, and you are advised to book your tickets as soon as possible, since we have chosen small, intimate venues to enhance your writing experience. Throughout the week we have a variety of events happening during the evening, including “Jane Austen, Money and Marriage” hosted by Elizabeth Williams, and Read Dating at Middlewich Library. There are events at local pubs featuring Miles Hunt from the Wonderstuff, and John Lindley with “Reel to Real.”

SCRIBE begins on Monday 12th October with a launch party at Drinks and Bites café, and it will be broadcast live on Red Shift Radio. On Thursday, 15th October, you are invited to our Short Story Awards Evening at Middlewich Town Hall, where you can read the best of our story entries, and cheer on our talented young writers as they receive their prizes. Come along and join us, and bring your friends!

Welcome to SCRIBE Middlewich Literary Festival 2015 #ScribeFest

SCRIBE Festival takes place this October in Middlewich, Cheshire. We have brought together a range of local authors, some that you may have heard of, some that you may not. Our authors will be providing workshops throughout the day on Saturday 17th October where you can polish your skills in writing non-fiction, writing for radio, and writing poetry. You can also meet the authors, ask questions about their work and their adventures in the publishing world, and see their books for sale. Our authors are wide ranging, including stories for children, adult horror stories, paranormal romance,  historical accounts, local myths and legends, and much more.

Alongside the author events, we are offering a few slightly different experiences. Throughout the week you can attend talks, presentations, a Read Dating event, and our Short Story Awards Evening. Details of the full program, and online booking is available via the SCRIBE website. For your children we offer an invitation to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and later that day we have our local artist and illustrator Ian Hill-Smith collaborating with children’s writer Philip Latham for a lively interactive workshop called “Children’s Literature and Illustration.” This was a huge hit at our festival in 2014, with both adults and children joining the fun and rising to the challenge.

And now, back to the writing. Do you have ideas for stories buzzing in your mind or languishing in a notebook somewhere? Then write them down, and send them to us! We have the fabulous SCRIBE Short Story Competition open to all, but we do love to see submissions from our local friends. For details on how to enter, please see our Short Story Competition page on the website. You can win cash prizes, and you will be invited to our Short Story Awards Evening presentation, taking place during the SCRIBE festival, 12th - 17th October. The deadline for story submissions is 25th September, so get those pencils scribbling!

For more information, and to keep updated with news on events and workshops, follow @ScribeFestival on Twitter, and search #ScribeFest, or you can like our page on Facebook. We may add more events in the run-up to the big week, if we can fit them in, so keep checking back, and make sure you book your places and get your tickets now, as this will be one busy week in Middlewich! See you soon!

SCRIBE Short Story Competition 2015 #ScribeFest

In June 2015, Middlewich residents and visitors from across the UK joined in a weekend long celebration of the town’s renowned FAB (Folk and Boat) festival.

Up to 15 venues played host to music and dance throughout the weekend on the Middlewich canalside and in the town centre. Artists from around the world entertained thousands of visitors each day.

Together with hundreds of canal boats and the town centre setting, the Middlewich FAB festival has continued to provide a fabulous showcase of live entertainment every June since 1990, and has attracted renowned performers including Bob Geldof, Lindisfarne, Ade Edmonson, Neville Staples and many more.

In recognition of this amazing and unique event, the SCRIBE festival has based the 2015 under 16s and over 16s short story competitions on FAB.

For details on how to enter, please see our Short Story Competition page on the website http://www.scribefest.org/ You can win cash prizes, and you will be invited to our Short Story Awards Evening presentation, taking place during the SCRIBE festival, 12th - 17th October. The deadline for story submissions is 25th September, so get those pencils scribbling!

For more information, and to keep updated with news on events and workshops, follow @ScribeFestival on Twitter, and search #ScribeFest, or you can like our page on Facebook.

#ScribeFest - A Write Good Experience! Middlewich Literary Festival

I am back from a very busy, and very enjoyable, weekend at the Middlewich Boat Pull event, and now I am very happy to announce the official launch of our brand new local festival, Scribe (Middlewich Literary Festival). Scribe takes place from 12th - 17th October 2015, and it is set to be a very lively festival, with visiting speakers and authors from all over the UK, lots of local venues opening their doors, and a chance to meet our local artists, writers and performers.

Some of our guests include Elizabeth Williams from the Gaskell Society, talking about Jane Austen, Money and Marriage; Miles Hunt with the Wonder Stuff diaries; poet John Lindley and film maker Alex Bell; journalist Joanna Collie, and various authors including yours truly (of course!), historian Gill Hoffs (who you may have seen recently on the television show Coast), author Paula Manley, and author and playwright Dan Weatherer (responsible for the award winning Legend of the Chained Oak short film).

#ScribeFest is a brand new festival concept that aims to bring together local artists with those visiting from further afield, to offer a creative and invigorating atmosphere in our canal town. We even have something for the children, in the form of a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party hosted by professional storyteller John Kirk, and a Children’s Literature and Illustration event run by local artists Ian Hill-Smith and Philip Latham. More events will be announced as we continue our preparations, but I am very excited about this one, as you can probably tell! Oh, and you might be interested to enter our short story competitions, one for adults and one for children, all with cash prizes and an invitation to our very special short story award ceremony during the festival.

So, here is my call-out to book lovers old and young. And to all of my artist and creative friends, we offer an open invitation to come and visit Middlewich in Cheshire during the October festival. Our pubs are welcoming and very cosy, we have events planned in various venues including my favourite café Drinks and Bites, and in Boatyard Artspace at Middlewich Narrowboats, which is a fabulous place, and very pretty with views over the canal and lots of colourful boats bobbing around. In fact, if you own a narrowboat, why not travel in style when you come to our events? Now, there’s an idea…

This Writer is Getting On It!

This year is shaping up to be rather productive for me on the work front. Outwardly, nothing has really changed. I am still officially the mother and housewife, running around after my children, preparing for 'big school,' and observing various monumental developments in their young lives. But aside from all of that, I have managed, and am managing, to actually do some writing! I currently have 4 novels in progress, one of which is close to being polished enough to publish. I am shopping another novel to various publishers, and I am certain it will find a home very soon. I even have enough short stories in my archive to consider publishing an anthology, although that is a seed of an idea at present.

So, what about the other side of writing? That murky, uninspiring, necessary task of marketing and selling books? At present I am the only one spreading the word about my, uh, words. I have no team of professionals on hand to assist. I  have no marketing budget to speak of. It is just little old me, emerging from the shell, and actually talking about my books, in public, after rather a long absence. I will kickstart this new phase of authorhood with my involvement in the upcoming Scribe literary festival in October. More details will follow, as we are currently awaiting the official media launch, but the event is shaping up to be a good one, and I am very excited to be sharing the stage with some impressive local authors. If you are located near Middlewich, Cheshire, check back here for an official press release later in August... I will follow up the literary festival with events in 2016, all to be confirmed. See you soon!

Fabulous Fun at #MidLitFest!

Last weekend we celebrated the very first Middlewich Literary Festival, #MidLitFest in Cheshire. It was a fantastic event, populated by local readers, writers, illustrators and book lovers.

I was a guest author, along with my new friends Gill Hoffs, Lucy Pireel and Bernice Walmsley. We showcased our work, discussed our experiences in the industry, and ate lots of cake!

There are now big plans being hatched for #MidLitFest 2015, so watch this space...

Cheshire Events: Middlewich Literary Festival #MidLitFest

Friday 23rd May

Venue - Middlewich High School Library

*Refreshments provided*

5.30 pm         Official Opening with MP
5.45 - 6.15 pm Commended stories being read
6.30 pm         Prize giving
7 pm         Close

Saturday 24th May

Venue - Middlewich Civic Hall

*Café open all day onsite*

10:00am Opening announcements
Ken Kingston, Middlewich Deputy Mayor, Author Catherine Green
10:45 Author - Gill Hoffs
11:30 Holmes Chapel & Middlewich Book Club Reviewing Pure by Andrew Miller
12:15pm  Commended stories being read
1:00         Illustrator / children’s books
1:45         Author Lucy Pireel
2:30 Commended stories being read
3:15 Author Bernice Walmsley
4:00pm Close

Saturday 24th May

Venue - Middlewich Library

9:55 am       Introduction of the Read-a-thon
10:00       Reading starts with our Mayor, Cllr Paul Edwards
10:15       Janet Chisholm, BEM - Middlewich Clean Team
10:30       Mayoress, Cllr Sonya Edwards
10:45       Vivienne Johnson, U3A.
11:00       Jonathan Williams - Town Clerk
11:15       Liz Rosenfield, Cheshire Folk
11:30       Mike Walton, Middlewich Heritage Society
11:45       Bev Cope, Middlewich Viison
12:00pm      Close

Preparing for the #MidLitFest #Cheshire

Hello everybody! Wow, preparations are well underway for our brand new upcoming Middlewich Literary Festival, #MidLitFest across social networks. Our authors are ready and waiting with their stacks of books (myself included), and we are currently planning our talks and workshops so that we may deliver a fabulous, informative and entertaining event to the people of Middlewich and beyond.

The #MidLitFest starts at 5:30pm on Friday 23rd May, in the Middlewich High School library, where the winners of our short story competitions will be announced and their work showcased for the assembled crowds. You can meet the mayor, meet the authors, and mingle with your fellow literary enthusiasts while we set out our vision for the future of this fantastic festival.

Middlewich Library will be a part of the #MidLitFest, playing host to a Read-a-thon session all morning on Saturday 24th May, while the main event takes place in the Middlewich Civic Centre from 10:00am - 4:00pm. You can chat to the authors, discuss your reading lists, any writing you might be doing as a hobby or a work in progress, your artistic abilities and lots more. There will be a cafe and book stalls as well. See you there!

Beltane Celebrations and the #MidLitFest

This weekend sees the celebration of our pagan festival Beltane, where we give thanks for the bounty and vitality of Mother Earth, and we look forward to our upcoming events and projects. For me that means the Middlewich Literary Festival, #MidLitFest.

May promises to be a month of fun and business development for me. We celebrate our very first Middlewich Literary Festival on 23rd and 24th May, and if you are in the local area please come along and see us. I will be there showing off my novels and sharing my knowledge and guidance in the literary world. Our town mayor, Bernice Walmsley, will be there. She is also an author and will be attending both as a town official and a literary professional.

Our local school children have been submitting short stories for competitions which we will enjoy judging soon, and the winning entries will be displayed at the Middlewich Literary Festival. Aside from our resident local authors there will be representatives from local schools, the library and other businesses at the event, and there will be a book stall where you can indulge in some literary retail therapy.

See you at the festival, and have a fabulous month!

It's Official! The Middlewich Literary Festival is Coming Soon #MidLitFest

We  have seen the official launch of the all-new Middlewich Literary Festival, taking place on May 23rd and 24th this year. There are two short story competitions for children, and one design competition for any budding marketing professionals and illustration artists currently at school...

See the full story in The Middlewich Guardian, and if you are in the East Cheshire area during that time, we will be very happy to see you at the festival!

Middlewich Literary Festival Launch Event #MidLitFest

I am pleased to announce that our official launch party for the Middlewich Literary Festival will take place this Thursday, 20th March, at 4:30pm in Middlewich Library. Come along and meet our resident authors, get some industry advice and insider information, and find out more about our fabulous writing and design competitions. See you there!

It's All About the Books! #MidLitFest

As we move into a new month and the promise of the Spring season, I feel especially excited because this coming week it is all about the books! I mean, every week is all about books for me (and children of course), but this week we celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 6th March.

World Book Day not only means my daughter can dress up for the day at pre-school, and we get vouchers for money off children's books, but World Book Day UK sees the (un)official launch of the very first Middlewich Literary Festival, and I have been invited as a guest author. I am very honoured! There will be short story competitions for local school children, featured authors and poets showcasing their work, the offer of literary critiques from speakers (possibly me), and a general gathering of readers and writers sharing the book love. In fact, I want to start a new Twitter handle for it: #MidLitFest

Not only that, but on Monday 2nd March the Middlewich Readers book club will be discussing my first novel Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), and I will be present to answer questions and join the chat. I am excited but a little bit nervous about the experience... 

Have a fantastic week everybody!