26 - An association and group for writers, editors and language consultants.

INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

+++ 26 interviews... New interview with Will Awdry of Ogilvy +++ Check out the results of our exclusive Wordsworth Survey of writers' remuneration +++ Keep track of our International PEN collaboration +++ Read the opening section of John Simmons' new book +++

Feeling expansive? Here’s your opportunity to put your opinion across on matters pertaining to words. We’ll be running essays on subjects ranging from tone of voice, to late payments, the health of long copy, to the horrors of business jargon. If you want to hone your finest argument or simply get it off your chest, here’s the place to do it.

And that’s not all. We’ll also be featuring interviews with people we admire. Publishers, popular artists, poets, priests and politicians (OK, maybe not priests and politicians).

This is also the place to find items that have appeared in the newsletter, which you now realise you can’t live without.

	WILL AWDRY Interview by Roger Horberry I sha... read full interview
	THE 2009 WORDSWORTH SALARY SURVEY by Sarah McCartney Back in 2005, we ran a survey to find out a bit about who we are, how we started in the writing business and what we earned. Now we’ve ... read full article
	TWENTY-SIX WAYS OF LOOKING AT A BLACKBERRY by John Simmons From the introduction to John's new book: First find an idea It’s easy to say. It’s the ... read full article
	DAN GERMAIN Interview by Roger Horberry In preparation for his upcoming book Brilliant Copywriting (Prentice Hall), Roger Horberry discusses mangoes, granddads and upside your head with Dan Germain. ... read full interview
	WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT SO FAR? by Philip Collins It’s a 26 exclusive. Leading speech-writer Philip Collins – who delivered our inaugural annual lecture back in November – ... read full article
	ABOUT THE FIB The Fib is a 6 line, 20 syllable poem based on the classical Fibonacci sequence. A little bit like a Haiku, it has a strict formal structure, ... read full article
	26 ON TWITTER by Mike Reed Every writer should be on Twitter, the ‘microblogging’ service that lets users post little updates about what they're ... read full article
	26 INTERNET LINGO TRANSLATOR by Jim Davies The trouble with email and other digital communications is that there are no facial expressions or sounds to emphasise meaning. Often it's hard ... read full article
	A MEMORY OF SPAIN by Gary McKeone It’s late in an April afternoon as my memory walks beneath the arches of the Mezquita, between the Juderías ... read full article
	FREE LAUNCH by Elise Valmorbida 26 member Elise Valmorbida’s latest novel ‘The TV President’, is being launched at 6.30-8.30pm on ... read full article
	MARK THIS by Guy Tomlison & Tim Arnold After three years research and writing, 26 member Guy Tomlinson and co-writer Tim Arnold have just ... read full article
	26 MEMBERS RECOMMEND - UNCUT by John Simmons Laughter, tears, sheer joy: Leonard He’s funny, uplifting and makes me feel that life is wonderful. Yes, I’m writing about Leonard ... read full article
	I DON'T LIKE IT by Mark McArthur-Christie Imagine the scene... Opens on a smart, glass-walled City lawyer's office. Two people sit facing each other over a meeting ... read full article
	THE SUNNY SIDE OF OUR LANGUAGE by Robert Mighall I’ve just published a book about Sunshine. ‘What about sunshine?’ you’ll probably say, if you’re like many I have ... read full article
	A BLOG INSPIRED BY FREE THE WORD! by Jonathan Holt The readings, literary walks and other events of Free the Word! brought world literature to London’s South Bank on the second weekend of April. ... read full article
	POTENTIAL ANIMATION PROJECT by Chas Walton Do you fancy yourself as the next Matt Groening or Nick Park? Even if your drawing's rubbish and your plasticine models look more like Wensleydale ... read full article
	26 MEMBERS RECOMMEND: UNCUT by Tom Lynham Editor’s note: Every month, members are kind enough to send in their recommendations for events, films, books, ... read full article
	WHY YOUR MARKETING DOESN’T NEED FIXING by Mark McArthur-Christie Marketing communications are the least of most companies’ problems. They hire agencies and pay their fees to research and write their sales ... read full article
	A BRIDGE BETWEEN WRITERS AND DESIGNERS? That was the aim when 26 member Mike Reed took the helm of design blog Noisy Decent ... read full article
	VERBAL HIGHLIGHTS OF 2007 As 2007 draws to a close, 26 members name their most memorable piece of writing of the year. (That’s as in memorably good, or ... read full article
	FOREVER YOUNG by John Simmons When I was a student at university I tried whenever possible to insert a reference to Bob Dylan into my weekly essay. Not much has changed ... read full article
	WHAT'S THE WORST JOB YOU'VE EVER WORKED ON? Most of us are happy to show off our finest work at the earliest opportunity, but the nightmare jobs seldom get talked about. We thought ... read full article
	BEST FIRST LINES “Once upon a time you dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in your ... read full article
	IT'S GOOD BUSINESS TO BRUSH UP YOUR SHAKESPEARE by John Simmons He's a bigger employer than General Motors and can still teach you a lot, says John Simmons read full article
	26 AND GREEN THING by Andy Hobsbawm Green Thing is a not-for-profit initiative that makes green behaviour easier and more enjoyable. By suggesting one thing a month and suggesting ... read full article
	SO, WHAT ARE WORDS WORTH? by Sarah McCartney Our Wordsworth survey was completed by 63 members, which goes to show that it can't have been that hard. Thanks ... read full article
	A TIME AND A PLACE by Tim Coates ‘Common Ground’ is a book in which writers write about other writers they admire, the places with ... read full article
	THIS IS BAD ENOUGH by Elspeth Murray This is bad enough So please … Don’t give me gobbledegook. Don’t give me pages and dense ... read full article
	THAT'S CREATIVE TENSION by Jamie Jauncey I was asked recently to go and take a brief from a design consultancy for a corporate writing job. It’s not something I’ve done for ... read full article
	FOR GOD’S SAKE by Jim Davies When you’re writing for design, the first thing you need to get a handle on is the dynamic between client, design company and writer. ... read full article