A new Etsy page from Lisa Andrews (26er and illustrator of Dark Angels/26’s ‘And So We Grow’).
News
I’ve written a novel and have finally finished it, bar a final edit. As I’ve previously, with the exception of one short story in a local arts project publication, never had anything published outside of the 26 projects I’ve been involved in, I would be very grateful if any of the many successful authors in the 26 family have any advice on how to negotiate the minefield of getting it published.
It’s been an ambition of mine to just get something I’d written into a book form, to which end I’d explore vanity-publishing if I have to. But, people whose opinion I trust, consider it a good read and I’d like to have a crack at getting it properly published and marketed first. It’s in the crime-fiction genre, so satisfies the conventions required of same, but I believe it has a USP that makes it a bit different and might get an audience.
The problem is, basically, in knowing which publishers can be trusted. How do you guard against plagiarism, for example? Anyway, if there is anyone in 26 who has any advice to share, I’d be pleased to receive it.
– Tony Clarke
A podcast, ‘Why it matters,’ has just been released, in which I was interviewed by Michael Gough about the connections between poetry and brand writing, how my poem ‘Berliners’ came about, and the need for more creative writing in the business writing world. I also give readings from ‘Berliners’ and talk about co-founding two organisations – 26 and Dark Angels – that have now been around for over twenty years.
Rather wonderfully it turned out that this is episode 26 of ‘Why it matters’.
Have a listen:
– John Simmons
Editor’s note: I feel I should add that the ‘Why it Matters’ podcast isn’t the first time that John has been interviewed over the last two months – he sent this through before Christmas and I missed it! The whole thing is a delight, talking about Dark Angels’ special approach to poetry, and featuring a short extract of me reading from the ending of Berliners:
The conversation about ‘Berliners’ and John’s incredible writing makes a worthy addition to Tom Lynham’s glowing review back in November…
– Max Parfitt
I’ve been working with Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum of Wales on the 50th anniversary of the 1984 Miners’ Strike. I’ve been interviewing people who were on the frontline, flying pickets, children, mothers – and even Neil Kinnock – to get their first-hand stories of how it impacted their lives, then and now.
The exhibition, Streic, is inspiring and chilling in equal measure. The spirit and strength of the communities that rose up, prepared to put all they had on the line to save their livelihoods, before they were ultimately sold out by a government that had no interest in supporting them. The Valleys of Wales have never recovered.
The exhibition tells the story. It’s definitely worth a visit and free to get in – all our Museums are free in Wales! (Little known fact: we also have the largest collection of impressionist art outside France. When I talk to people in Bristol, just an hour away, they have no idea it’s here!)
https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/12346/Streic-84-85-Strike
– Jo Lilford
I’m super excited to have a set up a new Etsy shop selling handbound notebooks and linocut printed cards. I’ve always loved notebooks and am perpetually on the look-out for something different, so having been bookbinding for the past couple of years, I’m now hoping that I might interest one or two other stationery geeks!
– Lisa Andrews
I’d like to share that I’m hosting a #CopywritersUnite night in London on Thursday 13 February. These are the details:
Join Sarah Farley (@thewriterswalk) for the next London #CopywritersUnite night.
6pm, Thursday 13 February
The Cut (Young Vic Theatre)
66 The Cut
London SE1 8LZ
#CopywritersUnite nights are informal drinks with copywriters and copy lovers. No tickets, no agenda, no speakers. Just lots of friendly copy chat.
– Sarah Farley
The young Mary De Morgan (c.1858)
Mary De Morgan and The Vegan Tigress: A New Play
This year sees the 175th anniversary of the birth of author Mary De Morgan. Sister of renowned Arts & Crafts designer William, she is one of the most fascinating writers you have probably never heard of. Highly independent, she supported herself by her writing (rare in Victorian Britain) and was a suffragist, activist and an associate of free thinkers, especially William Morris. If she is remembered, it is for her three volumes of extraordinary fairy stories. Honed from telling them to children (including the young Rudyard Kipling), these tales subverted the conventions of the time, with their surreal storylines, unexpected endings and proto-feminist and social themes. Her protagonists are often on a quest to seek meaningful lives rather than power or wealth. Dismissed as children’s fables in her lifetime, her stories are ripe for re-evaluation and celebration: and this they receive in a new play – The Vegan Tigress.
I am on the Board of theatre company LynchPin, and the focus for productions is often to give voice to those who are forgotten or seldom heard. In 2022, I worked on the production of Apples in Winter, a play which explored the impact of violent crime on the family of the perpetrator, and for which actor Edie Campbell was a finalist for an OFFIE Award. The same creative team is back with The Vegan Tigress which shines a light on Mary De Morgan and opens at the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham in February.
(Left: Mary De Morgan, painted – likely by her brother William)
Playwright Claire Parker has written a witty and thought-provoking imagining of De Morgan towards the end of her writing career, when the arrival of an offended ghost from her past forces her to re-evaluate her life. The play deftly explores ideas of memory, love and legacy, and is a celebration of the art and craft of storytelling – as Mary and her ghostly visitor spar, one of De Morgan’s fantastical tales is woven into the narrative (spoiler alert: this explains the play’s title).
While I have not uncovered a direct link, I believe that De Morgan’s extraordinary stories influenced 20th century writers like Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood. Mary’s stories remained in print up to the 1990s, and were retold on TV’s Jackanory. And even if there was not a direct influence, something of her style and slant on the genre surely fed into the DNA of storytelling that passed on to subsequent generations of writers.
The Vegan Tigress was performed in Petersfield last year and received a fantastic audience response. The London premiere runs from 18 February to 1 March at the Bread & Roses Theatre. If you wish to find out more, including an interview with the playwright Claire Parker, visit The Vegan Tigress — LynchPin Theatre Company.
Mary’s 175th birthday falls right in the middle of the play’s run. I trust she will approve.
– Philip Parker
Other Happenings
I’m looking forward to seeing the ballet Swan Lake later this month at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. I’ve seen it a few times but not with this company (Varna International Ballet) and I’m going with a friend who has never seen it.
I’m excited about delivering a workshop about self-publishing at the UK Ghost Story Festival in Derby in February. I went for the first time last year so I’m very pleased to have been asked to present this year!
– Sarah Elliott
I’m traveling to Birmingham, Alabama to perform in From Where I Sit, a theatrical production and capstone of the Birmingham Disability Arts Festival. It will be streamed and I’ll share the link for anyone interested in watching.
– Regina Beach
Combining two projects, I’m shedding our superabundance of postcards at home by updating friends and kin on my progress with ’26 Bridges.’ So far I’ve sent nineteen cards. There are 29 still to send – and that’s not counting the 70-80 that arrived in the form of charity calendars.
– Aidan Baker