About Us
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Burton Monday Writers was formed in September 2000 by Maggs Payne, who saw a need for a day-time creative writing group in the area. Maggs found the perfect venue - Burton Town Centre Library. After contacting two fellow writers, Maggs launched Burton Monday Writers.
Over the years the group has produced several anthologies (latest on publications page). Members have had their work published, won writing competitions, attended conferences, had work read on national radio, signed publishing contracts and seen their work published internationally. We thrive on positive criticism, enthusiasm and a shared desire to enjoy creating the written and sometimes spoken word. We are a friendly group of people interested in producing short stories, poetry, scripts, novels and memoirs. Over the years we have been very successful with our writing projects. Whilst we welcome new members over the age of 19 who have an interest in creative writing , in order for our group to function efficiently we have to limit the number of active members to around 20. Hence, we operate a wait-list system. If you are interested in joining our group in the first instance please contact: Burtonwriters@aol.com or telephone 01283 845532 when places become available we will contact you. Many thanks and best wishes with your writing projects. |
Outstanding Member Award 2018-19 Chairman Shelagh Wain (left) presents Outstanding Member of the Year, Betty Cope with the Maggs Payne Trophy. The presentation was made at the annual dinner held in April 2019 at The Crossed Keys, Hatton *** Obituaries Sadly our founder and Honorary President Maggs Payne passed away on her 83rd birthday January 17th 2018 Freda Beckett November 2017 It is with much sadness that we report the death of one of our longstanding and talented members. Please see More..tab at the top of the page and click onto Obituaries for details |
Calendar of Meetings• Burton Monday Writers new anthology 'Here we go again' is now published £3 per copy. Further details on our members' work page.
• Shelagh Wain won our recent internal short story competiton, with Olva Lloyd runner-up. the competition was judged by author Celia Joy Anderson, who visited us on September to deliver an interesting workshop on settings. The short stories entered in this competition should appear in our next anthology due out early 2020. * Shelagh Wain won 3rd prize in the recent NAWG novella competition. Her novella "Unforgiven" a Frankenstein story for the 21st century was published in 2019. *Ann Hodgkin has had several short stories accept and published this year in the UK Woman's Magazine market. Congratulations to Ann * Shelagh Wain's poem was one of 40 out of 1000 entries shortlisted in the Lichfield Words Festival November 2019. |
Writing quotes:"Try to read your own work as a stranger might read it, or even better, as an enemy would." Zadie Smith "Don't say it was 'delightful'; make us say 'delightful' when we've read the description." C S Lewis "The great poets express what most of us struggle to put into words." Allie Esiri "Funny and quirky are annoying 99% of the time when it comes to submissions. Do not risk it." Scott Pack, Publisher ' Avoid writer's bloc by ceasing to worry about the first sentence. Just throw down a few words that have something vaguely to do with the idea or image with which you wish to begin the passage you're writing, then carry on, as sketchily as necessary, and sort it all out later. You'll often find that the words unexpectedly start to flow, once you have begun.' George Monbiot, interviewed by The Reading Lists |
January 2020January 6
Exercise led by Shelagh January 13 Exercise led by Judy January 20 Exercise led by Mary January 27 Exercise led by Ann February 2020 February 3 Exercise led by Gill February 10 Exercise led by Afaf February 17 Exercise led by Barbara February 24 Exercise led by Mick "It's splendid to be a great writer, to put men into the frying pan of our your imagination and make them pop like chestnuts." Gustave Flaubert 'If you write well for children, they will learn those words'. Stan Lee on The Late Show in 1992 BBC Archive |
March 2020
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