Meeting Report: 17th September 2012

It was time for us to wrestle with yet another competition, the second in memory of long-standing member of the Group, Fleet Street journalist and St Leonard’s resident David Buchan, who sadly died last year. On Monday 17 September, we gathered to present our entries. Thirteen people had taken up the challenge of producing short pieces of journalism, mostly commentaries on current social or political issues, but also more general articles on wider themes of interest.Unusually for us, there will be a prize for the winner – a bottle of red wine – David’s favourite tipple!

As ever, we had an interesting evening listening to the entries, ranging from thoughts on the American Presidential elections through to reflections on the life of a Liverpudlian Christmas grotto designer, via the school uniform debate, recycling in Hastings, ‘think bike’, and a review of 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Stables Theatre'.  Not surprisingly, we also had two entries about the legacy of the Olympics/Paralympics.

We were also delighted to learn that Hastings Writers’ Group had performed very well in the annual competitions run by the National Association of Writers’ Groups (NAWG).  Jill Fricker  won second place in the Literary Consultancy Trophy for Open Poetry with 'Ghost' and third place in the Aine Chadwick Trophy for a Poem for Children with 'The Mangy Cat'. Roz Balp had been commended in the Jilly Cooper Trophy for a Crime Short Story with 'Synchronicity', and the Group as a whole had also been commended for our ‘Ghostwriters’ anthology, published in 2011.

      The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk
Report by Steph Gaunt

Meeting Report: 3rd September 2012

On Monday 3 September we gathered to present our entries for the last of our five Writer of the Year competitive exercises for 2012.  The points awarded to the best entries for each of the competitions are added together, and the person with the highest score wins the accolade of ‘Writer of the Year’.  We gathered that the scores this year are close, and the ultimate result hinges on this last competition.  Our challenge was to write the opening chapter of a novel for children, and thirteen members submitted entries. 

 As ever with our group, it was fascinating to listen to the wide variety of creative ideas and approaches to the task. We had things that go bump in the string bean patch, a search for smugglers in Hastings, family life with the zombies, gritty realism with missing children, parents splitting up and scary school bullies, tales of magic and mystery, and science fiction.  We heard how Pedro the tortoise got a shell suit for his birthday, and about the seagull that wouldn’t fly.

 We will have to wait a few weeks for our results – until after our Annual General Meeting, which happens on 1 October. Members were reminded that this is our chance to elect new Committee members, and to put forward our suggestions for next year’s programme of meetings.

 The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk.

Report compiled by Steph Gaunt