Online Fiction & Poetry Workshops

A clutch of new fiction and poetry worksheets have now appeared at the Dumfries & Galloway Writers' Hub. Puffin children's author Cathy Cassidy and Hodder novelist Fiona Gibson reveal how they got started in their respective fiction fields, and poet Dorothy Alexander looks at found poetry.

These worksheets are online versions of writing workshops held in the region, designed so that those of you unable to make it along don't miss out. You'll also find useful writers' group materials on creativity, blogging and verbatim plays. And look out for Gerry Cambridge's wildlife writing worksheet based on his recent Poetry in the Woods workshop. Coming soon!

Theatre Campaign

Dumfries writer and actress Maggie Reid has passed on the details for the Scottish Parliament petition to support 7:84 theatre company. Anyone wishing to sign the petition should go to www.784theatre.com and click on 'campaign'.

Stewart Conn at the Bakehouse

The Bakehouse presents...

A Reading With

Stuart Conn
Edinburgh's First Poet Laureate


Saturday 25th March
7:00 for 7:30
Book on 01557 814196

Gerry Cambridge at Poetry in the Woods

Saturday 25th March
10am - 3pm
Mabie Forest Education Centre
The Poetry in the Woods project comes to an end with a grand finale: a guided walk through Mabie Forest, followed by a workshop on writing about wildlife, taken by acclaimed poet and wildlife photographer Gerry Cambridge, followed by...

4:00
Lochthorn Library
Poetry in the Woods Final Reading with special guest Gerry Cambridge, Poetry in the Woods workshop leader Jackie Galley and readings by project participants of poems featured in the forthcoming Mabie Forest Poetry trail.

Gerry Cambridge is a poet, literary critic and editor of the literary magazine The Dark Horse.
He has published three full-length poetry collections: The Shell House, Madame Fifi's Farewell and Nothing But Heather, a collection of poems accompanying his own wildlife photographs, written while Writer in Residence at Brownsbank Cottage.

Jackie Galley is a poet and ecologist and has been the main workshop leader of the Poetry in the Woods project. Her poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies and she has featured in both series of Poetry Doubles, reading with Simon Armitage and Gillian Allnutt. She is on the editorial team of the forthcoming Southlight Magazine.

Admission to reading free. Book workshop with Ae Forest on 01387 860247 and book reading with Andrew Forster on 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net.

Getting Started in Fiction

with Cathy Cassidy and Fiona Gibson

Tuesday March 28th 1:00 - 4:00pm
Lochthorn Library, Dumfries
Tickets £3.00

Do you want to make the break into writing professionally?
Have you ever read a novel and thought you could do better?

Children's novelist Cathy Cassidy and popular novelist Fiona Gibson share their experiences of writing fiction: getting started, writing for a market, finding agents, finding a publisher. A valuable opportunity to ask the questions that you've always wanted to ask, and to find out about the realities of working as a writer.

Cathy Cassidy worked as fiction editor on Jackie Magazine. She is also the agony aunt for Shout Magazine. Her first novel 'Dizzy' was published by Puffin in 2004, and she followed this with 'Indigo Blue' and 'Driftwood'. She is growing a steady following among younger readers, for writing about mature themes in a way younger readers can relate to. Her fourth novel is due this year.

Fiona Gibson has worked on various teenage and women's magazines, including Jackie and Just Seventeen, and as a freelance features writer for publications such as the Guardian, the Observer, Marie Claire. She writes a weekly column in the Sunday Herald. Her first novel, 'Babyface', was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2003, followed by 'Wonderboy', in 2004, and a non-fiction book about family life, 'The Fish Finger Years', was published last year, also by Hodder. A new novel, Lucky Girl, is out in June 2007. Her work centres mainly around family and relationship issues.

Book with Andrew Forster on 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net

D&G Poets at StAnza 2006

Three D&G poets are making their debut at the prestigious St Andrews Poetry Festival, StAnza:
Andrew Forster * Jackie Galley * Rab Wilson

Rab Wilson

Friday 17 March 11.30am
Reading: Pamphlet Poets (£3.50/£2.00)
St John’s Undercroft, South Street
Tessa Ransford, Andrew Forster & Valerie Thornton
Three distinct voices all published in pamphlet form launch this series A poet, translator, editor and cultural activist campaigning over the last 30 years, Tessa Ransford is president of Scottish Pamphlet Poetry, the founder of the Scottish Poetry Library and current president of Scottish PEN. Awarded two SAC bursaries (1998, 2002), Andrew Forster has published a pamphlet Dress Rehearsals (Flarestack) and a poetry card Locked Gardens (School of Poets), as well as appearing widely in magazines and anthologies.

Saturday 18 March 2.15pm
Reading: Voices of Scotland (£3.50/£2.00)
St John’s House Undercroft, South Street
Matthew Fitt & Rab Wilson
Born in Dundee in 1968, Matthew Fitt is a former holder of the Brownsbank Fellowship. His writing in Scots has been hailed as ‘ground-breaking’. His first collection of poetry, Kate o Shanter’s Tale, was published in 2003, hard on the heels of his first novel, the SF But n Ben A-Go-Go also in Scots. Writing mainly in Scots, Rab Wilson has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Burns an’ a’ That, Perth’s The Word’s Out! and the Robert Burns International Festival. Twice a recipient of the McCash Poetry Prize, his second collection of poems, Accent o the Mind (Luath), was published in Spring 2006.

Saturday 18 March 10am
Workshop: Puppets & Poems (free/ticketed)
St John’s House Undercroft, South Street
Maureen Sangster & Jackie Galley
Create your own animal fables through puppets and masks and poems with Maureen Sangster and Jackie Galley. Inspired by the fables of Dumfermline poet Robert Henryson, this workshop will take you on a journey back in time, into the hearts and minds of animals. Suitable for ages 7-11.

Sunday 19 March 12 noon
Performance: Animal Fables (£3/£1/£6/family)
Crawford Centre Studio Theatre, North Street
Maureen Sangster & Jackie Galley
A lively retelling, using specially created masks. 15th century Scots poet Robert Henryson's fables reinterpreted for today by poet Maureen Sangster and writer & ecologist Jackie Galley. The show takes a fresh look at environmental concerns. Suitable for ages 5-11 and families.

Full details at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/standrews/stanza

Des Dillon Reading, Castle Douglas

Dumfries and Galloway Writers' Network present...
a Writers' Evening with special guest
Des Dillon

Douglas Arms Hotel, Castle Douglas
Wednesday 29th March 7:30pm
Tickets £2.00

Des Dillon was born in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1960, and read English at Strathclyde University. A former teacher, he now writes for television, stage and radio and has taught Creative Writing at the Arvon Foundation. He was Writer in Residence at Castlemilk, Glasgow, between 1998 and 2000, and now lives in Galloway. Des will be reading across the range of his novels, stories, plays and poems, and there will be opportunities for local writers to sign up for 5 minute floorspots.

The latest in a regular series of events from the recently-formed Writers' Network.

Contact: Ann Dunford 01988 500175 anne.dunford@holmespun.co.uk

James Robertson in Kirkcudbright

Tuesday March 7th 7.30pm
Kirkcudbright Literary Society presents...

James Robertson: 'History, Fiction and the Spaces In-Between'
Lesser Town Hall, Kirkcudbright
Award-winning writer James Robertson will be talking about his novels 'The Fanatic' and 'Joseph Knight' and giving a sneak preview of his new novel 'The Testament of Gideon Mack'. Don't miss it!
Tickets £2
Contact: Carol McQuistan 01557 330894