Highly Irregular Newsletter #12
Hello dear TinyLetterers,
Happy November to you all. It’s not raining here in Manchester right now, which is always something to be celebrated!
Do you fancy trying your hand at a little fiction (and little fictions)? Just a few places left on the Zoom workshop Introduction to Flash Fiction for Poets that I’m running for the Poetry Business on Tues Nov 14 at 11am UK time. Places are limited and bursaries are available, find out more here, I’d love to have you join us! https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepoetrybusiness/974553
On the subject of flash fiction, I believe there’s a festive season approaching, and the FUEL anthology of prize-winning flash fictions raising funds for fuel poverty charities would make an excellent gift for the writers and readers in your life – as well as helping us raise more for the charities which still very much need our help as winter approaches. Buy your copies here! https://www.fuelflash.net/
Those of you who have been reading my Highly Irregular newsletters for a while will know that “permission” is a very important word for me in the context of writing (and life) – I’ve included a Permission Corner in some of these missives where I talk about how I’ve received, and give myself and others, permission to write what I want in the way I want it. I ran an in-person workshop on Permission for the first time at the Flash Fiction Festival in July, where I encouraged people to think about what you might always or never do in your own writing, what very personal habits or taboos each person might have, without even knowing. And what might happen if you break them. Do any of these examples strike a chord with you?
“Everything I write has to be serious.”
“I never write in first person.”
“I can only write in the morning.”
“I can’t write anything longer than 500 words.”
The workshop seemed to go well, so I thought I’d offer it up online - and January seems like a great time to try something new in your writing life, whatever it is that you want to write, from fiction to poetry, non-fiction, hybrids and beyond! Come join me on Zoom on Jan 22nd for a special one-off, low cost London Lit Lab workshop Permission to Write: Getting Out of Your Own Way . Tickets are £10, discounted places also available, grab yours here: https://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/course/permission-to-write-getting-out-of-your-own-way/
On the subject of trying something new, another London Lit Lab course of mine has just gone on sale – Let’s Get Hybrid! a 6-week Zoom-based course to introduce you to hybrid writing, letting go of labels, genres, definitions, and writing what you want to write in the way you want to write it. Bursaries available, find out more about the course here: https://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/course/lets-get-hybrid-live-on-zoom/
Here's a round-up of what else I am up to:
Workshops
*LAST FEW PLACES LEFT!* ONLINE Introduction to Flash Fiction for Poets Zoom workshop for the Poetry Business, Tues Nov 14 at 11am UK time. Places are limited and bursaries are available. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepoetrybusiness/974553
ONLINE Science-Flavoured Flash Fiction for Poets for the Poetry Business, Tues Dec 12th 11am UK time. Places are limited and bursaries are available. Find out more here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepoetrybusiness/1012640
IN PERSON Jan 10th 2024, Lumb Bank, W Yorkshire: I’m delighted to be the guest tutor on the amazing-sounding Arvon course “A cross-genre feast to feed your poems”, tutored by Helen Mort and Glyn Maxwell. More details and bursaries for the whole course here: https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/residential-writing-week-poetry-17/
Coming soon: Arvon poetry & short stories in person course, Arvon write-a-short-story-in-a-day Zoom workshop, Retreat West Star-Trek-inspired Zoom workshop… Stay tuned!
And for new subscribers, a little reminder of your subscriber discount – you can use the coupon code “tinyletter10” in the shop on my website to get 10% off signed copies of my new books and a few others I still have some copies of. You can buy copies of FUEL there too, but they won't be discounted since they're raising funds for charity.
Happy reading and writing!
Tania x