Exeter Novel Prize 2017 - Still Time to Enter!

Hello writers - have you been busy over the Christmas period, reading and writing? Or have you been slaving over the traditional, iconic hot stoves, changing sheets, washing towels, ferrying children to play dates and other dates, and having hardly a moment to think, let alone write?

The Exeter Novel Prize 2017 closes on 1 January 2018, so there is still time to enter. The first prize of £500 is generously sponsored by Exeter Writers, a long-established, city-based group, and there are lots of runner-up prizes and trophies as well.

Previous winners include now-published novelists Clare Harvey (Simon and Schuster) and Su Bristow (Orenda), and many of the shortlisted and longlisted entrants are now commercially published, too.

Nowadays, any kind of competition success looks good on an author's CV! So maybe follow the link below to check out the details? http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/2017-exeter-novel-prize.html

Meeting and Greeting

As a novelist, I spend quite a lot of time in the company of imaginary people. So, once in a while, it's good to get out in the real world and meet some real people.

Yesterday was a lovely event at which I met readers and other writers from various locations all over Devon, made some new friends and hopefully found a few new fans, too.

This is a photograph of yesterday's event at the Devon and Exeter Institution, a historic library on the Cathedral Green in Exeter. Its magnificent Georgian roof lantern recently been restored to its former glory and now sheds a mellow light on everyone in the library below. The DEI is well worth a visit. It's a privately owned building but there are many events (like yesterday's) which are open to the public and they're held all year round.