ask David - promotion for books

One of our members has recommended the following free book promotion website at http://askdavid.com/free-book-promotion.

Apparently is makes its money from Amazon when someone buys a book (having seen it advertised on the ask David site) and it does not affect the royalty paid to the author (or cost anything). So, what do you think? Is it worth using 'askdavid' to promote your books? 

 

Have any of you used the service?

 

 

An evening with author David Zelder

An Evening with David Zelder

Wednesday 23 Jan 2013

 

7.30 p.m. Tickets £5.90, Concessions £4.50

 

Winding Wheel Theatre, Holywell Street, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S41 7SA

 

Award winning author David Zelder will give an illustrated talk on the trials and tribulations of being an author. His works draw on personal experiences which include being held hostage at gunpoint as a child, falling foul of the Russian Mafia and how his 12 heavily armed bodyguards in Albania failed to prevent him coming under gunfire . His recent novel YOMPING OUTSIDE regularly features in the top 2% of sales charts, thus, a 2nd edition was printed in 2012. The novel centres on an ex-Royal Marine who becomes involved in a turf war between The Russian Mafia and Turkish bandits. Part of the proceeds go to The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. David will also talk about his experiences as a boat owner as the evening is a fund raising event for The Chesterfield Canal Trust.

Tel: 01246-345222

Online bookings: box.office@chesterfield.gov.uk

www.windingwheel.co.uk
Contact the Organisers Tell a Friend about this Event
Buy tickets
Plan Your Journey Map

Orangeberry Book Tour

NWUK member Fiona Linday has just got a discounted offer of a weeklong book tour, the Orangeberry Social Butterfly, given via her website. It is regarding her easy-read collection of short stories, 'The Heavenly Road Trip'.

For $19.99, over the week starting the 14th December, Fiona will have five blog stops at reviewers’/writers' sites, where she will be featured and interviewed. This is one of the cheapest types of book marketing offered by Orangeberry Book Tours (there are several more elaborate ones). The interview was done beforehand, with Fiona answering over twenty given questions. She is looking forward to a review from one of the blog hosts, Mommy Adventures, on the 15th of December.

Fiona was also asked to respond from the author’s perspective, the 'Writing to me is…' question. Content that will appear on the guest posts.

Full details of her tour are HERE .

Details of the Orangeberry Book Tour services are below:

OBT was created in October 2010 by Pandora Poikilos, a writer. Together with a few other writers, she worked on a three month long book launch festival and book tours were her contribution to the festival. The demand was increasingly high and she spent quite a bit of time adjusting the tours to meet the requirements of participating authors and bloggers leading to what the tour is today.

How does OBT work and what have the results been for authors who've used it?
The main goal of OBT is to raise awareness for the author and his/her book via social media. This means OBT offers more than blog stops. Hence, the name - BOOK tours not blog tours; running Twitter Blasts, blog stops and other types of smaller social awareness campaigns which focus on both author and the book.

She understands that a big budget is not something we all have when starting our writing careers, hence, there is a free book tour package (Orangeberry Basic) which allows authors to have a free book tour but they have to host other authors in return.

For those who pay for book tours, the money is then used to finance the Orangeberry Goodie Bag which distributes gifts to blog hosts and the site’s visitors.

Results wise, most authors have experienced increased sales although the exact quantities vary. Some have experienced sales as low as 20 books a day and others have had more than 200 total sales during an Orangeberry Phoenix book tour which lasts for 30 days.

Pandora does want to stress that results differ for each book, and she does point out glaring formatting errors or content issues to authors.

 

Free ebook - Romance

FREE ebook.

 

The Other Side of Silence by Sylvie Nickels

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0083IK740

 

A 21st century romance and a little-known episode of European history

Pippa Eastman feels stifled by her autocratic father and eminent historian, Joseph Eastman. As soon as she can she goes to Australia where she meets Jude Jamieson. Years later her father develops Alzheimer's and she returns to the UK to look after him. Jude follows in search of his alcoholic father, a Ten Pound Pom who had left him and his mother in Australia.
The novel begins as Pippa receives an email from a stranger in northern Finland claiming to be a relative. Pippa knows that her father was the son of Josef, a Russian soldier, and a Finnish farmer's daughter, brought together by the Finnish-Russian Winter War of 1939/40. The book is the unfolding search for their roots by Pippa and Jude and thereby their finding of each other.
Pippa finds her grandfather’s diary, which her father had translated into English and which gives a vivid picture of the Winter War. She learns of evidence that her father had murdered a man, Kalle, who had been responsible for Josef's deportation to Germany, where he perished in a slave labour camp. Pippa is determined to disprove her father's guilt. In the meantime, Jude has traced his father, now sober and blind.
The book shows how Pippa and Jude, separately and together, conduct their searches and deal with their outcome, in the process finding a new depth in their own relationship.

Book Day in Arnold

At Gedling Civic Centre inside Arnot Hill Park

DEC 1st, 10am - 4pm

Free Admission.

Talks, Stalls, Buffet etc

What is Artikle?

Artikle is set up primarily as a space for writers to display their work. However, perhaps more importantly, it provides strong, intelligent opinions regarding current affairs.

Articles can be sent in at any time and may be submitted by anyone. Every month the best article in the submissions pile is selected as the winner and placed on the Artikle homepage as well as sent out to members via their newsletter and social media links.

Alongside this, winners are given 200 words to use to talk about themselves and their profession, which is placed beside their winning article.

For more info visit www.artikle.org

Kimberley Book-Worm Day, in print

Kimberley Book-Worm Day
A R Dance receives his award (top right) from Anna Soubry MP and Gloria Morgan 

Local children parade as literary characters.

 

The Next Big Thing!

Blog Hopping Event

Dave McCall: ‘I've been tagged in The Next Big Thing by fellow writer Helen Hollick (Helen reached the USA Today Bestseller list with her novel The Forever Queen in 2011).

I'm instructed to tell you all about my next book by answering the following questions and then I tag five other authors about their Next Big Thing. So here I go!

What is the working title of your next book?
My second novel is called The Assassin’s Mark and I’m working towards a publication date of March-April 2013.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was researching a novel about the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and came across a paper on the Battlefield Tours that Franco launched – mainly for British tourists – before the war was even finished. It was too good a story to ignore.

What genre does your book fall under?
Historical thriller with a generous amount Agatha Christie and a splash of Rick Stein, seasoned with a pinch of mild erotica.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I always picture actors in my main character roles anyway so, in this case, Christopher Eccleston as Jack Telford and Rachel Weisz as Valerie Carter-Holt.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A Christie-esque thriller set on a battlefield tour bus towards the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m planning to self-publish with the help of SilverWood Books but if somebody wants to make me an offer I can’t refuse...

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started to write in February 2011 and finished the first draft (180,000 words) in October that year – then travelled with it through all its locations in Northern Spain to check the “feel” and complete the first re-write (168,000 words). The final version is 152,000 words.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
C J Sansom’s Winter in Madrid; Dave Boling’s Guernica; Rebecca Pawel’s Death of a Nationalist; Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Long list, I’m afraid. Old comrades like Jack Jones and Frank Deagan from whom I first learned about the “real” experience of the Spanish Civil War. Spanish family friends who lived through the war and Franco’s repression that followed it. Wonderful historians like Antony Beevor and Paul Preston who’ve never lost sight of the Spanish Civil War’s significance for all of us. Sandie Holguin who introduced me to the bus tours that feature centrally in the story.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
The Spanish Civil War is badly neglected by English-language fiction writers so, at one level, I wanted the novel to be informative as well as entertaining. I’d like it to be a “must” for all those who already have an affection for Spain and maybe want to learn a bit more about the country’s history and culture – while still being able to sit on a beach with a good pot-boiler and need to keep “turning the pages.”

For more about my current novel, The Jacobites’ Apprentice, and other relevant information, please visit my main website... www.davidebsworth.com

Here are some great authors I've tagged to tell you about their own Next Big Thing!

Jean Dorricott: www.jeandorricott.com Born in North Wales, Jean’s short stories and poems began to win awards and she was asked to write a non-fiction study guide to science and religion. She has recently published a futuristic thriller, Ruin of the Soul, and she currently lives in Norwich.

Nick Marsh: www.nick-marsh.co.uk Nick is a science fiction author, veterinary surgeon and, he says, a self-confessed geek. His books include Soul Purpose, Past Tense and, most recently, The Express Diaries. He is an active member of New Writers UK.

A R Dance: www.arundelbooks.co.uk Alan writes novels – Narrow Marsh and Leen Times - set in the world of nineteenth century Nottingham. He is also a local historian, author of The Chilwell Ghost: A New Investigation.

Sherry Jones: www.authorsherryjones.com American journalist and internationally best-selling author of the controversial The Jewel of Medina and other historical fiction novels about women's power.

Moira McPartlin: www.moiramcpartlin.com A writer from Stirlingshire, her first novel, The Incomers, is set in Fife during the 1960s. She is also a convenor for the Federation of Writers Scotland.

Annemarie Neary: www.annemarieneary.co.uk Annemarie's short fiction has appeared in anthologies, magazines and on numerous shortlists in the UK, Ireland and the US. Her first novel, A Parachute in the Lime Tree, was published by The History Press Ireland in 2012.

 

New Blog to try out

‘This Craft Called Writing’ is a new blog which features articles on writing and editing techniques and hosts guest posts by new and established authors. The blog can be found here: http://lorrieporter.wordpress.com/

Below are links to some typical content:

Giving Your Setting a Little Character
http://lorrieporter.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/giving-your-setting-a-little-character/

7 Steps to Improving Your Prose
http://lorrieporter.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/7-steps-to-improving-your-prose/

Show Not Tell - A How To Guide
http://lorrieporter.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/show-not-tell-a-how-to-guide/

Tears For The Fallen

Mansfield poet Steven Leslie Hill’s second volume of poetry inspired by the First World War has been published this week, ahead of Armistice Day.
“It was the experiences of my grandfather, John Edward Pilmore in France and Belgium during the Great War that inspired me to write Tears for the Fallen 1914-1918, just like they did for my previous one,” explains Steven.
John Edward Pilmore served with the Yorkshire/Lancashire Regiment and survived to tell the harrowing tale, despite being gassed and suffering from shell shock. 
Steven’s great uncle, Ernest Pilmore, of the Black Watch Regiment, was killed in action in France.
“Tears for the Fallen 1914-1918 is a contemporary collection of poems covering all aspects of life and conditions of the men from all sides who fought in the Great War,” he adds.
“Those poems are a condemnation of the madness of World War One and indeed all subsequent wars that have followed and the suffering that they bring.
“They are also a tribute to the individuals of the Great War of 1914-1918, who fought with great courage, bravery and compassion for a peaceful, tolerant and free world.”
More than fifty poems deal with more than just the British suffering – there is the anguish of a young Australian soldier, dying alone and far from home, the haunting images of a man he killed in a French soldier’s mind and the heartbreak of a Belgian woman, widowed by war.
The war is viewed, too, from the German and Russian perspectives with every single poem soaked in emotion and guaranteed to bring a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye.
Lest we forget.

Steven Leslie Hill’s previous book was also a collection of poetry, called Poems of World War One 1914-1918.

Tears for the Fallen (paperback £7.99 ISBN 978-178035-471-2) is available to order from the publisher at http://www.fast-print.net/bookshop/1187/tears-for-the-fallen-1914-1918 or from any good bookshop or internet retailer.

For more information, pictures or interviews please contact Simon Potter at Fast-Print Publishing on 01733 404828 or simon@fast-print.net

Book Launch - The Monkey's Fart

The

Gedling Book Day

Sheild Maiden scoops award

I am delighted to announce that Shield Maiden has won a Silver Award in the Literary Classic International Book Awards in the Pre Teen Fantasy section.

Here is the review that the same organisation did on Shield Maiden:

Shield Maiden, by author Richard Denning, is an exciting children’s chapter book which takes place in a Saxon village in 7th century Mercia. Denning’s characters come to life in this mythological adventure, the story of a 12 year old girl who finds a golden horn in the ruins of a Roman villa.

Shield Maiden, the first book in the Nine World’s Series, will hold great appeal for youngsters, regardless of their knowledge or understanding of Norse mythology; and kids interested in magic or fantasy are certain to appreciate the story of the Shield Maiden.

Brief explanations of some of the Norse mythological characters are included at the conclusion of the story, adding a greater understanding of some of the events which take place in this exciting story.

We recommend Shield Maiden for general reading, and as an educational tool to help youngsters gain insight and understanding into Nordic Mythology.

Shield Maiden earns the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.

Find out more here: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/shieldmaiden.php

 

Your books in a bookshop's window

Open to Members (authors) of New Writers UK only

Would you like to be a featured author at Treetops Bookshop, Eastwood, Notts?

And have your books on sale?

If so, the bookshop is prepared to feature your books for one month. These will be displayed in the window below a laminated poster ‘about the author’.

Treetops are a charitable hospice and would wish to take a 20% cut of the price of the books.

Given that they can only feature/sell one author’s books per month, you might need to wait in line for your chance (first-come-first-served). Please email John if you are interested.

 

Please note: You may be required to deliver the books to the bookshop.

Hellions Art

NWUK member Richard Denning has used Artist Gill Pearce of Hellions Art for internal sketches and some external cover art on two of his books. Her area of expertise is fantasy art as she has been used by several publishers of roleplaying games for both art work and maps which she is - Richard says - superb at. Gill is branching out into artwork for writers and is happy to do internal B&W sketches, maps as well as colour work for covers. she is not restricted to fantasy or sic-fi work.

 

Richard found here to be affordable and good value for money.

 

Artemis from The Last Seal

http://www.hellionsart.com/gallery/main.php

http://www.hellionsart.com/

 

Kimberley Book-Worm Day, THIS Sat

Kimberley - THIS SATURDAY October 6^th

Visit: http://www.greatkimberleybookread.com/

Book Fayre: New books of all genres will be available to buy.

Great Kimberley Book Read: The climax. Over the past few months, the readers of Kimberley have been voting on their favourite book, from 18 titles featured at the library. Find out which they have declared the winner. Anna Soubry MP presents the prize.

Meet the authors: About twenty authors will be on hand to have a chat about writing, publishing, or any other matter you might care to raise.

Reading: Rob Hann & Howard Barton will be reading from the award winning children’s book, The Grumblegroar.

Farmers’ Market: Various stalls and a live band.

Fancy Dress Parade: Children dressed as characters from literature. Cheerleaders. The singing of the Book-Worm song.

Shop window display competition: Several retail outlets in the town have been decorating their store fronts in an attempt to win. The best literary offering wins.

Refreshments and parking is available throughout the day.

Book Day at Gedling Civic Centre

A full programme of all the talks and activities will appear in due course.

Eastwood 'Booktown'

Eastwood Booktown Development Group

The town of Eastwood, Notts – the birthplace of D. H. Lawrence – is aiming to reinvent itself, as a Booktown: An exciting centre for the arts; attracting not only book-lovers but also writers, musicians, poets and creative people from around the world. Ambitious? Certainly, but much of the infrastructure is already in place. The town boasts the annual Eastwood Arts Festival, the D. H. Lawrence Festival, the D. H. Lawrence tourist trail, the Lawrence Heritage Centre and the Birthplace Museum, and craft workshops. There are also plenty cafés, inns and food outlets.

            The Treetops Hospice (long established bookshop) has agreed to become the official ‘booktown’ bookshop, whilst local retailers have been invited to provide shelves for the displaying of books.

This Friday and Saturday

 

A FREE EVENT FOR WRITERS AND READERS

 

No booking or tickets required - just turn up - free parking

 

Friday

 

Musical Storyteller Simon Heywood's

Local Legends of England

 

Publisher Pewter Rose Press's

Anne McDonnell discusses the writer/publisher relationship

with Frances Thimann and Roberta Dewa 

 

Nottingham Post/Nottinghamshire Today's Jeremy Lewis

on Writing Reviews

 

Marketing Expert Chris Day

on Generating Book Sales

 

Saturday

 

Crime writer Karen Maitland

on Research and Plotting Thrillers

 

Children's author Michael Cox

on Writing

 

Literary Agent Samar Hammam

Q and A session

 

Publishers discuss

Self Publishing - the pros and cons

 

Plus: Worksops for Children from

Steve Bowkett, author, and Pete Davis, storyteller

 

Panel Session - Q&A

 

Stalls, Refreshments and more...

 

For times, please visit the website

www.newwritersuk.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short story competition

Short Story Competition
Chorley & District Writers’ Circle
Closes: 7 Oct 2012
Story: 3,000 words
Theme: Dangerous Liaisons
Fee: £4, or £7/two or £10/three
Prizes: £100, £50 and £30
Judges: Fiction Feedback at www.fictionfeedback.co.uk
Details: www.chorleywriters.org.uk or mail@chorleywriters.org.uk or comp@fictionfeedback.co.uk or write to Aware Competition, 27 Thirlmere Rd, Blackrod, Bolton BL6 5EB
For full details visit: www.chorleywriters.org.uk
Email your story to: mail@chorleywriters.org.uk
Post your cheque (and story if you prefer) to: Aware Competition, 27 Thirlmere Road, Blackrod, Bolton BL6 5EB. Please make your cheque out to Chorley & District Writers’ Circle.
Please send a separate cover sheet with your name and contact details, story’s title and first line with your story. This acts as an entry form. Your name should not appear anywhere on the story itself.
Your story is eligible for entry if it has not been published in print or won first prize in a competition (provided you retain the rights to it).
You retain all rights to your story by entering this competition, but you do give your permission for your story, if shortlisted, to be published online.
Tip: In previous competitions, several well-written stories have missed out on prizes because the theme wasn’t treated strongly enough. Craft your story around the theme rather than the other way round.
Good luck!
Chorley & District Writers’ Circle
01257 233614
www.chorleywriters.org.uk
mail@chorleywriters.org.uk

Please note: This is not a NWUK competition.

Stafford Arts Festival 2012 - images

Members of NWUK attended the Arts festival. Here are a few snaps of the event, courtesy of Richard Denning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stafford Arts Festival

Festival of Authors and Poets
Saturday 15th September 10am to 4pm
County Buildings, Martin Street, Stafford
(Part of Stafford Arts Festival)

Children's books - Young Adult - Fiction for Adults - Non Fiction and Travel Books
Something for everyone

Once again this year we have a fantastic line up of over 20 authors in County Buildings who will be on hand to discuss their books throughout the day and there will be a programme of timed talks taking place.
For more information see http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/stafford_festival.html

Writing Retreat in Nottingham

Writing Retreat in Nottingham, Sunday 16th September
Fancy a whole day of uninterrupted writing, tea and cake?

No distractions, no chores, no internet...

Urban Writers' Retreat runs one-day writing retreats in London, and we've been invited by Nottingham Writers' Studio and Nottinghamshire Libraries to take over Beeston Library for the day on Sunday 16th September.

It's a chance to meet other writers and get more done on your manuscript than you thought possible in a day, and we'd like to offer readers of New Writers UK a £5 discount. Tickets are usually £35 (including lunch, tea/coffee and home-made cake!), but you can come for £30 by visiting the special offer page http://www.urbanwritersretreat.co.uk/arent-you-lovely-discount/

For general information please visit the website homepag http://www.urbanwritersretreat.co.uk/ but you'll need the link above to book at the discounted price.

If you have any questions please give Charlie a shout at hello@urbanwritersretreat.co.uk

Kimberley Book-Worm Day

New Review Opportunity

A New Review Site:

http://www.bookapoet.co.uk/book_reviews/

They publish the summary of books reviewed / recommended on their blog: http://bookapoet.blogspot.co.uk/ and this automatically publishes it to their Facebook and Twitter too. They are happy to review titles in any genre and age range. Please send them to the address below and they will email you when the book is reviewed.

They also welcome guest bloggers, q&a opportunities and anything else you think could be of interest so get in touch.

To kick you off, here is their review of 'The Devil's Creature in the City of the Dead' by R H Stewart

Published by Barny Books - RRP £5.99 - ISBN 9781906542177
Reviewed by Kate Tarrant

Initially I thought it was going to take a while for me to get into this book - the rich, descriptive language, and its very dark opening scene with flash backs to the past, instantly showed me that this was a book that needed my undivided attention. Nevertheless, this is not a criticism - this fantastic book makes you a compulsive reader - from the outset it promises to capture its readers, swallowing them up in an imaginary world where good and evil battle it out. 

Set in Glasgow, the story is about Mhairi, a 14-year-old witch, who together with her black cat called Jet and her human companion Dougie, set out on a quest against a vampire, released into the world by the great and evil power Lord Antoninus. Along the way the team solve murders that are taking place all over the Necropolis (also called City of the Dead) as well as meeting ghosts and ghouls. This is a richly imaginative and compelling fantasy story - a truly original horror tale that will have your spine tingling!

 

Writing Competition

Balsall Writers are holding a WRITING COMPETITION.

Write a short story and/or poem on the subject of your choice.
The competition is open to all writers over the age of eighteen.

SHORT STORY maximum 2200 words 

POEM maximum 42 lines

1st Prize £100 : 2nd Prize £75 :  3rd Prize £50

Plus publication on their website.

The entry fee is £4 for each submission.

Closing date for entries is 31st October 2012

ENTRY FORMS available on:
www.balsallwriters.org.uk
or s.a.e. to Balsall
Writers, P O Box 1356, Coventry CV7 7ZQ

Creative Writing

Local Playwright Len Pentin
(Writer on BBC Radio Merseysides Paradise People and Liverpool Royal Courts hit play Slappers and Slapheads, is running a |WEA Creative Writing Course open to beginners and non beginners alike. Why don't you join us for a friendly but challenging productive dip into the world of Creative Writing led by a local Playwright.
The 10 session course will cover a wide areas of Creative writing inc Poetry, Short Stories, Short Scripts and much more.

Course fee is £37.20
or free to eligible learners on a means-tested benefit.

Course starts on September 18th 1.00-3.00pm at The Friends Meeting House Southport

For more info or to enroll please contact WEA offices on 0151-243-5430 or visit the website on www.nw.wea.org.uk
You DO NOT have to pre-enrol. Turn up at the first meeting!

Please note: This is not a NWUK course.

Write-Connections - Panel Event

Calling all writers and book enthusiasts! Would you like to meet some of the top Commissioning Editors in the publishing industry? Authors such as Michael Tolkien, or literary editors, publicists and independent publishers?

If yes, then you may well want to attend Write-Connections’ Panel Event on Saturday 15^th September at the Phoenix Artists' club in Central London (12-4pm). Places cost just £49.99 on first-come-first-served basis and the panel for the event is as follows:

· Catherine Coe - Children's Books Editor and Author, formerly Senior Commissioning Editor at Hachette Children's Books

· Michael G.R. Tolkien – Author

· Hannah Shepperd – Senior Commissioning Editor, Young Adult and Crossover Fiction, Headline Publishing

· Darin Jewell – Literary Agent, Inspira Group

· Tom Chalmers – Managing Director, Legend Press and Paperbooks Publishing

Write-Connections' Events are a staple of the literary calendar and some of the fantastic endorsements can be read at:

http://write-connections.com/testimonials.html

To book a place online visit:

http://write-connections.com/events/workshops.html?view=category or email
info@write-connections.com

Write-Connections also has places left at its Publishing Hour on 30th August in London which involve time spent individually with a publisher, literary agent, commissioning editor and publicist to discuss work and/or ideas – as well as places at a range of other exciting events coming up over the next year.

You can view details of all the events at

http://write-connections.com/events/workshops.html?view=category

Please note: This is not a NWUK event.

2012 Soho Literary Festival

THREE CHEERS FOR the 2012 Soho Literary Festival
Thursday 27th ­ Sunday 30th September
at Soho Theatre, Dean St, London W1D 3NE

The Oldie Magazine is back once again at the Soho Theatre in Dean Street to bring you the 2012 Soho Literary Festival. Last year¹s inaugural event brought a glittering combination of writers and thinkers. Many were veterans of The Oldie¹s monthly Literary Lunches, speakers chosen for their wit, flair and literary brilliance. All were selected from the cream of English writing, historians, novelists, journalists and politicians at the cutting edge of contemporary thought.

The 2012 Soho Literary Festival promises all the above and more. We bring you interviews, one-man shows, panels and debates. John Major talks on Music Hall; Giles Coren on restaurants; Michael Palin on his latest novel; Fay Weldon on hers; Craig Brown will bring a series of parodies and sketches with one or two surprise friends drawn from London¹s literary finest. We have a debate on the future of Euroland, a debate on Press & Politics, poems from Pam Ayres, a Classics Quiz chaired by Mary Beard and cabaret from Virginia Ironside.

The full list of  2012 SOHO LITERARY FESTIVAL artists is as follows: Claire Armitstead; Pam Ayres; Paul Bailey; Mary Beard; Patrick Bishop; Isla Blair; Immodesty Blaize; Piers Brendon; Asa Briggs; Craig Brown; Hugh Cavendish; Patrick & Henry Cockburn; Artemis Cooper; Giles Coren; Dan Cruickshank; Barry Cryer; Mark Ellen; Edward Enfield; Allie Esiri; Adam Fergusson; James Fergusson; Michael Frayn; Stephen Glover; Valerie Grove; Roy Greenslade; Lindsey Hilsum; Shirley Hughes; Virginia Ironside; Tony Iveson; P D James; Rachel Johnson; William Keegan; Prue Leith; Sam Leith; Jeremy Lewis; Marina Lewycka; Tim Lott; John Major; James Mates; Melanie McFadyean; Charlie Mortimer; Ferdinand Mount; Harry Mount; David Owen; Michael Palin; Tony Parsons; Ruth Rendell; Jane Ridley;  Eric Robson; Barnaby Rogerson; Dominic Sandbrook; Prunella Scales; Anne Sebba; Clive Stafford Smith; Kate Summerscale; Craig  Taylor; Sam Taylor; Colin Thubron; Jane Thynne; Jeremy Vine;  Clara Vulliamy;  Ed Vulliamy; Fay Weldon; Timothy West

Details of all 2012 SOHO LITERARY FESTIVAL events can be found at
www.soholitfest.com <http://www.soholitfest.com> . All events are 50 minutes long and take place at the Soho Theatre. Booking Hotline is 0207 478 0100.

NWUK Book Festival & Fayre VIII

Writers' & Artists' 'How to Get Published' Conference

Press Release

2nd July 2012

The Writers' & Artists' 'How to Get Published' Conference

7th July 2012 at the Wellcome Collection, London

Do you have a bestseller à la Fifty Shades tucked under your pillow?

E. L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey is a phenomenal publishing success as the fastest
selling adult paperback novel to hit a million sales, but it began as a fanfiction blog. Fifty Shades was written as a Twilight fanfiction on fanfiction.net and was published by a small company in Australia. It was plucked from obscurity by Random House, changing the publishing landscape of 2012.

The Writers & Artists How to Get Published Conference takes you each step of the way to getting your book published, whether it began as a blog, diary or fanfiction.

With the right preparation for submission, your work could be transformed into the

next international bestseller.

Writers & Artists are launching a Twitter competition to find the book idea with the most potential to follow the success of Fifty Shades. The idea must be Tweet-sized and submitted to @Writers_Artists by Friday 13th July. The winner will receive a free Writers' & Artists' How Strong Is Your Book Idea consultation with an agent and editor, worth £119.

The team behind the bestselling Writers' & Artists' Yearbook present How to Get Published, a day-long conference that tells writers everything they need to know about getting published. The conference is held at the Wellcome Collection, central London, on Saturday 7th July.

Suzanne Joinson will be giving her advice to an audience of budding writers at the conference. Along with her agent, Rachel Calder, of The Sayle Literary Agency, they will discuss the relationship between author and agent at the How to Get Published

Conference on 7th July.

The How to Get Published conference provides an invaluable opportunity to gather tips and advice from some of the most reputable names in the industry, network with highly respected agents and publishers, meet and exchange ideas with other writers and put their publishing questions to a panel of literary agents.

Kerry Wilkinson, the self-published author who was ranked as one of Amazon's top 10 UK authors within 5 months of releasing his book, will give his advice on self-publishing and discusses the self-publishing experience with Philip Jones of The Bookseller. With over 250,000 e-book sales, Kerry is uniquely positioned to discuss the self-publishing experience.

The audience will hear from our panel of top literary agents, including Patrick Walsh of Conville & Walsh, Rachel Calder of The Sayle Literary Agency and Lucy Luck who set up her own agency in 2006, now an associate agency of Aitken Alexander .

Writers' & Artists also offer the following services for writers:

Manuscript Submission Masterclasses

Various dates at Bloomsbury Publishing, London

Run by an Editor and top Literary Agent, over three sessions, aspiring writers are given practical exercises, one-on-one assessments of their submission and an opportunity to gain professional insight into the publishing world.

Beat the Rejection Clinic

'Rejection.' It's the word writers dread the most.

Writers' & Artists' provide a unique, one-to-one session for writers who have met with rejection. A top literary agent reads the submission (letter, synopsis and first three chapters) and offers a valuable insight into why the submission hasn't yet caught an agent's attention, how they can turn it around and who to target next.

How Strong is Your Book Idea?

Writers & Artists have assembled a panel of publishing experts, with comprehensive

Knowledge and understanding of the publishing industry, to help you understand the individual challenges you must overcome to convert your spark of inspiration in to a convincing and engaging full-length book.

An editor and literary agent will review your work and provide an honest appraisal of the strength of your idea, the direction you are taking and its commercial viability.  Together, they will set you specific, well-defined goals and a solid path to follow to help improve your chances of publishing success.

"The report gave me invaluable feedback on what I need to work on to strengthen my

idea" Andrea Barker

For further details of the conference and services see www.writersandartists.co.uk<http://www.writersandartists.co.uk>

Claire Daly

Bloomsbury Institute Events Manager