I would like to wish all the readers of my blog a very merry Christmas. I started writing this blog hoping to share my thoughts with people world wide. I have a long way to go. But thank you to everyone who is supporting me on this endeavour.
If there is anything you would like me to write about, any books you would love to see me review or any of my interviews you would like me to share, please let me know.
Here is some sparkling wine and mince pies for you.
George Kirk @GeorgeKirkTales set me the very difficult task to choosing my favourite book of 2018 for a video for the Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School’s learning Resource Centre @BRGS_LRC
The book I choose was The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan and published by Troika Books. It is about a 15-year-old British-Asian girl called Jay. After her dad dies Jay and her mum have to move in with relatives. They are very traditional and Jay losses a lot of her freedom. But Jay’s life gets worse when she is sexually assaulted.
I like this book because of the author’s writing. Savita Kalhan makes you really feel for the main character, Jay. I cared so much I couldn’t put the book down. I had to stay with Jay until the very bitter end.
At the SCBWI Winchester Conference 2018 I received an Outstanding Contribution Award for the work I have done within SCBWI as a Volunteer. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the conference this year but the award arrived in the post this week. Thank you 🙂
Here is the citation:
Anita Loughrey has served as our Membership Coordinator for too many years to count! She remembers times when we didn’t have the networks or even online sign-ups… when keeping on top of membership admin was not for the faint-hearted. Anita is often the first welcoming contact for new members, sending out the welcome pack and answering their queries about SCBWI. She works closely with the Networks and events organizers to provide updated monthly membership lists and follows up on renewals. As many will know, she also served for many years as the Networks Coordinator for London and the South East, forging many personal contacts with members, too. Anita is a shining example of a volunteer who is willing to tackle admin with all-important reliability and always with a smile.
I have been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) since October 2002, sixteen years ago. I first started volunteering in an official capacity in April 2006, when I became Network Organiser for London. This involved planning monthly socials for members at different venues around London with a special guest each time. I also introduced the monthly London SCBWI brunches which were run by Miriam Craig and the monthly London SCBWI Write-ins. I don’t and have never lived in London but I did the job for ten years before handing the job over to the very capable hands of Tania Tay, who has built on what I started and made the London network a strong and cohesive group.
In October 2011, I also took over the SCBWI British Isles membership coordinator role from my wonderful friend Sue Hyams. Over the seven years I have been doing this role I have streamlined the whole membership system for the British Isles and introduced our own British Isles membership pack jam-packed full of useful information on how to get the most out of your membership. I also campaigned to add a dropbox to the online joining form so people could select their network area. Before this was introduced the Network Organisers had to sort out which members were theirs themselves.
One of the highlights for me as a volunteer was going to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2012 to represent the SCBWI British Isles and showcase our members published books. It was fun.
In 2016, I became the South East Network organiser. During the two years I did this job I visited critique groups in Oxford and Southampton and I ran a weekly write-in in Newbury every Wednesday morning. I passed on the mantle at the beginning of this year to Fiona Barker.
Over the twelve years I have been volunteering for SCBWI I have achieved and done quite a lot. I am looking forward to continuing this work. I would also like to say a big congratualtions to all the other SCBWI volunteers who received a SCBWI British Isles Outstanding Contribution Award this year. Well done 🙂
Today I am launching my new blog all about Writing for Children. It is going to be jammed pack full of information about the many books I have written, interviews I have done, book reviews I have written and my writing advice. My aim is to share with the world my immense writing experience and background.
I write two slots for the national writing magazine, Writers Forum and will be announcing on my blog when the new features are out and who I have interviewed. I will give teasers from the magazine in the hope you will want to find out more. I have already posted a Research Secrets blog post, which you can take a look at here. I will also be including snippets from interviews I have done for the stationery blog Papers Pens Poets.
Book reviews are one of my many writing specialisms. I have been writing book reviews for many years for a variety of websites and magazines including the Historical Association, Nikki Gamble’s Write Away and Armadillo Children’s Book Review Magazine. I plan to post a review each week which will include a mixture of some of my favourite books and new releases . I already have a book review on the blog so you can see what to expect. Take a look here. I thought it was quite an appropriate book review as I have migrated from Blogger to WordPress.
It is an exciting time and I hope you will comment and share my posts. I have been writing in a vacuum for years, blogging without anyone knowing. Now is the time to get out there and be noticed. So if you just want to say ‘Hi’, or let me know your opinion, please do. I would love to hear from you.
Today I held another of my FREE writing workshops for children during half term. We looked at creating stories using emotion. I sparked off their creative juices by thinking of scenarios where they felt different emotions and we brainstormed the physical and internal reactions to different events.
The children were aged between 9 to 14 years old and worked extremely hard on the exercises. Everyone shared a piece of writing and the standard was high.
We payed special attention to the events leading up to an emotional response showing a build up of emotion and going through a variety of emotions. It was fun to hear the children’s writing on how they would feel if they accidentally smashed their phone or if they found a million pounds in a bag like in Frank Cottrell Boyce’s, Millions.
We went on to do exercises in how we use the senses to convey emotions and how we can use dialogue to show emotion. I packed a lot into the one and half hour slot.
We have pencilled in another workshop for the February half term so I am looking forward to doing another workshop then.
I am teaching another FREE creative writing workshop at Newbury Library this half-term. It is aimed at children between the ages of 10 to 16 years. There are only 25 places so booking is essential.
I have run similar workshops last year, and during the spring and summer half-terms this year. They have taken place at both Theale and Newbury libraries. These fun workshops have been very successful and quickly get over-subscribed.
Much To Do About Writing 