Last week, me and eight other aspiring writers took part in one of the most scary (yet fun!) events of the Edinburgh Book Festival, namely DRAGON’S PEN. We poorly wee writers were sent onstage to face the fierce, fire-breathing Dragons: Charlotte Higgins, Guardian journalist; Francis Bickmore, Senior Editor of Canongate Books; and Lucy Luck, Literary Agent.
The premise of the event involved us pitching our novel-idea to the Dragons, and hoping we’d make it out alive in one piece. Fair play to everyone who got up there and pitched; it was a packed Spielgeltent (with a great crowd!) and the Dragons were for the most part unflinching, so it was quite the scary experience.
At the end of the night, it was Anna Stewart who was slayer of the dragons, with a pitch that was a perfect blend of humour, substance and interest. She was definitely the deserving winner!
I really enjoyed the experience, enjoyed arguing with Charlotte and will take heed of the invaluable advice given by Francis and Lucy.
A big pat on the back for the other eight contestants who all did a fantastic job of promoting themselves and their work (in order of appearance): George Anderson, Alison Summers, Elaine Reid, Amy Burns, Anna Stewart, John Fagan, Jonathan Whiteside and Josephine Jules Andrews.
And finally, a big thanks to Anna Burkey and Ali Bowden of City of Literature for the opportunity, and of course, for always promoting and thinking of new writers.
If you would like to watch me pitching to the Dragons, here it is:
And to see the Dragons’ response to my pitch, here it is:
To view photos of everyone performing on the night, click the photo below!
To hear what Dragon Francis Bickmore thought of the event, click HERE
And to read what Dragon Charlotte Higgins thought, click HERE
On a personal note, it was grand to see my pal and former tutor Trevor Byrne in the crowd. He’s a brilliant writer from Dublin, and if you haven’t read his roaring book, Ghosts and Lightning, what are you waiting for?
So that’s me for now. The writing journey continues! Enjoy what summer days are left, people…and remember what Shane MacGowan said: If ya can’t be good, be careful!
I have some tasty news to share with you all. Firstly, my Research Proposal was accepted by the Independent Review Panel and I have been accepted to study on a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Writing, which will commence in October. The educational journey continues. Where will it all end? Will it ever end? Haha!
Secondly, I came across a book called Uncle John’s Unstoppable Bathroom Reader. All I can say is, what a fantastic book. It will take pride of place in my bog until the next Oor Wullie annual comes out (or is The Broons next? I forget!).
Last but not least, I’ve been invited to participate in an event at the Edinburgh Book Festival. The event is Dragon’s Pen (a literary version of the TV series Dragon’s Den), and I will be pitching my idea for a novel to the nasty and powerful dragons, alongside creative writing graduates from all over Scotland. The event is part of the UNBOUND programme and will take place on August 26. If you are in Edinburgh that night, do come along and watch me squirm in front of the Dragons and live audience. A big thanks to Anna for the invite and opportunity; hopefully it’ll be a night to remember!
Hope you’re all having a quality summer, and I will no doubt see some of you around. Take care for now.
Blackberries that darken the soul,
raspberry red of summertime dread.
My thoughts convulse when counting the pounds
your sweetness piles on to my backside mound.
But I live with the pain for the pleasure is sane
for nothing is plain with cream on the brain,
and there is no such thing as can’t
when I’m lounging with you in my comfy pants.
And when your pastry delight tickles my tongue,
home-made heaven renders me numb.
I will not regret, this is no sin;
I ate you whole and devoured your kin.
Hey people, summer is around the corner (if you are anywhere other than cold Scotland) and while people plan their holidays, I’m going to have an inverted summer: i.e. hibernate and write my novel. So yes, my focus for the summer is to work on my novel, possibly start a new one, and continue writing poetry.
As for this website, I’m taking inspiration from Gillian Sze – quality poet from Canada – who posts her reading list for each month. So, at the end of every month, I’ll post what I’ve read during that month and maybe comment on the best and worst of the books. It’ll be worth checking out if only to suggest a book you haven’t read (or even heard of).
So, I’ll leave you for now with a pilot episode of Kosher Pig – written by Moon Cho – that stars the beautiful Susane E. Lee. If you have a sense of humour and 20 minutes to spare, I recommend you watch this now.
Exciting news! I have had two poems accepted to be published in the Vermillion Literary Project 2010 Magazine. VLP is produced by the University of South Dakota, and it will be an absolute pleasure to have my poems printed in the United States of America.
The poems accepted were The First Meeting (written for someone special whom I’ve yet to meet!) and No Regrets (written because I was feeling horny that morning).
There is amazing poetry and short stories within these 88 pages, and if you would like a copy, you can buy one here.
I would like to thank all of those involved with the magazine, and especially Abbey Jones for telling me about this wonderful opportunity.
Great news! I was at a book launch tonight for ‘The Book That Changed My Life’, a collection of non-fiction stories from people of all walks of life. My submission – singing the praises of Jeff Torrington’s Swing Hammer Swing! – had been included in full (woohoo!), and I was greeted at the door with my contributor’s copy of the book.
Flicking through the pages was an eye-opener, and very interesting to see Leon A.C. Qualls frae doon the road in the same book as Brian Cox from X-Men 2 (Troy, Braveheart and Manhunter – to name but a few). Unfortunately I’ve been feeling rather unwell the past couple of days; so that plus the fact I’m off to London tomorrow meant I had to give the copious amounts of free alcohol a miss. What a shame! Still though, I bumped into the lovely Ali Bowden (forgot to take a pic, wah!) and getting my hands on the book was happy days enough.
Seeing my story in print was a heart-warming thing (either that or the fever was taking hold), and I would like to thank all those at The Scottish Book Trust for having created a wonderful public project – which will surely introduce some literary gems to those who weren’t aware of them – and Luath Press for printing out a mighty fine book.
I highly recommend this book and who knows, via this book you may just find the book to change your life. You can buy a copy of ‘The Book That Changed My Life’ here
A friend of mine recently handed me a spiffy little contact card and suggested I get myself some. After much research I came across Moo who actually offer a trial of their services. You can order 50 free cards from them, and check out their quality before thinking of buying a bucketful.
I tried it and was more than happy with the final product. The great aspect of what they offer, is that you can either use their templates for your card, or if you are feeling creative (like moi) you can design your own. I’ve made two different fronts for my cards with a kind of heaven and hell theme (or ice and fire, s’all good), with both cards having the same background aka me. Haha.
Contact cards can be a fun way of networking, and if you are thinking of getting some, I recommend trying Moo’s free trial offer.
On Valentine’s Day, I was involved in a night of poetry at the GRV, with 26 poets re-imagining the Hebrew Song of Songs. It was another great night organised by Rob A. MacKenzie and I was happy to be asked to contribute.
The verse I was given was: 4:1 – Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thine eyes are as doves behind thy veil; thy hair is as a flock of goats, that trail down from mount Gilead.
It inspired me to write something horny and humorous. You can view it on youtube.
In Edinburgh, this year’s UNESCO City of Literature reading campaign is entitled Carry A Poem.
Their website says:
Rory Bremner carries his in his head. Lorraine Kelly pins hers to her jacket. How do you carry yours? In your wallet? In your pocket? On your Ipod? We want you to share how you carry a poem – or find a new poem to carry this February.
Carry A Poem have kindly accepted my contribution, and it can be read here.
Happy New Year! I hope you all have recovered from your hangovers, haha.
As for me, I spent the New Year sober, as I am off the drink. Wah! I will need to think up a new tagline for this website. Any suggestions?
I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a most awesome year, and for me, I will continue my writing and perhaps delve into other media-related projects. The last week of last year, and the first week of this year, has found me making videos on youtube which has been fun, fun, FUN!
Have a look at my latest youtube videos in the video page.
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