By Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone
The event that showcases City’s Short Course Creative Writing talent is back on Zoom. After our successful virtual City Writes in the Summer Term, we are delighted to be returning with another City Writes via Zoom this term on:
Our professional writer this term will be the fabulous Novel Studio and Short Courses alumna Deepa Anappara, whose debut, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, was longlisted for the Booker Prize earlier this year. A wonderful novel about child disappearances from the outskirts of a large Indian city, Deepa will be reading a short extract and answering questions from host, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone and audience.
In a rare opportunity to bypass the slush pile, all applications to the Novel Studio will automatically be considered for our literary agent competition, run in conjunction with Christine Green Authors’ Agency.
The Novel Studio is City’s flagship year-long course for aspiring novelists. Established for over a decade, the course has a formidable track record of published alumni including bestselling crime author Harriet Tyce and debut novelist Deepa Anappara.
Previous winners of the competition include Hannah Begbie, award-winning author of Mother, and the hotly anticipated, Blurred Lines; and Louise Beere, shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2019.
The deadline for applications is 30 June 2020.
For full details on criteria and how to apply, visit our competition page.
We look forward to reading your entries!
“In 2012 I’d been working on One Scheme of Happiness for about a year; I could tell a story with a beginning, middle and end but what I had wasn’t a novel. I’ve always read a lot and studied literature at university so I knew what a novel could be like. I knew I could write but I didn’t know how to structure a novel, how to write effective dialogue and many things I didn’t even know I didn’t know (voice, point of view, first person or third person…)
Then I saw an open evening for the Novel Studio (arts council website). By the end of the course I not only had a structure I was happy with, I also knew how to write a letter to an agent and how to submit my work. I also had a group of friends who would give valuable, objective feedback on my work. Seven years later we still meet regularly to write, share work and celebrate successes. Even in this time of self-isolation we’re Zooming together. It’s been amazing to be friends with other writers who are also balancing writing with work and childcare.
After the course I kept going until I had a draft of my novel that I was happy with, then started:
It’s a lot of work and a lot of rejection and costs money (some courses and competitions have subsidised places).
But it all helps, and in 2015 I was taken on by Emily Sweet Associates; it was wonderful for a professional to ‘get’ my novel and to validate my writing. Emily suggested editing and redrafting – more work – but the new draft led to some long and short-listing in national competitions. To minimise the angst of waiting for more rejection from publishers (easier if your agent can soften the blow!) I drafted a new novel and set up a WordPress blog to review new books. I also signed up to NetGalley – a brilliant way of reading new books as digital ‘galley proofs’ before they’re published. For free. All you have to do is write a review after you’ve read them. I’ve read books by Kamila Shamsie, Linda Grant, Kit de Waal and many more. Reading is vital for any writer.
Finally in 2018 an indie publisher, Retreat West Books, wanted to publish my novel. Again I had more work to do on the novel itself as well as promoting it on social media, but Amanda Saint has been a great editor. On 27 Feb 2020 my debut, One Scheme of Happiness was published. Just before lock down, I had a launch and signed copies of my book like a proper author!
I’m now working on my next novel: The River Brings the Sea (third in the First Novel Award, 2019).“
Congratulations, Ali!
You can follow her on Twitter @alithurm
Or her blog on WordPress https://alithurm.com
For anyone interested in The Novel Studio, applications are now open for entry in October 2020. Further details here.
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