Tag: The Novel Studio (page 5 of 6)

Who Says Crime Doesn’t Pay?

June 15, 2017 / / 0 Comments

By Emily Pedder

Greg Keen is an alumnus of The Novel Studio course at City, University of London. He completed his debut novel in between stints working as a pitch consultant and a media trainer, all based in Soho. In 2015 Soho Dead won the CWA Debut Dagger. We caught up with him to find out more about his crime series.

EP: Your novel reveals some brilliantly unsavoury characters. Were they based on people you’ve met…?

GK: I’ve met a few people who share their characteristics but no one who is absolutely like them. Bella – the sex club owner – is probably closest to someone I know.

EP: Your novel is set mostly in Soho, a place you seem to know intimately. Can you tell us about your relationship to the place?

GK: I got my first job there after university. Over the next ten years the company re-located four times, always in Soho. During that period I frequented most of the pubs and quite a few members clubs when members clubs meant a dimly lit cellar bar. Few of these remain but The New Evaristo (aka Trisha’s) in Greek Street is still going strong.

EP: Which crime writers have influenced you?

GK: Mark Timlin’s Sharman series primarily. I love Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May books and Colin Bateman’s Dan Starkey novels are wonderfully dark and funny.

EP: What kind of research did you do for the book?

GK: Part of the novel is set in the seventies. Mostly it was a matter of researching what was where in Soho in that period and which drinks and cigarette brands were available etc.

EP: “His pecs needed a training bra and his gut seeped like jelly from a dodgy mould…” Humour is rife in your book. Do you see it as an important element in the crime writing you’re interested in producing?

GK: To a point. Soho Dead began life primarily as a comic novel and was rejected by agent after agent as not having a big enough crime element. Over the next four drafts (complete re-writes basically) I bumped this up. The best advice I received was in a workshop when someone commented that the humour worked when it came from the situation and not when I was trying to insert gags. If any of my three review readers think something isn’t funny then out it comes. But the short answer to your question is that noir and humour often work well together.

EP: The novel is intricately plotted with lots of satisfying sub-plots and red herrings. How did you approach the plotting of the book?

GK: Thank you. I have about 70% worked out up-front and the rest is found while writing and re-drafting.

EP: The ending of the book is nicely unpredictable. Did you have an alternate ending in mind at any point, or were you always clear where the book was going?

GK: Some crime writers only find out who committed the crime when they reach its conclusion. I find this amazing and always knew who did it and why.

EP: What are you working on next?

GK: I’m about to begin structural edits on Soho Ghosts, which is the second in the series and out next year.

EP: Have you given up the day job?!

GK: As I freelance it’s not quite that dramatic for me. I have decreased my hours to focus more on writing though.

Thanks to Greg Keen and all the best with his fantastic novel Soho Dead and upcoming Soho Ghosts.

2016 City Novel Studio competition winners announced

October 2, 2016 / / 0 Comments

We are delighted to announce the winners of 2016’s City Novel Studio Competition.

In association with Christine Green Author’s Agency, the competition was open to unpublished novelists writing in any fictional genre for adults, but not non-fiction or fiction for children. Course Director, Emily Pedder, and Novel Studio Tutor, Emily Midorikawa, sifted through the numerous entries and have now made their final decisions. The winners are:

  • Dinea Smith
  • Lucy Smith
  • Lucy Underhill

The course director said the standard of entries for this year’s Novel Studio competition was very high. “It’s always difficult to choose winners in a competition like this, but our finalists all had very fresh, distinctive voices and each piece made us hungry to read more.”

Find out more about The Novel Studio on the City website.

Books on the table

Books on the table

The Novel Studio’s end of year showcase 2016

July 8, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The Novel Studio’s End of Year show is a hotly anticipated event.

This year was no exception. From eighteenth century Spitalfields to the mean streets of nineties Moscow, the students electrified an audience of friends, agents and publishers as they read work from their novels-in-progress.

After the readings students mingled with their guests amongst much industry interest. With diverse genres spanning everything from sci-fi to historical fiction, it’s surely a matter of time before these talented students celebrate publication success of their own. Congratulations to the Novel Studio teaching team and the class of 2015/16.

To read their extracts and novel outlines visit: The Novel Studio 2016.

Rewriting History: How Historical Fiction Works

June 16, 2016 / / 0 Comments

By Emily Pedder

From Brooklyn to Wolf Hall, historical fiction is enjoying a boom moment. But how do you go about writing an historical novel? How ‘true’ to the past should a novelist be? And what can historical novels tell us about the world we are living in today? Last month we were given the insider’s guide to all this and more by two of City short courses’ star alumni: Anna Mazzola, author of The Unseeing, out with Tinder Press next month and Melissa Bailey, author of The Medici Mirror and Beyond The Sea, Arrow Press.

Both authors clearly shared a passion for research and saw it as one of the most absorbing parts of the historical novel writing. Both were also clear that the story had to take precedence: it didn’t matter how much research had been done, or how historically accurate the depiction of period might be, if the story wasn’t working the novelist had to go back to the drawing board.

There was also broad agreement on other characteristics of writing historical fiction. Anna spoke of the importance of giving voice to the voiceless and of uncovering voices from the past that hadn’t been heard before. Melissa highlighted the enjoyable difficulty in trying to imagine what her characters were thinking and feeling, and then imagining what was different about the way those characters might have perceived things at that time.

Well attended and with positive feedback after the event, this writing short course event gave us all food for thought. As novelist Andrew Miller put it, “at its best, historical fiction is never a turning away from the now but one of the ways in which our experience of the contemporary is revived.” Thank you to Anna and Melissa for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. For more info on our short courses, go to our website or follow us on twitter @cityshortcourses. For more on the authors and their books visit: Anna Mazzola and Melissa Bailey.

 

City Writes launch

April 2, 2016 / / 0 Comments

by Novel Studio alumnus, Arun Das

The inaugural City Writes event was held on 29th March 2016. Along with author of Owl Song at Dawn, Emma Claire Sweeney, four writers, alumni and students from City’s creative writing short courses read out their work. Each writer was chosen through a competition run by creative writing tutor Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone.

First to read her story was Evleen Mann, with a piece developed as part of the Novel Studio course. Titled Elvis and the Bear, Evleen fictionalised a humorous but poignant conversation between Rock ‘n’ Roll star Elvis Presley and a bear. Evleen is working on a novel as part of the Novel Studio programme.

Eileen Church Riley, a 2010 graduate of the Novel Studio read an extract from her novel The Tumbledown. Set in Western Nevada, United States, The Tumbledown follows Screeching Eagle and Delicate Bird, members of the Paiute-Shoshone Native American Indian tribe.

Lesley Jones, presented an extract The Worst Day, from a supernatural YA novel. Lesley is also working on a fantasy adventure novel for 9 to 12 year-olds and is a current student of the Novel Studio.

C. G. Menon, who’s pursuing an MA in Creative Writing at City, University of London read the short story I see you in Triplicate. Menon has been published in two short story anthologies, Fugue Press’ Siren II and Dahlia Publishing’s Love Across A Broken Map. Menon has also won the Bare Fiction short story prize, the Asian Writer prize, The Short Story award and the Winchester Writers Festival short story prize. She’s been shortlisted for a number of others, including the Fish short story award, the Short Fiction Journal prize, the Willesden Herald prize and two Words and Women awards.

Emma Claire Sweeney read extracts from her novel Owl Song at Dawn. Published by Legend Press in 2016, Owl Song at Dawn, her debut novel, was inspired by her sister who has cerebral palsy and autism.

Emma is a Novel Studio tutor. Her forthcoming book, A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf, is a non-fiction book, which she has co-written with her friend and Novel Studio colleague, Emily Midorikawa. With a foreword by Margaret Atwood, the book will come out in June 2017 with Aurum Press in the UK and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the USA.

City Writes will run every term and will return in the summer on Wednesday 12th July to showcase more of City’s short courses creative writing talent. The deadline for submissions for the summer term is Friday 16th June and readers will be joined by Novel Studio alumna Luiza Sauma who will be reading from her novel Flesh and Bone and Water published by Viking in February 2017.

Arun Das spent ten years working as a journalist and television producer. He moved to England to join his wife and is currently working on a novel as part of the Novel Studio programme.

How to build a platform and strategy for your writing that engages readers

November 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

By Emily Pedder

Advances in digital technology have brought unparalleled opportunities for modern authors. Writers can now publish, promote and market their work in unforeseen ways. But how do you navigate this new terrain? And how do writers create that elusive ‘platform’ which builds interest and readers?

Last month, as part of Inside Out Festival, City short courses hosted an evening chaired by Novel Studio tutor and writer Emily Midorikawa to look at the reality of the modern publishing world and what is required of an author aside from the writing.

With the help of three industry experts: publishing consultant Heather O’Connell, City tutor and writer Katy Darby, and best-selling novelist Mark Edwards, the audience were introduced to topics such as using social media as an author; building an author ‘brand’; finding target readers; negotiating publishing options, from indy to traditional and engaging with readers both online and in the real world.

Perhaps Mark Edwards’ colourful pie chart,  ‘what do authors do all day’, has the final word on what it takes to be an authorpreneur. According to Mark, ‘writing’ takes up 35% of his day, while ‘checking amazon’ uses 10%, ‘admin’ 30%, and ‘social networking’ 15%. Good to hear, then, that there was still room in the day for the writer’s all important ‘staring into space’ time, at 10%.

With thanks to all our speakers and guests for a great evening.

For more events like these don’t forget to follow our updates on @cityshortcourses or email us at shortcourses@city.ac.uk to be added to our mailing list.

 

Winners of City Novel Studio competition 2015 announced

October 2, 2015 / / 0 Comments

We are delighted to announce the winners of 2015’s City Novel Studio Competition.

In association with Christine Green Author’s Agency, the competition was open to unpublished novelists writing in any fictional genre for adults, but not non-fiction or fiction for children. Course Director, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, and Novel Studio Tutor, Kirstan Hawkins, sifted through the numerous entries and have now made their final decisions. The winners are:

  • Hannah Begbie
  • Louise Beere
  • Jen Glyn

“There were some very strong contenders for the Novel Studio Competition this year,” said Rebekah. “Each of the finalists produced writing with a skill and authority that left me eager to read more. I have high expectations of what this year’s Novel Studio students will go on to achieve in the future.”

Commenting on the finalists, top literary agent Christine Green said: “I enjoyed each one of them hugely – they are very different pieces but each has a strong voice and each one left me wanting more. Without hesitation I can say that I’d love to see more from each of them…Three very talented women.”

Congratulations to Hannah, Louise and Jen.  A terrific start to their Novel Studio year!

The Novel Studio end-of-year student showcase

July 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments

by Rebekah Latin-Rawstrone

This annual event is the culmination of a year-long course for budding novelists studying on The Novel Studio programme. Twelve students read extracts from their debut novels to a packed audience of family, friends and publishing industry guests.

The work spanned a huge range of genres and themes encompassing satire, crime, young adult and historical fiction, amongst many others, and exploring such diverse worlds as the Arab Spring and the murky dealings of Global Finance. Fresh, contemporary and resonant, the work drew admiration from attendees at the Performance Space, with Course Director Emily Pedder commenting on this year’s talent as ‘exceptional’.

Since the event several students have been approached by agents wanting to see more of their work. Watch this space for further news!

For more information on the course and its growing list of published alumni, visit The Novel Studio.

Winners of City Novel Studio competition 2014 announced

October 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

We are delighted to announce the winners of our inaugural City Novel Studio Competition 2014.

In a rare opportunity to bypass the slush pile, all applications to the Novel Studio this year were automatically considered for our City Novel Studio Competition, in association with Christine Greene Author’s Agency. The competition was open to unpublished novelists writing in any fictional genre for adults, including literary fiction, women’s fiction, science fiction, young adult fiction, chick-lit, fantasy, crime fiction, thriller, historical fiction, but not non-fiction or fiction for children. Course Director, Emily Pedder, and Novel Studio Tutor, Emily Midorikawa, sifted through the numerous entries have now made their final decisions. The winners are:

  • Giles Anderson
  • Tara Basi
  • Meera Betab

The judges commented on the ‘high standard’ of the applications this year and the difficulty in choosing the top three. However, the best three entries stood out for their ‘originality, style and distinctive voice’. They have now been passed on to Natalie Butlin, a top agent at Christine Green Authors’ Agency, with a view to representation. Congratulations to Giles, Tara and Meera!

Launched to success through The Novel Studio

May 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

By Emily Pedder

Before embarking on a novel writing course at City, University of London, Steve Young worked as a freelance comedian and theatre director: “I toured the UK performing, and directed several times with the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. I had a personal interest in writing and wanted to explore it. I had written thousands of jokes and vignettes, but was looking for a forum to go into more serious writing.”

Steve chose to pursue his love of writing in London, “the heart of literature central.” But it was a WWII veteran, and literature graduate from Oxford, who suggested City. “His professors were JR Tolkien and CS Lewis,” says Steve, “he told me I reminded him of CS Lewis…unfortunately, having more to do with my physical size than talent. He heard me read a bit of a novel-in-progress at a local social event, and we met.  I used to come by his home, have a few scotches or schnapps, and I’d read aloud whatever I was working on. When it came time to look for a course, we considered the possibilities, but agreed City, University of London was the right fit, I was impressed that the faculty were all writers and editors.”

Steve started by completing two short story courses, and was advised to apply for The Novel Studio, which he felt helped his work enormously, “I had excellent instructors working in the field. They pushed and challenged me.  I loved the fact that they were direct and honest about my work. The rigorous student selection process created a group of extremely talented beginning novelists, who made a huge contribution to my work.  I always felt there was a vested interest in my work and my classmates were committed to my success and I to theirs.”

Since completing The Novel Studio at City, Steve has found great success as an award-winning playwright. Under the Overpass won the TeCo New Play Competition literary award, and The Wal*Mart-ians was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Awards at the Bloomington Playwright Project out of a thousand entrants. The King’s Face won both the FutureFest and Southwest Playwriting Competitions, and is currently a live semi-finalist at the Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, receiving a staged reading in May at the Blank Theatre in Los Angeles. A few amongst many other varying accolades. Steve’s new play, The Night Witches, will be performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival in May.

“I had some mild success as a writer prior to the course, but The Novel Studio really launched me forward.  It made me brave on the page. It gave me a discerning eye.  I loved every minute of it.”

For more on the course and our growing list of published alumni visit our home page here.

For updates on courses and event follow us @cityshortcourses.

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