Photo by Samantha Garrote at Pexels.

With great regret (and relish), WriteLion will no longer be working with the Beatnik Guild. This was meant to be a bi/monthly event which would coincide with the launch of the magazine and podcasts, enabling a more varied and concentrated promotion of local talent. This event was necessary for the simple fact that Nottingham is producing so much fantastic fiction at the moment that we felt obliged to create more space for it through electronic, audio and print mediums.

The magazine can only host three book reviews (and it was 0-1 before I took over) which is an editorial nightmare given the volume of books landing on the doorstep. This month sees Jon McGregor’s eagerly awaited third novel Even the Dogs published by Bloomsbury. Without doubt, he’s our biggest star and so has to go in the magazine, particularly as I hope he will prove me wrong and win the Booker before his fifth. Tindal St also release NWS member Maria Allen’s debut Before the Earthquake. We love debut novelists and are particularly eager to balance out female coverage. May sees a re-release of Anthony Cartwright’s Heartland which is topical given the forthcoming World Cup and the EDL marches. Two members from our forum have just self-published; Steve Pape, a poetry collection called The Awakening Soul and Adam Watts Mr. Bloody Sunshine. In some ways these are priority reviews as they will not get the coverage as those signed to larger publishers. Then there is the outstanding Staple collection as well as the amazingly quick output from Weathervane and Five Leaves. How do you choose?

To compensate this I’m going to hopefully do a split one page review Tindal St special which will include an interview with Anthony and Maria and book reviews at the bottom of each. That still afford me three slots on the WriteLion page.  But it’s still not enough because there’s another book out about Clough, a quirky local history tale of grave digging and a non-fiction history of the name Paul. Hence the need for a regular spoken word event to ensure all are covered.

This has to be special so I’m thinking of something with a bit of variety to make it a proper night out. My initial idea is to include some of the below elements.

1. Local band
2. Drama – a scene from a work in progress
3. Open mic –  for WriteLion forum and others
4. Readings – usually themed e.g. Self published, genre, topical. This would be a casual chat about the book and then a reading.
5. Poetry – again themed e.g. Poets from Nottingham University, genre etc.
6. Debate – about various writing issues (self-publishing versus tradition – with representatives from both)

My dilemma is finding a suitable venue and working with someone I can trust e.g. Has the ability to operate a mobile phone, understands how to reply to an email, is able to grasp the basic rudiments of time and most importantly, is eager to get involved because they love their city and are passionate about writing. I’d like to charge a nominal fee which would then be invested into a regular WriteLion publication which would feature all artists involved. This would ensure local literature was widely covered through various mediums and go some way to solving my editorial nightmare of trying to cover everyone who needs it. If anybody has any ideas etc, answers on the back of a stamped addressed envelope…

Our fifth WriteLion podcast is out now. It’s raw and unedited, true to the spirit of LeftLion and so that nobody thinks we’re taking ourslves too seriously. It includes information on the Writing Industries Conference and the opportunity to have a 1-1 with an agent, news about submissions for the triliteral festival, music from King Claw and a chat with Adam Watts, Jamie Rhodes and Steve Pape. Ger in there at writelion 4.