Verulam Writers, St Albans: a group welcoming aspiring writers, those writing for the pleasure of it, and published writers.
I have learned so much, not least from our manuscript evenings when extracts from stories, articles and poems are read out for general comment. At VW we are pleased to help each other with suggestions and positive feedback. We also have a variety of speakers, many of whom bring their good advice and books to the session. ‘Friends’ of VW include renowned crime writer Howard Linskey and Peter Waine, author of many books on the countryside and Chair of the Housman Society.
We are active as a group in contributing to our online magazine Veracity, packed with writing tips, together with the winning entries from our internal competitions. The star of the show is our famous Gnome de Plume, presented to the writer with the most outrageous pseudonym! If you win him, you are honour-bound to decorate him in some way before returning him for the next competition.
During the Covid pandemic we put together Covidity, a free e-book that captured the feelings and mood of the time. It was published on multiple platforms including Amazon, Apple, Kobo and Barnes & Noble as well as the VW website. It included poetry, plays and personal stories and was described as being ‘from the factual and funny to the fantastic and fiendish.’ The book was highly commended in the National Association of Writing Groups Anthology competition.
We have recently put together Bloody St Albans, a collection of crime stories, both bloody and humorous, relating to our local area. Sales have been good and we are pleased to donate half of our profits to the Mayor’s Charity for refugees.