On 3rd February, Cowes plays host to the Isle of Wight Writers Jamboree – the first of what will hopefully be an annual get-together of Island writers.
This will be an opportunity to hear briefly from various sources who can paint a broad picture of the Island’s cultural landscape, including the creative sector’s objectives and goals and what opportunities there may be for writers. There will also be a chance to feed back comments, observations and suggestions either in-person or by posting in the comments box on the night.
Organised by Medina Bookshop in collaboration with Creative Island and their talent development programme the IW Creative Network, there will also be representatives from the likes of Naked Figleaf Press, Brevity, The IW Literary Festival and other groups and organisations offering opportunities for Island literary talent.
Several writing competitions will also be launched on the evening, including the IW Book Awards and the IW Biosphere Writing Competition.
Organiser Paul Armfield from Medina Bookshop says:
“Local authors are really important to us, 9 out of our 10 bestsellers last year were books with an Island connection. There is such a wealth of literary talent here, but writing is a fairly solitary activity, so we thought it would be really useful to create an opportunity for everyone to get together, check in, update each other, and get inspired. We’ve put the word out to those we have contact details for and have over 100 writers signed up already.”
The event takes place at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes on the 3rd February from 18:00 until 22:00. Tickets are £5, which includes a cone of fish and chips (or vegan equivalent), or free to members of the IW Creative Network (membership is just £30 per year, you can join here)
For any enquiries contact Medina Bookshop 01983 300044