The Writing Platform Fair and Conference for Writers

in association with

The Writing Platform returns to Rich Mix, London, on 4th November 2013 with a mini-fair and conference for writers. Tickets cost £44/ £39 (concessions), booking is through the Rich Mix box office.

Join us for:

• Discussions about some of the key issues, opportunities and challenges facing writers
• Advice and practical workshops from a wide range of organisations working with writers
• Meet and share your own experiences with other writers
• The launch of Visual Verse, who will be running a short story competition on the day
• The chance to win a Kobo Aura courtesy of Kobo Writing Life

Download the full programme including timings, speaker and exhibitor information here.

PANELS

• My Writing Life
• Beyond the Page
• Money Money Money
• Getting Noticed

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

• Acclaimed writing therapist, Jackee Holder will be sharing tips from her latest book, 49 Ways to Write Yourself Well: The Science and Wisdom of Writing and Journaling – hosted by Words of Colour Productions
• Typesetting your Manuscript with MS Word – presented by CompletelyNovel
•  The Self-Publishing Journey in the Digital Market – presented by Kobo Writing Life
• Digital Media Clinic with Campbell X, Director of PoWWow – hosted by Words of Colour Productions
• Email Marketing and Newsletters for Authors – presented by CompletelyNovel

EXHIBITORS

• Alliance of Independent Authors
• Arts Council England
• Arvon
• Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society
• CompletelyNovel
• Kobo Writing Life
• Spread the Word
• The Literary Consultancy
• The Literary Platform
• Visual Verse
• Words of Colour Productions

PANELS

My Writing Life: Writers lift the lid on their writing habits, from tackling the creative process to making a living and how they balance writing time with raising their profile and the myriad digital distractions.

Philip Hensher, author, journalist, and professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa

Polly Courteney, the author of six novels, the most recent of which is Feral Youth, who famously walked out on her publisher Harpercollins

Nikesh Shukla, an author whose debut novel, Coconut Express was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel award 2010

Chaired by Rebecca Swift, Founder of The Literary Consultancy

Beyond the Page: writers whose work consistently breaks new ground discuss their work – which ranges from live-writing and performance to crowd-sourcing and co-creation – and share what inspires them to keep pushing at the boundaries of form. With:

Kate Pullinger, a writer of novels, short stories and collaborative transmedia projects including Flight Paths, Inanimate Alice and Memory Makes Us.

David Jackson, a PhD researcher and designer at MIRIAD and creator of Storyjacker, an experimental online story-writing platform which allows users to write together using games.

Nick Makoha, a writer, poet and Spoke-Lab resident and creator of one man show “My Father and Other Superheroes” that reveals how pop culture raised him in the absence of his father.

David Varela, a writer and producer working in a wide range of media including books, plays, films, speeches, musicals, websites, treasure hunts, alternate reality games, apps and many other projects that defy categorisation.

Chaired by Paul Sherreard of Spread the Word

Money Money Money: This panel will explore the range of funded and commercial opportunities available to writers, from Arts Council England grants to crowdfunding, publishing and distributing via the Kobo Writing Life platform and how why writers should sell directly to readers. With:

Gemma Seltzer, Relationship Manager at Arts Council England. Gemma is also a writer who has created form-busting projects such as Speak to Strangers and 5am London.

Patrick Hussey, is a consultant specialising in crowdfunding. He also writes about technology, culture and society for a range of publications including the Guardian and the Independent.

Diego Marano, UK Manager of Kobo Writing Life.

Suw Charman-Anderson, social technology consultant, journalist and writer who has been carrying out an experiment in selling her novel, Queen of the May, direct to readers from her website.

Chaired by Joanna Ellis, COO of The Literary Platform and co-founder of The Writing Platform

Getting Noticed: this panel will explore the many meanings ‘Getting Noticed’ has for writers, from securing an agent and/ or publisher, to cultivating a readership using blogs, social media and writing platforms. With:

Nicola Barr, literary agent at London-based literary and media agency Greene and Heaton

Minna Salami, founder of MsAfropolitan, a multiple award-winning blog covering contemporary Africa and Diaspora society and culture from a feminist perspective. Her main areas of expertise include extensive research and writing on gender issues in African society; media and popular culture in an African context; speaking engagements and university guest lectures.

Emily Benet is an author and blogger. Her first book Shop Girl Diaries began as a blog about working in her Mum’s chandelier shop. She wrote her second Spray Painted Bananas in installments on Wattpad, which led to a million hits and her signing with Laura Longrigg at MBA literary agency. Emily has written about the benefits of social media for writers for Mslexia, The New Writer and Publishing Talk, and runs Blogging and Social Networking Workshops.

Anna Lewis, co-founder of ValoBox and CompletelyNovel. Her focus with both ventures has been connecting content creators with new technologies so they can build a better relationship and experience for their readers.

Chaired by Donna Hancox, Lecturer in Creative Writing and Literary Studies at Queensland University of Technology.

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

Several of our exhibitors will be running seminars and practical workshops throughout the day. Join them as they offer insight and practical tips on a range of subjects:

• Acclaimed writing therapist, Jackee Holder, will be sharing tips from her latest book, 49 Ways to Write Yourself Well: The Science and Wisdom of Writing and Journaling. Presented by Words of Colour.
• Typesetting your manuscript with MS word with Completely Novel: So you think you know everything about Microsoft Word? You thought typesetting your work would be a doddle? WRONG! Completely Novel’s Anna Lewis takes everything you thought you knew about typesetting with Word and turns it on its head and reveals everything you didn’t know about using Word to create a professionally typeset book. A well typeset book can be the difference between a professional looking book that sells and a poor quality book that doesn’t, If you’re thinking about self-publishing you can’t afford to miss this.
•  The Self-Publishing Journey in the Digital Market with Kobo Writing Life: Diego Marano, UK Manager of Kobo Writing Life will present the key steps to be taken before, during and after the publication of an e-books.
• Campbell X, director of PoWWow digital strategy will lead a digital media clinic on raising your profile, building networks and attracting the right target audience. Campbell X is an experienced social media strategist whose clients include the National Theatre, Channel 4, St Martins School of Art and LUX. Presented by Words of Colour Productions.
• Email Marketing and Newsletters with Anna Lewis and Suw Charman Anderson. Research shows that email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of marketing in the digital age, even ahead of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. A good newsletter and a strong mailing list are powerful tools for any writer, but how do you get started, and what tools should you use? CompletelyNovel’s Anna Lewis will present a talk on successful email marketing. Presented by Completely Novel.

EXHIBITORS

Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is a nonprofit, professional association for self-publishing writers. Rapidly growing, with members on all six continents, ALLi invites such writers to come together in a spirit of mutual co-operation, in service to our readers and each other.

As well encouraging ethics and excellence in self-publishing, ALLi advocates and campaigns for the interests of indie authors everywhere. Our mission is the democratisation of writing and publishing through community, partnership and author empowerment.

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities activities across the arts, museums and libraries.

Visit them for: Gemma Seltzer (Relationship Manager, Literature) is available for one-to-one sessions with writers and organisations that are interested in applying for ACE’s Grants for the Arts funding. Participants should come with an outline of planned project and a preliminary budget including the amount of financial support requested from Arts Council England.

Arvon is celebrated for its unique ability to discover and develop the writer in everyone. We run creative writing courses for schools, groups and individuals in a wide range of genres, from fiction to screenwriting, taught by leading authors. Grants are available to help with course fees. Our residential courses take place in historic writing houses in beautiful countryside locations, and we run a small number of non-residential weekend courses in UK cities each year.

Visit them for: information about our programme of creative writing courses and other opportunities for writers. Explore the writing centres, find out about the authors who tutor for us, and ask any questions you may have about the financial grant process or our mentoring schemes.

Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS)  is a not-for-profit membership organisation. We represent the interests of all writers and safeguard their intellectual property rights. We collect secondary royalties on behalf of over 85,000 writers across the UK and abroad and pay them directly to our Members, twice a year. For more information do visit our stand where we will be happy to answer your questions and sign you up for membership.

Calling all writers! If you have had an article published in a printed academic or trade journal, or written or contributed to a book, television, or radio programme, then the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) could be holding money owed to you.

CompletelyNovel.com is an online publishing community and social-sharing site for book-lovers. For self-published writers we provide a friendly, simple-to-use platform that allows works to be published in quality print editions at the most competitive prices.

Visit them for: information about Print-on-Demand and to talk to the team about all aspects of self-publishing, from cover design, to type-setting, to marketing and PR and sales. You can check out some of our published books, and get a live quote on publishing your book using our online price calculator. And don’t forget to watch out for stand giveaways and surprises throughout the day!

Kobo Writing Life is Kobo’s global self-publishing platform geared towards independent authors, agents and publishers. Since its launch in July of last year, Kobo Writing Life has attracted more than 18,000 authors who have published more than 100,000 titles available in 184 countries and in 54 languages.

Kobo Writing Life is characterized by offering an open, collaborative and user-friendly platform to the end of elevating the success of the independent author community across multiple markets.

Visit them for: Diego Marano, UK Manager of Kobo Writing Life, will be at the stand for the whole day to answer questions and give personal advice. Free Kobo Writing Life-branded items will available at the stand whilst stocks last.

Spread the Word is London’s Writer Development Agency. Are you a writer looking for information, advice and support? Spread the Word offers professional development and advice sessions for writers, as well as providing information about how to get involved with Spread the Words diverse writing programme across London.

Visit them for: bespoke 10 minute advice sessions and to find out more about their development programmes.

The Literary Consultancy is the UK’s leading editorial assessment service, providing in-depth, honest and valuable feedback on manuscripts across all genres, by writers writing in English at all levels, from novice to agented. We are particularly interested in exploring the various routes into publishing within an increasingly digital industry, and are on hand to answer questions, and guide you as to what your next move might be. We also run a mentoring programme for ongoing one-on-one consultation, an annual Literary Holiday and a vibrant events series with workshops, seminars and a yearly conference.

Visit them for: more information about the advice and support they offer writers.

The Literary Platform is an agency specialising in books and technology. It works with publishers, developers, literary organisations and academic institutions on a wide range of digital-related projects. In 2012 The Literary Platform launched The Writing Platform, a website and events programme (including this one!) dedicated to arming writers with digital knowledge.

Visit them for:  general information about today’s event and 10 minute surgeries on your social media presence.

Visual Verse is an online anthology of art and words. It is designed to inspire writers of all stages by providing arresting, surprising and elegant images and inviting writers to respond with a piece of short fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Writers are challenged to write just 50-500 words, within an hour, and the results appear online. The rules are simple – look, observe and then write, without overthinking.Visual Verse is a collaboration between Kristen Harrison at The Curved House, Mr Pete Lewis and writer/editor Preti Taneja. It is supported by a group of wonderful patrons including former poet laureate Andrew Motion and artist Mark Garry.

Visit them for:  To celebrate the launch of Visual Verse we  are inviting all writers in attendance to submit a short piece of writing on the day and our editor, Preti Taneja, will judge the submissions and select a winner. The winning entry will be featured on the homepage of Visual Verse and the writer will receive a beautiful limited edition framed print of the image on display.

Words of Colour Productions is a social enterprise that has created inclusive programmes for budding and established writers of all genres since 2005.

Visit them for: advice and further information about their programmes. Words of Colour Productions are also running two seminars on their stand: Writing therapist, Jackee Holder, will be sharing tips from her latest book – 49 Ways to Write Yourself Well: The Science and Wisdom of Writing and Journaling and Campbell X, Director of PoWWow Digital Strategy, will lead a digital media clinic on raising your profile, building networks and attracting the right target audience.

The Writing Platform returns to Rich Mix, London, on 4th November 2013 with a mini-fair and conference for writers. Tickets cost £44/ £39 (concessions), booking is through the Rich Mix box office.