Join Us At Our Next North-West Writers’ Meet & Greet! 28 October 2015
Writer? Blogger? Journalist? Publication? Join us, Blaze Arts, Creative Tourist and friends for our next meet and greet!
We’ve long been of the mind that there’s strength in numbers. That having friends — rather than competitors — makes for more fruitful working than not. So when, over a cup of tea at our office in Liverpool back in 2013, we talked to then-editor Susie Stubbs of top culture site Creative Tourist about running joint contributor meetings, it made perfect sense. And that’s precisely what we’ve been doing!
Our popular socials are held in different locations around the North-West and are attended and supported by local publications like Corridor 8, Tusk Journal, Manchester Wire, The Skinny and Northern Soul. This time we’re coming to Preston; a place with a strong, emerging community of writers, plus great cultural projects being pioneered by the likes of Cultural Olympiad project Blaze, and art blogs The Two Hats and Preston Is My Paris. Preston also happens to house The Double Negative’s fourth biggest readership.
Our next meet and greet at the end of October — kindly hosted by Lancashire City Council, Blaze Arts’ Culture On A Shoestring Magazine and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery – is, as always, totally informal and open to all, whether you already write for North-West magazines, journals or blogs, or are just thinking about it. There’s the chance to find out more specifically about us, the kinds of things we do and don’t publish (we’re all quite different publications), how we work with writers, and an opportunity to talk about any ideas you have. You’ll also hear about key funding opportunities, projects and events to get involved in.
“Blaze is really excited to be hosting a meet and greet as part of the Blaze Festival this year”, says its co-ordinator and our host Steph Broken. “Events such as this really help the young writers who contribute to Culture on a Shoestring feel more connected with the wider writing community. It’s also a great opportunity for them to network and learn from more experienced professionals.”
It’s all part of our plan to foster the writing community in the North. To support those whose chosen career or hobby of choice is, by its very nature, quite an isolating and lonely activity. So alongside finding out about local publications, this meet and greet is also a chance for you to network with loads of like-minded people (and over free drinks, too). And surely that’s something we all, as writers, appreciate now and again.
Laura Robertson (Editor)
Interested? Book your FREE place here!
NW Writers Meet and Greet, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Market Square, Preston PR1 2PP. Wednesday 28 October 2015, 5.30-8.30pm, free, booking required. Complimentary drinks will be provided, courtesy of our kind hosts!
The Blaze Festival 2015 will run 26-31 October 2015; keep an eye on the website for more details. Blaze is a Cultural Olympiad Legacy project that works across Lancashire and the North West to create the next generation of cultural producers, artists and entrepreneurs
Image: Harris Museum, Harris Flights intervention, Preston