Cambridge Writers is an organisation of both published and unpublished writers in Cambridge (U.K.) and nearby towns and villages. It has been in existence for about 60 years. Currently (December 2008) it has 79 members.
Its purpose is to give mutual self-help to:
* encourage members to write regularly;
* improve the quality of their writing;
* experiment by attempting new writing forms;
* learn the skills necessary for critical assessment of their writing;
* give an awareness of possible publishing outlets.
Reading Groups
We have four groups which meet monthly in members' houses. Work is read aloud and sometimes copies are distributed. Members try to give each other constructive criticism and make suggestions as to how texts could be improved.
Free Sample: before we ask you to join, you are welcome to attend two meetings of any reading group to see if what we do interests you.
The four groups are:
Poetry
This meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7.30 pm at 29 High Street, Chesterton, Cambridge. By one of those quirky vagaries of house numbering, number 29 is next door to number 37.
At these meetings we ask that you bring along 8 copies of the poem you wish to be considered. As you will appreciate, poetry needs the very closest attention to the text and this is hard to do if one can only listen. You may find it helpful to look at the details of how this Group is run, by clicking on:
Those wishing to sample the group, should contact the Coordinator, Tim Love, Tel 01223 512133 e-mail tl136@cam.ac.uk
Short Prose
This meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7.30 pm. Meetings are held at 18 Godesdone Road, Cambridge. Godesdone Road is first left off the Newmarket Road after the Elizabeth Way roundabout, as you proceed towards Newmarket. Coopers, the furniture store, is on the corner.
Both fiction and non-fiction is read at this group. Although we would not wish this criterion to dictate the length of pieces, we usually ask that work substantially over 2000 words be read over two meetings.
You are welcome to just turn up for this group, but should you wish to speak to the Coordinator, she is Huguette Chatterton, 18 Godesdone Road, Cambridge, CB5 8HR. Tel 01223 560950 e-mail harry.huguette@ntlworld.com
Long Prose
This meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 7.30 pm.
The works considered are usually novels under construction, but non-fiction is equally welcome.
In order to prevent numbers becoming unwieldy in this group, it frequently meets at two different venues on the same evening: 300 Hills Road (close to Addenbrookes Hospital) and 33 Hartington Grove (off Hills Road, opposite Homerton College).
If you wish to sample the group, you must contact the Coordinator in advance, to be told the venue of the meeting that you may attend. She is Helen Culnane, 39 West Street, Over, Cambridgeshire, CB4 5PL. Tel 01954 230601 e-mail helenculnane@tiscali.co.uk
Travel Writing
There are 2 or 3 members who work on travel narratives and who meet irregularly. Should you be interested, please contact the Coordinator, Jane Wilson-Howarth, 33 Hartington Grove, Cambridge, CB1 7UA. e-mail wilson.howarth@virgin.net
General Meetings
These are held 10 times a year on the first Tuesday of the month at Hartington Grove Friends' Meeting House. These consist of talks by established writers or people involved in publishing and the book trade, workshops and competition evenings.
Past speakers in the last 12 months:
In December 2007 Rachel Calder, from the Sayle Literary Agency, spoke to us on Getting Published. See picture:
April 2008 - Michele Thomas, recently retired from Heffers, spoke on Books, lives and whispers - a look at the way the book trade has changed in the last thirty years.
May 2008 - Helen Taylor, Literature Development Officer For Cambridgeshire, led a workshop on Writing Fairytales.
June 2008 - Jane Wilson-Howarth, a member of Cambridge Writers' Committee, spoke about her book, "A Glimpse of Eternal Snows". For details of this and other books by Jane, click on Recent Successes.
July 2008 - Ariana Franklin, who won the Crime Writers' Association Ellis Peters Award with her novel "Mistress of the Art of Death".
September 2008 - Tim Love, who edits our Newsletter and Coordinates our Poetry Group, led a workshop on Breaking into Print.
October 2008 - Rosy Thornton, a member of Cambridge Writers whose second novel, "Hearts and Minds" was published in 2007, spoke about her work.
November 2008 - Catherine Dell gave a workshop on Reading Your Work Aloud.
For our forthcoming programme, go to: