Our next meeting is at 19:00, with a 19:15 start, on Tuesday 10th November 2026, at our usual home, Scalby Library. There we will welcome Glenda Young, a well-known saga and cosy crime writer and Scarborough fan, back to the Circle.
Acclaimed by Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4: ‘Such a good writer. She’s fantastic!’
Find out more on her website at: https://www.glendayoungbooks.com
Our speaker at the October Scarborough Writers’ Circle meeting was best-selling local author GP Taylor. Graham entertained us with anecdotes from his career in the police force and as a vicar, then described how his writing career later took off.
Among other things, he said he is especially keen to share his love of books, and one of his life missions is to get children reading.
He advised members to try and write every day and generously offered his help with any writing-related problems we might run into.
All in all, a fun and informative few hours.
Graham’s latest novel, ‘PIG in the PULPIT ‘, was published in 2024 and is available now.
G P Taylor – The Official Website – Welcome
The next meeting is on Tuesday, 10th November at Newby Library, Scalby Road. 7.00 pm for a 7.15 pm start. Non-members (over 18) are very welcome to come along. Cost: £5.00 per meeting, plus £1 to the library for tea/coffee.
Report by Dorinda Cass
Our annual poetry competition in memory of local poet, writer and friend of the Circle, Shirley Waite, goes from strength to strength. There were eleven entries this year, with the majority of members submitting a poem.
The theme was WONDER and, as usual, the variety of interpretations was amazing. Many thanks to Ann Gibbon for being our enthusiastic judge once again.
Congratulations to: The winner: Anne Fletcher
Second Place: Patricia Henny
Third Place: Jo Nixon
Next session will be on 13th October 26, at Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire 7.00 pm for a 7.15 pm start.
The topic will be Fantasy Fiction, with guest speaker, Graham Taylor. Guests/non-members (over 18) are always welcome. Cost: £5 per session.
Report by Dorinda Cass.
On 9th June 2026, the results of the 300-word flash fiction competition were announced by judge Shirley Field. The theme was FLIGHT.
Winner: Sue Grogan with her opportune story, Safely Home, about a woman returning to Earth after a space mission.
Second Place: John Flower with his humorous story, The Figment, about a voracious blancmange.
Third Place: Jill Boyes with her moving, thought-provoking story, The Waiting Room, about children fleeing their home in wartime.
After reading their entries to the group, members talked about their inspiration for the stories.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 14th July, at Newby/Scalby Library, starting at 7.15 pm.
Ann Gibbon will lead a poetry workshop. Non-members (over 18) are always welcome.
Report by Dorinda Cass
At the May Meeting, Scarborough Spy editor and publisher, Yolanda Carslaw, led a talk on Journalism – Writing for magazines. Yolanda gave the group an interesting background into her career, which publications she had worked for, and why. The talk included writing a pitch, sourcing your story and working within strict guidelines. The group learned about the variety of publications and how to choose which titles to pitch to, as well as how best to approach the story, methods of research and finding sources. The evening rounded off with a Q&A and further discussion. The session was well-received and enjoyed by all those in attendance.
Report by Liah Thorley
At the April meeting of the writers’ circle, John Flower led a workshop titled ‘Fact or Fiction’ with a military history theme. Topics included writing fiction and poetry, with an emphasis on research and the essentials: authenticity, characters, conflict, and pitfalls to avoid. The group discussed famous works of fiction and poignant poetry, and circle members completed a couple of brief creative writing exercises, reading some of their work aloud. The evening concluded with questions and answers, followed by further discussion. The topic for the upcoming 300-word competition was announced as ‘Flight’.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 12th May 2026 at 19:00hrs, with a 19:15hrs start. Yolanda Guthrie will lead a workshop on writing non-fiction magazine articles.
Report by John Flower.
At the March meeting of the Writers’ Circle, six members read their entries to this year’s Arthur Hastings short story competition. The theme chosen, by member Karen Bluck, was Oliver’s Mount – a well-known Scarborough landmark. As usual, members’ imagination led to a wide variety of stories – romantic, tragic, mysterious, ghostly and sci-fi. Members of a local reading group judged the entries, and the joint winners were Sue Grogan and Diana Campbell. Congratulations to both.
The next meeting will be on 14th April 2026, when member John Flower will lead the session: Writing Military History, fact or fiction.
Report by Dorinda Cass
Five lucky members of the Scarborough Writers’ Circle were privileged to be invited to attend Poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s ‘library tour’ event at Newby/Scalby library on 25th February 2026. Poet Khadijah Ibrahiim joined him.
The event was opened by Isobel Nixon, Chair of Trustees of Newby/Scalby Library.
Sue: Khadijah opened with a poem about her schooldays in Leeds, transporting many of us back to our own time at school, and this was followed by other poems. Her style sang to me, while painting wonderful pictures in my head.
Simon followed, and he was quick to point out that Khadijah had already upstaged him with her colourful and vibrant outfit!
He read several of his poems, introducing them with his self-deprecating humour. His descriptions were stunning—at times, I closed my eyes, immersed in the poem.
Dorinda: Khadijah’s voice, delivery, and the descriptiveness of the poems were mesmerising. I found myself hanging onto every word. One described an older woman selling vegetables in Jamaica, and I could see and hear her vividly. From the start, Khadijah’s style was so friendly and approachable; she had us all relaxed and singing the gospel song, “Kumbya”.
I loved Simon’s down-to-earth manner and the rapport he built with us. His poetry has a beauty that lingers with me; the refrain in one of his poems is still going around in my head. There’s nothing like hearing poetry read by the writer of it.
His readings were interspersed with interesting and humorous stories and asides, and I found that adding in something of himself shone a sharper light on his poems.
Karen: I thoroughly enjoyed listening to both speakers. Their chosen words painted vivid images of places and experiences that I have not seen or heard of before. The sounds resonated in a delicious harmony. It’s an experience I will never forget.
Shirley: I loved my evening with Khadijah Ibrahiim and Simon Armitage at Newby and Scalby library. Khadijah took to the stage first and cut a striking figure, bedecked in jewellery, with her hair piled on top of her head. She was warm and funny, and her poems were quite lyrical. One of her poems in particular contained cultural references from my teenage years – Jackie magazine, top twenty on the radio on a Sunday night, Top of the Pops and Bay City Rollers – although I was more of a Slade fan!
Simon’s poetry was very rhythmic, and it was wonderful to hear his voice reading it. I loved the quirky ideas contained in his work, in particular a poem called “Causeway”, about a family crossing a causeway as the tide is coming in. After reading out his poems, he answered every question that was thrown to him with full, considered answers, revealing a lot about himself, his family and Marsden, the village where he grew up.
Jill: To be honest, I’d always thought Simon Armitage was a bit low-key — his voice quiet, nasal, with little resonance. But he came over as bold, witty and self-deprecating. He fielded the same old questions with enthusiasm. His poems were varied — funny, sad, apocalyptic. Working through the alphabet, he’s visiting libraries starting with N, O and P this spring. Next stop is Orkney. Isn’t that where people get murdered? Oh, no — that’s Shetland.
Khadijah Ibrahiim is a Leeds lass like me. And that’s where the similarity ends. I felt like a dull brown sparrow beside a flamingo when I went up to receive my raffle prize — her book of poems. She has charisma oozing from every pore. Though Yorkshire born and bred, she sang her poems with a lyrical Jamaican beat of calypso and reggae. She told of an old lady selling callaloo, a spinach-like plant. I’ll look out for some when I’m next in Leeds market.
A fabulous evening.
Judy: Two very different poets, each with wonderfully different actual and poetic voices, whose chosen poems were interesting and engaging. I thought they connected really well with the audience, and both seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves! Both made me laugh out loud with their comments, anecdotes and observations, and I felt we were given a privileged insight into how their poems came to be written.
It is certainly an evening I will remember!
It was altogether a very relaxed visit, and an entertaining evening made even more memorable by the incredible background work put in by the trustees, library volunteers, lighting technicians and musicians (Beth Mokrini and Rob Nixon).
Report by Dorinda Cass
At November’s meeting, the results of the 300-word flash fiction competition were announced and the ten entries were read to the group. The entries were judged by Dawn Treacher from the Promoting Yorkshire Authors group.
Joint winners were Ros Jones and Shirley Field. Third-placed writer is publicity shy, sadly!
The next meeting (9th December, Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough. 7.15 start) will be an informal get-together with Christmassy drabbles (100 word stories) and nibbles.
The September session of the Writers’ Circle was well attended and focused on ‘The thin line between love and hate’. Led by Jo Nixon and Sue Grogan, members and guests discussed their own ‘loves and hates’, then skilfully looked for reasons to reverse their ‘hates’ and wrote a short paragraph.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, 14th October 2025, 7 pm for a 7:15 pm start. Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough. Our guest speaker will be local writer and poet Wendy Pratt, author of the recently published memoir Ghost Lake. Visitors welcome – £4 meeting fee plus £1 to the library for refreshments.
Report by Sue Grogan and Dorinda Cass
