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
The August Writers’ Circle meeting was well-attended for the results of the Shirley Waite Poetry Competition. Julie Fairweather spoke with affection about her friend, a local writer in whose memory the prize was created, and also read several of her poems.
The judge for the competition with the theme ‘Play’ was Ann Gibbon, local poet and workshop facilitator. The winner was Shirley Field for her poignant poem ‘Hope’, second place Dorinda Cass and third place Sue Grogan.
Ann introduced the group to a variety of poetry forms, from sonnets to cinquains and read examples of each. Finally, members enjoyed trying their hand at writing haikus and limericks, surprising even themselves with the results!
Photograph shows, Ann Gibson (LHS) presenting Shirley Field with the trophy.
Next meeting: Tuesday, 9th September, 7 for 7.15 start, Newby and Scalby library. Theme ‘Love & Hate’. Guests welcome – £4. Refreshments available for £1.
Jill Boyes started the session by presenting a selection of books ranging from fantasy, through autofiction, to those with purely factual content. Discussion around the whole spectrum from falsehood to truth (within the written word) took place.
Members were asked to compose a short story using a recent personal experience as inspiration. It was to be written in third person with an injection of fiction for dramatic effect. The stories were read out and critiqued in two separate groups.
After the break Sue Grogan explained how she enlivened her memoir by illustrating the tension within the most engaging scenes. Ros Jones told the group she had been advised to write her memoir as a piece of fiction and discussed the differences and similarities between her own life and her novel. Each member then described how they had placed themselves (consciously or unconsciously) in a piece of their own writing.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 12th August when a well-known local poet, Ann Gibbon, will reveal the winner of the Shirley Waite Poetry Competition.
Guests are always welcome (for an entry fee of £4). Hot drinks are available at the break for £1.
Report submitted by Jill Boyes.
At the June meeting of the Writers’ Circle, talented poet Rachel Glass led an entertaining workshop called People, Poetry and Play. The group read and talked about a selection of poems in different forms, all involving a character. In between each one, using prompts and suggestions from Rachel, members and guest set to enthusiastically, crafting their own poems on a variety of themes: the way somebody sounds, an imaginary character or someone they don’t know well, a relationship with a celebrity.
Rachel provided plenty of inspiration, and members are sure to use and adapt her suggested themes in future writing.
The next Circle meeting is on Tuesday 8th July 7 pm for 7.15 pm start at Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough, when the topic will be to look at how much of yourself is injected into your writing.
Report submitted by Dorinda Cass
At the Writers’ Circle meeting on 13th May, the group enjoyed an entertaining evening sharing views on the pleasures and pitfalls of historical time travel and time slip writing. The session was led by Liah Thorley and Dorinda Cass. Members shared a short piece of their recent writing that gave a flavour of a particular time in history.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, 10th June 7.00 for 7.15 pm at Newby Library, Scalby Road, when guest, local poet Rachel Glass, will lead a session on an aspect of poetry writing. Non-members (over 18) welcome. Cost £4.
Report submitted by Dorinda Cass
At the April meeting of the Writers’ Circle, Karen Bluck introduced the topic ‘How to stir your Imagination’ using play memories from childhood.
Individual members spoke about their experiences of inventing games using random household gadgets, turning them into imaginary objects, and role play.
In small groups, members used those ideas to develop a variety of short stories. The session concluded with an entertaining discussion on the use of dreams as a potential source of ideas in writing craft.
The next meeting is on 13th May, when we will be having group discussions and doing short exercises about historical fiction writing, including time slip and time travel fiction.
Non-members (over 18) always welcome. Cost £4 per session.
Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough. 7.00 pm for 7.15 pm start.
Report submitted by Karen Bluck
At the last meeting of the Writers’ Circle on 11th March 2025, members read their entries to this year’s Arthur Hastings story competition. The theme, set by last year’s winner, Judy Woodroffe, was The Shipping Forecast. The seven entries used the theme in a variety of ways.
The judges, from a local reading group, chose Conversations with my Grandfather by Karen Bluck as the winner.
Many thanks to Judy, the judges, members and guests for an entertaining evening.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 8th April at Newby Library, Scalby Road. (7 pm for 7.15 pm start.) Non-members welcome (over age 18). Cost £4.00
Report submitted by Dorinda Cass
Bill Kitson, writer of Crime, Family Saga and Romance, was our guest speaker for our February meeting.
The session was well attended and appreciated by members and guests. Bill set an exercise based on the opening to a crime novel. Encouraged to stretch our imaginations, we worked in small groups and came up with a crop of diverse ideas. Bill then talked about his writing technique.
The next meeting on Tuesday, March 11th 2025, will be the read-through and results of the Arthur Hastings story competition. Please note the slightly later start time of 7.30 pm for this meeting only.
Report submitted by Dorinda Cass.
2025 has begun for the Scarborough Writers’ Circle. The first meeting was well attended by members who discussed their ‘writing selves’. Members and a guest thought about and shared the ‘who, what, why, where, when, and how’ of their writing and methods. The aim was to understand their own writing better and learn from others. Judy Woodroffe announced the Arthur Hastings members’ short story competition with the theme of The Shipping Forecast.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, February 11th at Newby Library, 7.00 pm for 7.15 pm start. Our guest speaker will be well-known local writer Bill Kitson, who will lead a session on crime writing. Non-members are very welcome to attend – Cost £4.
Report by Liah Thorley
Scarborough Writers' Circle 