Hi Alphas,
Welcome to Alphaday 7. Is this the culminating point of the season? With 6 Alphadays either side of us and the gradual build-up of activities from the beginning mirrored by the trailing off at the end, I suppose it could be. It depends how you draw the graph. I prefer to see it as an eager climb up to a plateau with such breath-taking scenery that we stay there in awe for as long as we can before reluctantly climbing back down the other side.
Whichever way you look at it we’ve now reached this season’s half-way mark.
Some Alphas have been busy preparing an agenda crammed full of writerly treats. I’m sure we all appreciate their efforts, because what would our Alphadays be without these delights? At the same time we acknowledge that without everyone’s entries and contributions the treat bags wouldn’t have much to offer. So there’s applause all around and it’s a pleasure to see that you enjoy the fun… and pick up useful hints as writers!
Today’s agenda is as follows:
- This bulletin from me
- The results of the ‘dark and stormy night’ challenge from Suzanne
- The collated entries for the TV advert challenge from Rosemary (in your in-box!)
- The brief for Challenge 7 from Chris
- The Writers’ Reads slot put together by Morgen
- The Alpha Log edited by Sally
- A showcase piece (if we’re lucky) from Suzanne
How’s that for something to stimulate our writing muscles? Or to make us punch away at our keyboards in delighted agreement or strong protest? Discussions are always welcome distractions.
Alpha news:
We have a new member. Irene will be joining us from today and I’ve added her email to the address list for this bulletin. Irene lives in Wales and is keen on expanding her writing experience and joining in with Alpha activities.
I will also send an up-to-date list of all members and their email addresses.
General news:
I do like the big book awards with all their pomp and circumstance rewarding writers whose output has gained recognition after all the hard work. The Costa Prize covers a full range of writing and there are six categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry, Children’s Book and Short Story.
There’s also the big cheque (£25,000) for the Book of the Year. It was awarded for a children’s book, ‘The Lie Tree’ by Frances Hardinge.
I’m rather impressed that Lesley picked the winner of the First Novel as her favourite book of the year in our latest Writers’ Reads slot. ‘The Loney’ by Andrew Michael Hurley. Well done, Lesley! Will definitely read it.
All short-listed short stories are available to read or listen to on the Costa Prize web site. You can also access those from previous years if you like. I take that as a proud statement that they’re happy with their judges and the choices they made – and I approve of that.
If those big tax evaders like Google et al did something along those lines I think the money would be better spent than on taxes. They can afford it and it would do their image a world of good.
So there you are: dream on! At least that’s the kind of news that generates happy dreams.
Christine