Ripon Writers' Group

The competition, held in honour of the late Twinks Perugini Kenyon, a much missed former member of RWG, was judged this year by her daughter, Anne Perugini Powell. Due to circumstances beyond her control, Anne was unable to attend the meeting but very kindly sent the results along by post.

In first place, was Kate Swann’s Growing Up, Learning Fast, a touching tale of childhood neglect. In second place came Final text message sent from a mobile phone washed up on the beach of Isola del Giglio by Phil Cook. (The rules of the competition allow for a long title to compensate for the strictly observed word count – precisely 50 – in the actual saga.) Phil’s entry used ‘text speak’, taught to him by young relatives, to great effect. Jan Maltby’s The White Bikini, a fine example of husbandly hypocrisy and wifely revenge, came third.

As Kate was not present this evening to receive the trophy, it will be presented to her in January.

Unfortunately, many of us were unable to be present to celebrate this milestone. However, it was fitting that our founder member, Daphne Peters, was there to cut the cake.

Here’s to the next 30 years!

Cathy, Lindsay and Maggie had a very enjoyable day in Malton.

Among the highlights was Lunch with Three Authors, the authors in question being novelists Fiona Shaw and Andy Seed and children’s picture book writer M Christina Butler. They also had an interesting time browsing round the many stalls and listening to the adjudications of the short story and poetry competitions.

In the evening, joined by Andy from York Writers, Chekhov and the Three Sisters tied for first place in the Literary Pub Quiz chaired by the one and only Arthur Smith.

Adjudicator Louise Cole, Editor at Firedance Books and Director of White Rose Media Ltd., gave us some very valuable insights into the skill of article writing, including crucial differences between objective reporting and opinion pieces. That done, she detailed the strong and weaker points of each entry before delivering her judgement.

In third place was Peter Hicks with his thought provoking piece on stress. Alma Williams came second with an unusual slant on the necessity of making a will; how to ensure the future of her grey African parrot. The winner of the Jack Moss trophy was Maggie Cobbett for her thoughts on boosting a writer’s income with the proceeds from ‘fillers’. Maggie wishes that she hadn’t blinked when the photograph was taken!

The adjudication of the Article Competition has been postponed to Tuesday, 9th October. As a result, the next Open MSS and Book Sale have been brought forward to Tuesday, 25th September.

Over the years, many of our members have attended the annual summer school in Derbyshire, some as recipients of free places won in associated writing competitions. Details of the School can be found at www.swanwickwritersschool.co.uk.

Cathy and Maggie went this year and Maggie’s impressions are now available to read on her own website, www.maggiecobbett.co.uk.

Always keen to help other groups, Maggie went to Knaresborough this week to share her years of experience at writing ‘fillers’.

This is a useful – and potentially lucrative – way to fill the gaps between more serious submissions. Acceptances boost confidence and can help even the most seasoned writer through a dry patch.