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Steve Hartley's Danny Baker books

From the Chair
I hope everyone had a good New Year. Who can believe it is 2012?!
January has not been kind to me: I have been suffering from the flu, my broadband gave up the ghost and when I got it back I found I was blocked! As I am going to Lanzarote in February my batteries should be fully charged for the run up to Swanwick when I return.

Some good news is that we are delighted to have children's author Steve Hartley as another outstanding evening speaker.

Our programme is looking wonderful thanks to the hard work of Diana and Xanthe. Don't miss out when bookings open next month.

Joyce

Your Voice from the Vice
What a great start to the Swanwick week to have Steve Hartley (author of the Danny Baker Record Breaker series of children's books) as another Guest Speaker. He has new titles due out in the summer, including The World's Windiest Baby - a definite gift for my exhausted daughter in law! Steve has also agreed to stay on and teach a two-part Short Course on Characterisation, together with an intriguing reference to big pink knickers ...

There's an equal treat in store for poetry lovers with a guest appearance from the Derbyshire Poet Laureate, Matt Black, doing a Poetry Slam on either the Saturday or Sunday evening, plus our very own Swanwick Poet Laureate, Alison Chisholm, as a four-part Specialist Course leader, as well as other poetry-related sessions during the week.

Multitudes of you wrote with laughter and praise for Linda Lewis last year and pleaded with us to bring her back again this year. I am delighted to say that Linda is doing a four-part Specialist Course on Short Stories plus an extra session on Competitions (she tells me that she will try to keep everyone smiling again but is also going to make you WORK!)

Science Fiction guest tutor, Alex Davis, was another big hit on the programme last year and has agreed to come back with a four-part Specialist Course on SF, Fantasy & Horror. Magical stuff! And our own Stella Whitelaw is going to keep spines tingling with a two-parter on Writing a Haunting Tale.

I promise to tell you more about our new afternoon 'Ask the Expert' panels. We have an unmissable line-up of Judges for you to quiz, including (to date) Della Galton, Stella Whitelaw and Alison Chisholm. More next month …

Wishing you all a happy and successful writing year.
Diana

Secretary Update
This month has been busy preparing Booking Forms so that you can start the countdown to Swanwick properly by booking your place next month. There will be electronic forms available to download from the website. Those of you who came to Swanwick last year and filled in a stamped addressed envelope can also keep an eye out for the postman!

There is now a skeleton programme on the website so that you can get an overview of what the Swanwick week will look like. Full details for each course and tutor will be added as we receive them.

If I can be of any help with booking-related enquiries or general Swanwick information, do please get in touch via email: secretary@swanwickwritersschool.co.uk or by telephone: 01572 720674.

Very best wishes,
Xanthe