Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 76
June 9, 2011
National Crime Writing Week in the UK 13-19 June, lots of crime writing events
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA), of which I am very proud to be a member, is celebrating crime writing with National Crime Writing Week between June 13 and 19, 2011. There are lots of events going on around the UK with author talks, appearances, readings, book signings and workshops.
I am holding a Crime Writing Workshop at the Quay Arts Centre, in Newport on the Isle of Wight on Saturday 18 June, and slightly outside of National Crime Writing Week but I'll also be presenting prizes to the winners of the Wight Fair Writers, Crime and Intrigue Short Story Competition on Monday 20 June on the Isle of Wight.
Other events during National Crime Writing Week include Stephen Booth, Matt Hilton and Graham Pears in conversation with Teesside University forensic staff Shirley and Angus Marshall at Middlesbrough Central Library during Middlesbrough Literary Festival. Sounds very much like my Portsmouth CSI event, which this year is scheduled for 5 November. But if you're in Teeside, and a crime fiction fan, then this looks like a really great event.
Then still up north on Monday, John Dean is running a workshop at Crown Street Library, Darlington, DL1 1ND, examining some of the things writers need to consider when writing crime.
On Tuesday Ann Cleeves will be talking about the Vera Stanhope books at Booka Bookshop, Oswestry.
On Thursday Frances Fyfield, Belinda Bauer, S. J. Bolton, Natasha Cooper, Chris Fowler and Gerard O'Donovan will be at London South Bank University.
And on Saturday Pauline Rowson (yes me!) conducts a Crime Writing Workshop at the Quay Arts Centre, Newport, Isle of Wight (had to get that in twice) while Adrian Magson will be interviewed by Ayo Onatade at the Corn Exchange, Witney, Oxfordshire, as part of the Witney Book Festival
There are lots more events around the country, so do visit the National Crime Writing Week website to see what is happening in your area.
There are also plenty of other crime author events outside of National Crime Writing Week, which you can find on the CWA web site.
Footsteps on the Shore
I am holding a Crime Writing Workshop at the Quay Arts Centre, in Newport on the Isle of Wight on Saturday 18 June, and slightly outside of National Crime Writing Week but I'll also be presenting prizes to the winners of the Wight Fair Writers, Crime and Intrigue Short Story Competition on Monday 20 June on the Isle of Wight.
Other events during National Crime Writing Week include Stephen Booth, Matt Hilton and Graham Pears in conversation with Teesside University forensic staff Shirley and Angus Marshall at Middlesbrough Central Library during Middlesbrough Literary Festival. Sounds very much like my Portsmouth CSI event, which this year is scheduled for 5 November. But if you're in Teeside, and a crime fiction fan, then this looks like a really great event.
Then still up north on Monday, John Dean is running a workshop at Crown Street Library, Darlington, DL1 1ND, examining some of the things writers need to consider when writing crime.
On Tuesday Ann Cleeves will be talking about the Vera Stanhope books at Booka Bookshop, Oswestry.
On Thursday Frances Fyfield, Belinda Bauer, S. J. Bolton, Natasha Cooper, Chris Fowler and Gerard O'Donovan will be at London South Bank University.
And on Saturday Pauline Rowson (yes me!) conducts a Crime Writing Workshop at the Quay Arts Centre, Newport, Isle of Wight (had to get that in twice) while Adrian Magson will be interviewed by Ayo Onatade at the Corn Exchange, Witney, Oxfordshire, as part of the Witney Book Festival
There are lots more events around the country, so do visit the National Crime Writing Week website to see what is happening in your area.
There are also plenty of other crime author events outside of National Crime Writing Week, which you can find on the CWA web site.
Footsteps on the Shore
June 5, 2011
Using time frames in novels
Time frames in novels, and particularly when writing a series, are a tricky thing. There is 'real time' and then there is 'fictional time'. In 'real time’ I write one DI Horton crime novel a year whereas in ‘fictional time’ the novels are currently set over a period of a year.
Tide of Death, which introduces DI Andy Horton, is set in August and was published in 2006, Deadly Waters is set in October and was published in 2007, The Suffocating Sea is set in December and was published in 2008, Dead Man’s Wharf is set in January and was published in 2009, Blood on the Sand is also set in January and was published in 2010, and Footsteps on the Shore is set in March and was published in 2011. The new DI Andy Horton I have just finished writing, called A Killing Coast will be published in 2012 and is set in April.
Andy Horton was 39 when I created him in Tide of Death and will therefore be 40 in September. In ‘real time’ however i.e. in 2012 when A Killing Coast is published, Andy would really be 45. In ‘fictional time’ the novels progress over a single year although no specific year is mentioned. This means that Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight have an awful lot of murders in a short space of time, but that’s fiction thankfully and not fact! Following’ fictional time’ allows the author to develop the back story i.e. Andy’s marital break up and his fight to gain access to his daughter, and the search for the truth regarding his mother’s disappearance.
Agatha Christie is said to have regretted making Hercule Poirot in his sixties when she created him. By the time she finished writing about him he would in 'real time' have been about 108! (No, I haven't calculated his age precisely) In 'fictional time' he stayed more or less the same age. I'm not saying that that will happen to DI Andy Horton, who knows he may age yet...but that's a decision for another day.
Blood on the Sand
Tide of Death, which introduces DI Andy Horton, is set in August and was published in 2006, Deadly Waters is set in October and was published in 2007, The Suffocating Sea is set in December and was published in 2008, Dead Man’s Wharf is set in January and was published in 2009, Blood on the Sand is also set in January and was published in 2010, and Footsteps on the Shore is set in March and was published in 2011. The new DI Andy Horton I have just finished writing, called A Killing Coast will be published in 2012 and is set in April.
Andy Horton was 39 when I created him in Tide of Death and will therefore be 40 in September. In ‘real time’ however i.e. in 2012 when A Killing Coast is published, Andy would really be 45. In ‘fictional time’ the novels progress over a single year although no specific year is mentioned. This means that Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight have an awful lot of murders in a short space of time, but that’s fiction thankfully and not fact! Following’ fictional time’ allows the author to develop the back story i.e. Andy’s marital break up and his fight to gain access to his daughter, and the search for the truth regarding his mother’s disappearance.
Agatha Christie is said to have regretted making Hercule Poirot in his sixties when she created him. By the time she finished writing about him he would in 'real time' have been about 108! (No, I haven't calculated his age precisely) In 'fictional time' he stayed more or less the same age. I'm not saying that that will happen to DI Andy Horton, who knows he may age yet...but that's a decision for another day.
Blood on the Sand
June 3, 2011
Pauline Rowson discusses coping with book reviews
Opinion is free, and part of being a published author is that you have to accept that some people will love your books, others will loathe them. What one critic raves over another will slate. Most authors dread reviews. For nine months (and sometimes longer for some authors) you have poured your heart and soul into that creation. You have invested a great deal of time and emotion in creating it and, as with a child, you want it to be well received in the world. When it isn't it can hurt.
But history is littered with scathing reviews of books, plays and films which have gone on to become best sellers. As a published author you need to learn to take the rough with the smooth, which is not always easy, but in order to carry on writing that is all you can do. It is about keeping your confidence up while writing the next novel.
I have been fortunate to have some fantastic reviews for my DI Andy Horton crime novels and my thriller novels, and some wonderful feedback from readers who love them including praise from people working in television and radio. The best of my reviews smile down at me from my notice board in my office and are there to lift my spirits and encourage me when I receive a less than good review.
Fiction is art and is therefore subjective. It is a matter of taste. It would be a boring world if we all read and enjoyed the same sort of novel. So here's to variety and to opinion, and here is also to the right to express it freely even though it sometimes might not be what we would like to hear/read!
You can read the reviews of all my crime and thriller novels on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk meanwhile here are the latest reviews for Footsteps on the Shore.
"It deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelon of American procedurals (those by Ed McBain or Joseph Wambaugh for example) and their British counterparts, including the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey. Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife (like Harvey’s Frank Elder). Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms." Booklist (USA)
"Horton presses on to clear up a skein of crime as tangled as one of the harbor’s ancient fishing nets. Rowson’s latest should please both Andy Horton fans and puzzle aficionados." Kirkus USA
PS If you read the full Kirkus review of Footsteps on the Shore Andy Horton fans will spot the mistake.
But history is littered with scathing reviews of books, plays and films which have gone on to become best sellers. As a published author you need to learn to take the rough with the smooth, which is not always easy, but in order to carry on writing that is all you can do. It is about keeping your confidence up while writing the next novel.
I have been fortunate to have some fantastic reviews for my DI Andy Horton crime novels and my thriller novels, and some wonderful feedback from readers who love them including praise from people working in television and radio. The best of my reviews smile down at me from my notice board in my office and are there to lift my spirits and encourage me when I receive a less than good review.
Fiction is art and is therefore subjective. It is a matter of taste. It would be a boring world if we all read and enjoyed the same sort of novel. So here's to variety and to opinion, and here is also to the right to express it freely even though it sometimes might not be what we would like to hear/read!
You can read the reviews of all my crime and thriller novels on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk meanwhile here are the latest reviews for Footsteps on the Shore.
"It deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelon of American procedurals (those by Ed McBain or Joseph Wambaugh for example) and their British counterparts, including the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey. Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife (like Harvey’s Frank Elder). Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms." Booklist (USA)
"Horton presses on to clear up a skein of crime as tangled as one of the harbor’s ancient fishing nets. Rowson’s latest should please both Andy Horton fans and puzzle aficionados." Kirkus USA
PS If you read the full Kirkus review of Footsteps on the Shore Andy Horton fans will spot the mistake.
May 31, 2011
Can creative writing be taught?
There are a number of creative writing courses popping up, some at Universities, some even being run by Literary Agents and Publishers and others by authors, including myself on 18 June at Quay Arts Centre, Newport, Isle of Wight, when I will be instructing on How to Write a Crime Novel. But can creative writing really be taught?
All writers approach their work differently so there is no right or wrong way of doing it. Some plan their novels from start to finish others improvise as they go along. I tend to do a mixture of both. I have a rough idea of the plot and a few characters sketched out then then I get cracking on the novel and wait for the characters to start talking and moving about, which in turn drives the plot until a shape begins to emerge. On courses you can pass on tips and the technicalities of constructing characters and plot, you can provide guidance, inspiration and motivation. You can give advice on writing dialogue and pass on the tricks of the trade, but the only way to 'learn' writing is to write, and to read. Reading helps you to understand what shapes novels.
I have never attended a creative writing course but my whole career has been spent writing. I have written advertising copy, brochures, web sites, press releases, articles, business books, training material and everything in between!
In doing so I have learned about the nuances of language, how switching the order of two words can change their meaning, the impact of how words look on a page and how they sound when read aloud. I enjoy experimenting with words in my crime novels. And while you can learn technique, no one can create a 'voice' for you, that only comes with practice and experimentation. You also need patience and persistence and the discipline to sit at a desk for hours on end and put words on to a computer screen or on paper. Then you need the critical ability and ruthlessness to edit and polish.
Above all though you need to enjoy the art of writing and creating for your own sake, no one else's. If publication comes that may be a bonus for you but it may not be essential to every writer. It is hard to believe but, yes, some people do write for pleasure. I'm looking forward to meeting the delegates on my writing course on 18 June and discussing the writing process with them.
For more information visit http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
All writers approach their work differently so there is no right or wrong way of doing it. Some plan their novels from start to finish others improvise as they go along. I tend to do a mixture of both. I have a rough idea of the plot and a few characters sketched out then then I get cracking on the novel and wait for the characters to start talking and moving about, which in turn drives the plot until a shape begins to emerge. On courses you can pass on tips and the technicalities of constructing characters and plot, you can provide guidance, inspiration and motivation. You can give advice on writing dialogue and pass on the tricks of the trade, but the only way to 'learn' writing is to write, and to read. Reading helps you to understand what shapes novels.
I have never attended a creative writing course but my whole career has been spent writing. I have written advertising copy, brochures, web sites, press releases, articles, business books, training material and everything in between!
In doing so I have learned about the nuances of language, how switching the order of two words can change their meaning, the impact of how words look on a page and how they sound when read aloud. I enjoy experimenting with words in my crime novels. And while you can learn technique, no one can create a 'voice' for you, that only comes with practice and experimentation. You also need patience and persistence and the discipline to sit at a desk for hours on end and put words on to a computer screen or on paper. Then you need the critical ability and ruthlessness to edit and polish.
Above all though you need to enjoy the art of writing and creating for your own sake, no one else's. If publication comes that may be a bonus for you but it may not be essential to every writer. It is hard to believe but, yes, some people do write for pleasure. I'm looking forward to meeting the delegates on my writing course on 18 June and discussing the writing process with them.
For more information visit http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
May 23, 2011
Had a great time at Crimefest, lovely to meet readers and fellow crime writers there
I'm back from having a great time at Crimefest 2011 and was delighted to meet fans of my DI Horton crime novels and my thrillers from as far afield as the USA, Australia as well as from the UK. It was also a pleasure to meet up with my fellow crime writers and my publisher.
After arriving in Bristol at 7.15 am after a very early start from the south coast of England, I was in good time to meet up with my fellow panel members for our panel event, the first one on the programme for that day at 9am on 20 May called Operation Petticoat: Jobs For The Girls. I discovered that the title of all the programme events were named after some of Cary Grant's films, who, as Archibald Alexander Leach, hailed from Bristol. Cary Grant is one of my all time favourite stars and shares space on my office wall above my desk with Harrison Ford, Roger Moore and Humphrey Bogart.
My fellow panelists were crime authors Linda Regan, Leigh Russell, Aline Templeton with the participating moderator: Ruth Dudley Edwards who did a fantastic job of keeping us all in check. We discussed many aspects of crime fiction, crime writing and our characters and the audience asked lots of great questions.
There was a drinks reception to announce the shortlist of the Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards and then I joined my publisher, Severn House, for another drinks party.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable Crimefest and I plan to return for the fifth anniversary Crimefest in 2012.
Footsteps on the Shore
After arriving in Bristol at 7.15 am after a very early start from the south coast of England, I was in good time to meet up with my fellow panel members for our panel event, the first one on the programme for that day at 9am on 20 May called Operation Petticoat: Jobs For The Girls. I discovered that the title of all the programme events were named after some of Cary Grant's films, who, as Archibald Alexander Leach, hailed from Bristol. Cary Grant is one of my all time favourite stars and shares space on my office wall above my desk with Harrison Ford, Roger Moore and Humphrey Bogart.
My fellow panelists were crime authors Linda Regan, Leigh Russell, Aline Templeton with the participating moderator: Ruth Dudley Edwards who did a fantastic job of keeping us all in check. We discussed many aspects of crime fiction, crime writing and our characters and the audience asked lots of great questions.
There was a drinks reception to announce the shortlist of the Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards and then I joined my publisher, Severn House, for another drinks party.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable Crimefest and I plan to return for the fifth anniversary Crimefest in 2012.
Footsteps on the Shore
May 16, 2011
How do you get ideas for crime novels? Crime author Pauline Rowson explains
Ideas for my crime novels, as I've said before, can come from anywhere: from an overheard conversation, from a story someone tells me, from a specific location, or from witnessing something such as the coastguard rescue. Sometimes ideas come from a newspaper article and this news item popped up into my Google feeder recently from the Isle of Wight County Press.
"A GANG of lobster fishermen conspired to smuggle 255 kilos of cocaine through the Island into England, a court heard. The haul, which is believed to have come from Brazil, was found floating in The Solent off the coast of the Island by another fisherman on May 31 last year.A jury at Kingston Crown Court heard Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) officers were posted on the IW, while others were watching from the coast of Hampshire."
The trial is continuing but the article certainly got the ideas flowing but then there is never a shortage of them where I live and where my crime novels are based, Portsmouth,UK) The Solent and the Isle of Wight.
Portsmouth ( DI Andy Horton's patch) is a thriving port and busy city, steeped in history and with a modern vibrant waterfront giving access to one of the busiest harbours in the World. Home to the Royal Navy and with the Isle of Wight and the Solent on its doorstep so there is always plenty going on, not all of it criminal I hasten to add. Ideas are the easy bit, it's turning them into a novel of 80,000 words that's tricky, but it's fascinating and fun.
Dead Man's Wharf
"A GANG of lobster fishermen conspired to smuggle 255 kilos of cocaine through the Island into England, a court heard. The haul, which is believed to have come from Brazil, was found floating in The Solent off the coast of the Island by another fisherman on May 31 last year.A jury at Kingston Crown Court heard Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) officers were posted on the IW, while others were watching from the coast of Hampshire."
The trial is continuing but the article certainly got the ideas flowing but then there is never a shortage of them where I live and where my crime novels are based, Portsmouth,UK) The Solent and the Isle of Wight.
Portsmouth ( DI Andy Horton's patch) is a thriving port and busy city, steeped in history and with a modern vibrant waterfront giving access to one of the busiest harbours in the World. Home to the Royal Navy and with the Isle of Wight and the Solent on its doorstep so there is always plenty going on, not all of it criminal I hasten to add. Ideas are the easy bit, it's turning them into a novel of 80,000 words that's tricky, but it's fascinating and fun.
Dead Man's Wharf
May 9, 2011
Great Review from the States for the latest DI Andy Horton procedural crime novel, Footsteps on the Shore
I'm delighted that my latest DI Andy Horton, Footsteps on the Shore, published in the UK in January and in the USA this month (May) has been given a star rated excellent review in America by top American reviewer Booklist who has compared it, and my writing, to best selling crime authors in the USA Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh and in the UK to Peter Robinson and John Harvey.
Booklist, has heaped praise on the latest in the DI Andy Horton series claiming it to be ‘outstanding’ and ‘it deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelons of both American procedurals (those by McBain or Joseph Wambaugh, for example)’
Ed McBain laid down the formula that defined the urban police novel and Wambaugh is a best selling American crime author who is also creator of Police Story, NBC-TV, 1973-1977 and The Blue Knight, NBC-TV, 1977.
The review from Booklist says, ‘Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife ( like Harvey's Frank Elder). Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms.’ Booklist
I am obviously delighted by this review. It is very rewarding to get such a strong recommendation from a reputable reviewer like this in America. Thank you.
Footsteps on the Shore
Booklist, has heaped praise on the latest in the DI Andy Horton series claiming it to be ‘outstanding’ and ‘it deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelons of both American procedurals (those by McBain or Joseph Wambaugh, for example)’
Ed McBain laid down the formula that defined the urban police novel and Wambaugh is a best selling American crime author who is also creator of Police Story, NBC-TV, 1973-1977 and The Blue Knight, NBC-TV, 1977.
The review from Booklist says, ‘Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife ( like Harvey's Frank Elder). Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms.’ Booklist
I am obviously delighted by this review. It is very rewarding to get such a strong recommendation from a reputable reviewer like this in America. Thank you.
Footsteps on the Shore
May 3, 2011
Pauline Rowson presents prizes and certificates to the winner and shortlist of the Young Crime Writers' Award
On Saturday 30 April I was delighted to announce the winner of the Young Crime Writers' Competition 2011 for the southern area at an awards ceremony at Portsmouth Central Library, and present certificates to the shortlisted entrants from across the south.
George Neame, (16) from Bognor Regis, West Sussex was awarded first prize for his entry The Photograph and will now go forward for the National finals in June. Ewan Murphy (10) from Winchester was Highly Commended for his entry Schoolhouse Murder.
I shortlisted fifteen young writers aged between eleven and seventeen from a total number of entries of one hundred and twenty one that came from across the region including, Southampton, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex.
The competition was organised by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) of which I am a member and writers aged up to 18 were invited to submit 1000 words of crime fiction through their local library. The winner of the national final will be announced during National Crime Writing Week (13-19 June).
George Neame received a certificate, a £10 book token and a copy of two of my DI Andy Horton crime novels, Dead Man’s Wharf and Blood on the Sand. The national winner will receive an engraved pen, a selection of signed books, and a weekend pass for the winner and one accompanying adult, including one night’s accommodation, and tickets to the Gala Dinner at Crimefest 2012 an International annual convention which draws top crime novelists from around the world.
George Neame is an extremely talented young writer. He was highly commended last year and a deserving winner this year. His descriptions and dialogue were excellent, the story was intriguing, with good pace and very well written. I’ve no doubt that if he continues with his writing we will see his published novels one day.
I was also impressed with Ewan Murphy’s entry. For a young man of ten he shows remarkable talent.
All the shortlisted entries were of high quality. I’m delighted to see so much interest from young people in writing and I’m very grateful to all who entered and to Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex libraries for helping to organise this highly successful event.
You can read more and see photographs from the event on my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk or my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com
George Neame, (16) from Bognor Regis, West Sussex was awarded first prize for his entry The Photograph and will now go forward for the National finals in June. Ewan Murphy (10) from Winchester was Highly Commended for his entry Schoolhouse Murder.
I shortlisted fifteen young writers aged between eleven and seventeen from a total number of entries of one hundred and twenty one that came from across the region including, Southampton, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex.
The competition was organised by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) of which I am a member and writers aged up to 18 were invited to submit 1000 words of crime fiction through their local library. The winner of the national final will be announced during National Crime Writing Week (13-19 June).
George Neame received a certificate, a £10 book token and a copy of two of my DI Andy Horton crime novels, Dead Man’s Wharf and Blood on the Sand. The national winner will receive an engraved pen, a selection of signed books, and a weekend pass for the winner and one accompanying adult, including one night’s accommodation, and tickets to the Gala Dinner at Crimefest 2012 an International annual convention which draws top crime novelists from around the world.
George Neame is an extremely talented young writer. He was highly commended last year and a deserving winner this year. His descriptions and dialogue were excellent, the story was intriguing, with good pace and very well written. I’ve no doubt that if he continues with his writing we will see his published novels one day.
I was also impressed with Ewan Murphy’s entry. For a young man of ten he shows remarkable talent.
All the shortlisted entries were of high quality. I’m delighted to see so much interest from young people in writing and I’m very grateful to all who entered and to Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex libraries for helping to organise this highly successful event.
You can read more and see photographs from the event on my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk or my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com
April 28, 2011
Pauline Rowson on the Book Programme on PortsmouthLive TV 3 May talking about her DI Andy Horton crime novels
Next Tuesday, on 3 May, I will be on the Book Programme on PortsmouthLive TV talking to Sally Cronin about my DI Andy Horton crime novels, and the latest crime fiction books in the marine mystery series of police procedurals including Footsteps on the Shore, Blood on the Sand and Dead Man's Wharf.
Portsmouth is DI Andy Horton's patch and the series is based around the south coast city of Portsmouth, the Solent area and the Isle of Wight.
I've been on Portsmouth Live TV a couple of times and I'm looking forward to my chat with Sally on the book programme on Live at 5. Hope some of you can tune in at 5pm on 3 May via their website
The week after, on Tuesday 10 May, I'll be on the Julian Clegg Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Solent at about 6.45 am. It's always a pleasure chatting to Julian Clegg, so looking forward to that interview too.
Footsteps on the Shore
Portsmouth is DI Andy Horton's patch and the series is based around the south coast city of Portsmouth, the Solent area and the Isle of Wight.
I've been on Portsmouth Live TV a couple of times and I'm looking forward to my chat with Sally on the book programme on Live at 5. Hope some of you can tune in at 5pm on 3 May via their website
The week after, on Tuesday 10 May, I'll be on the Julian Clegg Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Solent at about 6.45 am. It's always a pleasure chatting to Julian Clegg, so looking forward to that interview too.
Footsteps on the Shore
April 26, 2011
Pauline Rowson to present certificates and prizes to the south's winners of the CWA Young Crime Writers Competition
On Saturday 30 April at Portsmouth Central Library I will be presenting certificates to the fifteen talented young crime writers from across the south, shortlisted in the CWA National Young Crime Writers’ Competition 2011 at an Awards Ceremony, where I will also announce which of them is to go forward for the National finals in June.
The young crime writers, aged between eleven and seventeen, have been shortlisted out of a total of 121 entries. They come from across the region including Southampton, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex. The competition has been organised by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) of which I am a member and represents the interests of published crime writers, and library authorities nationwide.
Writers aged up to 18 were invited to submit 1000 words of crime fiction through their local library. Out of the 121 entries received by the libraries 62 reached the second selection stage and from these I shortlisted fifteen. It was a tough job!
The winner of the southern region will go forward to the national final, which will be announced during National Crime Writing Week (13-19 June).
At the Awards ceremony on 30 April each shortlisted entrant will receive a certificate while the area winner will be awarded a certificate and a £10 book token and two copies of my DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novels and will go forward for the national prize. The national winner will receive an engraved pen, a selection of signed books, and a weekend pass for the winner and one accompanying adult, including one night’s accommodation, and tickets to the Gala Dinner at Crimefest 2012 an International annual convention which draws top crime novelists from around the world.
This has been a really tough competition to judge because the entries were so varied, imaginative and of a very high standard. I’m very grateful to the libraries for helping to organise this event and look forward to meeting the shortlisted entrants.
The Awards Ceremony takes place at Portsmouth Central Library on Saturday 30 April 2011 at 10.45 am.
Pauline Rowson's web site can be found at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
The young crime writers, aged between eleven and seventeen, have been shortlisted out of a total of 121 entries. They come from across the region including Southampton, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex. The competition has been organised by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) of which I am a member and represents the interests of published crime writers, and library authorities nationwide.
Writers aged up to 18 were invited to submit 1000 words of crime fiction through their local library. Out of the 121 entries received by the libraries 62 reached the second selection stage and from these I shortlisted fifteen. It was a tough job!
The winner of the southern region will go forward to the national final, which will be announced during National Crime Writing Week (13-19 June).
At the Awards ceremony on 30 April each shortlisted entrant will receive a certificate while the area winner will be awarded a certificate and a £10 book token and two copies of my DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novels and will go forward for the national prize. The national winner will receive an engraved pen, a selection of signed books, and a weekend pass for the winner and one accompanying adult, including one night’s accommodation, and tickets to the Gala Dinner at Crimefest 2012 an International annual convention which draws top crime novelists from around the world.
This has been a really tough competition to judge because the entries were so varied, imaginative and of a very high standard. I’m very grateful to the libraries for helping to organise this event and look forward to meeting the shortlisted entrants.
The Awards Ceremony takes place at Portsmouth Central Library on Saturday 30 April 2011 at 10.45 am.
Pauline Rowson's web site can be found at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
