Berwick Literary Festival and Berwick 900 Our Families Project Short Stories

Excerpts from 4 stories were read at the Berwick Literary Festival talk 'Hidden Treasures and Inspiration' on 21 October 2016.

In addition, one poem was written and published on the Berwick 900 blog in December 2015.

These stories were inspired by research undertaken by volunteers on the Berwick 900 Our Families Project and used by the Creative Writing Group.

Read full versions of all 4 stories and the poem.

Hidden Treasures and Inspiration - a Talk on Friday, 21st October

Last summer, the Berwick 900 Our Families family history research project set up a small creative writing group to write fictional family stories about incidents and historical characters in Berwick’s, Tweedmouth’s and Spittal’s history, using research produced by the volunteers. There's lots of scope for imagining what led up to incidents, what impact it had on people, what happened afterwards and creating a family story. One story, a poem written by Sandra Whitnell, is about a woman murdered at Middle Ord, Northumberland, in December 1876.




Some writers in Kelso Writers' Workshop got inspiration for writing historical fiction from a talk by Margaret Skea.

This year, Linda Bankier, the Berwick Archivist will give a talk at Berwick Literary Festival about the variety of records available in Berwick Record Office, and the audience will hear excerpts from three stories based on research into the Berwick Town Council account books, a newspaper cutting from November 1863 about a crinoline that caused an accident and a poster.

The talk is on Friday, 21st October at 12 noon at the Holy Trinity Parish Centre, Berwick; cost £5. 

Reality and Unreality in Writing

KELSO WRITERS’ WORKSHOP

A talk by Borders doctor, writer and playwright, OLIVER EADE

Tuesday 25^th October

Abbey Community Centre, Kelso

2.30-4.30 pm

Reality and Unreality in Writing

Why do so many of us wish to escape into

worlds of fiction?

How does fiction reflect reality?

How may a writer express his/her own experiences

of unreality?

Fascinated by contemporary scientists’ attempts to understand the weirdness of quantum reality, Oliver looks at how the conundrum of ‘real or unreal’ has also challenged writers of fiction over the centuries.

            

www.olivereade.co.uk

http://kelsowritersworkshop.blogspot.co.uk

Talk by Gwen Chessell

Kelso Writers’ Workshop

Presents

ON THE EDGE OF LIVES, LOOKING IN

A Talk By

GWEN CHESSELL

Abbey Row Community Centre, Kelso

Tuesday 11^th October 2016

2.30 pm – 4.30 pm

All Welcome – Refreshments Available

£2

Local writer Gwen Chessell has written three well-received biographies of 19^th century figures who have now fallen into obscurity. She will speak about writing and researching, getting into the lives and minds of her subjects and building a narrative.

                                                      

      

     

          

www.gwenchessell.co.uk