Last call for participants in this mini festival of first rate tutors. If you live in Surrey or South London, come over. It's all run from a little hall in a pretty garden of the Foley Arms pub in the village of Claygate, just 30 mins from Waterloo or 15 mins from Wimbledon overground on the Guildford to Cobham line.

This Friday 7.30-9.30pm multiple award winning author Vanessa Gebbie focuses on breaking through writers' block and working to your full creative capacity in Flashlights - instant flash fiction workshop.

On Saturday 1.30-3.30pm our own Geri Ryan is selling out fast with her Storm in a Teacup guide to writing fiction for women's magazines.

4.30-6.30pm WW's star expert and bestselling novelist, Emma Darwin is running a session on writing for radio, Writing On Air.

Sunday, 1.30-3.30 is Samantha Mackintosh - high energy ex-editor at Puffin Books. If you write for children she's unmissable, tossing out up to the minute advice on which agents and publishers want what right now in the children's fiction world. She's scarily well-connected, (now edits fiction for Penguin) but very approachable.

Finally I'm running a session on how to get your short fiction noticed in awards, it's a practical, detailed expansion of what I touched on in the guest blog on Emma's Itch of Writing. That's Alchemy on Sunday, 4.30-6.30

All events £20 or £15 for unemployed and OAPs.

Booked two sessions and looking forward to this.

Sheila

Jem and EmmaD ran stonkingly good workshops at the festival, and it was great to see Sheila (Cornelius) too.

It was a really enjoyable session - would love to have heard Jem's!

Emma

I booked for Jem's and yours, Emma, then figured out the hours of sitting involved -two plus two for workshops then another hour each way (at least) for travelling. No way my dodgy leg would tolerate that! So I asked Susannah to change me to Susannah's on Sunday instead of yours, even though I didn't want to enter comptetitions. (Now I do!)

Hope you'll repeat yours at a location near me (or anywhere in London, come to that)

Both sessions were great -I'm going to blog, but so far only uploaded the photos.

Cherys, I didn't realise it was you!

Sheila

Uploaded photos? Where Sheila? Where, where, where?

x S

Cherys I've only uploaded the photos onto my blog so far, and still need to add the text- hopefully tomorrow, then I'll post to the blog group on this site. No people in them, though -just the venue, and the High Street.

Sheila

What's your blog called Sheila?

This should get you to the writing one. It has a link to my other one, which is more about plays and visits.

http://mykindofwriting.blogspot.com/

I hope you like it.

Sheila

Just visited your blog, Sheila and left a comment.

Ooh, that's kind, Jem. Congrats, by the way, on your orphan story, the first one I read in the TAB Christmas special.

Sheila

Hi Sheila,

I can get onto your blog, but can't see any pics or anything after 26th Nove,ber. Am I being dense?

S

No, Cherys. It means I haven't uploaded them yet because I need to add the text. Tomorrow.

Sheila

Oh, is it out, Sheila? I didn't think it would be till next week.

I bought it at Waterloo WHSmiths on my way back from Claygate, as advised by the workshop tutor -a women with a northern accent and a red hat. The date on the front just says Christmas 2010. I've only read your story so far, a sympathetic (and seasonal ) take on the insecurity of fostered/adopted children. It reminded me of a good friend of mine.

The second one is Teresa Ashby's (to me) unlikely tale of a divorced couple brought together by the birth of their first grandchild. I haven't read any more yet.

Sheila