Wildlife

It was lovely to speak to the students at Cardiff MET about work, writing and publishing. They also asked an informed bunch of questions during the formal and informal Q & A sessions.  I stayed on in the evening for the launch of their brand new online journal  The Metropolitan Review   before braving reading extracts of a Cornish prose work-in-progress, as I thought I'd put myself back in their open mic shoes and there were a number of Cornish students present. Then I was able to sit back and enjoy the rest of the readings and I was particularly impressed with the confidence of the first year readers.  You can read the interview by the evening's well-dressed host and journal co-editor Renn Hubbuck-Melly on  The Metropolitan Review .

Some lovely photos by John Briggs from The Murenger gig last week: Posing for this shot because the (good) photographer, who has often photographed me, insisted... I'm a bit like 'John, give up, I'm not photogenic today and I want a pint now, before we run for the train... please...?' and full of cold and fever... so amazed I look vaguely alive, really... See Octopoet documented on Flickr by Dave Daggers from Sunday too (I'm hiding)...

I had a lovely time reading with Tom Bullough and the open mic lot at Ye Old Murenger in Newport last night. Thanks so much to Alan Roderick for organising it. Here's a picture of me there (thanks to the ever-lovely Torben, supporting me despite having an awful cold that I gave him): News just in: Made in Roath: Octopoet, 11th October, Coffi House, Wellfield Road, Roath, Cardiff, 7.30pm, free entry: 'Our brilliant line-up is now confirmed as: Bethany W Pope, David Foster-Morgan, Francesca Rhydderch, Susie Wild, David E. Oprava, Carly Holmes, J Brookes, Dave Daggers and kicking things off, the national treasure that is Boyd-Clack and Kirsten Jones. What a stellar collection! Come along if you haven't tried Octopoet before - there is a range of perfomances to suit all tastes. And if you have been before, you know what an enjoyable, eclectic and thought-provoking evening it is.'

So, a first review for the Secondary Character anthology from the Welsh Short Story Network has been published on Goodreads and I get a couple of pleasant mentions... 'The writing is excellent throughout - I was often arrested by an image or way of wording things, which I usually jot down so I can revisit them later. Some of those in my pad as I glance th rough it now are: “Each month brought a new period of bereavement, a red morning to mourn.” (Susie Wild, “Pocillovy” - making words work twice as hard.)  [...] Although I enjoyed all the stories, I inevitably had personal favourites, no doubt different from the next person's (which is one of the fun things about anthologies). Without giving too much away, these ones made me think the most: [...] Susie Wild, “Pocillovy” - really captures the lead character's headspace. [...] As you can tell, I recommend this collection if you like contemporary short stories!'  Read the review in full Available now fr...

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The message was clear yesterday, as we settled down at my dining table for our second instalment of InkSplott, the poetry supergroup I'm part of for workshopping and general support, food and friendship. More poetry is needed. I've workshopped my last complete one from the current batch and after some revisions I've loads to send back out on the fly / come home with tails between legs / fly again circuit. (Our Cardiff West outfit was going strong for a while before we venue changed to Cardiff South East, see). Coincidentally, when I checked on social media after the evening workshop session my dear friend Helen had sent me a bunch of photos of this ilk taken of me in Swansea recently: I might have to write a story first. There's one brewing. Here's a picture of me reading an old one at the launch of Secondary Character in Chapter on Sat 12th September: It would be ace if I could somehow go back here to the sun to write them now... ...but th...

On the 12th September at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff I am reading from my short story 'Pocillovy.' It has been selected for the first short story anthology from the Welsh Short Story Network and this will launch their new book.  Details below, including the Swansea launch... We are delighted to announce that the first book of short stories from the Welsh Short Story Network - Secondary Character and other Stories edited by Barrie Llewelyn will be launched in Swansea and Cardiff next month. Published by Opening Chapter with a beautiful and evocative cover design by Jo Mazelis the book features twenty-eight stories from twenty-eight writers and is a snapshot of the amazing range of short-story writing talent active in Wales today. Launch Details * FREE ADMISSION * Each launch will consist of two 45 minute sessions separated by a break. There will be readings from the stories and opportunities to chat and network SWANSEA DETAILS Mozarts Bar and Venue Wednesda...

I've been dipping my toes back in to journalism waters for fun, PR and pampering... You can see my review of Goji Hair in the latest issue of Cardiff Life . Torben took lots of great photos including capturing my grumpy supermodel look, there were lots of laughs too... I've also got a few book reviews appearing here and there soon. Watch this space...  [Images: Torben Schacht 2015]

Summer happened. Here are the highlights: