The Festival of Writing, 2011

... is now finished!

But we'd love to see you in 2012.
Please view what we got up to in 2011, or see below for feedback, news ... and how to give yourself the best chance of securing a place at next year's event.

"A fantastic work-out for the mind.
I loved every minute and found it uplifting, daunting, invigorating, and humbling. Not only extremely well organised, but soooo helpful: great one-to-ones, and masses of time to meet people in the industry." - Lucy

Festival Champers

Are we allowed to say already?: We shouldn't really say anything yet, but Festival alumnus John Taylor is this close to signing up with an agent, we do believe. (We're holding our finger really close to our thumb, by the way. Like really close.)

Torrents of joy: Cicely Havely has been taken on by Piers Blofeld at Sheil Land. Gideon Roberton has also been taken on by the same fine agent.

Yabadabadooby: Hilton Pashley hasn't just been taken on by David 'I'll have em all' Headley. He's secured a very nice deal with Random House too.

Corks a-popping: less than 48 hours after the Festival DAVID HEADLEY (left) has offered representation to SEAN WALSH for his children's fantasy manuscript. He's also offered representation to CHARLOTTE PHILLIPS - the 'new Sophie Hannah'.

Congratulations to all involved. And best wishes for their ultimate success with publishers.

More champers. Congratulations also to CLAIRE MCGOWAN (one of the runners up in both competitions). She has a two-book deal with Headline; the first book to be released in 2012. We'll see if we can get her to the Festival next year. (And double congrats to her: she's just been appointed the Crime Writers' Association's first Director.)

Feedback on Festival 2011

What a fantastic weekend that was. I am feeling very inspired and excited after York. Thank you to all the lovely people I met for being so much fun and so friendly. Heather

Really enjoyed the Festival ... if it wasn't for fatigue I would be polishing my MS with all I learnt. All the workshops were good but Debi's was amazing! Imran

Some of the best money I've ever spent ... a perfect balance of honesty and optimism. Jenny

I wholeheartedly agree! I had a fabulous time and it was wonderful to meet and get reacquainted with Word Clouders [members of our writing community], and make new friends. I have come home buzzing with positivity, and eager to apply all my new knowledge, and inspired confidence. Victoria

It's official. York festival is over, and we've all got hangovers. I need to lie down in a darkened room for a week. It isn't (just) the alcohol, it's the words. WORDS all over the place. Words of unbounded elation –  I quote, ' ...the most outstanding (strength) is your creation of Amy's voice...' Words of realism (from the same detailed and helpful report) 'However...'  John 

A special thanks to Debi [Alper], she is a lovely, kind lady and a total star. I've learned loads (understatement) and come away with heaps of books. Those Goodie Bags and books from the gala dinner make an enticing pile. My brain is aching and I feel I will need a week at least to get over it! Lisa

Just to echo the previous comments, I'd like to thank everyone who attended the Festival as you all made it a wonderful, pleasurable experience. My head feels as though it will explode with information but it was thoroughly worth the pain. Steph

There were professional highlights - such sound advice, so much knowledge imparted, great workshops. And personal ones - meeting cloudies and non-cloudies too, the buzz, the goodwill, the laughs and inspiration. The organisation was remarkable and brilliant too - incredibly hard to pull off and a credit to everyone concerned. Mark

These are amazing individuals and kind-hearted humans. Writing is so personal and needs to be nurtured like a child. The Writers’ Workshop staff offer an almost parental guidance so that we may grow as individuals. Kiki

I have so much going in my mind, so much to consider, so many emotions to carry at the same time, but the WORDS in this blog said them all: BLISS. Iti

Thanks for organising a fantastic weekend. It was a real melting pot of writers driven by passion and the realists in the inner sanctum of publishing. I learned a great deal and had a great time. Lib

"Don't thank me," you said. "I didn't do anything." Well if chairing some of the sessions with such panache and passion and generally infecting the place with such enthusiasm and verve isn't doing anything, I don't know what is! So thank you for an inspiring, affirming and most of all enjoyable weekend! Guero

The best thing for me was feeling so completely at home while being surround by people I had never met before, particularly cloudies. Nothing compares to talking to writers about writing. Ro

I had very succesful 1-2-1s full of positivity and great advice which I'm already starting to put in place. When I was talking to Kate Williams as I was getting my book signed she asked me what I wrote about and it turned out that the bloke she was with is a sci-fi editor and said he would gladly look over any work if I wanted. I learnt so much in the workshops and can't wait for next year so I can go to ones about subjects I haven't managed to get to in the past two years. Victoria

My personal highlight: agent wanting to read my full ms, coming second in the Festival Comp. My personal lowlight: someone nicking an hour's sleep from me. I blame the Tories.
Favourite workshop: Adrian Magson's Crime vs Thrillers. I didn't meet other crime writers over the weekend until then. Crime writers are the best - they drink more, stay up longer and tell the filthiest jokes. Cath

My personal highlight: Accidental one-to-one that happened in the taxi on the way to the festival. A magical way to start. Also meeting some fabulous people, a few that spoke to my heart, one who is now stuck with me for good. My personal lowlight: Getting a suitcase full of free books up the front steps of my building! Favourite Workshop: Julie Cohen on Pacing. Pure gold. Fun and well presented with an amazing amount of information and techniques. Specific examples from published works. Loved every moment of it. Barb

It wasn't all good

"I feel compelled to say, on behalf of my liver, that there should not be another Festival of Writing ever. I might not survive another one! General feedback:
1) The bed was not wide enough for my ego.
2) There was too much choice at breakfast. And too much breakfast.
3) The agents were too clingy. I was constantly trying to shake them off, but they were all over me like hot chicks. In the end I was forced to fend them off with a sheaf of blank pages, throwing them wide and shouting "THAT'S my manuscript, HAVE IT!" Luckily as they leapt for the pages and fought over them I was able to break free and hide in an air conditioning vent.
4) There were too many hot chicks (see above).
5) The air conditioning vents are too small. Ideally they should have cushions in them and possibly a small radio." Tony

Get first in line for Festival 2012

Want to make sure you don't miss out on next year's Festival? Then just drop us a line:

We won't pester you with emails and we certainly won't give your email to anyone else.

That Festival Magic

One of those attending the Festival wrote to us to say:

"I had a great session with Beverley. She loved the script, showed me where an editor would focus on making minor changes and said that if I had trouble finding an agent to send the script directly to her.

Just when I didn’t think it could get any better, I had the last slot of the day with David Headley. We got on very well and he told me immediately that he loved the part of the MS that he’d been sent, and asked to see the full MS asap. I showed him Beverley’s comments and he mentioned that he knew her. The news that Beverley is a fan was icing on the cake of a top day." - Hilton

And that's the Festival Magic in action: accelerating your work and your career far faster and further than you could achieve any other way.

Get on the Cloud

The Festival doesn't have to end just because it's finished. Sign up for The Word Cloud, our free writing community and continue those friendships and that support.

Get ready for 2012

One of the huge lessons of the 2011 Festival was: You can't prepare too much.

Agents are looking for wonderful, polished, edited work. The people who came away with requests for complete manuscripts were typically those who had taken detailed, tough, expert editorial advice.

So why not get that advice and help now? The Writers' Workshop is here to offer all the advice and help you could possibly need. For more info on getting feedback, please click here.

The Promise that Never Dies

From Harry Bingham, author and WW boss
"If you come to our Festival and an agent is seriously interested in your work, then we will be as helpful as we can in making sure that interest turns into a signed offer of representation ... followed ideally by a book deal.

Because these things can take time, please rest assured that we will ALWAYS be on hand to help in any way we can. Unless we start to do hands-on editorial work, we won't even charge for our help. There is no expiry date for this offer. If your work is strong, we'll do what we can to help with agents, period.

We've helped countless writers hook up with countless agents. Last year's Festival produced book deals, and 2011 promises to do better yet. We very much hope to do the same for you one of these days."

Get info on how we can help you improve your manuscript now.

Got any questions?

We hope to see you at the Festival in 2012.

In the mean-time if you have any questions at all, please feel free to get in touch. We'll be very happy to help.