April 2004

Charities set up lucrative second-hand bookshops as books become consumer items.
As part of a boom, in the UK, the number of universities offering postgraduate degree courses in creative writing has increased from eight to 85.
Who is the 'unofficial laureate of the sleepover generation', who recently signed books for eight-and-a-half hours in one day for 3,000 children?
It’s not often that you can say a book may have changed the course of history, but Richard A Clarke's Against all Enemies may have done just that.

'Poetry is an art of translation, a connective strand between unlike individuals, times and cultures.' Adrienne Rich in an interview with Ruth Fainlight in the Independent on Sunday
'A life is always a jolly good story, and what else do you want from a book but a jolly good story?' Barbara Schwepke of Haus Publishing
'Where publishers have worked successfully to build an author over a number of books, agents shouldn't hold us to ransom every time there is a new contract. ' Martin Neild

'The good thing about writing fiction is that you can get back at people.' John Grisham

This month's new poster deals with the endlessly amusing subject of computers:

Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Festivals

Courtesy of Writers' Forum magazine, an up-to-date listing and description of of the 2004 book and writers' festivals in the UK.

butterflys

'What we need is a nationwide literary mapping programme to pinpoint bookshops, libraries and landmarks of literary interest.' This week

The first in our new series focusing on writers' magazines looks at Writers' Forum.

How are you on lavender language? From the Editor of Writers' Forum magazine.

Our March competition is still open.

We Watch the web for writers

WritersPrintShop

Our design, print and distribution service for self-publishers.

WritersServices.com Magazine April 2004

Can you spare a moment to tell us about your reading habits?