Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks for some suspense-filled mystery stories by third-year Creative Writing students on the National Railway Museum website. The students all participated in a collaborative project with the museum last semester as part of their Writing Genres module. They learnt all about the long history of crime and adventure stories with train and railway settings.

As you can read at http://blog.nrm.org.uk/ their stories all drew on this history: the possibilities of the ‘locked room’ of the train carriage, the potential for the criminal to hide and escape, the anxieties of being trapped with strangers, and all the things that can be done with a carriage key…

The stories will be published at fortnightly intervals from this week onward to coincide with the museums Crime and Adventure season. read the stories, visit the museum and be inspired to add to this genre yourself.

Words & Whippets featuring Kate Fox

25^th April 2016, York Theatre Royal, 7.45, £7

Since 2013, Words & Whippets has proudly paraded a showcase of the finest Northern-bred poets.  Each year we select some of the finest spoken word artists to perform their unique styles and give a platform to the northern voice.  Joining us this year is stand-up poet Kate Fox, previous Poet-In-Residence for both the Great North Run and Glastonbury Festival.  Kate has dominated the airwaves, appearing on BBC 1, & 2 and Radio 3 showcasing her funny, warm and heartfelt poetry.  Plus Andy Bennett, Hannah Davies and Katie Greenbrown.

On Tuesday March 28th students on the Publishing, Production and Performance module attended a lecture by guest speaker Rachel Conway from Georgina Capel Agency in London. In this session, Georgina discussed the inner world and workings of a smaller agency such as Capel in relation to the bigger publishing houses of the UK, including topics of how these smaller agencies work to deliver the best overall contract and negotiations for their clients in relation to those larger houses.

Rachel Conway

What became very noticeable from Rachel’s talk, was how inclusive and expansive these smaller in-house agencies are, and just how much they can provide for both younger authors and writers, but also to the more experienced who are looking for a genuine connection with an agent who can provide them with the best options for their next move in their career. Perhaps the most interesting point was the stress placed on the actual relationship between the writer and the agent, with Rachel placing immeasurable value on the time and energy which is spent between the moment a manuscript is initial submitted to a company such as the Capel Agency, and the subsequent release of the work.

The talk, provided a much-needed insight into the dark and mysterious world of agencies, with Rachel discussing a wide array of topics including how the client must be aware of how competitive the marketplace is but also understanding the time that is required in order to make a work ready to fight in that ring.

Furthermore, the discussion from Creative Writing Subject Director Abi Curtis provided the authorial side of the publishing coin. With students being able to see how a manuscript adapts from the initial idea, to the submitted novel and then gets put through several months of rigorous editing and promotion in order to make sure that it is given a fair chance at being both a critical and commercial success in the fierce marketplace.

Overall this session provided students with the necessary information to show that they need not submit to a larger publishing house in order to become ‘the next big thing’. In fact, it placed specific truth that often times the smaller companies are able to dedicate a more specified relationship between the work, the author, editor and the agency. This was a fantastic session and one from which a lot was learnt.

This post was written by the Promotions Team on the 2nd year BA (Hons) Creative Writing module Publishing, Production and Performance.