Budding writers head for York Writing Fest

 YORK FESTIVAL OF WRITING

Are you a budding writer? Do you want to meet your future literary agent? Then make it your business to head over to the University of York in September for a weekend of writing workshops - over 30 in total - at this year's 5th annual Festival of Writing. So if you've written a book, get your ticket now, polish up your manuscript and prepare to be interviewed and workshopped till you drop.

Professional course leaders will take you through all the aspects of writing you need to know, including publishing and finding agents. Learning as much as you can about how publishers work and what they're looking for is one of the best moves you can make. 

Mini courses and workshops

Allie Spencer's mini course tells you how to Workshop a Novel in a Day if you're in a hurry, or if you're aiming to self-publish your work, David Gaughran's Self-Publishing Masterclass might be for you. Among the longer workshops Madeleine Milburn's Stunning Cover Letters is always a worthwhile topic and Harry Bingham's 'The Accidental Funny' sounds like it might be a good laugh; Jeremy Sheldon workshops on plot problems, Andrew Wille shows and tells, Alan Durant tells you how to know your reader when writing for children and young adults, Debi Alper gets inside characters' heads and Julie Cohen will tell you how to find your novel's theme.

Workshops include just about every topic you can think of and many different genres of writing, all held over a weekend. You can meet literary agents here and even get Book Doctor feedback from professional authors and former commissioning editors. Not only that but just meeting other writers and networking may not only spark off new writing buddies but it's amazing how much good info you can pick up from other writers. Writers have been  signed up by agents and publishers many times at previous festivals here, so maybe this year is your time...and agents and publishers are always looking for the next big thing.

How to book

The Festival is residential so accommodation and meals are included in the price, which runs from £535, which includes a mini-course, gala dinner and two nights' accommodation, to £175 for a Sunday day ticket if you prefer. And for an extra £45, weekenders can get an extra one-to-one session from an expert. The Festival runs from 12-14 September and you can log on to the website for more information and bookings: http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/getting-published-event.html

New online database helps writers find agents

There was a time when publishers received thousands of unsolicited manuscripts a year from would-be authors, more than they could cope with. They employed readers who were skilled enough to recognise within 10 pages and often by the end of the first page, whether the sender could write. Infrequently, they found a gem hidden in what was commonly termed 'the slush pile'.

Nowadays, most of the major publishers no longer accept unsoliciteds and only deal with agents, though in some cases a well-written enquiry letter can result in a request for sight of the manuscript. But finding an agent to take on an unknown writer with no track record can be as difficult as finding a gem in a slush pile. Most publishers want to work with people already in the business who understand what writing and publishing is about and writers who can churn out a book a year. The alternative, a growing trend, is self-publishing but this is expensive and time-consuming, so often ending up with a heap of unsold books under the bed or stacked in the garage. And paying for a book to be published is by no means an indication that someone is a writer.

The Writers' Workshop have set up a new website to help would-be writers find the right agent for them. www.AgentHunter.co.uk is a searchable database of UK based agents and publishers. The site development has taken a long time for the team to define what agents are looking for. It includes contact details and advice along with links to their twitter feeds. Agents' personal tastes are highlighted and the site includes articles by or about them. Writers will find great advice on site to guide them through the process of seeking representation, how to go about doing it and what they might expect.

The Writers' Workshop say there is nothing like this site in the world and that 'it's the best course of action you can take when you feel you have a manuscript which is ready to be viewed commercially'. If you have a book with an original plot that's well-written and to publishable standard, there is no reason why an agent should not be interested in taking it on. It's a matter of finding the right agent for you and Agent Hunter may be just what you need to get you started.

And if you want to meet the agents, don't forget that the Writers' Workshop Festival of Writing takes place this year in York from 13-15 September. Details from info@WritersWorkshop.co.uk