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Industry Insider – The Joy of Creativity
19 April @ 10:00 - 11:00 BST
For many authors, writing is a stressful business, filled with deadlines, rejections, creative and personal doubts, money worries, and the sheer slog of trying to climb the ladder of success.
In this session we will explore how to make a living as a writer while having enormous fun.
Featuring Mandy Ross and ‘Poetry Postie’ Sally Crabtree, two writers with a joyful and playful approach to their work, who are both equally passionate about working with communities and connecting people through words.
They are highly visual, hands-on with crafts, radiate irresistible creative energy and have inspired legions of others to write.
What are the benefits of a joyful approach to work?
Programme
- Welcome, housekeeping and introductions by Cat Weatherill (5 mins)
- Panel discussion, chaired by Cat Weatherill, with Mandy Ross and Sally Crabtree (30 mins)
- Questions from the audience (20 mins)
- Summary and closing comments from Cat Weatherill (5 mins)
What will this session cover?
- How can working with communities feed our writing?
- How can we be more playful and joyful in our approach to work, to improve our well-being?
- How can we bring more heart into our work?
- Is it helpful to determine a personal and creative ethos as an artist?
Who is this session for?
This feel-good session will be perfect for anyone seeking to be inspired, and anyone offering workshops or community projects will find countless ideas for engaging the public.
Send us your questions in advance
If you would like to send questions in advance, email lbrendfish@societyofauthors.org with ‘Joy of Creativity’ in the subject header. We will prioritise questions sent in advance and will answer as many as we can from the audience on the day.
SoA @ Home Fundraising Bookshop
Browse our virtual Bookshop.org store featuring books by authors and speakers taking part in the SoA @ Home Festival. When you make a purchase using our affiliate links a percentage will go to the Authors’ Contingency Fund, providing hardship grants to authors in financial difficulty.
The Line-Up
Sally Crabtree
Sally Crabtree was once a world class gymnast and since then has been turning the artistic world upside down with her cartwheeling poems and colourful and quirky performances and installations including the Poetry Postie, Sweetshop of Words, and Poetry Bingo. She is also an author and official ambassador for National Poetry Day.
Website: www.sallycrabtree.co.uk | Twitter @PoetryPostie / @Poetreetwit | Instagram @sallycrabtree_poet
Mandy Ross
Mandy Ross is a poet, playwright and children’s author and community arts practitioner. She has worked with Ledbury Poetry Festival, Echo Eternal, BMAG, CBSO, interfaith groups and mental health service users. With Secret City Arts, Mandy collaborates with other artists to bring words off the page. She is also a qualified counsellor, combining creativity and wellbeing.
Website: www.mandyross.co.uk | Twitter @MandyRoss111
Cat Weatherill
Cat Weatherill is a best-selling author and performance storyteller. She enjoys the freshness of short projects and most recently enjoyed a commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company, creating stories from archives within the Costume Department at Stratford Upon Avon. She is the storyteller-in-residence at Blenheim Palace.
Website catweatherill.co.uk | Twitter @catweatherill
Need to know
Before the event
- Once registered, you will be sent a confirmation email with the Zoom link
- If the confirmation email doesn’t arrive in your inbox, please check your junk /spam email folder.
- Please add events@societyofauthors.org to your Safe Senders list so you receive our confirmation, and reminder emails
During the event
- This online event will take place on Zoom Webinar; you will not be visible on screen but will be able ask questions via the Q&A function or interact via the chat box
- This event will be recorded but you won’t be on screen
- Attendees have the option to turn on the live transcript option
- This event is 60 minutes.
After the event
- Hashtag for this event: #SoAatHome
- You’ll be able to catch the recording on our Vimeo channel
Booking
Book your place using the registration form below.
All SoA @ Home industry insider events are free but, if you can afford it, we recommend a minimum £5 donation to the Authors’ Contingency Fund to help us support authors facing financial hardship during the health crisis. DONATE HERE
Financial support for authors in need through the health crisis and beyond
Since March 2020, the Authors’ Contingency Fund has distributed over £1 million in small grants to authors facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.
With at least 57% of authors facing financial losses during the pandemic, we have helped people struggling financially due to contractual, employment and event cancellations, others who have lost income due to illness, and others prevented from working because of caring responsibilities.
As the health crisis continues, applications for grants continue to come in, and our emergency funds are running low.
So, if you are in a position to help, please donate via the link below. If you are an author facing financial hardship, please click here to see if we can help.
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The Society of Authors is the UK’s biggest trade union for authors – representing more than 11,300 writers, illustrators, translators and other creative practitioners.
Our standard subscription rate is just £26.25 per quarter (£18.50 for students).
As an SoA member, you’ll get:
- Access to all our SoA @ Home Festival events for free
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- A range of member-only discounts, including books, insurance and travel
- And much more.
