My play, Pig Stew, has just won The People’s Play Award. Three sisters inherit a pig farm in Northumberland and are targeted by a conman. Take one dash of greed, a good dose of unforgiveness and a hint of cannibalism and you have a great recipe for drama. The bi-annual award is sponsored by New Writing North and the People’s Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne. As well as a nice cheque, the prize includes a full production of Pig Stew in November 2010. It will be directed by Sarah McClane of the People’s Theatre. Previous winners of the award include Peter Straughan who most recently penned the screenplay for Men Who Stare at Goats (starring George Clooney), playwright Carina Rodney (Pub Quiz) and of course my co-director and producer of The Last of the Gypsy Royals Tony Glover.
Archive for the 'Announcements' Category Page 2 of 3
I’ve just launched a new website for my documentary, ‘The Last of the Gypsy Royals’. You can follow the making of the documentary from page to screen on www.gypsyroyals.com as well as just getting to know the descendents of this most unusual royal family who frequently drop in to visit. See you there!
I am giving a talk on Saturday 19 June at the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle on the making of the documentary ‘The Last of the Gypsy Royals.’ The talk starts at 11am and all are welcome. This will form part of a broader North East Screenwriters’ meeting. I’m working together with producer Tony Glover to produce a 60-minute film about the descendents of the so-called Gypsy Royal Family of Yetholm and their gathering at a reunion this July. Up until now, the family have been ‘meeting’ up on one of my other websites in response to an article I wrote on their colourful ancestors. To read this article or join in the discussion visit The Last of the Gypsy Royals
My short film Enemy Lines is about to cross the Atlantic. Director Mike Steel and I are honoured to have been chosen to showcase our film at the Short Short Story Film Festival in New York, this Saturday 21 November 2009, then the following Saturday on the 28th.
Festival organisers, Merging Art Productions, ask:
How do filmmakers tell a story in less than five minutes? Not just trailers, music videos, or experimental projects, but honest-to-goodness beginning-middle-end stories?
The Short Short Story Film Festival celebrates brevity in filmmaking, featuring films from across the globe. For more information visit the festival website
I’m chuffed to see that Enemy Lines is going to be one of the films shown in the ‘LONDON’ exhibition at the Branchage International Film Festival in Jersey. LONDON is a selection of films which were previously shown at the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival. In the words of festival director Joe Bateman:
LONDON will showcase an engaging variety of creative short films (from this year’s Festival Shortlist) about, for or made by Londoners. The work includes factual accounts, fictional settings and animated adventures that will be sure to transport the audience into the many different worlds of London.
My feature screenplay Another Man’s Shoes has just been announced as a semi-finalist in the SoCal Independent Film Festival in California. Finalists to be announced on 7 August. If I get selected I’ll be heading over there to meet agents and producers 
And all of this on the back of a very successful festival run for Enemy Lines at the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival. We didn’t win, but certainly held our own.
My film, Enemy Lines, has been selected in the short film category at this year’s Rushes Soho Shorts Festival:
140 new films from 18 countries will be competing in 8 categories: Long Form, International, Newcomer, Short Film, Documentary, Animation, Music Video and Broadcast Design. The Official Competition Screenings will be held at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in central London. The Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday 30th July 2009.
Enemy Lines will be screened on Thursday 23 July (6.30pm , Cinema 1; Saturday 25 July (9pm, Cinema 2) and Wednesday 29 July (9pm, Cinema 1).
Other films to be screened at the festival include Sadie Frost’s Directorial Debut, Danny Boyles End Credit Sequence for Slumdog Millionaire, actors such as Michael Bryne (Gangs of New York), Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda, 48 Hours), Connie Fischer (Sound Of Music), Russel Tovey (Being Human), Chris Hehir (Green Street), Danny Cunningham (24 Hour Party People), Jack O’Connell (This is England), comedians such as Adam Buxton Lulu McClatchy and Alexei Sayle, and music videos from McFly to Royskopp, Will Young to Goldfrapp, Coldplay and U2 and many more.
Having grown dramatically every year since its inauguration in 1998, this year’s festival runs over 10 days and offers a wide range of events including the Opening Night Premiere ‘The Calling’, BAFTA Short Filmmakers Market, seminars, panel discussions, guest screening programmes, receptions and exhibitions held in 15 different venues in Soho district.
All events and full booking details can be found on their website: www.sohoshorts.com.
I’ll be going down for the Wednesday screening and will be meeting up with my director, Michael Steel. Please let me know if you’re going to any of the screenings.
I am very proud to announce the launch of Iraq’s first English language lifestyle and culture magazine, IC Iraq. When my friend and fellow creative writing MA graduate Zainab Radhi told me she had just been hired to edit this landmark publication, I was thrilled for her. So when she asked me to be her sub-editor, I jumped at the chance – particularly because I could do it remotely from right here in the UK.
Continue reading ‘IC Iraq – new lifestyle magazine launches in Baghdad’
Students from my ever-popular non-fiction writing course in Newcastle have asked for a follow-up course. The result is Write To Sell, hosted by the Centre for Lifelong Learning. The course starts on Thursday 21 May at 10am. Places are filling up fast, so to secure your place book through CLL asap. Details are here
The course is suitable for anyone who has completed the first level course or who has had some non-fiction published already. If you have done neither, then why not check out my free non-fiction course here on The Crafty Writer.
As a spin-off from the writing for the internet session in my ever popular non-fiction writing course, Rod Smith, my technical advisor, is running a 10-week course on helping people get started in blogging. And for those of you who have already tried their hand at this most modern form of writing, he will help you develop and ‘monetize’ your blog. It’s based at the Centre for Lifelong Learning in Newcastle upon Tyne. For more information visit Rod’s own blog
For those of you who can’t make it, why not check out Rod’s guest posts right here on The Crafty Writer – Beginner Blogging for Writers 1, 2 & 3
Oh, he told me to tell you, he taught me everything I know. Mmm, well, not everything, Rod.
Welcome to The Crafty Writer, published by Fiona Veitch Smith, a freelance journalist, editor, author, playwright, screenwriter and writing teacher. This site is full of information and resources to help you to become a better writer. 
