Festivals and Workshops: Julie Cohen

This month Elaine Roberts interviews well known author, Julie Cohen about her writing retreats.

Can you tell us something about your workshops—how you decide the subject matter?

On my guided retreats, I let the participants’ own needs decide the subject of the workshops. The participants have to submit a sample of their work before the retreat—usually the first chapter and a

synopsis—and from that, I (and my teaching partner) identify several common areas to focus on, be that whole-text issues like plotting, voice, character, pacing, or sentence-level issues like showing and telling or creating convincing dialogue, or larger career issues like how to brand yourself as a writer or how to write the breakout novel.

Do you usually run them by yourself?

I sometimes run my own guided retreats (I’ll be running one at Chez Castillon, in France, in June), but I’m running my next retreat with bestselling author and Faber Academy writing tutor Rowan Coleman. Rowan and I have been teaching together for several years now, and have run courses for The Guardian and Literature Wales, as well as our own retreats.

In March we will also have a special guest: super agent Lizzy Kremer of David Higham Associates, who will deliver a Q&A on getting an agent, publishing, and building your career.

As our blog is for writers, can you tell me how your workshop would benefit RNA members?

Rowan and I are both highly experienced in writing across the spectrum of women’s fiction. Our books have both been selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and we’ve both been shortlisted, or won, RoNAs and Love Stories Awards. I started my writing career as a member of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme. We’re both passionate about women’s fiction and romantic fiction, and knowledgeable about the markets and the challenges writers face when writing in these genres. Both

Folly Farm

of us have coached writers who have gone onto sign with agents, get publishing deals, and even become bestsellers.

Is there anything participants usually need to do in preparation before attending?

For our March workshop, we ask that the participants send us the first chapter and synopsis of their work in progress. It helps us, as tutors, if we know what a writer would like to get out of the course—then we can make sure we support them.

For my guided retreat at Chez Castillon in June, I’ll ask for a longer sample of the participants’ work and generally I spend extensive time with each writer talking about their manuscript.

Are your workshops usually for one day or longer?

Our guided retreat in March is over a weekend, 3-5 March 2017. There are workshops, time to write, and one-to-one time with Rowan or me to discuss your manuscript.

The guided retreat in June 2017 at Chez Castillon will be for an entire week.

When workshops are longer than one day where can people stay?

The March workshop will take place at Folly Farm, outside Bristol, and includes single en-suite accommodation at this environmentally friendly conference venue in the countryside. All food is provided, usually locally grown, and there are wonderful local walks.

In June, we stay at Chez Castillon in southwest France, in a beautiful 18^th-century house (with swimming pool) in the heart of the town of Castillon la Bataille. Delicious food and local wine are provided and our hosts, Janie and Mickey Wilson, are fantastic.

What does it usually cost to attend your workshops?

The weekend retreat at Folly Farm in March with Rowan Coleman is £525.00 including accommodation and all food, but not travel.

The weeklong-guided retreat at Chez Castillion is likely to cost about £775 (tbc), including accommodation and most food, but not travel.

Do your workshops fill up quickly?

It depends on the workshop, but generally, quite quickly. We have many writers who come back again and again.

How much time does it take you to organise your workshops?

What takes the most time is all the admin stuff: booking forms, receipts, payments, etc. I am fairly organized but it’s an effort when my normal day-to-day career is being creative!

Dates for this year and possibly next:

3-5 March 2017, Folly Farm, outside Bristol, with Rowan Coleman and special guest Lizzy Kremer

June 2017 (exact dates tbc) Chez Castillon, France

Links:

Julie Cohen retreats for writers 

Julie Cohen – Chez Castillon 

Email for queries: juliecohenauthor@gmail.com

About Elaine Roberts:

Elaine is a member of the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme and is currently working on a family saga set in the 1800s. She has sold short stories worldwide and enjoys attending RNA events such as the London Chapter and the annual conference. Elaine is a great fan of writing retreats either week-long by the sea with friends or one-day retreats with fellow writers in her home town of Dartford, Kent.

Elaine runs a writing blog along with writer, Francesca Capaldi Burgess called 

WriteMindWritePlace.

Thank you Elaine and Julie for a most interesting interview.

Please contact the team on elaineeverest@aol.com if you wish to be interviewed for the RNA blog.

Lynne Shelby Wins the Prize!

We are joined today by Lynne Shelby whose novel, French Kissing, won a publishing contract and a writing holiday.  She’s still reeling!

It was 8^th January 2015, a typically cold, grey winter afternoon, when my phone rang – a call from an unknown number. I answered it, expecting it to be someone anxious to sell me double glazing or fix my computer if only I’d give them all my bank details. Instead, it was a call from Accent Press, to tell me that I’d won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition, and my novel French Kissing would be published later in the year… I’ll never forget that moment of total delight and amazement – to be a published author was my life-long dream.  

It was back in 2014 that I spotted the Accent Press and Woman competition for new, unpublished contemporary women’s fiction writers, with a prize of a publishing contract with Accent Press and a writing holiday at Chez Castillon, a writers’ retreat in south-west France.  The judges were Katie Fforde, Jane Wenham-Jones, Jo Czechowska from Woman Magazine and Cat Camacho from Accent Press.

As an aspiring author, I’d found entering competitions, with the need to meet a deadline and keep to a word-count, a good way to hone my writing. I’d won a couple of small flash fiction competitions, but I’d never before entered a competition of this size – or one with such an incredible prize. In November, I sent off my entry – the first three chapters and a synopsis of my novel about two childhood penfriends, Alexandre who is French and Anna who is English, who meet again as adults when their friendship could become something more – and told myself not to think about it. And then, in the New Year, I got that long-dreamt-of phone call – which was followed an hour or so later by another call, this time from Woman, to interview me for the magazine. By now, I was so thrilled and excited that I may not have been the most coherent of interviewees!

I must admit that I was so ecstatic to be signing a publishing contract and sending off my completed manuscript, that I hadn’t thought much beyond that, but during the following weeks I experienced an extraordinary number of highlights as I continued along the road to publication. Seeing a photograph of the cover of my book for the first time was incredible (I adore the cover!), as was watching the video trailer on YouTube. In May, as the other part of my prize, I spent a wonderful week on a fantastic writers’ course taught by Jane Wenham-Jones at the fabulous Chez Castillon, where I also met Katie Fforde who was so very generous with her encouragement to this new writer. In June, I received the edits of my book from Cat Camacho, my brilliant editor at Accent - another step towards being a published writer – and a few weeks later I was sending back the final proofs.

As I write this in July, French Kissing has a publication date of 20^th August. Next month, I will actually be holding a copy of a book I’ve written in my hands. Sometimes, dreams do come true.

Links: 

Amazon:

Website:

Twitter: @LynneB1

Facebook:

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Lynn. It’s been lovely reading about your success. Good luck with French Kissing

The  RNA blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com