RNA Conference - Harper Adams University, Telford

We are thrilled that RNA member Liz Fenwick was able to put pen to paper so quickly to write about her experiences of the RNA’s conference held this past weekend at Harper Adams University in Telford, Shropshire.

I’ve attended every conference except one since I joined the RNA as an unpublished writer in 2005.

Liz Fenwick

And each and every year I have come away with something wonderful…frequently unexpected but always needed. This year has been no different. The conference is my time to be with my tribe where the writer part of me is allowed to be fully present and no one thinks it is at all strange.

In the past the brilliant sessions have been my focus…things to bring my writing up to speed. But this year proved different. The sessions I attended were exactly what I needed to hear, but it was the time sitting quietly with other writers that was what I needed most. Whether it was the quick chat on the stairwell, the one in the queue at the bar, or the leisurely ones in the kitchen.

One of the popular panel discussions

These past twelve months since the last conference haven’t been the easiest. I have kept on writing but it’s been hard and at times truly lonely. What this conference gave me was love and belief from my fellow writers…they believed that I could still do this writing lark. They reminded me that I am a writer not by saying it so much, but by the joy in the discussions. The moments when I could provide the tip or the writing hack that might help them out of a tight corner while they gave me the same. Crucially the pep talk that they gave me that the book I was editing all weekend was good even if it needed more work.

Then there were those long conversations where we all bared our fears that we weren’t good enough

The beautiful wall hanging to commemorate
the life of much missed Carole Blake

or our stories weren’t. Then came the high points when we toasted our successes and that wonderful feeling of being a part of those achievements. I remember the divine Katie Fforde saying to me, when my debut novel came out, that every time a new writer she has known reached that magic moment she loved it…it was a little like living through it all over again. There were many of those joyful moments this weekend as writers I’ve watched on their journey shared their joy.

So I’ve come away from the conference much more whole. The many hugs I received have helped put me back together. On the industry panel Isabel Dixon said the thing she would tell writers… is to be generous…generous to other writers and to readers. I can say hand on heart that the RNA does that and this weekend’s dose of generosity has renewed this writer’s soul. I’m already counting the days until next year.

About Liz:

Writer, ex-pat expert, wife, mother of three, and dreamer turned doer....

Award winning author of The Cornish House, A Cornish Affair, A Cornish Stranger, Under A Cornish Sky, A Cornish Christmas Carol (a novella) and The Returning Tide. After nine international moves, I'm a bit of a global nomad. It's no wonder my heart remains in Cornwall.

Thank you for writing such a special piece for the RNA blog, Liz. x

A few of our members have also been blogging about their experiences at this year’s conference:

Anita Chapman

The Write Romantics

Debbie (JB) Johnson

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE RNA CONFERENCE

With our annual Conference fast approaching we’ve invited Jan Jones along to tell us about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes that makes our weekend so enjoyable.

Welcome Jan. How do you source venues and how far ahead do you have to book?

We like to venue hop around the country to keep travelling distances fair for our different regional members. We start by identifying a couple of regions that we'd like to look at next, then we go to the Academic Venue Show in May to talk to the University Conference departments in the relevant areas. If we find any places suitable to our requirements, we go on a site visit to see what they are like in the flesh (so to speak). It would be impossible to commit to a site without actually having been there - sometimes several times - to walk the routes, check out the facilities, meet the conference liaison team, taste the food etc. We do the best we can to keep the conference affordable for our members, many of whom do not make a vast amount from their writing. I wouldn't dream of asking them to commit a substantial sum of money to a venue where I hadn't personally checked that everything was as good as it could be.

How many helpers do you have leading up to the event?

Previously, Roger Sanderson and I have done everything. We still visit the venues, liaise with the conference departments there and look after the delegate management. Jenny Barden now organises the programme and coordinates the whole conference and Elaine Everest will deal with the industry appointments.

Do speakers volunteer or do you have to approach them?

A mixture of both. In general they volunteer. Often they are asked.

We've had some fab goody bags in the past. How do you source the content?

We don't! Apart from asking any publishers taking part in the conference if they have any books to spare, we put out a general call - and are then inundated with material. A very satisfactory arrangement. I bring the items up in my car and then the Friday morning of the conference is spent dragooning everyone within range into a vast assembly line filling the bags.

Are you any good at delegating or do you take too much upon yourself?

I'm hopeless. Jenny Barden is far better.

Food is an important part of any conference. How do you deal with that aspect? We loved the choice for the Gala Dinner last year.

We try the food on the site visits, discuss menus with the conference department (if possible - sometimes the only options are "chef's choice"), and choose the gala dinner menu from what is offered to us.

After initial planning when does it become a full on job?

It is an ongoing process - sometimes an hour or two a day, sometimes an intense burst of activity for a week or two. It gets very fraught at the end of May when the conference packs are being assembled, and then afterwards when people's choices of sessions come in. Certainly in the two or three weeks before the conference itself I don't get any writing of my own done.

Do you book a holiday after the conference to recover?

No. I write.

If anyone wishes to volunteer either before the event or during the weekend of the conference can they contact you?

Yes, please!

Where are we in 2015?

Next year's conference takes place at Queen Mary, University of London, on the Mile End Road in London. It is a compact site alongside the Regent's Canal, two stops down the Central Line from Liverpool Street Station. The dates are 10th-12th July 2015.

Thank you, Jan.

Find details here on how to book your place on this year’s conference at Harper Adams University, Newport, Shropshire. 11^th – 13^th July.

This was brought to you by the blogging team of Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman. If you would like to contribute an article to this blog contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com