Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele, Ian, Jan, Pip, Suzanne.
Apologies: Gill, Harry, Jenny, John, Jonathan, Kaz, Laura, Magda.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
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Matters Arising
Ian asked for members’ news.
Suzanne reported that her book Dancing in Heaven is at the editing and typesetting stage and is due out early December, 2025, published by Reconnecting Rainbows. They have also provisionally accepted an idea for another collection: We Have Always Been Here – a collection of stories about queer people throughout history, right back to the Pharaohs.
Suzanne is also giving a workshop at Whitby Lit Fest on Writing Monologues That Speak to an Audience. She will also be part of Queer Spaces: Climate Pride, performances of new pieces from eight local writers, at the York Theatre Royal (22 October) and the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough (29 October).
Members’ Readings
Jan — continued with her timeslip story for children, about a family of Whitby youngsters that can travel back in time to 1905, when a bakery in Sandgate becomes a bookshop. But this time they go back to 1860, to try to prevent the Whitby-Loftus railway from slipping into the sea. Also to meet a mahout, who introduces them to the Maharajah’s two elephants: Krishna and Lakshmi.
Ian — continued reading from his latest (2nd) draft of Anitra’s Petition, his sequel to The Titan Kiss. Peter Zwillinge, wanted on the Moon for mass murder, is living in hiding in a tiny pit village. He receives some dreadful news from Durham police. A wholly unconnected family disaster – or is it?
Ian estimates that it will take over 2 years to read out the entire novel at WWG meetings, so after easing the group back into the story he will jump ahead to the point at which Anitra actually lands on Mars, having had some wild adventures simply getting there.
Suzanne – has taken a newspaper article from 1936 about two men being rescued from the sea at Robin Hood’s Bay and re-told the story through the eyes of a participant in the drama.
Adele – read a candid piece she had composed about a medical crisis which recently hit her family – actually two crises – involving painful cancer diagnostic procedures. This sparked a lively discussion of whether and what to tell family members: perhaps the most distressing aspect of the whole business.
The meeting closed at 1:00 PM.
Links
(in order of occurrence)…
La Rosa Hotel www.whitbywriters.com/venue
Ian www.whitbywriters.com/ian-clark
Adele www.whitbywriters.com/adele-duffield
Suzanne https://whitbywriters.com/suzanne-elvidge/
Whitby Lit Fest www.whitbylitfest.org.uk/lit-fest-25
Dancing in Heaven — https://reconnectingrainbows.co.uk/dancingheavenannouncement/
Writing Monologues That Speak to an Audience (https://whitbylitfest.org.uk/event/suzanne-elvidge-writing-workshop-writing-monologues-that-speak-to-an-audience/)
Queer Spaces: Climate Pride (https://sjt.uk.com/events/queer-spaces-live2025)
Anitra’s Petition www.whitbywriters.com/anitra-the-story-so-far-2
Whitby Writers Group 