A Love Affair Across Two Cultures

Amsterdam begins with a love affair.  From this ripples the impact of technology on relationships, the complexity of Black European identity, and how the child is the mother of the woman.

“The language shimmers and dazzles with its exuberance, sass and invention, yet its meditative undertow ensures Amsterdam remains in our minds long after the final page is turned.

“This collection is a well-crafted, confessional snapshot that we can all relate to: a moment of throwing caution to the wind. It is a contemplative piece that stirs the emotions with the kind of ‘real talk’ we all need to adopt at times. This is a wonderfully intimate reminder.”  Zena Edwards, poet

Chanje Kunda is a seasoned poet with strong woman-centric and black consciousness credentials. She is a popular reader on the European poetry circuit.  Amsterdam, the poetry collection can be bought from amazon.co.uk or by emailing us directly at admin@cultureword.org.uk  

Amsterdam is also being shaped into a one woman show.  Contact us at the above email for more details.

Low Life by Mike Duff

A Touch of the Sun, a novel by David Evans

The Seamstress and the Global Garment, poetry by Maya Chowdhry

Praise Songs For Aliens, poetry by Segun Lee French

Sisterwives, a novel  by Rachel Connor

The City of Lists, a novel by Brigid Rose

Bitch Lit, short story anthology

Dim Sum, British Chinese short stories

Healing Strategies for Women At War, an anthology of seven black women poets

Looking For Trouble, a novel by Cath Staincliffe (not the Crocus version which is out of print)

corned beef sandwich, a novel by Mark Sullivan

 no limits, an anthology of urban short stories

Talkers Through Dream Doors, poetry and short stories by Black women

 A Little Palace, a novel by Jann Hoag

Dancing on Diamonds, poetry and short stories by young writers

Herzone, an anthology of fantasy short stories by women

Nailing Colours, an anthology of poems of rebellion

Five women poets, an anthology of five women poets

rainbows in the ice, an anthology of poetry by disabled writers

Holding Out, an anthology of short stories by women

A Matter of Fat, a novel by Sherry Ashworth

DRAFT COMMONWORD PUBLICATIONS POLICY 2013

General Development Programme

 Commonword aims to help new writers become more successful.  We do this by providing writing development services which include: critical feedback, hothousing, mentoring, editing, professional development, support, training and publishing opportunities.

 We operate both as a grassroots community oriented organisation and as an organisation of strategic significance nationally, particularly with regards to our diversity and young people’s writing development programming.  At any one time, we can be involved in projects which severally might encompass  local, regional, national and international remits. 

 Commonword’s key objectives are:

 1)    To initiate, co-ordinate, support, develop and manage regional literature projects and to organise performances and events.

 2)    To provide publishing information and opportunities for new writers based in the North West of England and beyond.

 3)    To provide support, information and advice on writing to all writers in the North West region, particularly new writers

 These objectives will be delivered by a development programme planned over the next 3 years. The programme is of course fluid and will change as significant conditions – such as growth or reduction in income, or increase/decrease in number of new projects and new partnerships. 

 Project Publications

 Sometimes projects come with a dedicated budget to allow a publishing facet to that project. Where applicable, Commonword will  apply the same tests and procedures for such a publication as it provides for its other publications (see below under ‘Book Proposal System’)

 Black & Asian Poets Publication Programme

 Commonword acknowledges the results of the freeverse research into the lack of published Black and Asian poets (see freeverse.org.uk).  It is committed to addressing this by developing and publishing black and Asian poets, with a target of at least one  pamphlet per year by a Black or Asian poet until 2015. 

 With regards to publications outside specific Commonword projects and programmes, these are governed by Commonword’s Development Plan which includes a publishing strand.  This strand provides for the publication, in whatever medium and/or form, of two collections of new creative writing by primarily Northern writers each year.  These books are selected for publication via its Book Proposal System.

 A.      The Book Proposal System

The type and theme of publications (with the exception of the biannual open novel competition) shall be decided through a bidding process. The mechanics of this process is outlined below:

 1.         Bid Content
Anyone making a bid for a publication would have to submit a detailed written proposal including the following information:

 A description of the subject/theme/genre of the publication.

What format will the publication take?  Will it be a Crocus imprint?

A statement about the literary quality of the publication.

Who would be eligible to submit work to the publication?

How will submissions be sought?

How will a broad representation of different groups be ensured?

How will the publication be edited? Who by?

How does the publication further Commonword’s aims and objectives as a small publisher and writing development agency?

 Evidence of market research.

What is the market for the publication?  Why will it sell?  Who will want to buy it?

How big is the market?

Where and how will the publication be sold?

 A detailed budget for the publication including estimated costs for editing, production, writer’s fees / royalties and marketing the publication and expected income from sales.   What will the cover price and print run of the publication be?

 A detailed publication schedule from submission stage to post publication promotion. 

Launch and other publicity / promotion ideas.

Who will endorse the book?

2.         Bid Ideas and Proposers

Initial ideas for a bid might arise through development work, from individuals or groups or on the recommendation of a Commonword manuscript reader. Unsolicited manuscripts will only be considered through the Manuscript Reading Service.

 Only staff and/or  members of the management/books and marketing committee (with assistance of staff) will be allowed to develop a formal bid for presentation to the Management Committee.

 3.         Format of publication

Bids may be made for any kind of publication including:

Spined books (standard and non-standard)

Stapled books (if size of book is less than 50 pages they must be stapled to ensure quality)

Pamphlets

Magazines

E-Books

Braille / Video

Post-cards / poster formats

 4.         The Bid Panel

The relevant committee or sub-committe shall meeting at least once a year  to consider bid proposals.  This committee should include where possible those skilled  in marketing, editing, and finance.   

 The bid panel will:

(a) decide which bids are viable options;

(b) prioritise a number of bids for publication taking into account Commonword’s financial and policy constraints.

The short list of accepted bids will then be presented to the full  management committee where necessary for approval.  Once the management committee has approved the bids staff shall take on responsibility for overseeing the progress of the publications. 

Bids which are rejected due to lack of finance can be resubmitted at the next Bid Panel meeting for reconsideration alongside any new bids.

B.      The Editing Process

 1.         Choosing the Editors

To continue guaranteeing that our editors are representative of the communities of writers that we work with, particularly for open anthologies, we will

(a) contact NW community groups to find individuals with editing skills;

 To make sure that the original ‘vision’ / marketing idea informs the whole editing process, the bid proposer will suggest who should edit – whether s/he her/himself should be directly involved, whether there should be one or several editors, who should be co-ordinating editor.

 The bid panel will assess the case put by the bid proposer, together with all the other points in the bid proposal (see A.1. above), and make a decision.

Editors should have:

(a) understanding of different forms (poetry / fiction / short fiction);

(b) familiarity with the market in these forms or in specific types of form, eg Black poetry;

(c) familiarity with issues of diversity and discrimination.

 All editors will be paid a fee, linked to a contract.

Estimates for payments to editors should already be included in the overall book budget put forward by the bid proposer.

3.         The editing process

To ensure that open anthologies are as representative as possible, the bid proposal should make clear whether targets are to be set at the editorial stage or at the point of attracting submissions (the latter being the ‘soft’ option).  (A quota or target system at the editing stage is likely to encourage the bid proposer to think hard about how to ensure maximum entries from particular communities).

 To Help ensure a minimum ‘house’ quality, two standard forms will be used:

 (a) assessment / critique forms.  These will include all relevant points from the original bid proposal, as well as purely literary criteria.  This form will be sent to the writer; 

(b) grading forms.

 Suggestions regarding the editing schedule (whether a set timetable is necessary, etc.) will be put by the bid proposer and decided by the bid panel.

 The main editor will coordinate the whole editing process and will have access to all submissions, unless the bit proposer makes a case for an initial selection process.

 The bid panel will have the final say on whether the collection has met the aims and objectives of the original brief.  They will refer back to all the points in the original bid, including whether the literary quality initially sought has been achieved in the editors’ final selection.  The bid panel has authority, at this stage to decide not to publish.

 4.         Administration

Staff will be nominated to administer each publication.  They will be responsible for logging mss., sending acknowledgements, making sure the manuscripts are anonymous for the editors and dealing with the admin. enquiries.

 The administrator for the publication will be responsible for notifying contestants, returning relevant manuscripts and archiving material at the end of the process.

 C.      The Novel Competition

 1.         Scope of the Novel Competition

 Commonword will run a northern novel writing competition.

 The competition process shall be run bi-annually.

 The book, once chosen, should be produced within eighteen months. 

 2.         Finance of the novel competition

 Entry charging.

An entry fee shall be charged where necessary.

The entry fee however will partly be determined by the competition financial prize and the overall estimated book budget.

 Royalties.

The winner of the competition shall receive a cash prize (provisionally set at £300).

The author of any published competition book shall be paid royalties (the percentage of which is to be decided), which will be totally separate from the cash prize.

All potential payments will be dependent on overall competition \ book budget considerations.

Crocus will reserve the right not to publish the competition-winning book.

3.         Other Matters

 The Bidding Process

The competition shall be totally separate from the bidding process.

Any form of ‘themed’ novel competition shall come through the bidding process.  It will not affect the open novel competition in any way.

 The Judging

The judging of the novel competition will be done by an editing panel which may include outside experts, including well known, published authors. Initial selection will be done by staff and/or the panel depending on resources.  The panel will then produce a winner from the shortlist. 

End.

\\COMMON1\shared\admin\policy\COMMONWORD PUBLICATIONS POLICY.doc

Rachel Connor’s stunning debut novel, following the lives of two women living in Marah, an isolated religious community which has withdrawn from the city of Lot. As is customary in their society, these two women share the same husband, Tobias. Rebecca, Tobias’ first wife, is the daughter of an elder. Amarantha, the younger, has been abandoned by her mother, Frania, who carries the burden of truth about the community’s hidden past. But their sharing of love and life becomes strained with the intruding expectations and demands of the community…

Available to download here.

Amsterdam begins with a love affair.  From this ripples the impact of technology on relationships, the complexity of Black European identity, and how the child is the mother of the woman.

The language shimmers and dazzles with its exuberance, sass and invention, yet its meditative undertow ensures Amsterdam remains in our minds long after the final page is turned.

“This collection is a well-crafted, confessional snapshot that we can all relate to: a moment of throwing caution to the wind. It is a contemplative piece that stirs the emotions with the kind of “real talk” we all need to adopt at times. This is a wonderfully intimate reminder.”Zena Edwards, poet

Chanje Kunda is a seasoned poet with strong woman-centric and black consciousness credentials.  She is a popular reader on the European poetry circuit and has developed her own unique performance style. 

Copies of the poetry collection can be obtained from all good bookshops and from ourselves at admin@cultureword.org.uk

Amsterdam is also a one woman show.

2013 PARTNERSHIP AND PRIZE TO ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY IN CHILDREN’S FICTION

Commonword, Puffin Books and Catherine Pellegrino & Associates are pleased to announce the second year of their partnership for the Commonword Children’s Diversity Writing Prize.

Full Competiton information including Rules and How To Enter can be found at our dedictaed Competition website:

www.ihaveadream.org.uk

We are holding Diversity Children’s Writing Masterclass in Manchester on 23rd February 2013 with award winning author, Bali Rai, Penguin/Puffin editor Alexandra Antscherl and Catheirne Pellegrino of Catheirne Pellegrino & Associates.  More on the Feb 2013  Masterclass can be found via the document here:

COMMONWORD MASTERCLASS PROGRAMME 2013

The Diversity Writing For Children Prize is awarded annually. The inaugural 2012 winner was Gaylene Gould for her novel The Sacrifice.

Gaylene’s novel is set in the 1981 riots and revolves around a children’s home.  The judges felt it was an unusual story, with great characterisation.

The 2012 winner, Gaylene Gould said: ‘Thank you for such a great initiative and for the validation that awarding me the prize has given. I hope the prize goes from strength to strength – it really is needed.’

 The Commonword Children’s Diversity Writing Prize includes an annual Puffin and CPA-sponsored masterclass for budding writers who exhibit potential in children’s fiction writing for 7+ to teenage.  (Email us at w4c@cultureword.org.uk for more information on the masterclass.)

The winning writer must embrace ethnic diversity either through their own ethnicity and culture and/or within their writing. The winning writer receives a £500 cash prize, professional mentoring and £100 of Puffin books.

Commonword, established in 1977, is a leading grassroots, not-for-profit organization for writers in the north west. Their sister brand, Cultureword, has particular success in bringing to the fore new Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) writing talent. They currently run the vibrant and well-attended BME writing workshop, Identity, which focuses on poetry and prose for adults. January 2011 saw the inaugural diversity in children’s writing workshop take place in Manchester, and the first masterclass held in November and run by Melvin Burgess, one of the UK’s leading children’s writers. There have been subsequent masterclasses with leading children’s authors, BBC children’s writing commissioners and influential children’s writing agents and publishers.

Pete Kalu, Commonword’s Artistic Director, says: ‘Commonword is delighted to be spearheading this excellent project with such prestigious partners. We will strive to do what we do best: to bring undiscovered, unique voices to the fore.’

Shannon Cullen, Editorial Director for Puffin, says: ‘We’re pleased to be working with Commonword and RCW again to discover and develop some fantastic new writing talent. The quality of the entries in 2012 was of a very high calibre, and just goes to show what grassroots support can do to encourage writers and give them the confidence to focus on their writing for children and polish it to submission standard.’

Catherine Pellegrino, children’s book agent, says: ‘As a children’s agent, living in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, it struck me that there was a gaping hole in the children’s writing community; in the authors I represent, the writers published and consequently in the books we are able to offer our children to read, books that should represent our rich cultural diversity but so often fail to do so. The opportunity to address this issue alongside Commonword and Puffin Books is enormously exciting and I am confident that working together we will bring to light original and talented new writers and writers in the making.’

For further information including Rules and How To Enter:

Visit the competition website www.ihaveadream.org.uk 

or contact:

Pete Kalu: pete@cultureword.org.uk  Phone: 0161 832 3777

 Further press enquiries can also be made to:

 Pete Kalu: pete@cultureword.org.uk  Phone: 0161 832 3777

Jayde Lynch: jayde.lynch@uk.penguingroup.com

Catherine Pellegrino catherine@catherinepellegrino.co.uk

CROCUS MEMOIR COMPETITION

The Search For The Northern Seven!

Memoir/Autobiographical Writing Competition 2013

Win £150 & have your fledgling Memoir or Autobiography ‘hothoused’ by Crocus Books

The search is on to find the best budding memoir or autobiography writer in the North of England in our latest competition for writers.

This time we are searching for the best opening three chapters from a previously unpublished memoir or autobiography.

The winner will get £150 and their own writing mentor to help them get their autobiography / memoir to publishable standard.

Six other promising writers identified through the competition will be provided with significant assistance with their writing.

The competition welcomes submissions of any form of memoir or autobiography, from all writers living or working in the North of England. It’s very difficult for new writers to get their first pieces published – this competition provides a rare break for fledgling writers.

By running this competition, Commonword hopes to assist new writers in avoiding the frustration and pitfalls that come with developing a   autobiography or memoir.

Crocus have already launched the careers of several North West based authors, including Rachel Connor, Brigid Rose, Cath Staincliffe, Sherry Ashworth and Mike Duff. The last novel competition winner, Rachel Connor praised the competition for helping her achieve a lifelong ambition. Her novel, Sisterwives, a compelling tale of love, faith and redemption, was published by our imprint, Crocus, to much acclaim and is now on its second print run.

How the Competition Works

Entries can be any form of memoir or autobiography.

Entrants should send the following:

• A two page synopsis – comprising a story outline and details of main characters and themes.
• The first three chapters or 9000 words (whichever is the shorter) of their text.

Judging Process

Initial long-listing will be done by Crocus editors. Final selection will be done by: Commonword’s Artistic Director, Pete Kalu and creative writing tutors, Professor Brenda Cooper, and Salford University’s Dr Ursula Hurley.
Prizes

The winner will receive £150, detailed feedback on their work and the chance to work on their text with the assistance of an experienced  writing mentor/editor.

The six runners-up will receive detailed feedback on their work and the opportunity to have a session with a mentor/editor.

Four of the seven will be invited to participate in the October 2013 public reading & pitching competition run by Commonword in association with Manchester Literature Festival called, ‘Is There A Memoir Writer In The House?’

Deadline for entries:  30 June 2013

How to enter

It costs £15 (waged) or £10 (unwaged) to enter the competition. For further details and an entry form either:

Print out an follow the entry form or send an SAE to:

Crocus First Chapter Memoir Competition, Commonword, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS.

or email us at crocus@cultureword.org.uk, with ‘Crocus Autobiography/Memoir  Competition’ as the subject of the email before submission. Further details and an electronic entry form will be provided.

Rules of Entry

1. You should submit the first three chapters or 9000 words (whichever is the shorter) of your text.
2. Each submission should be accompanied by an entry fee of £15/10.
3. Closing date for receipt of entries is 30 June 2013.
4.  You must live or work in the North of England to enter this Competition.
5. You must not have had a novel, memoir or autobiography published before.
6. All work must  be your own original work and must be previously unpublished.

Postal Entries

7.  All entries  should be typed and printed in black ink on one side only of A4 paper.  Pages should be securely fastened together.

8.    Do NOT print your name anywhere on the chapters

9.   Give your text  a working title

10. Place your name and address, post code, contact telephone number and email address on a covering page or use the entry form.

Email Entries

1. Email us at crocus@cultureword.org.uk before submission, for an electronic entry form.
2. A request for payment will be emailed once submission is received
3. Email submission will only be entered into the competition once payment is received.

 Make sure you keep copies of all work submitted. We will NOT return work.

If you would like us to acknowledge receipt of your entry please send a SAE marked ‘Receipt’, or provide us with an email address. To know the names of the winners, please enclose a SAE marked ‘Results’.

 Copyright in the chapters remains with individual entrants.

The judges’ decision is final. Entry in the competition will be deemed to be unqualified acceptance of these rules.

Previous winners of Crocus’s ‘First Three Chapters’ or ‘First Chapter’ competition are not eligible to apply.

Entry Form For Printing Out:

I wish to enter the Crocus  Memoir Competition 2013

Working Title of Memoir/Autobiography:…………………………………………………………………..

 I enclose a cheque or postal order for  £15(waged) £10 (unwaged).

Name: ……………………………………………

Address: ………………………………………..

………………………………………………………

Postcode: ………………………………………

Tel No.: ………………………………………….

Email:……………………………………..

I enclose a synopsis and the first three chapters of my memoir

I confirm that this is my own work and previously unpublished

Please notify me of receipt by email

I enclose an SAE marked ‘Receipt’

I enclose an SAE marked ‘Results’

I enclose a cheque/postal order for £ …..         made payable to Commonword

Please return to: Commonword, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS

WHEN SAIRA MET SARAH

This anthology is intended to be both a celebration of new writing and those things Muslims and Jews have in common – it’s a co-existence project between the pages of a book.

We are looking for twelve women from the north-west of England who are over 18 and have not yet had their work published, or do not have a significant publishing history.

The winners will be mentored by Sherry Ashworth (Jewish) and Anjum Malik (Muslim.)  Sherry is a successful novelist and publisher; Anjum is a critically acclaimed poet and playwright.  They will help the chosen writers to produce new pieces of work for the anthology, either prose or verse.

Mentoring will take place both face to face and by email.

The selected writing will be published in 2014.

If you want to be considered for this project, please send a sample of your creative writing by e-mail to:

wsms@cultureword.org.uk

The sample should be either up to 40 lines of verse or 1,500 words of prose – perhaps an extract from a story or novel, but not journalism.  Please include a covering letter telling us a little about yourself.

The closing date for entries is 30th April 2013.

AN EXCITING NEW 10 WEEK MUSIC AND SPOKEN WORD PROJECT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN AND AROUND MANCHESTER

RUN BY ARTISTS AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, EACH 2-HOUR WORKSHOP WILL GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE AND PERFORM ORIGINAL MUSIC, LEARN TO PLAY A VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS AND USE THE LATEST MUSIC PRODUCTION SOFTWARE AND SOUND EQUIPMENT. THE PROJECT CONCLUDES WITH A LIVE PERFORMANCE AT A CITY CENTRE VENUE TO SHOWCASE YOUR NEWFOUND SKILLS AND TALENTS.

ON COMPLETING THE PROJECT YOU WILL RECEIVE A RECOGNISED QUALIFICATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE WORKING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

STARTING MID FEBRUARY IN LONGSIGHT, MOSS SIDE AND OLD TRAFFORD

LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE

FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL SHIRLEY@AAASOUNDIDEAS.COM OR PHONE 0161 8323777