Every writer understands the importance of support and encouragement from others who understand their passion. Writers' groups, writing classes and book groups often meet this need. Today my friend and fellow author, Gemma Owen-Kendall, who is published by SpellBound Books Ltd, makes her debut visit to the blog to explain how she set up and runs a supportive writers group, The Globe Writers. Thank you for your time today, Gemma. Over to you!
Thanks for inviting me onto your blog today, Val. Since March 2019, I’m proud to share I’ve run a weekly and successful writing group on Tuesday evenings. In March 2019, my author friend Ants Ambridge and I formed a writing group known as The Globe Writers. The name was taken from the name of the coffeeshop in Cleethorpes where my writing group took up its residency for a few years. We started off with four members but have seen the group grow to a nice number of about 12 writers each week. As a supporter of local writers within North East Lincolnshire, I have always wanted to ensure every writer who attends The Globe Writers had a way to have their work published.
The set up of The Globe Writers is everyone is made to feel welcome and at ease, especially when a new member attends and hasn’t written anything at all. This will hopefully make the new member continue with the group on a regular basis. The format of each week is that one of the regular members has a turn to host the evening, they will come up with a prompt or exercise, then we write for about 30 to 40 minutes. This is then followed by a small break so everyone can get another drink or a spot of fresh air outside, then the evening ends for those members who choose to read out their work with the rest of the group. Although feed back is not provided there and then, this can be requested discreetly between the members. The aim of the globe writers is to encourage writers to keep on writing and not to make anyone feel like what they have put together is a negative.
Each year I have ensured that an anthology is published by the writing group, a topic is chosen, and each writer will follow the criteria to ensure their piece of creative writing is submitted to go into the anthology. So far, The Globe Writers have published five books. These are Christmas Gifts, Tales From Lockdown, Halloween Screams, A New World and more recently Seasons.
The Globe Writers have faced its challenges such as the pandemic and going into lockdown from late March 2020, the group had to continue online until the globe coffeeshop was allowed to open again. In the second lockdown, the group was formed as support group where a maximum number of six members could attend at a time on a social distance basis. Unfortunately, these troubling times did prevent a handful of members no longer come back to the writing group. But once lockdown was fully lifted, The Globe Writers did welcome a whole new bunch of members. In October 2023, The Globe Coffeeshop announced it was closing so a new venue was needed and fast.
Luckily another coffeeshop in Grimsby called Vittles was welcoming community groups to their premises, in November 2023 the Globe Writers took up new residency at Vittles Coffeeshop. But in August 2024 another blow as Vittles announced it was closing. But at the same time a new coffeeshop in Grimsby has just opened (July 2024) called The Mean Bean.
Since early September The Globe Writers has now taken up residency at this new premise and will continue to support anyone who wishes to have the opportunity to write. A few of the Globe Writers have been able to have their own novels published, either through a publishing house or self published on Amazon and Kindle.
The Author
Gemma is a writer from North East Lincolnshire, UK. Graduated at the University of Lincoln in 2009, she studied a degree in Drama. However years later Gemma has discovered writing is her hobby and passion. She hopes to one day to be able to go back to University to study creative writing. As well as her own writing, Gemma is a huge supporter for writers within her local area. She is published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
The Books
Search Books | Waterstones
Red Daisy : The SpellCasters Trilogy eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
A Fallen Star eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Innocent Times eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Red Light Romance eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Fallen Reads eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Christmas Gifts: An anthology of seasonal stories eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma, Ambridge, Ants, Brumby, Kate, Sandford, Mark, Stabdagger, Lord, Nelson, Mike, Storey, Samantha, Bromley, Dave, Darwood, Eve, Richards, Rebekah: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Tales From Lockdown eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma, Ambridge, Ants, Nelson, Mike, Stabdagger, Lord, Richards, Rebekah, Seawards, Pauline, Hydes, Victoria, Sandford, Mark, Storey, Nil, Cullum, Peter: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Halloween Screams eBook : Writers, Globe, Owen-Kendall, Gemma, Ambridge, Ants, Stabdagger, Lord, Richards, Rebekah, Sandford, Mark, Seawards, Pauline, Hydes, Victoria, King, Grace, Bromley, David: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
A New World eBook : Owen-Kendall, Gemma, Ambridge, Ants, Hydes, Victoria, Nelson, Mike, Gavan-Johnson, Tracey, Sykes, Mollie, Morse, Elizabeth, Bromley, Dave, Rumley, Kevin, Sandford, Mark: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Seasons eBook : Writers, Globe, Owen-Kendall, Gemma, Ambridge, Ants, Hydes, Victoria, Allam, Shaun, Nelson, Mike: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
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