Writer’s Quote of the Month
"If, with the literate, I am
Impelled to try an epigram,
I never seek to take the credit;
We all assume that Oscar said it."
~ Dorothy Parker, born 22 August
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Contents
1. News
2. Guest Speaker / The Write Co Function
3. Courses & workshops
4. How to Become a Subscriber
5. Book Reviews
6. Author Interviews
7. The Star Struck Writer - Leo
8. The Write Co Competitions
9. Classified
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1. News
The Winners of The Write Co's Short Story Competition, Paint it Black, announced.
1st Prize: Up in Arms by Ilva Pieterse : Read Up in Arms
2nd Prize: Action Approved by Richard Greensmith
3rd Prize: Raw/Hide by Amanda Paulsen
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Our 36th Writers Write graduate published.
Dear Amanda
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Two days later, our 37th Writers Write graduate published
"Lizet Engelbrecht has recently received the good news that her Afrikaans romance novel, entitled Sewe dae, has been snatched up by NB Publisher’s popular Melodie imprint. The book is set to hit the shelves later this year...."
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Exclusive: Join us for A Night at the Opera
The Write Co, in conjunction with the Edouard Miasnikov Agency, offers opera fans and the generally curious, a night to be remembered.
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2. Guest Speaker August 2008
Television Producer, special guest, TBA
Date: TBA
Time: 18:00 for 18:30
Venue: TBA
Cost: R120, 00 per person, includes Cocktails, Talk, Q & A’s
RSVP: info@thewriteco.co.za
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3. Coming up in Writing
Creative Writing Courses & Workshops - Call Wiida 079 875-3719 for queries
Writers Write (4 weeks):
Saturday Mornings: 08.30 – 12.30
Tuesday & Thursday Mornings: 09:00 – 11:00
Tuesday & Thursday Evening: 17:30 – 20:00
Write a screenplay (5 weeks)
Sunday mornings: 09:00 – 12:00
Creative Writing One-day Workshops
How to write for Mills & Boon: Romancing the Dollar
Plot LUCK: Learn how to plot a novel on Saturday
Business Writing One-day Courses
Nicci Stewart heads up The Write Co's Business Writing Division
Contact nicci@thewriteco.co.za for all business writing / commercial correspondence enquiries.
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4. How to Become a Subscriber
Please click here: subscription form
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5. Reviews
Our reviewers rate books from 1 – 5
1 - For use as a doorstop only
2 - Keep for publishers’ & booksellers’ strikes
3 - A great holiday read
4 - You’ll remember this with enthusiasm a month later
5 – Unforgettable
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The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by by Paul Torday (Weidenfeld & Nicholson) ISBN: 978-0-297-85293-3
Paul Torday’s debut novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic writing. It was serialised on radio, and appeared on many UK lists of summer reads, including the coveted Richard and Judy endorsement.
Readers expecting more light comic relief will be disappointed with his second novel. I was delighted. Wilberforce is a 37-year-old IT engineer, who sells his business to drink. This isn’t as odd as it sounds. He did, after all, buy a house with an underground wine cellar for a million pounds. This included 100 000 bottles of priceless wine.
Wilberforce is not an alcoholic, but he’s determined to drink it all. Why did he do this? You’ll have to read this beautifully written novel to find out. The characters are drawn with style and depth. The fact that we know the ending in the beginning and still have to read on is testament to clever pacing, and story-telling at its best.
Torday may not be the best researcher, and his facts on wine and the consequences of wine on the human body may be sketchy. This would be of concern to a middle aged book critic at a staid newspaper, but for readers who love a good read, it would be looking for mistakes that aren’t important to the story.
Amanda Patterson
4/5
Confessions of a Demented Housewife by Niamh Greene (Penguin) R170
Susie is spoilt, self-obsessed and smug.
This is not a good thing for light-hearted reading requirements. Marian Keyes understands this. Her heroines may be selfish, vain and egotistical but they are never smug. Susie has everything she is supposed to want. A rich husband, a lovely home, two children - Jack who thinks he’s a dog, and Katie, who wants to be a P**** Cat Doll. Telling, isn’t it?
Poor, bored little Susie tries to make her life more interesting by engineering encounters with men she fancies. She courts celebrity moms at her children’s school, and by default, the paparazzi. She gossips. She shops. I was bored with her by page 21, but I persevered. I was stoic and read on. But the ‘me, me, me’ of Susie was just too much to take.
Unfortunately, it did not get any better. Her unexpected ‘career’ move into television was trite. One suspects that the editor told the author that something had to happen. I’ll be surprised if this becomes a successful series. Greene is not funny enough to get away with her unsympathetic, cardboard cut-out heroine. A plot would have been nice, too.
Amanda Patterson
0/5
Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks (Writing as Ian Fleming) ISBN 978-0-718-15418-9
A psychedelic water nymph straight from a movie appetizer adorns the cover. Sticking to Fleming’s dapper style, Faulks brings Bond out of mothballs. The occasion - the centenary of Fleming’s birth in 1908. Set in 1967, fans will enjoy the retro scene.
A savage execution in the outskirts of Paris sets off a chain of events. Bond is called back from a sabbatical to hunt down the notorious Dr Julius Gorner. He’s corrupting the West with deadly narcotics and has a plan for global domination.
Glamour comes in the form of Parisian, Scarlett Papava. Her sister is in Gorner’s clutches. No Bond thriller would be complete without an ‘Oddjob’ heavyweight. Brain surgery has left Chagrin, impervious to pain and he’s a definite contender.
Fleming is a hard act to follow and Faulks a popular author in his own right. He’s captured the essence but be warned “It’s Bond, James Bond” minus a Martini or two!
Jackie Kelly
3/5
Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe (translated into English by Adriana Hunter) (Macmillan) R155 ISBN: 978-1-84627-101-4
Myriam prepares mouth-watering food. Her ideas are fresh; her past, torn.
When her son Hugo is born, she cannot stop talking about her love for him. Her husband snaps, and slaps her in the face to shut her up. She never loves Hugo again.
She resents herself, trying but failing to rekindle that emotion for Hugo. After a messy divorce, Myriam becomes a gypsy. She takes a job as cook at a circus, where she meets Ali, a greengrocer with sad eyes.
When the circus moves, she opens a restaurant called Chez Moi with a loan she obtains through lying. She lives in the restaurant. She has no money to rent her own apartment.
Her first customer is Vincent, the florist. Then comes Ben, who takes over management of the restaurant. Chez Moi becomes popular. Myriam sees that she is still a person. Years after leaving her son and husband in disgrace, she realises that she can move on.
The author indulged in philosophical chatter in parts of the book. Is this typically French? Otherwise, I enjoyed the witty storytelling.
Reviewer: Wiida Hamman
4/5
More reviews
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6. Interviews
Laura Boon gives her 17 Answers to our 17 Questions
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7. The Star Struck Writer
Leo
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8. The Write Co Competitions for Subscribers
Monthly ‘What’s on your mind?’ Competition
Theme for August: Where have all the good men gone?
Write 400 words and win!
Prize: Bonus Prize for August: Aspira Warm Oil Candle Massage
2 Books from The Write Co and Publication on our web site, in our newsletter and in Off the Cuff.
Conditions: 1 Entry per Person, 400 words.
Closing date: 25th of every month
To enter: Send entries to info@thewriteco.co.za
Winner for July: Jackie Kelly
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Monthly Poetry Competition
August's theme is: Dangerous Liaisons
Prize: A case of Leopard’s Leap Wines
Conditions:
1. Only 1 poem per month per subscriber is allowed.
2. The poem must not be longer than 30 lines.
3. The poem must be about the given topic.
4. If you are not a subscriber please pay an entrance fee of R50, 00 per entry.
Closing date: 30 August 2008
To enter: Send entries to amanda@thewriteco.co.za
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Winner for Take me with you: Jill Marais. Congratulations!
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Choose your winner for June: The Colour of Secrets, and send the poets' names in the subject line to amanda@thewriteco.co.za
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9. Classified
Win an Aspira Gift voucher for your lifestyle column on Where have all th egood men gone?
All Write Co subscribers will receive a 10% discount on the winter warm oil candle massage
Writers Relax & Write
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Books need a home too...
Need custom made bookshelves?
Contact Rod 083 750-6854 or mail colleenrw@telkomsa.net
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The Write Co boardrooms are available for hire when not in use.
R150, 00 per hour
R200, 00 per hour
R250, 00 per hour
Please contact Wiida - wiida@thewriteco.co.za for more information on rates.
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