And they published one of my photographs of RHS Harlow Carr too..!
An article that has appeared on-line today and will be in the print run of the newspaper on Thursday this week: Ripon author Ian Gouge has seen his publishing popularity grow over the last few years.
I keep a kind of 'tracker' on which I record my daily activities as they relate not only to all things writing-related but a little to well-being too. The tracker is broadly split into: my own writing projects, my publication work (through Coverstory books), sundry writing activities - such as poetry groups, retreats etc. - … Continue reading It’s okay not to be on top form every day…
Jan and the team at Writers' Retreats UK have their next three-day event scheduled for the 11th February 2022 in the northern Lake District, not far from the Scottish border, and I am delighted to have been invited as a guest in order to run some workshops and offer a little ad-hoc mentoring as and … Continue reading Writers’ Retreat – The Lake District, February
It was mere coincidence that saw me reading Denis Johnson's short story collection "Jesus' Son" immediately after Kevin Barry's "That Old Country Music" - but it was a coincidence which served to throw the two into sharp contrast. Where Barry's stories are softer, somewhat gentle, filled with 'Irishness', Johnson's are raw, hard, uncompromising, and paint … Continue reading “Jesus’ Son”
Kevin Barry's collection of short stories, "That Old Country Music" is, in its own way, a gem. Although the subjects of the stories are often serious and sombre (e.g. teenage pregnancy, abandonment, failed love), Barry handles his material with such subtlety that at times you perhaps can't help but wonder if the tone isn't a … Continue reading “That Old Country Music”
The premise behind Nick Bradley's "The Cat and the City" is sound enough: a series of short stories or vignettes that are linked together by a range of characters who variously flit in and out of each - and by the appearance of a calico cat in just about every one. The collection starts out … Continue reading “The Cat and the City”
I suspect just about everyone who attends a Writers' retreat uncovers a nugget of some kind. Often these priceless finds will be unearthed through informal interaction with other attendees, conversations over dinner, sharing writing experiences - or even experiences of life. At my first retreat four years ago (at Garsdale Retreat in North Yorkshire), my … Continue reading Writing Retreats: panning for gold…
The first time I enrolled on a writing retreat I ended up getting the inspiration for - and writing the initial short story of - my collection "Degrees of Separation". Next week I am enthusiastically anticipating my second retreat and hope for a similarly productive outcome! Once more I go into the week with questions … Continue reading Writing Retreat – mk. 2
If you were to ask me what I like best about writing prose then the answer is simple: making people. There is nothing quite like that feeling of giving life to a previously non-existent character, of forming them, building their history, giving them emotions, ambitions, plans. For each and every one of them the potential … Continue reading Why I love making people…
Ian Gouge - Writer 