MILFORD SF WRITERS' WORKSHOP
Mar. 20th, 2006 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizwilliamsBehind the cut. If you know of anyone who might like to come to the workshop, and who is eligible (i.e. one pro sale) then please feel free to pass this on. We are always keen to have new people at the workshop!
MILFORD 2006
Dear Writer,
You are cordially invited to join the Milford SF Writer’s Conference, held at the Trigonos Centre in Snowdonia. The dates are Saturday 9th September to Saturday 16th September 2006 inclusive (leaving on the morning of Saturday 16th).
If you’ve attended a previous British Milford, you will know more or less what to expect and can go straight to the booking form. If not, then a brief introduction may be in order. Milford is a gathering of professional authors, loosely linked by science fiction or fantasy writing. It is not a school for beginners, and there are no ‘teachers’ or ‘students.’ However, neither is it an elitist in-group: we welcome new participants, and invitations are extended to authors who have only sold the minimum requirement of 1 published piece as well as those among us who only dimly recall what rejection slips look like (HAH! – ed). Writers who have not attended a previous Milford are particularly welcome.
The conference has been a regular, more or less annual event since 1972, drawing members from Britain, Europe, America and Australia. Over the years it has settled down to a comfortable workable format: demanding and exhausting, with much hard work being done, but it’s also convivial, with a lot of sitting in the bar and talking about doing hard work. It’s thus a social as well as a literary event.
Here’s a brief generalised programme of the week:
* Saturday: turn up late afternoon, bringing manuscripts for discussion during the week. There's no programme, but around mid-evening we convene and get to know one another over a meal.
* Sunday to Thursday: the main working days. Morning is the time to read manuscripts and prepare notes. Afternoons are workshop sessions, at which the day's quota of material is discussed as forthrightly and constructively as possible, with fairly strict time limits to encourage brevity and allow even the shyest member's voice to be heard. Evenings are for more relaxed conversation and discussion, punctuated by occasional silly literary games.
* Friday: depending on the workload, this can be the time for a further workshop, a semi-formal discussion, exploring the vicinity of the centre, or just resting. In the evening we unwind with a special dinner.
The centre
Trigonos is situated on the shores of Lake Nantlle in Snowdonia, among the mountains of the Snowdonia National Park. It is about 10 miles from Caernarvon, which is accessible from Bangor railway station by a frequent bus service. Full travel details will be sent to participants. The centre is comprised of an old Victorian house and converted barns, and has a committed approach to sustainable land development and environmental restoration.
The centre runs many courses and workshops, but there will be no other groups during the time that we will be there. It is full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) and caters to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and can cater for vegan guests also. The centre grows much of its own organic produce.
Costs: rooms cost from £38 –53 per person per night. Costs are based on whether a room is en suite, or with shared facilities, and whether it is single or double. A full tariff will be sent to you with full explanatory notes!
There will also be a cost of about £23-25 per person for meeting room hire.
What you have to bring:
- one or more pieces of unpublished work, not exceeding more than 15,000 words in total. Please bring sufficient copies for each participant, in usual manuscript format. One of these copies is also to be handed to the Chair (Sue Thomason) or Secretary (Liz Williams) on the night of arrival so that we can organise the reading schedule, but you’ll get that back. The progress reports will keep you informed as to the number of participants, so you’ll know how many copies to bring.
A typical Milford has anything from 10 - 15 participants, and works best with a full timetable and minimal slack - this year there will be a ceiling of 15 members on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, plus a waiting list which you can join by paying the registration fee and room deposit. The treasurer will hold this until the booking is either confirmed or cancelled.
To book, please complete the enclosed form and return it to Liz at the above address, with a cheque or sterling money order, made payable to Milford SF Writers' Conference for a total of £75 (£70 pound hotel deposit; deductible from your hotel bill, and £5 conference registration fee). Late cancellations will mean a loss of deposit. At least one progress report, with members’ names and further information (such as how to get there!) will be issued in the summer/early autumn.
Hope to see you there!
The committee:
Sue Thomason (Chair)
Liz Williams (Secretary) - liz@arkady.org
Steve Kilbane (Treasurer)
Please contact me at the email address above if you'd like an application form.
MILFORD 2006
Dear Writer,
You are cordially invited to join the Milford SF Writer’s Conference, held at the Trigonos Centre in Snowdonia. The dates are Saturday 9th September to Saturday 16th September 2006 inclusive (leaving on the morning of Saturday 16th).
If you’ve attended a previous British Milford, you will know more or less what to expect and can go straight to the booking form. If not, then a brief introduction may be in order. Milford is a gathering of professional authors, loosely linked by science fiction or fantasy writing. It is not a school for beginners, and there are no ‘teachers’ or ‘students.’ However, neither is it an elitist in-group: we welcome new participants, and invitations are extended to authors who have only sold the minimum requirement of 1 published piece as well as those among us who only dimly recall what rejection slips look like (HAH! – ed). Writers who have not attended a previous Milford are particularly welcome.
The conference has been a regular, more or less annual event since 1972, drawing members from Britain, Europe, America and Australia. Over the years it has settled down to a comfortable workable format: demanding and exhausting, with much hard work being done, but it’s also convivial, with a lot of sitting in the bar and talking about doing hard work. It’s thus a social as well as a literary event.
Here’s a brief generalised programme of the week:
* Saturday: turn up late afternoon, bringing manuscripts for discussion during the week. There's no programme, but around mid-evening we convene and get to know one another over a meal.
* Sunday to Thursday: the main working days. Morning is the time to read manuscripts and prepare notes. Afternoons are workshop sessions, at which the day's quota of material is discussed as forthrightly and constructively as possible, with fairly strict time limits to encourage brevity and allow even the shyest member's voice to be heard. Evenings are for more relaxed conversation and discussion, punctuated by occasional silly literary games.
* Friday: depending on the workload, this can be the time for a further workshop, a semi-formal discussion, exploring the vicinity of the centre, or just resting. In the evening we unwind with a special dinner.
The centre
Trigonos is situated on the shores of Lake Nantlle in Snowdonia, among the mountains of the Snowdonia National Park. It is about 10 miles from Caernarvon, which is accessible from Bangor railway station by a frequent bus service. Full travel details will be sent to participants. The centre is comprised of an old Victorian house and converted barns, and has a committed approach to sustainable land development and environmental restoration.
The centre runs many courses and workshops, but there will be no other groups during the time that we will be there. It is full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) and caters to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and can cater for vegan guests also. The centre grows much of its own organic produce.
Costs: rooms cost from £38 –53 per person per night. Costs are based on whether a room is en suite, or with shared facilities, and whether it is single or double. A full tariff will be sent to you with full explanatory notes!
There will also be a cost of about £23-25 per person for meeting room hire.
What you have to bring:
- one or more pieces of unpublished work, not exceeding more than 15,000 words in total. Please bring sufficient copies for each participant, in usual manuscript format. One of these copies is also to be handed to the Chair (Sue Thomason) or Secretary (Liz Williams) on the night of arrival so that we can organise the reading schedule, but you’ll get that back. The progress reports will keep you informed as to the number of participants, so you’ll know how many copies to bring.
A typical Milford has anything from 10 - 15 participants, and works best with a full timetable and minimal slack - this year there will be a ceiling of 15 members on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, plus a waiting list which you can join by paying the registration fee and room deposit. The treasurer will hold this until the booking is either confirmed or cancelled.
To book, please complete the enclosed form and return it to Liz at the above address, with a cheque or sterling money order, made payable to Milford SF Writers' Conference for a total of £75 (£70 pound hotel deposit; deductible from your hotel bill, and £5 conference registration fee). Late cancellations will mean a loss of deposit. At least one progress report, with members’ names and further information (such as how to get there!) will be issued in the summer/early autumn.
Hope to see you there!
The committee:
Sue Thomason (Chair)
Liz Williams (Secretary) - liz@arkady.org
Steve Kilbane (Treasurer)
Please contact me at the email address above if you'd like an application form.
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:45 am (UTC)I hope you can.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 04:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 05:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:54 am (UTC)-=Jeff=-
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 05:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 12:34 pm (UTC)Not that I'm enabling or anything.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 02:04 pm (UTC)Much. At all.*grin*
no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 01:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 05:24 pm (UTC)I'll have to look at various timetables (grad school, work, etc.) and the exchequer. But hell, send me the application or tell me where I can find a PDF to print myself?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 05:27 am (UTC)Maybe when I lose the knack of making small-press magazines fold the moment they've accepted anything? (I thought I'd grown out of this in the 1990s but no.)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 08:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 01:08 pm (UTC)Of course last year it was in August, but so close to WorldCon that I couldn't attend both. Sigh...
no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 01:54 am (UTC)