Assorted Writers

As writers I find it is all too easy for us to get stuck in our own little grooves, with a very blinkered perspective on what is going on in the rest of the creative world. So I always enjoy meeting other people who have different interests and approaches, who write in other genres, look at life through diverse lenses. I find that get-togethers such as Cirencester's monthly Writers In The Brewery are great opportunities to find out what other people are up to in the writing world; listening to writing programmes on the radio is another. And hosting yesterday's "The Writers' Room" for Corinium Radio was certainly an interesting experience.

Our producer Chris at work

We had three guests on yesterday's programme, all making very different contributions. The actor David Bailey had written two three-minute monologues which - needless to say - he performed beautifully. A skillful mix of memoir and fiction, they drew very poignant pictures of two men - one recalling a past love and one regretting a staid, unadventurous life but unable (or in truth perhaps, unwilling) to materially alter things. Pippa Roberts, a journalist, playwright and poet, then read a selection of her humorous verse, some for adults, some for children. I'm always envious of the skill to write for children and also to write humour - neither of which I possess!

Eugene Lambert

Our third guest was Eugene Lambert, reading an extract from his debut novel "The Sign Of One" published by Egmont earlier this year. For young adults "of all ages", the novel is a science fiction thriller, inspired in part by Eugene's experience of being an identical twin. He is a graduate of the MA programme at Bath Spa University in "Writing for Young People", a course which he found immensely useful in developing his chosen genre. The extract he read definitely whetted the appetite for more - and there will be two further books to complete the trilogy. Certainly an author to watch out for!