SPEAKEASY

Congratulations to all the new writers who took part in the Speakeasy event on Tuesday 21 October!

This was a sparkling event with six writers new to Telltales sharing their work on the platform alongside visiting authors CJ Flood and Rupert Wallis.  We had invited these writers to join us for a trio of bespoke events and it was a joy to have them!  It was like having a little piece of Port Eliot Festival transported to Dolly’s Wine Bar.

The Speakeasy was a one-off collaboration with the Story Republic and Writing Squad Kernow, made possible by generous funding from FEAST.

We were privileged with a sneak preview of Rupert Wallis’s darkly beautiful new novel, under its working title at present – something to look out for in 2015!  Chelsey Flood treated us with a reading from Infinite Sky.  She chose a scene in which flawed friendship is gently teased apart.

The theme for the night was A Word in Your Ear, but, as often happens, this was just one of the themes which ran through the evening. Anna Penhaligon’s hypnotic, tumbling poem delighted in words: “the carriers of formidable gloom and illicit elation”, but old age was also a recurring presence, beautifully captured in Holly Summerson’s short story, A Curse.  Kate Reeve-Edwards held us spellbound with her passionate and convincing poetry.  We had wry humour from Laurie Hackney, whose short story had a universal quality and yet managed to reference Florence Terrace and Fox Rosehill Gardens!  Azhlee Avro Wonnacot read from her illustrated book, The Girl and the Violin Bird; her writing is lyrical with a delicacy of touch.  Finally, Ethan Northey brought it all home.  His gem of a short story, enigmatically entitled Duelling Eskimos, did actually mention said eskimos, taking a wild and sure-footed route through magic, old age and the devastating power of words.

NEXT UP

Tuesday 25 November will be the last Telltales of the year and all the more special for that.  The theme is ‘Distractions‘.   If you’d like to submit, please remember that we have a word limit of 1600 words (or 10 minutes when read aloud.)  We look forward to hearing from you!