What we’re about
This is a group for anyone interested in writing and meeting other writers in the Caversham and wider Berkshire area. For our online meetings, we also welcome members globally.
We were founded in 2018 by Canadian author Crystal Bourque with an ethos that we still maintain today: "If you write, you're a writer."
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We've always been free to join and free to attend. To help keep it that way, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, all donations go towards the running of the group.
All skill levels are welcome - published or unpublished, aspiring authors or enthusiastic hobbyists. We have members that write in all genres, so whether you write fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose, fantasy or reality, you will fit right in.
We currently hold meetings in 4 different formats:
> Writing Meetings. In which we'll either work on (or start) any writing project of our own choosing, or we'll set a theme or prompt for all to use as a starting point.
> Feedback Meetings. In which we'll provide feedback on excerpts of members work, either submitted in advance or read out to the group on the night. Feedback should be constructive, encouraging, and tailored to the author's directed instruction.
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> Author Events. In which published authors come along to talk to the group. We have a Q & A with them about their writing process and path to publication.
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> Writes & Bites. In which we meet for a social evening, usually at a local restaurant. No writing involved in these events, they are an opportunity to get to know each other better and, of course, to discuss all things writing.
> We also have occasional one off special events, such as literary festival talks, book signings, launch parties.
Upcoming events (4)
See all- Bookshare Night - Your Summer Reading (online event)Link visible for attendees
Need some inspiration for your summer reading list? Find out what your fellow Caversham Writers members are reading and recommending.
Join us for this online discussion and bring along a book (or two) you'd like to share with the group - it might be a current or recent read or an all-time favourite.
NOTE: When joining the Zoom session, please ensure you are using the same name as in your Meetup profile. You will not be admitted into the Zoom meeting if your name isn't on the Meetup attendee list.
Should you feel inspired to buy any of the books discussed tonight, support a local independent bookshop by buying them online at the following link, which has the added bonus of using our very own Caversham Writers shopfront so I'll get a small commission to go towards the Meetup costs of running the group:
https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/CavershamWriters
(After this event I'll set up a specific list of books we talked about tonight.)
**Don't forget to subscribe to our Caversham Writers newsletter! A weekly round up of our events, discussions, member news and more straight to your inbox every Friday.
- Ask the Author! Meet Stephanie Bretherton (online event)Link visible for attendees
Stephanie Bretherton is the Kindle bestselling author of Bone Lines. Its follow-up in The Children of Sarah series, The Fire In Their Eyes, is newly published this month.
Both novels feature geneticist Dr Eloise Kluft and follow a dual timeline, linking the present to events 74,000 years ago and the remarkable story of prehistoric "Sarah" and her daughter.
Stephanie is also the Managing Director of The Breakthrough Book Collective, the imprint under which Stephanie's The Children of Sarah series is now published following the demise of crowdfunding publisher Unbound.
I'm thrilled to have Stephanie join us in a special online event to talk to the group about her books, her writing process and path to publication.
Praise for Bone Lines:
"A monument to the timelessness of human nature, and a work of art... a masterpiece of pacing. Bretherton ignites her characters with a life, complexity, a personality with which any number of readers will identify and empathise." Naomi Moore, Editor, New Orbit literary magazinePraise for The Fire In Their Eyes:
"An engrossing, urgent, polyphonic novel about the connections between the planet’s deep past and our present unstable, unpredictable world, driven by a memorable cast of characters. A joy to read." Jude Cook, novelist, literary critic and prize judgeDo you have a question for Stephanie? If so, either drop it in the comments for this event or send me a DM via Meetup. You'll also get a chance to ask her yourself in the Q&A part of the event.
Agenda:
• We'll start with a Q & A, where I'll put some questions to Stephanie about her books, her writing, her experience with Unbound and starting her own author collective imprint.
• Then it's your turn! You can ask Stephanie any questions that I've forgotten to ask or didn't follow up on.**Don't forget to subscribe to our Caversham Writers newsletter! A weekly round up of our events, discussions, member news and more straight to your inbox every Friday.
- Prompt-Write Night (online event)Link visible for attendees
Join us for this writing session where we set a prompt or theme for members to follow and discuss afterwards - you don't have to be in Caversham, or even the UK, to join us online. In these online writing events we follow the format of our regular writing meetups (see below).
To do so, I will end the Zoom component of the meeting after 20 to 30 minutes so that we can all write for an hour without the feeling of being spied upon through our webcams! I will then restart the Zoom meeting and you will be able to re-join using the same link.
NOTE: When joining the Zoom session, please ensure you are using the same name as in your Meetup profile. You will not be admitted into the Zoom meeting if your name isn't on the Meetup attendee list.
What to expect: We'll start off the meeting with introductions and a bit of a chat (which usually runs to about 30 minutes). I will then introduce a writing prompt for us all to follow, a jumping off point to act as a guide for the writing session. What you do with it, where you go with it, is entirely up to you! We'll write for about an hour, after which we can talk about where our writing took us and maybe share some of what we produced.
No pressure, though - only share whatever you feel comfortable with. (We do have a more formal feedback meeting that you can submit pieces to for review - check our upcoming events for more details.)
**Don't forget to subscribe to our Caversham Writers newsletter! A weekly round up of our events, discussions, member news and more straight to your inbox every Friday.
- Writeshare Night - Read Your Work To The Group (in person!)Fourbears Books, Reading
At this in-person event at Fourbears Books in Caversham, members have the opportunity to read out their work to the rest of the group and get some instant feedback.
What to expect: We shall take turns to introduce and read out our writing (10 minutes maximum) and have a short discussion on the piece we've heard. Anyone that doesn't get a turn this time we will prioritize for the next Writeshare Night.
What do I read to the group? Anything you have written - a work in progress; a first draft; a finished piece. Anything that you'd like to share and get some immediate responses to.
Do I submit my work in advance? No, the object of the exercise is to get an immediate first impression response from your fellow writers after you read the piece out.
It is not mandatory to read something at this event. By all means, join us only to listen and contribute to the discussion if you prefer.
The aim is to encourage our writing by having this space to share it and getting some spontaneous responses. We ask as always that this should be constructive and positive. It will be great to hear what we’re all working on.
**Don't forget to subscribe to our Caversham Writers newsletter! A weekly round up of our events, discussions, member news and more straight to your inbox every Friday.
