Ally Aldridge Books, Festival

Winter literary festivals

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post listing literary festivals taking place in the UK throughout the UK that have caught my eye.  To read the full list, please click here.

This post is to remind you of those taking place this Winter.

It looks like December and January are a downtime for book festivals so this list starts and ends with February.

February

Verve Poetry Festival

  • Date: 14-17 February 2019
  • Location:  Birmingham
  • Tickets:  Fee (£4 to £35)

“A four day festival of world class poetry and spoken word, with readings, performances, and workshops taking place in the heart of Birmingham.”

Faversham Literary Festival 

  • Date: 21 to 24 February 2019
  • Location:  Faversham
  • Tickets:  Various

“Our inaugural festival in 2018 was a great success with a line-up including Man Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy, journalist Martin Bell, psychogeographer Iain Sinclair and performance poet John Hegley. We featured over thirty events with writers from Kent and further afield, as well as writing workshops, poetry events, and more.

We hope you will join us again in February 2019. We have another exciting programme of events and activities planned for book lovers of all ages and persuasions, featuring author talks, discussions, creative workshops and spoken word events.”

Limerick Literary Festival

  • Date: 22 to 24 February 2019
  • Location:  Limerick
  • Tickets:  TBC

“The Festival, formerly known as Kate O’Brien Weekend, is this year celebrating its 35th edition. The event continues to honour the life and works of the Limerick author, while attracting prominent participants from all over the world. Building on this significant history, the Limerick Literary Festival seeks to promote Limerick nationally as a place of literary excellence and to provide a platform where readers can meet their favourite authors and other readers.”  

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#PitMad December 2018

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Ally Aldridge Festival, Goals, Writing

Spring Literary festivals

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post listing literary festivals taking place in the UK throughout the UK that have caught my eye.  To read the full list, please click here.

This post is to remind you of those taking place this Spring.

March

The Aldeburgh Literary Festival

  • Date: 1 March 2018 to 4 March 2018
  • Location:  Aldeburgh
  • Tickets:  Fee:  Various

This festival is made up of events and you buy tickets to participate in events.  Events vary between workshops, speakers and screenings.

If you miss the event, this seaside town is still worth a visit. They have one of the most beautiful traditional bookshops, a lovely beach and chip shops.

DIVA Literary Festival and Awards

  • Date:  15 March 2018 to 17 March 2018
  • Location: Birmingham
  • Tickets:  Register interest

This event promises to deliver a platform for underrepresented women writers such a lesbians.  This is sure to be a positive event that is making a difference to supporting diversity and inclusion.  Supported by DIVA magazine and The Guardian.

Write by the beach 2018

  • Date: 17 March 2018
  • Location:  Brighton
  • Tickets:  Fee (£139)

This event covers talks and workshops and you can book a one-to-one with an agent to pitch your novel.

If you miss the event, you can always attend Brighton’s Beach Hut Academy’s creative writing courses or mentoring provided by experts in the industry.

Eroticon 2018

  • Date: 17 March 2018 to 18 March 2018
  • Location:  London
  • Tickets:  Fee (£60 to £200)

If Erotica is your thing, then there is a convention just for you.  This event is in its 7th year and often sells out.  It has schedule of speakers and events and is a structured event.

This year has a talk on how to blog about sex for the shy writer – aghhh the world of an erotic writer.  One day I may be brave enough to write and share erotic fiction but for now the thought still makes my cheeks turn read (no, not like that!).  I would probably benefit from the ‘confidence’ talk.

Oxford Literary Festival (FT Weekend)

  • Date: 17 March 2018 to 25 March 2018
  • Location:  Oxford
  • Tickets:  Various

You buy tickets for the events you want to attend.  There are a lot of authors attending and giving talks and there are events for children too.  The event is not at one location but across the city so make sure you are able to get from one location to another if you booking multiple events.  Filter the events by the category you are interested in, i.e. Workshops, etc.

April

The London Book Fair 

  • Date: 10 April 2018 to 12 April 2018
  • Location: London
  • Tickets:  Fee (£45 to £100 + VAT)

This event is geared towards those involved in publishing but and has various talks on keeping those in the industry up-to-date with financial, legal and trending themes in the publishing world.  There are plenty of exhibits covering pretty much every type of genre you can think of.

May

The Bath Festival

  • Date: 11 May 2018 to 27 May 2018
  • Location: Bath
  • Tickets:  Fee (Various)

It is their 70th year running!  This 17 day event will bring the streets of Bath alive with music and literature.  Check the ‘What’s On’ page on the website to find events that take your interest.  Each event requires a ticket and the price differs.

Everyone I know who has been to Bath has always returned gushing about how amazing it is.  They are also home to one of the most well known and prestigious writing competitions (Bath Novel Award).

Ally Aldridge Software, Tips, Writing

Apps for Writers — Ally Aldridge

My smartphone is always with me and as a result it gets used a lot for my writing process.  Today, I shall share with you the most useful apps for writers.

These recommendations are for for both iOS and Android operating systems. 

Productivity apps

SimplenoteSimplenote

This app is used the most.  I jot down ideas I have during the day for my stories or potential stories.  It can include character development, research or even ideas for blog articles.

WunderlistWunderlist

I use this app for creating to-do lists but also found it useful for developing plots because it is so easy to move the items in the list up or down.

The above are quick easy apps you can use all the time, however, if you are collecting research, then you will appreciate apps like Evernote, Google Keep and OneNote.  

These apps enable you to take snips/clips of information you have found on the internet. You can then sort this information into an order that works for you and include your own notes.

Writing apps

WattpadWattpad

If you need feedback from readers on your works, this is a great app to use.  You can write and edit within the app too.  You can save works as drafts or private.

Similar apps are:  Movella, Radish and Opuss (iOS only).

WordMicrosoft Word

You can use MS Word on the go.  However, I don’t tend to use this app very often as I get frustrated by the limits placed on the mobile version and would rather use Wattpad.

GoogleDocs

Google Doc

You can write using Google Docs apps.  It is a simple word processor with the same features you’d expect from Word. The docs save automatically to the Google Drive – you need a google account to use this.

Blogging apps

BloggerBlogger

I used the blogger app for a while I liked how it linked to my Google+ account.  I stopped using Blogger early this year when I converted to WordPress:  https://allyaldridge.blogspot.co.uk/

WordpressWordPress

This is my current blogging app.  I usually blog at my PC/laptop.  However, when I am out and about I enjoy how easily it is to read other blogs and share them.

Social apps

As mentioned above at ‘Writing apps’, you have Wattpad, Movella, Raddis and Opuss.  These are great sites to connect with your readers and get their feedback and create a fan base of followers.  It is also a great opportunity to meet other writers and support each others development.

You can also connect using any popular social media app.   I share my writers life via Twitter, Instagram and Google+ and LinkedIn.  You can also use Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube.

 

Don’t forget that blogging can be social too as you can meet other bloggers through comments and follows and discover their content too.

Storage apps

You upload your document to OneDrive or Google Drive and then can access them anywhere online with your login.  You can also invite others to view your documents by email and manage permissions.  These drives also have a few apps built in to enable you to create basic documents like word processing, spreadsheet or presentation.

OneDriveOneDrive

Needs a Live, Outlook or Hotmail account.

GoogleDrive

Google Drive

Needs a google mail account.

 

Resource apps

DictionaryDictionary.com

This is my top dictionary/thesaurus app – yes, its a thesaurus too!  I like how it is easy to search for a definition.  You can save words and they have a word of the day to boost your vocabulary.

Browser (with search engine)

Your smart phone will likely come with a browser built in and a default search engine.  You can go to the app store and choose a browser that suits your needs. There are browsers that block adverts or keep your privacy.

I enjoy using the Safari browser on my iPhone and searching using google.  I use chrome on my Samsung with google for searches.

Downloading apps to your Smart Phone

To download iOS apps to your apple device you need to access the iTunes store.  To download apps to your android device you will need access to the Google Play store.

Please let me know if there are any apps you find useful that I haven’t included as I am always keen to add more to my smart phone to make life easier.

To discover more ways to connect with me, click my link tree.

@Redfae