About this Event
Join us at Walthamstow Library as Walthamstow residents and writers David Gardiner and Jean Duggleby speak about the writing process, their experiences and David's new collection of short stories 'Before I Go'.
This is a free event and refreshments will be provided. Booking is required.
About David Gardiner
An expat Irishman, former teacher and 'professional student', now living in East London with partner Jean.
A recent novel, 'Engineering Paradise', is the story of Danny, a teenage boy growing up in Belfast in the 1960s, who becomes seduced into membership of the re-emerging ('Official') IRA, later to split and give birth to the Provisionals. Essentially a love story, set against a background of sexual liberation and the boundless optimism of the times, Danny's idealism slowly sours as events reveal the mixed motives of the people he has trusted and make him realise the Faustian nature of the bargain that he has entered into. The first part of this novel has now been made the basis of a stage musical 'Engineering Paradise the Musical' which has not yet received its premiere at time of writing. The full script of 'Engineering Paradise the Musical' as well as demo versions of all the songs can be downloaded free of charge at: http://forestradio.co.uk/Showcase.html
David is also the author of one sci fi novel ('Sirat', 2000) and two short story collections ('The Rainbow Man', 2003 and 'The Other End of the Rainbow', 2008) plus a number of stories in various magazines and anthologies. He is co-editor of Gold Dust magazine and volunteer editor for Merilang Press and UKA Press. Interests include science, philosophy, world travel, wildlife-watching, photography, contemporary folk music, scuba diving, IT and cooking. Former organiser of the annual UKAuthors.com holidays for writers.
As a schoolboy and student David had some stories published in the pulp sci fi magazines of the late 1960s, then wrote little until about 30 years later, when he published 'Sirat', which deals with the first emergence on earth of true electronic consciousness, heralding the end of mankind's intellectual supremacy. As a result of success in the Fish Short Story Competition and other things, he had published two short story collections based on the character of The Rainbow Man, a mildly crazy Irish vagrant storyteller who inspires the children with whom he interacts to create imaginative narratives of their own.
David is recently retired and now able to devote more time to his writing.
About Jean Duggleby
At the ripe old age of 73 I wrote my first short story. Until then I’d never thought of myself as a writer. I struggled composing a postcard and at school the only good mark I received for a short story was for one I’d copied.
Then David, my partner, was asked to run a creative writing course so I went along to make the tea (sorry gals). He said something that gave me an idea, so I wrote a story which he said was better than many of those submitted for a magazine called Gold Dust that he edits.
The course continues as a writing group when we meet monthly and read our stories to each other, sharing feedback. Some of mine are therapeutic. We have a focus or theme which I find helpful but there’s no obligation to keep to it, or indeed to write anything at all. Sometimes we write without any suggested theme or prompt. I have included stories from both those categories.
I think that an advantage of writing as an older person, particularly if you’ve led a fairly full life, is that you have plenty of experiences and memories to tap into. Add a pinch of imagination and you have a short story.
In my book It’s Never Too Late, I offer you 24 of my stories and leave you, dear reader, to judge the result.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Walthamstow Library, High Street, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
