The Word Cloud

Deep in the bowels of WW Towers, a small army of IT drones, disgraced graphics designers, & alcoholic copywriters have been working over steam-powered computers to produce a completely new look for the Writers' Workshop. The revamped site - which will be unveiled in a couple of weeks - is going to look a bit like this:



The new site is going to be much cleaner, much easier to use, and will have a much better navigation system to help you find all our lovely and delicious content.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the Cloud will have to change too. The gentleman's club red that has been the house style for so long will be eliminated. What we'll probably do is use white as our main background colour (instead of the red), and use blue / raspberry for any highlights. When it comes to the switchover moment, we'll tinker around with the design, get your feedback, then - if necessary - tinker again.

Overall, I'm pretty darn sure that the site will be a lot better after all this than before. But I also know that our changing a much-loved website is a bit like your mother chucking out your favourite jumper just because it has holes in it. So, gulp, sorry, but we're going to go ahead and do it anyway.

In the meantime, if you have thoughts / questions / comments / rotten tomatoes, we're here to receive all of them.

Hello all

Just to say, I think it's now OK to talk about the BWA again. Please make very sure that any statements of facts are triple checked for accuracy. Statements of opinion are fine, but even to pass on rumours or speculate as to possible matters of facts could be viewed as libellous. I seriously doubt that the BWA actually would sue for libel over a remark made on the Cloud, but I don't particularly feel like making the experiment.

Personally, I want to move on to other, happier topics. You can read my final word on the BWA shenanigans here.

Freedom of Speech - the 'first freedom' - has been under attack on the Cloud recently. The Brit Writers company threatened me personally with legal action for comments (not made by me) on the Word Cloud, on the grounds of defamation & falsity.

I don't know if those comments were false or not - I don't know what comments are being referred to, since they never told me. But I don't like being threatened and the Cloud is here precisely so that writers can talk amongst themselves about the issues that matter to them.

The company that threatened me with legal action has a number of serious and important questions to answer. I have listed those questions here. I have pressed the BWA to answer them and (beyond further threats) have heard nothing.

So please help. I want everyone who can to tweet that link - this one: http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/blog/bwa-brit-writers-awards/ - to all their followers. If you have a blog or website, or know a writer who does, then please post the link somewhere on your site, doesn't matter where.

Because the BWA likes its lawyers, I suggest you do not make any negative statement about the BWA, or you may risk legal threat yourself. Just post the link, tweet the link, let as many people as possible know. Feel free to reply to this post, but don't make any legally compromising statements about the BWA please. I've already got enough solictor's letters to keep me going.

The Cloud will not be silenced.

Gosh, this thing is catching. I can't say what thing - because I'm being threatened with legal action by They Who Cannot Be Named - but asking questions tuns out to be almost as dangerous as chatting on the Word Cloud.

You'll know what I mean if you go here. Meantime, if I get polonium poisoning, will someone promise to walk the dogs for me?

Oh, and please don't reply to this post either. They Who Cannot Be Named wouldn't like it. And I think they're about to sue the internet.

A short note to state that I have received a letter from Brit Writers' solicitors requesting that I remove all references to the BWA from this website. I have therefore done so. I request that all Word Clouders refrain from mentioning the BWA in any way on this site. Any new posts or comments will be removed.

I reget having to take this step, but I am being threatened with legal action so have no sensible alternative. We continue to wish all writers entering the BWA Awards the best of luck with their submissions.

Please DO NOT reply to this post. Sorry!

We've posted Barry's account on the main WW blog here. Very honest account of one writer's journey. Take a look. What do you think?

Read all about it - a good NY Times article which really explains the threat Amazon poses to existing publishers. Not authors, though, or readers. We're still needed.

More ridiculously vast and wonderful torrents of good news.

Gideon Roberton (whom some of you will remember from the Festival) has signed up with Piers Blofeld at Sheil Land. Piers will be seeking to sell Gideon's book asap. Gideon had input from WW editor, Rob Dinsdale, a little while back, came to the Festival, met Piers ... and let's hope for a tremendously positive outcome from publishers.

Geoff Gudgion has also been taken on by Sheil Land (Ian Drury is the agent). Ian took just 12 days to request the full manuscript, then just 6 to offer representation. Fabulous news. That girl Debi was Geoff's WW editor. Is it me, or does Debi seem to have a scarily good track record?

Hilton Pashley who was taken on by David Headley following the Festival has sold his work to Random House which is fabulous, fabulous news. I've read Hilton's work and he's got easily enough talent to really make a career out of hs writing. The wonderful Fay Sampson was HP's first editor and she was always a strong supporter of his work.

And then of course, I do really need to repeat-mention the lovely people who took a bow at the Getting Published day on Saturday. Gorgeous person #1: Shelley Harris, whose Jubilee is coming out on Dec 29th. Fab person #2: Dania el-Kadia, whose Summer Blast is a #1 bestseller in her native Lebanon. Wonderful person #3: Barry Kirwan whose The Eden Paradox has just launched with SF indie press, Summertime. He sold a heap of books at the GP day and hope he sells heaps more through all outlets before he's done.

Those posh folk at Aitken Alexander have decided that the Booker has become just too, you know, common. A bit chavvy. It likes books that are 'readable' (bleurgh) instead of highbrow. So they're creating a prize - The Literature Prize - to reward proper writing. More details here.

I'm not sure what I feel about this. I don't think I've got a settled view. Instead I think:

• do we really need more literary prizes? what about some prizes for van drivers or aerial installers? isn't it time they got a turn?

• isn't readability a good thing? I mean, you don't read Dickens or Jane Austen or Tolstoy or Shakespeare and think bleurgh, too readable.
• on the other hand, the Booker has rewarded some books that range from the mediocre to the terrible. McEwan's Amsterdam is a rubbish book. White Tiger is very moderate. The Life of Pi was absurdly over-praised.
• And of course, proper highbrow literary work, difficult but rewarding, is one of the greatest pleasures of reading.
• on the other other hand - I'm thinking of an octopus here, but one with hands; or maybe an octopus-orangutan hybrd - all prizes will reward some bad books now and again. It's just the way of it.So maybe just accept the Booker is flawed, because it is always bound to be.
• And if I haven't yet run out of hands, then isn't part of the problem with the Booker that it's too highbrow? Patrick O'Brian was possibly the best historical novelist who ever wrote in English but never got within a whisper of the prize. Nor John Le Carre. Indeed, there are plenty of popular novels which will have and should have more enduring appeal than some tiresomely unmemorable literary production.

So in conclusion, um, I'm not sure. Let's take a vote. Let's have a debate. What d'you all reckon?

Monster congratulations to WW client Ian Thornton whose Death and Life of a Grim Reaper has been bought by Simon & Shuster in Toronto. Westwood Creative Artists are currently in Frankfurt seeking to sell the book worldwide.

The book had an amazing concept – guy plays an inadvertent part in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, and consequently feels personally responsible for World War 1 and World War 2. Ian’s writing was always very strong and I could easily see this book doing very well internationally. Paws crossed for him. That kid has talent – and we’re proud to have played a small part in that success.