Maggie Cobbett

A fundraiser for Swanwick

Hard on the heels of my previous post, I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to this year’s Swanwick anthology. The featured authors all love the School and were only too pleased to have some of their work included.

My own contribution was a couple of short stories with very different themes. In The Boy on the 36, a commuter who’d much prefer to be left in peace is forced to share a seat with a sad child about to go into foster care. As the journey progresses, an unlikely friendship is formed. The Nowhere Man begins with a murder in Amsterdam. Laura, passing through with a U3A tour group from Yorkshire, seems the most unlikely of suspects.  

I apologise for the quality of the image above from my author page. Flattening the book to scan it would have broken the spine, something I abhor as much as turning down corners instead of using a bookmark! 

16 August, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Swanwick Writers’ Summer School 2026

Scrolling back through my posts, you’ll discover that the second week in August has long seen me back at The Hayes in Swanwick, Derbyshire for total immersion in all things writing related (and a lot more besides). It was very obvious from the moment I arrived, though, that there would be no singing or toasting marshmallows round the firepits this year. The smallest spark could lead to disaster, as had already happened in some areas. With the famous lawns suffering badly from the prolonged drought, much credit is due to the gardening team for keeping everything else in bloom. 

I was fortunate this time round to be allocated a room on the first floor of Lower Lakeside, actually overlooking the water. (My window can be seen in the distance.) The wooded area around that part of the grounds is the perfect retreat for any writer seeking a little solitude and, this year at least, provided respite from the wall to wall sunshine. Every day seemed to be hotter than the one before and half the clothes I had with me were never needed.

As ever, one of the greatest pleasures of the week was meeting old friends and making new ones. Graham (96) has been a Swanwicker for much longer than I have and Star (18) was there for the first time this year. (Photo generously shared by Keith Hinchy)

There was a huge variety of courses and workshops to choose from during the day. I very much enjoyed presenting one of the latter (see above) and might even consider bringing out a book on the subject in time for Swanwick 2027. Watch this space! During the course of the week, I learned a great deal about writing novels from Morgen Bailey and cosy crime from Kate McCormick as well as picking up useful hints on deciding how to publish (agent, publisher or DIY) from Della Galton, how to increase my book sales from Gerald Hornsby, writing a new ‘how to’ book from Bettina von Cossell and using real life humour in stories from Ian Fisermanis.

There were three evening speakers this year: NHS nurse turned novelist Joy Wood, whose own successes are mirrored by the generous support she offers to everyone around her, linguistics expert/performance artist Melanie Branton with her whistle stop routine through the history of the English language and crime writer A.A.Dhand. A Swanwick favourite since his first appearance a few years ago, Amit was as entertaining as ever and it was good to see him again. We were on the same table at dinner and my only regret is that the photo above wasn’t taken while we were still seated. Amit is very tall! Having greatly enjoyed his Bradford-based ‘Virdee’ books, successfully adapted – Amit wrote the screenplay himself – for television, I wish him equal or even greater success with his latest creations, The Chemist and The Kingpin.

Also tall is Jen Wilson, with whom I’ve been co-hosting the Prose Open Mic for several years and allocating the limited time available for readings as fairly as possible. At least I had the foresight to take a step up this time before saying ‘cheese’.  (Thanks due to Penny Blackburn for this photo.) The following evening, I took part in the Poetry Open Mic, which was so popular that Alison Chisholm had to limit participants to one poem each. I just squeaked in with my name coming last but one out of the hat. Other evening activities I enjoyed were the ‘Page to Stage’ performances of 5-minute plays written by delegates and Buskers’ Night. The stage of the Derbyshire Suite gives a better view than we used to have for these events in the Main Conference Hall, but its distance from the bar is something of a drawback!

The Book Room is always a busy place and I did my share of shifts in there, which is only right as some of my own books were on sale. This shot only shows part of the large room. It’s in the Main House,  built in the 1850s as a gentleman’s residence. Many original features have been kept and there are photographs on display to show how its use has changed over the years. It would be interesting to know what Mr Fitzherbert Wright and his household would have thought about it all. They could surely never have envisaged the influx of German prisoners during WW2 or thousands of people attending conferences at The Hayes each year.

The final evening managed not to be completely overshadowed by the eclipse (pun intended), although the clear skies gave us an excellent view. The theme for this year’s fancy dress, left open to interpretation, was the Swanwick Prom. Multi-talented Simon Hall and I went for floral!

All too soon, I was on my way home again but with plenty of fresh ideas for writing projects I might undertake. The countdown to Swanwick 2027 has begun!

14 August, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Our saint rides again!

St Wilfrid’s Day is the high point of the Ripon calendar and I felt very privileged to be among the parade judges this year.

It was a tough job to decide between the entries, all of which represented many hours of hard work, but we examined them from different vantage points along the route before getting back together to hand in our individual scores to be collated.

Ripon City Swimming Club took first place with their RipOn de Janeiro float.

3 August, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Ripon Theatre Festival 2026

For the last couple of years, poetry has been included in the Ripon Theatre Festival programme. Today we had three pop-up events and the photo shows me reading a couple of my poems at the final one. Very appropriately, it was held at the marvellous Little Ripon Bookshop, the owners of which are well known for their support of local writers.

11 July, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Coffee with Crime

Today I attended one of the regular events hosted by Valentino’s at the behest of the Little Ripon Bookshop and it was a particular pleasure to reacquaint myself with A.A.Dhand. We first met some years ago at a York Writers’ session, when Amit was on the brink of the great success that he was to enjoy later. So inspiring  was he to listen to that we quite forgot to take our usual break halfway through. 

That’s why it was my great pleasure to recommend him to Swanwick Writers’ School as a speaker, where he brought the house down. Not only did he receive a standing ovation from the delegates but also an invitation from the Committee to return as a course leader.

In August this year, Amit will once again be among the guest speakers, and I know that there won’t be an empty seat in the Main Conference Hall of the Hayes. The humorous and highly self-deprecating way in which he outlines his transition from pharmacist to bestselling author will have the audience in the palm of his hand and I shall endeavour to be on the front row! 

30 June, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Writer Beware!

I’d like to warn other writers of a scam that I might well have fallen for. It took the form of a long, detailed and very plausible email inviting me to take part in a radio show to discuss my latest book. Manna from heaven to any author, you would think, but followed by the suggestion of taking up the ‘opportunity’ to be showcased, at which point the warning bells started to ring. The scammer who targeted me was posing as Mattea Roach, who is a genuine presenter with CBC, and I’ve discovered since that fraudsters have impersonated other employees.

Writers who follow up the ‘opportunity’ are told that the interview will only take place once one of the ‘promotional packages’ has been chosen AND PAID FOR. Then, of course, it never does. The victim is left not only very disappointed but also considerably out of pocket. 

5 June, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

It’s here at last!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1221950/Nighthawks/

Not blowing my own trumpet this time but that of my son Richard. Writing the narrative for this game has been the equivalent of coming up with several very chunky novels and a real labour of love. Please view the trailer and then spread the word far and wide to give it the success it deserves.

30 May, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

A brighter future

The removal of a cataract from my right eye has been a revelation. Aware that it might have muted colours to some extent, I wasn’t prepared for the surprise that greeted me when I looked into my wardrobe the next day. A pair of ‘red’ trousers bought on impulse but never worn have turned out to be bright pink and will soon be on their way to a charity shop. Even more remarkably, one of my favourite dresses (seen above) has a blue stripe that I’d always thought to be dark green.  As the operation itself was quick and painless, I can’t wait now to get the other eye treated and see if more surprises await me.

There has to be a story in all this, so watch this space!

15 May, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Swanwick 2026

The first time I went to Swanwick: The Writers’ Summer School was in 2006. Apart from the cancellation forced by Covid in 2020, I haven’t missed a year since, which should prove how highly it ranks in my estimation. This time round I shall be leading one of the workshops. Whatever your writing interests, why not give it a try? I’m sure you won’t regret it.

11 May, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story

Flying the flag for local authors!

Sudip, Leah and I were happy to man a stall at the annual Sights & Sounds of Ripon event, which took place in the Cathedral and other venues throughout our little city. A great number of local organisations were represented and the sun shone all day. What more could we have asked for? Well, maybe a rise in temperature – the stone slabs beneath our feet were quite unforgiving – but there was free coffee for stallholders courtesy of Ripon Community Link’s Walled Garden project.

15 March, 2026 - Make the first comment on this story