Promoting the literary life for all

Nik Perring tagged me with this and although I don’t usually do these, I’m sort of interested in the question here – from a different angle, I’m always wondering why people do the various literary things they do, and this is another way of exploring that question.

So I have to list at least five things I do to support and spread a love of the written word, then tag five people. (Apparently if you list something that touches youngsters, you get a bonus letter – that isn’t going to be the case for me).

Hmmm:

1. I write in three personae: Kay, Ren and Carmel who publish in literary fiction, science fiction and erotica respectively
2. I teach at workshops
3. I blog to try to share with people some of the business side of the literary world that doesn’t get talked about as much as I think it should (see below, University of Huddersfield)
4. I set up creative writing groups in libraries: shout-outs to Comedy of Errors and The Hatchery and looking forward to meeting the literary people of Crawley at the end of the month and being stunned by their collective talent!
5. Like Nik, I am a regular and almost compulsive library user. I borrow and order books through my local library, belong to a book club there, and even meet friends there for chats
6. I try to nurture other writers whom I meet in workshops and classes
7. I overcome my shyness enough to thank good writers whose works I’ve read, most recently Mark Slouka, whose novel The Visible World, had a profound effect on me and who sent me a very nice email in reply to my effusions. I shall always regret not having written to Michael Dibden while he was alive, but I was too shy to say how much I loved his work and then it was too late. Lesson learned
9. I subscribe to literary journals
10. I read slush for contest judges and for journals.

I’m tagging Bunny Goodjohn, Charles Lambert, Annie Kerr, Lisa McMann and Ann M Amodeo

3 Comments

  1. Annie
    13th February 2009

    Hey Kay, Thanks for the shout! Having just done a tagging post just now, I’ll have to come back to this later.

    Anyway, I just tagged you regarding a blog award. I know you might not be into it at all. It’s up to you. Whatever you decide, Writing Neuroses is unlike the other blogs I have found, so I hope some more readers come your way through the mention. Ax

    Reply
  2. Annie Wicking
    15th February 2009

    How did you become a reader for the slush pile? As I would be very interested in doing this.

    Great list,

    Annie W

    Reply
  3. Kay Sexton
    18th February 2009

    Annie K, you’re welcome and Annie W, somebody rang me up and asked me! Seriously. I think the years I spent reading slush for litmags helped – when a particular contest was let down by their slushreader, one of the editors had been through my slushpile and just called me to see if I did this kind of reading …

    Reply

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