It's Friday so I have something to tell you about

I'm really not sure I should be sharing this with you. I'm not sure I should be alerting anyone else to such a great looking opportunity.

BUT, it's Friday, and I said I'd tell you about some cool or interesting place or competition or something you could get your creative teeth into... So here we go.

El Gouna Writers' Residency are offering three one month-long residencies in 2010 (Feb, May and June) for writers who are working on a specific project and need a tranquil haven of a place to work in. You get to stay, for free, in a beautiful villa in El Gouna, Egypt, by the Red Sea, with 4 - 6 other writers.

You do have to pay to get yourself there, that's the only thing. But you get your accomodation, breakfast and evening meals cooked for you for the whole month, and your own private room to be a writer in.

To apply, you must fill in a downloadable application form and scan and e-mail the following:

• A biographical sketch including publications, performances and writing credits.
• A ten page sample of your latest work.
• A one page description of the work to be undertaken while at the Residency.
• Two letters of recommendation e-mailed directly to the above mentioned e-mail address
• In case the writer has a publishing contract for the project in process, he/ she should kindly state this.

Do this by November 30th.

I think it's a pretty nice deal if you can afford the air fare. Hmmm... I can't, but I could apply and if accepted do a jewellery heist when I'm in London next. Are you even allowed to joke about such things?



*IN OTHER NEWS*
(Not that the stuff up there is news, really. I just like saying 'in other news'.)

Alex, editor of Tomlit asked me if I'd like to be a reader for all the submissions of poetry and prose he's receiving - and of course I said yeah - cos what a cool opportunity to be involved in a literary mag in the opposite way of my usual subbing. So I have a nice pile of other people's work to read tonight, and I'm pretty excited.

I don't have a plan, or any criteria, I'll just see how I feel about each piece and then feedback to Alex. A criteria could emerge naturally, and it'll be interesting to see how the process will work.

Hope you're all ever-so-well.