Goings-on this Spring in the city of Zürich and beyond
Partial image here and in our banner above courtesy Martina Bisaz
Roadmaps for Writers: 21-22 March
WriteCon is back! With a choice of two Saturday workshops:
1. Nail Your Novel, with Roz Morris; or
2. Routes to Publication, with JJ Marsh (ALLi Ambassador to Switzerland), Sophie Schmidt (epubli Berlin), Andrew Rushton (Nord Süd Verlag – children’s publishers) and Richard Harvell (Bergli Books).
Sunday Panel Discussion – Roadmaps for Writers – includes all the above plus Hadi Barkat (CEO of Helvetiq). Meet experts in the fields of fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, games and the cultural landscape.
Ask questions and make the most of individual advisory slots (sign up on the day).
For more detail and booking info: www.eventbrite.com/e/writecon-zurich-2015-roadmaps-for-writers-tickets-12791729407
Who’s Coming To Town?
Highlights at Kaufleuten Kultur this quarter:
- AL Kennedy – 9 March
- Hanif Kureshi – 17 March
- Doris Knecht – 15 April
And many more … browse the site.
Also, Literaturhaus plays host to Lydia Davis – 7 May
Literary festival in Solothurn
Solothurn Literaturtage takes place from 15-17 May. Events, talks and oodles of books! This site is available in English and the full programme is published four weeks before the event.
SCBWI Zürich Meetup
The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has their Zürich members’ meet-up on 29th March. Upstairs at the Starbucks opposite the Hauptbahnhof. 14.00-15.00. Discussion topic will be Tips & Tricks for Revising.
For Geneva writers
21 March: Writing Folktales. Geneva Writers’ Group. More info here: www.genevawritersgroup.org/workshops/program/
22 March: Creative Writing Workshop for Teens (ages 12-17).Geneva Writers’ Group Workshop, held at Dynamic Learning, Avenue Adrien-Jeandin 29, 1226 Thônex. 35 CHF. Instructor: Katie Hayoz. Learn about the basic rules of writing fiction and then decide which ones were made to be broken. To register send an email to the Geneva Writers’ Group (email details here: www.genevawritersgroup.org/workshops/program/) with Teen Workshop in the subject line.
Writers on Board
Join a group of writers on the slow boat to Rapperswil, writing on the way there, discussing the work on the way back.
“We meet on Sunday at 13:15 at Bürkliplatz next to the yellow mailbox and take the big round trip to Rapperswil departing 13:30, which will be back in Zurich at 17:15. We write individually on the way up and talk (in English) on the way back. For convenience we treat ourselves to first class. The most economic ticket is the ZVV 9 o’clock pass. Apart from pen and paper or notebook, bring a little money to buy your own beverages.”
Upcoming dates are Sundays, and 15th March, 19th April, 17th May, 21st June, 19th July, 16th August, 20th September, 18th October, 15th November, and 13th December 2015.
Any questions, contact: buchsara [at] bluemail.ch
Success Stories
Congratulations to Paul Knott, fellow Zürich-based writer, on the publication of his book, The Accidental Diplomat!
Part political intrigue, part amusing travelogue, The Accidental Diplomat is a memoir that bridges the chasm between John Le Carré and Johnny English.
Paul Knott is an ordinary Northern lad who began his working life in a hut on Hull’s King George Dock, before making an improbable career change to join Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service.
Closely involved in significant world events, his globetrotting story offers an illuminating insight into the most discreet of the UK’s great offices of state, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It blends the political and personal to paint a vivid picture of the exciting and often absurd life of a Crown emissary.
Knott’s first posting to Romania after Ceauşescu is a punishment for insubordination, after which his inspiring and uproarious journey sees him abducted at gunpoint by hospitality terrorists in Dubai, endure James Bond moments in the police-state of Uzbekistan, and visit Ukraine, Belgium and finally Russia – a land of contradictions that proves both appealing and appalling, not least when a former spy is murdered in London.
For Swiss-based readers, the book can be bought directly from Paul: via https://paulknott11.wordpress.com/ or e-mail [email protected] for the discounted and postage free price of CHF18.00.
It is also available online from the UK publisher The Scratching Shed, from Hessle Bookshop or Politicos and of course, from Amazon.
Paul Knott began his working life in a hut on Hull’s King George Dock. He made an improbable career switch to Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service and spent twenty years globetrotting as a British diplomat.
After two decades of excitement, Paul currently lives quietly on a Swiss hillside with the Kenyan wife he met in Uzbekistan and their kids. He is still wondering how he got there.
