Abbey Woolgar
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Zooming into the Writer’s Room
Zoom is such a great way of bringing writers together and I was delighted when Heard Word recently invited me to take part. It’s fun to see how a whole ritual has developed around engaging with each other via this online portal: mikes muted, emojis at the ready, chat column primed and, as each face…
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Q&A with Dominic Wong – Director of the Bournemouth Writing Festival
Dominic Wong is the author of two novels. He’s also Director of The Bournemouth Writing Festival. He talks to The Bournemouth Journal’s Substack Newsletter Editor, Julie Salt, about this year’s event. Q: The festival is now in its third year. Can you tell me, Dominic, what are its main aims? A: The ethos of the…
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Across Borders: Reflections from Heard Word and the Journey of Dark Circles Under the Eyes
When I first saw my picture in the Bournemouth Journal as the next Featured Writer, it was a shivering, goosebumps moment that left a long cheerfulness in my spirit for weeks on end. It wasn’t just about being featured—it was the thought that I was going to be listened to and heard by writers from…
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Bourne Creative – the group for MA Creative Writing and Publishing alumni
As I walk through the café doors, I feel like I am hosting a party and fear I might be the only one going. I scan the tables, looking for familiar faces. In the far corner, I see Brad Gyori, the MA Creative Writing and Publishing Programme Leader, and Nika, a fellow graduate from my…
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Outsiders Project Anthology Session
In February, the MA Creative Writing & Publishing cohort at Bournemouth University was joined by members of the Outsiders Project, a local creative writing collective that focuses on uplifting the underrepresented voices of those that have been sidelined from society. The students have been tasked with a group project – producing an anthology of writing…
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From Bournemouth to The Page
When I started my MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at Bournemouth University in September 2019, I had no idea how much the experience would shape me—not just as a writer, but as a person. As an international student from the Czech Republic, moving to the UK felt like stepping into a new chapter of…
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Long Day’s Journey
At a university interview for my bachelor’s English degree, still aged seventeen, I declared, ‘I want to write a book’. ‘Everyone says that’ one of the profs scoffed. I was dismayed. I’d been writing since I was eight. Eventually, I went into journalism and wrote news stories instead. It took thirty years to finally achieve…
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My experience of producing short films as part of my MA Creative Writing and Publishing
‘No one cares what you went through,’ the internationally renowned filmmaker Imruh Bakari says. ‘All that matters is what is on the screen. I have been on a crash course in filmmaking over the last few months, and this is one of Imruh’s key messages at the film showcase. I realised he is right. When…
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Coming Soon . . .
Issue one of the Bournemouth Journal INTERVIEW: Yvonne Battle-Felton talking about her new book Curdle Creek. PROSE: Richard Brown Richard Garcka Lauren Jeffries Sam Dawson Bernadette Smyth Anthony O’Donovan Sarah Bewick Paula Maguire Satri Nindyo Istiko Ned Stephenson POETRY: Abby Gibbs Ciara Macalaster Claire Urquhart Gail Webb Chris Campbell Caitlin Kendall David Waugh Anna…
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Rising Voices
I attended a transformative event called Rising Voices that took place with the aim of creating visibility for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) writers in the Dorset area. This event was co-funded by Bournemouth University and the Arts University Bournemouth, and it was hosted at the Lees Lecture Theatre on BU’s Talbot campus.…