RNA Conference 2019

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The weekend before last, I was at Lancaster University for the RNA's annual conference.  The venue, which I'd been to before, was lovely and as usual I was sharing a block with my wonderful writing friends, including HMB authors Kate Walker and Rachael Thomas .  And, as usual, the 'Naughty Kitchen' was well stocked with gin, prosecco and nibbles (thank you lovely Andrea for the delicious pink gin and vegan chocolate :)


The Heroine's Journey

The conference sessions, all in the University's George Fox Building, were particularly good this year and especially relevant for me. Among the highlights were 'The Heroine's Journey' with Fiona Harper, which was really useful for me and my current HMB heroine;  'Quiz the Agents,' since I'm aiming my timeslip wip at agents and mainstream publishers; and a very illuminating session entitled 'Slush Pile Slam,' that highlighted the whys and whynots that make agents and editors read on beyond the first page of a submission - or not!


There was a louder than usual buzz in the Hub too this year, and we had to spill over into the session rooms at lunchtimes.  I met some lovely new people, including independent editor  Donna Hillyer and caught up with some old acquaintances, including  Sophie Claire, whose new book The Christmas Holiday will be published by Hodder and Stoughton in October. I absolutely loved Sophie's debut novel, Her Forget-Me-Not Ex, so am really looking forward to reading her next. 








Comments

  1. Helen Aherne14 August 2019 at 10:21

    Absolutely agree, Melissa. Found this years RNA Conference brilliant. The workshops were well set up, informative and sent me home all 'fired up' and ready to throw myself back into my writing. Have finished first draft of my second novel 'The Accidental Wedding' and am now nose down in editing. It was great to catch up with you there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lissa Morgan16 August 2019 at 08:54

    Hi Helen, yes, it was a very good conference, wasn't it? So glad it filled you with enthusiasm and many congratulations on finishing 'The Accidental Wedding' - can't wait to read it! xx

    ReplyDelete

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