The Black Isle Words Festival

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be a reader and workshop leader at the BIWF. A weekend full of clear blue skies, laden rowan trees , warm audiences, conviviality, and of course - words.
One and a half hours is a very short time for a workshop on the short story but we raced through a number of activities - building characters and setting them in motion, as well as giving each other anecdotes from our own lives to think about structuring into stories.
I am impressed by the palpable creative buzz on the Black Isle, and was delighted to learn a little more about the time that Jessie Kesson spent living there. Her writing has been an important discovery for me, prompted by my current adapatation of one of her stories for Women's Hour on BBC Radio Four. She deserves more of a revival.
http://www.screenmachine.co.uk/Default.aspx.LocID-hianewlyd.RefLocID-hiacg5002.Lang-EN.htm