First – a couple of quotes about meetings
‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has’ Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist
‘You can settle for reality or you can go off like a fool and dream another dream’ Nora Ephron
WHAT HAPPENED AT CWIP’s MEETING apart from talking?
There was so much excitement at CWIP’s first official meeting at HarperFiction that I forgot to take a picture of the meeting room itself – instead, I can only offer up a captured image of my briefcase on the same day - here it is….
We sat around a table in a meeting room with glass panels – which may have enabled other publishers to count, (should they have been inclined to look through the glass) the large number of individual agendas I’d brought with me (a new area - involving paper clips).
We were also gifted a work experience person, who generously poured water into individual tumblers. This inclusive act set CWIP’s bar high for warmth, focus, inclusivity and cooperation.
It also shored up any risk of leaving thirsty….
COUNTING CWIP’s BLESSINGS
Four years after the inception of CWIP – we now have a team of clever, funny, cheerful women. We have a logo that is the envy of the land while not boasting
We have funny female fiction entries… and we even have a few more weeks to chase down the final entries before it closes on Feb 28th.
https://www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk/guidelines-for-unpublished-writers
CWIP was supported at the outset by the wonderful Marian Keyes (and CWIP Judge) - who tweeted this the other day.
It seems that word is getting out there. I say this because when I was at the Writers' Guild Awards – I had one of those ‘shall I, shan’t I’ moments – and in the end - I confess I did slip in a minor mention of CWIP – only to be met with enthusiasm from other women writers (Jo Scanlan, Doon Mackichan) with similar experiences. This minor mention has since been referred to as ‘my speech’ which I have accepted graciously as an apt description.
In lesser news, most CWIP attendees chose comparable variations of black clothing for the meeting - apart from our inspired publisher who shone in yellow. The university team, The logistics person, the PR and me completed discussions over the road at The London Grind allowing for one turmeric cauliflower and a decaff… No wine. That comes when we announce the shortlist 30 May 2019.