THIS web page is a kind of archive of the collaborations Anne has had with other organisations or commendations and awards. It also exists to "spread the word" about Anne Aylor Creative Writing Courses to old and new students about some of the organisations, firms, festivals and competitions she's been associated with over the years.
Anne usually creates, teaches and promotes her own courses, but Alternatives, St James's Church, Piccadilly, approached her in 2006 to lead one of their weekend workshops@ the Dragon Hall in London. Even though it was her first course with them, the weekend sold out. The picture on the left is a photo of Alternatives Autumn 2006 issue of which included “Release the Writer in You”. Due to this workshop’s popularity, she was asked to lead it again in November 2007. This also sold out. Due to this course's high demand, in the autumn of 2008 two courses were offered, one in October and one in November.
The picture on the right is the cover of the 2007 Brighton Fringe Festival where she taught her “Heart Writing” course in May. This one-day event was hosted by the Brighton Buddhist Centre and was inspired by a quote of Williams Wordsworth which said, “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Anne thought that might be something that people would like to try in this age of alienation, using specially created exercises to help people get in touch with the deepest, most precious, part of themselves.
On the left is the April 11-17 2007 cover of Time Out. One of their journalists chose this “So You Want to Write a Novel” course as one of their “Best by Day” picks of the week. When Time Out recommended it, it was a 6-week course. The January 2008 workshop was expanded to ten weeks. Because this course fills up very quickly, Anne tries to offer it twice during the year to meet demand, once as a 10-week course and once as a 6-week intensive. After either course, you can progress to "Workshop Your Fiction" which offers help developing your manuscript. This is what Nicholas Mackey had to say about it: “I have learnt an incredible amount and so much more than during the lonely struggle I have had with writing my book these past five years. It's like I've been labouring away on a solitary, almost pointless quest with no end in sight. And then suddenly, I've stepped blinking into a brightly-lit room filled with a welcoming group of people who are so enthusiastic about writing. It's been great and we have you to thank for making it happen."
In 2007 Anne was asked to be one of the shortlist judges for the Wimbledon Book Fest. A writing challenge was set by Sandi Toksvig and people were asked to submit a 1000-word story. Submissions were anonymous and filtered through several committees before they reached myself and the other judge, Jeanne Laffan. Anne was delighted to discover that two of her students, Naznene Sparrow and Malavika Nataraj, had won Second and Third Place. An awards ceremony was followed by a discussion with Mary Mount, Editorial Director of Viking Penguin, Peter Straus, literary agent at Rogers, Coleridge & White and author, Michelle Paver. There was also a simultaneous prisoners' competition using Sandi's sentence. The winner was J A Beck. In his letter to Sandi he said, "Many thanks to all involved -- it really made my day, my month, my year -- my pen is itching to scribble some more! It is a great confidence boost to know other people like my writing, much of what I’ve done no one has ever seen."
In January 2008 Anne was asked to appear on BBC Radio London. If you'd like to hear the 8-minute live clip, click here. She is talking on the "Saturday Breakfast" show about creative writing, the market for fiction and how important it is to write if you want to be a writer.
Anne is always trying to improve her skills so she welcomed the opportunity to attend a conference celebrating the spirit of '68 which offered a writers' workshop run by Zöe Fairbairns. She was pleased that the short story she wrote in the workshop was chosen for posting on the "1968 and all that" website. To see it, click here.
In September 2007 an employee at the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young asked Anne to lead an in-house writing course for their employees. After the first successful 6-month workhop, she's been asked back ever since to lead others in their London Bridge offices (shown left).
Each session is self-contained so that an employee can participate fully, even if the demands of work necessitate missing a session. These fun and challenging workshops are committed to helping each course member achieve their potential, as well as stretching their imagination and writing skills.
Joseph Campbell said, "The mission of life is to live [your] potentiality. How do you do it? My answer is, 'Follow your bliss.' If you have a demanding job, it is important you have something that feeds your soul." If you are interested in having a course developed for your organsiation in the City of London, please contact the Course Administrator for more information.
Photo: Steve Mullins
October and November 2008 marked her third year of collaboration with Alternatives, St James's Church, Piccadilly. Two workshops were offered in the autumn because the 2006 and 2007 courses were so heavily oversubscribed. These weekend London workshops offered a vibrant opportunity to explore your creativity and imagination.
The Autumn 2008 cover of Alternatives shows the London Eye. Those who wanted to experience what the Sufis call "the eye of the heart", came to "Release the Writer in You" at the Dragon Hall in Covent Garden.
The Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition was founded in 1973. According to their website, it is "the biggest open creative writing competition in the English language". Today the number of entries has grown to more than 10,000 short stories and poems from writers in more than 80 countries. In the face of such stiff competition, Anne was delighted to hear in November 2008 that her short story, "The Speed of Dark", was shortlisted by judge Helen Simpson. This story is an extract from her novel-in-progress also titled, The Speed of Dark.
Two Plays for Gaza was performed at the Hackney Empire, London, in May 2009. This bridge-building evening for peace in the Middle East was a benefit in aid of the Gaza Music School and the Stop the War Coalition. The evening included The Trainer, a new play by David Wilson and Anne Aylor. Their play starred Corin Redgrave, Roger Lloyd Pack, Jana Zeineddine and Paul Herzberg. Tim Pigott-Smith appeared in the first rehearsed reading at Oxford House in March 2009. Also on the bill was Caryl Churchill's Seven Jewish Children, the Freylekh Klezmer Dance Band, Reem Kelani, rapper Lowkey and the guest speaker was Tony Benn. The packed house was welcomed into the theatre with olives, matzohs and Jewish music. This is what Tim Pigott-Smith said: "Out of three different threads: Keith Burstein's opera Manifest Destiny, the story of his ludicrous and unjust trial and a young trainer who has to put Burstein's judges through their paces in a fancy London gym, David Wilson & Anne Aylor's play makes a surreal case for less government interference & an emotional plea for peace, love & understanding." For an article on how this play came to be written, click here. For Guy Smallman's slideshow of The Trainer, click here.
In September 2009 Anne taught her first course in the United States. The 2-day international workshop was held in Las Cruces which has been called "the Santa Fe of southern New Mexico". On the New Mexico flag we see a red sun with rays stretching out from it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a Native American people called the Zia who believed that Great Spirit gave them gifts in groups of four: the four directions, the four seasons, the day (sunrise, noon, evening and night) and ife itself - childhood, youth, middle years and old age. This workshop welcomed writers with all levels of experience, from the four directions.
Daytimers @ Liberal Judaism asked Anne to lead a session for their members in October 2009. As someone who believes in the coming together of all races, religions and creeds, she welcomed the opportunity to help others develop their imaginations and put their experiences on paper. As the Talmud says, '‘Every blade of grass has its angel that leans over it and whispers, “grow, grow”.’
Autumn 2009 marked the fourth year Anne was asked to teach by Alternatives. This workshop had students from Zimbabwe, Portugal, Canada, the US, as well as the UK, all sharing their work.
The cover of the Alternatives fall booklet (left) shows Tibetan prayer flags. Horizontal ones are called lung ta (meaning "Wind Horse") and vertical ones darchor*. Prayer flags traditionally come in sets of five, each color representing the elements. Blue symbolizes the sky; yellow, earth; green, water; red, fire; white wind or air. By hanging flags in high places, the Tibetans believe the blessings imprinted on the prayer flags will be blown by the wind, spreading good will and compassion. As the images fade from exposure to the elements, the prayers become a permanent part of the cosmos. Tibetans renew their hopes for the world by mounting new flags alongside old ones, symbolizing a welcoming of life's changes and an acknowledgment that all beings are part of a greater ongoing cycle.
* "Dar" translates as "to increase life, fortune, health and wealth", "cho" as "all sentient beings"
In October 2009 Anne was invited to teach a course at Chambers and Partners who, for more than 20 years, have published directories of the world's leading lawyers and law firms. Chambers generously underwrote over half the fee for their employees. This oversubscribed course is administered by Joanna Thomas whose idea it was to hold writing sessions there. The editors and researchers at the firm have enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to find expression for their prose.
Anne was asked to lead a workshop at the eighth annual Redbridge Book and Media Festival which ran from 8 April -
17 May 2010. This exciting festival included screenings, performances, children's theatre, workshops, author events and much more. Among the writers who appeared this year were John Hegley and the literary biographer, Michael Holroyd.
The workshop she led was "Spread the Word Creative Writing Master Class" at the Ilford Central Library on Saturday, 24 April. Budding writers under 25 could also take the opportunity to have a 1:1 surgery session with the Borough of Redbridge's writer in residence. The best submissions will be published on Redbridge i. For further information, email arts&events@redbridge.gov.uk
I am hugely honoured to announce that the British Library has invited www.anneaylor.co.uk to participate in their web archiving programme. The British Library select and archive sites that, in their opinion, represent aspects of UK documentary heritage. The British Library works closely with leading UK institutions to collect and permanently preserve the UK web, developing programmes to keep the websites permanently accessible, both as hardware and software, so they remain available to researchers in the future. The BL archive can be found at www.webarchive.org.uk
We are pleased to announce that two of our videos, "Postcard from Paradise" and "Girona: a break before La Torre de Dalt" have been chosen as Featured Videos by YouTube. As one of the most heavily-trafficked sites on the Internet, this is a huge honour as it showcases user-submitted videos from all around the world. A spot in the Featured Category is coveted by novice and professional video-makers alike.
A short story competition run by Stepping Stones Nigeria in 2011 offered, as First Prize, publication of the prize-winning story and a voucher for an Anne Aylor Creative Writing Course. The competition is part of the BBC National Short Story Award. It was an honour to be chosen by this UK-based charity that is committed to defending and upholding the rights of all vulnerable and underprivileged children in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Stepping Stones Nigeria saves and transforms the lives of street children and children stigmatised as witches. They also provide outstanding levels of education and raises the literacy levels of less privileged children.
Alternatives is an organisation that "is a place of inspiration for heart, mind and soul." In their 2011 Autumn programme they say "We are dedicated to the exploration of diverse ways of living and being. We honour all spiritual traditions and welcome people of all cultures."
Alternatives is a non-for-profit organisation based at St James's Church Piccadilly. Founded in 1982 to explore alternatives to mainstream Western spirituality, it is one of London's leading centres for holistic learning.
I am pleased to have been associated with Alternatives since 2006. The October creative writing workshop, "Release the Writer in You" I taught was sold out. Over fifteen potential students had to be turned away so a back-by-demand weekend course will be offered in January 2012. To discover more about the work of Alternatives, contact them at their website, www.alternatives.org.uk
