The new Honno web site will now be available from 1st June 2006
What’s on?
There are more opportunities than ever before to meet some of Honno’s fabulous authors
, Honno staff and learn more about writing and getting published at Honno events this spring:Saturday 1st April, 11am and 6pm:
Blaenavon Festival - An opportunity to meet Claire Peate launching her new novel (11am); and "Welsh Women Conquer the World: a historical look at Welsh women's developments in politics and a lighthearted journey with Welsh women travellers" (6pm) with Ursula Masson and others.Wednesday 17th May
: Author of Losing Timo, Linda Baxter will be at the Kingston Reader’s Festival in London speaking on the topic of ‘Writing for Therapy’.Guardian Hay Festival 26th May to 4th June:
Honno will have an event here - details to be confirmed.Friday 9th June
: We are very pleased to announce that Glenys Kinnock MEP will be the keynote speaker at the launch of the autobiography of Elizabeth Andrews: A Woman’s work is Never Done, the 10th title in our Classics series. Event details TBC.Sat 16th September
Book your diary for another Honno day for writers also incorporating the Honno AGM. Venue is not yet confirmed but will be in North Wales. More on this in the next newsletter.Why does it take soooo long?
The closing date for submissions of short stories for the Turning Point anthology was 31st August 2005 so the anthology’s editors Janet Thomas and Patricia Duncker
spent much of September and October 2005 reading through the 300 or so submissions. But how do they actually go about deciding what’s in and what’s out? Janet Thomas explains:"We keep all stories until we are ready to make the selection, so all of them are read at the same time. This time we had more submissions than ever before – perhaps because the more general theme appealed to more people. Every story was read carefully and in full, more than once, before we got down to a shortlist of just over 60. Then Patricia and I met several times to get this down to the final selection of thirty, discussing which stories need editing, which stories will work interestingly together as a collection, which are too similar. It is a very interesting, but difficult process, and if your story wasn’t selected please don’t be discouraged.
Often in previous anthologies, we’ve seen the same storylines from several authors, when something has been a popular issue of the moment, but for the ‘Turning Point’ there wasn’t any particular favourite plot. We had lots of male narrators this time and a lot more variety in the settings, which is great, though still only few historical, sci-fi or fantasy stories. We had some autobiography, which had to be rejected because this is a fiction collection. Our only rule is that we don’t take more than one story from any author, to make sure as many writers as possible can be included. This time, I think we have one of the strongest selections yet, with an exciting mix of established authors and writers being published by Honno for the first time – exactly what we hope for with the anthologies."
Janet will be writing more detailed tips on short story submissions for the new web site (available May/June).
Great Savings!
Does your reading group fancy a Honno title this month – popular reads like The Floristry Commission, Ice Trap or Skin Deep or something more unusual with great discussion potential like The Wooden Doctor or Persons Living or Dead? Whatever it is you fancy, if you order direct from us (call 01970 623150) we can offer you a discount of 25% off with free P&P on orders of 8 books or more.
LONGLIST SUCCESS
Two Honno titles,
Persons Living or Dead and Ice Trap have been longlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Award. Have you read them?
Be sy mlaen
Yn nigwyddiadau Hoono’r gwanwyn yma, mae gwell cyfle nag erioed o’r blaen i gwrdd â rhai o awduron rhagorol Honno, a staff Honno i ddysgu mwy am ysgrifennu a chyhoeddi:
Sadwrn 1af Ebrill, 11am a 6pm: Gwyl Blaenafon - Cyfle arall i gwrdd â Claire Peate a fydd yn lansio’i nofel newydd (11am), a golwg hanesyddol ar ddatblygiadau menywod Cymru mewn gwleidyddiaeth, a siwrnai hwylus ynghyd â menywod o Gymru sy wedi teithio’r byd (6-pm) yng Ngŵyl Blaenafon yng nghwmni Ursula Masson ac eraill.
Mercher 17eg Mai: Bydd awdur Losing Timo, Linda Baxter yng Nghŵyl Darllenwyr Kingston yn Llundain yn siarad ar y pwnc ‘Writing for Therapy’. Gŵyl Guardian y Gelli, 26ain Mai i 4ydd Mehefin: Bydd Honno’n cynnal digwyddiad yno – manylion i’w cadarnhau.
Gwener 9fed Mehefin: Mae’n bleser gennym gyhoeddi mai’r brif siaradwraig yn lansiad ein 10fed teitl yn ein Cyfres Glasuron, - hunangofiant Elizabeth Andrews, A Woman’s Work is Never Done , fydd Glenys Kinnock ASE. Manylion i’w cadarnhau.
Sadwrn 16eg Medi Nodwch ddiwrnod arall yn eich dyddiadur a gynhelir gan Honno i ysgrifenwyr, a fydd hefyd yr un dydd â’n Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol. Lleoliad – rhywle yng ngogledd Cymru – i‘w gadarnhau. Mwy am hyn yn ein cylchlythyr nesaf.
Pam mae’n cymryd gyyyyymaint o amser?
Dyddiad cau ar gyfer derbyn ceisiadau ar gyfer ein cyfres nesaf o storïau byrion, antholeg Turning Point, oedd 31ain Awst 2005. Felly treuliodd Janet Thomas a Patricia Duncker
y rhan fwyaf o fis Medi’n darllen y 300 o storïau a dderbyniwyd. Ond sut maent yn mynd ati i benderfynu beth i’w gynnwys a beth i’w hepgor. Mae Janet Thomas yn egluro:"Rydym yn cadw’r holl storïau nes fyddwn yn barod i wneud penderfyniad, felly maent i gyd yn cael eu darllen ar yr un pryd. Eleni cawsom fwy o geisiadau nag erioed o’r blaen - efallai oherwydd bod y thema’n fwy cyffredinol ac yn apelio at fwy o bobl. Darllenwyd pob stori’n ofalus ac yn drwyadl, fwy nag unwaith, cyn i ni greu rhestr fer o ychydig dros 60. Wedyn cyfarfu Patricia a mi nifer o weithiau i dorri’r rhestr i lawr i’r 30 terfynol, gan drafod pa storïau oedd angen eu golygu, pa storïau fyddai’n gweithio gyda’i gilydd i wneud casgliad diddorol, pa rai sy’n rhy debyg. Mae’n broses ddiddorol iawn, ond un anodd, ac os na chafodd eich stori eu dewis peidiwch digalonni.
Yn aml mewn antholegau cynharach, rydym wedi gweld yr un themâu gan nifer o awduron, pan fydd rhywbeth wedi bod yn fater poblogaidd ar y pryd, ond nid oedd unrhyw hoff blot ar gyfer Turning Point. Cawsom nifer o draethyddion gwrywaidd y tro hyn a llawer mwy o amrywiaeth yn yr amgylchiadau, sy’n grêt, er mai dim ond ychydig oedd yn storiau hanesyddol, ffuglen wyddonol neu ffantasi. Cawsom rai hunangofiannau, y bu’n rhaid i ni eu gwrthod am mai casgliad ffuglennol oedd hwn. Ein hunig reol yw nad ydym yn dewis mwy nag un stori gan unrhyw awdur, er mwyn gwneud yn siŵr bod cymaint â phosib o ysgrifenwyr yn cael eu cynnwys. Y tro hwn, rwy’n credu bod gennym un o’r casgliadau mwyaf grymus hyd yn hyn, gyda chymysgedd o awduron sefydledig ac ysgrifenwyr sy’n cael eu cyhoeddi gan Honno am y tro cyntaf - yr union beth yr ydym yn gobeithio ei gael ar gyfer ein hantholegau.
Bydd Janet yn ysgrifennu awgrymiadau mwy manwl ar gyfer y wefan newydd (Ar gael ym Mai/Mehefin)
Arbedion mawr
Ydy’ch grŵp darllen yn ffansïo un o deitlau Honno’r mis yma - teitlau poblogaidd fel The Floristry Commission, Ice Trap neu Skin Deep neu rywbeth mwy anarferol a fyddai’n ennyn trafodaeth ddiddorol fel The Wooden Doctor neu Persons Living or Dead? Pa beth bynnag sy’n mynd â’ch bryd chi, os archebwch yn uniongyrchol oddi wrthym ni (galwch 01970 623 150) medrwn gynnig disgownt o 25% i chi a P & P am ddim ar archebion o 8 llyfr neu ragor.
LLWYDDIANT RHESTR HIR
Mae dau o deitlau Honno
Persons Living or Dead ac Ice Trap wedi cyrraedd rhestr hir Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn. Ydych chi wedi eu darllen?