Looking back I now see that it wasn't until December 6th that I finally got my marks for the MA Creative Writing. That was the day I visited Fay Weldon - the day after Mandela died - and we discussed the editing I should now do. In essence she feels my longer short stories could have 2-3 chapters each as they are full of material. Good to know!
We have had a few meetings to discuss the MA Anthology - title, layout, house style, cover design and the editing team are working through forty one submissions. I had just four submissions to edit. The bios are very interesting. Many people have been published, many more haven't, it seems. At the first anthology meeting we met the BSU publisher and discussed the timing and role of the copy editor too. All good stuff.
I am now preparing three short stories for the Janklow and Nesbit prize - that's a great opportunity to be directly in contact with publishers again. All my pieces have been workshopped and Fay has read them all and made her suggestions. As Julia King says - this is the time for editing. My story 'Migrants' will have to be put on hold, but am re-reading Rose Tremain's 'The Road Home' and other pieces about migrant workers. My piece, simply called 'Migrants', will include dialogue in Latvian (thanks Ieva!) and is a learning experience - a Damascene moment - for the well-to-do of Bath and Wells - who realise, finally, what life is like for the migrant worker. This realisation changes and enriches their lives too.
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