Dear Reader
Yes, it’s our ever-popular annual events guide issue, which means, yes, it’s time for my not-quite-so-popular annual entreaty to leave your desk for a day or two and get out there into the wider writing world. Opportunities abound, near and far, to suit every budget, and if you turn inside you’ll find details of as many as we could unearth, along with informative and encouraging articles about what to expect, the benefits of various kinds of event, and how to make the most of them to further your career or craft. At one end there are luxurious overseas guided retreats and courses; at the other there are grassroots literary festivals near you with workshops and (often free!) tutorial sessions. The point is, you decide how much you want to spend, how far you want to travel, and what level of involvement you want.
I’ve spent the best part of the last twenty years attending all kinds of events with WM, some as a delegate, some as a reporter, sometimes (eek!) even as a speaker. Before each and every one, I still get nervous, but every time I leave thoroughly enriched and fired up, with happy memories, new leads and new friends (and usually pockets full of business cards and postcards). So ignore those butterflies, get out there and widen your horizons – you won’t regret it.