Write By The Sea is a regular writing group that meets in Folkestone. So far they have released two anthologies, with plans for more projects on the way.
We chatted with Karen, who founded the Write By The Sea group, to find out more.
Can you tell me a little about Write By The Sea?
I have been blogging for many years under the lifestyle blog called Karen’s World, and then I had the idea of starting a writing group that covered all aspects of books. The Folkestone Book Festival was so popular that adding a writing group seemed a good idea in Folkestone. We have been going for over three years and getting well-known throughout this area. There are over fifty on the mailing list and we get over twenty at the meetings and events.
What happens at the meetings?
We have two meetings a month, one as a group where we discuss and share what the topic is for that month – for example, the February exercise was to write 100 words on LOVE. I give out information from the book world and authors, also any events that are coming up. This meeting is held at The Hideaway in Folkestone. The other monthly meeting is an event where someone from the book world comes and gives a talk; this could be authors, illustrators, photographers, screen writers, publishers. These meetings are open to everyone and are free to attend at The Grand in Folkestone.
Can you tell me about the anthologies you’ve released?
We released our first anthology called Ghosts By The Sea, which was very popular. Then during lockdown, via emails, we did another anthology called Doorways To The Sea. Both are available to buy on Amazon or we can deliver locally. We have so far sold over 450 copies of both books. We are in the process of planning another anthology for later in the year based loosely on the train station on The Harbour Arm in Folkestone – more details to follow about this one.