News Items

LGBT+ Creative Writing Summer 2025

These workshops have been very popular with writers in person and online. The next workshop will again be at the Kings Arms in Poland Street, which proved very popular, and will commence on 16 June 2025.

 See details on Events page.

As you can see, people enjoyed themselves!

We are everywhere!

Kevin Crowe, who contributed two stories to Flash Dances Flash Dances and lives in the far North of Scotland, will be reading from the anthology at the end of Lochaber Pride in Fort William on Sunday 1 June 2025. We wish him every success - and lots of sales!

Launch of Flash Dances

Women and men of Paradise Press and the Gay Authors Workshop, plus their dogs, turned out in force on 17 November 2024 to celebrate the triumphant launch of the Flash Fiction anthology, Flash Dances.

Out of 32 authors featured in the anthology, 14 appeared and read some of their work from the book to an enthusiastic audience. 

Not a bad percentage considering two of the authors are dead and some of the others are scattered as far as Chicago and the far North of Scotland, in Wick.

The launch had been bedevilled with crisis. First a mix-up over ISBN numbers, which are unique identifiers of books, delayed printing and caused postponement.

Then the original venue, the Glitch, claimed first that they had no record of any booking and then that they were double booked with another book launch.

However, with less than 48 hours’ notice we moved to The Walrus, a hostel down the road, which was full of character and had a wonderful manager, Holly.

So ‘All's Well That Ends Well’ - where do I know that phrase from?!

Photos by James Linton

Rid England of This Plague

Rex Batten's testimony to the power of gay love in England in the darkest days of 1950s witch hunts leaves an indelible memory on all who read it. 

It is essential reading for all who are interested in gay history, but has been out of print for several years. Paradise Press is applying for funding to reprint 'Rid England of This Plague' both in book and e-book form. 

Watch this space.

Patrick Notchtree

GAW member Patrick Notchtree, a regular contributor at the monthly Zoom gatherings, has been shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize 2024 for his novel Maxym.

This is a major American award for 'independent salient writing as well as the independent spirit of small publishers'. It carries a prize of $5,000.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) was a moral philosopher and novelist with working class roots who had a passionate interest in good new writing. We wish Patrick good luck.

Maxym got an honourable mention? We wish Patrick good luck.

Kathryn Bell

On Monday 20 May 2024 the secretary of the Gay Authors Workshop, Kathryn Bell, celebrated her 90th birthday with a visit from two members, Hastie Salih and Peter Scott-Presland.

Peter presented her with the Sappho in Paradise 2024 Award (from the Stockholm-based International Lesbian and Gay Culture Network [ILGCN]), in recognition of nearly fifty years with the Workshop since its founding, most of them as secretary.

It also acknowledged her support for her life partner, poet and writer Elsa Beckett, who died in 2015.

The two of them were also tireless campaigners for the rights of older and disabled lesbians, through the organisation GEMMA.

After the presentation, all three demolished a magnificent strawberry and cream cake before Kathryn went back to work on the GAW June Newsletter. Some people never stop!

Memories of Ivor C Treby

Ivor C Treby (always with a C) was writing queer poetry from the late 1960s onwards. 

He became a founder member of Gay Authors Workshop along with Mike Harth in 1978.

It became a natural home for him, along with The Performing Oscars, a poets' roadshow of the early 1980s which also appeared on the Cabaret Stage at Pride. 

This memoir, which is not complete, shows his racy opinionated style, and references many of his poems. He wrote four volumes which are now only available in archives.

Ivor himself was very conscious of creating a legacy, was meticulous in his record-keeping, and has a small but very well organised archive collection at the Bodleian Library.

Whilst ferreting around I discovered that he also turns up on IMDB as a scriptwriter for a 1972 series, But Seriously, it's Sheila Hancock. He was in good company since other writing credits went to Harold Pinter, John Betjeman, Michael Frayn, Germaine Greer, Ogden Nash and Roger McGough.

Like so many older lesbians and gays, he had a fascinating history and hinterland, if only anyone could have bothered to ask. I'm hoping this will encourage other GAW veterans to put their memories to paper for this archive section while there is yet time.

If you have memories you'd like recorded, please:

Peter Scott-Presland